Utah State University plant, soils and climate systems student Josh Martin was selected as the August 2019 UServeUtah Member of the Month. Martin is the manager at the USU Student Organic Farm and loves planning, planting and watching produce grow.

“I want to teach people how to farm,” Martin said. “I would like to teach people how to do exactly what we're doing, basically take any crop and grow it better, in whatever way that they need.”

Martin and the other students working on the farm help grow produce using a “community supported agriculture” model. Members of the community buy shares of the farm’s produce and the students’ efforts supply them with vegetables every week from mid-May through September.

“I think my very favorite part is the people, how much they liked it,” Martin said. “They appreciate that we're giving them good stuff.”

The students, in turn, are able to apply what they learn in the classroom by working to make the farm more productive. Martin said hands-on experience prepares students for obstacles farmers face to grow food like water issues, weather and bugs.

Jennifer Reeve, associate professor in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, oversees student workers and internships at the farm. She said students like Martin help the program improve each year.

“Josh Martin is incredibly hard working and dedicated,” Reeve said. “Under his leadership the student farm has had one of its most successful years ever. One of the best things about Josh is his ability to mentor other students. He knows how to bring out the best in people.”

UServeUtah, the Utah Commission on Service and Volunteerism works to enable individuals, communities and organizations in Utah to benefit from the service, power, skills and passion of volunteers.

Writer: Bronson Teichert, Bronson.teichert@usu.edu

Contacts: Jennifer Reeve, Jennifer.reeve@usu.edu, 435-797-3192

Josh Martin, joshua.martin1@aggiemail.usu.edu