Even off-season, with clumps of snow clinging to the frozen ruts, it's clear that something really important is happening at Marini Farms in Ipswich.

Marini's Farm Stand is located at 259 Linebrook Rd., Ipswich MA.

It could be the care and attention that Michael Marini is lavishing on the flower seedlings out in the greenhouse. Or maybe it's the focus with which IPM consultant Jim Mussoni is inspecting the young plants for evidence of aphids. Or maybe it's the head of operation himself, Mario Marini, calling out to both his son and Mussoni, barely finishing one observation, before he is on to the next one … his next plan … his next idea.

Could be, but that's only part of it. It isn't until you've been there a few hours, and perhaps driven around town a little, out to Route 1 and back, and walked around the grounds, and then sat down for a spell in the Marini kitchen, that you begin to realize that the most important thing happening at the Marini Farms may be nothing short of the thriving existence of the farm itself.

Just north of Boston, amid the sprawl and development and the micro-estates, Marini Farms is an island of agricultural success. This farm is not just for show. This is not a farmette. This is not a hobby or refuge for a harried urbanite. This is a third generation farm that continues to produce some of the most highly coveted corn and some of the finest annuals (among other things) in an area of chronic and intense development pressure. It hasn't always been easy.

"We had to sacrifice two-thirds of our acreage to keep one third, and put it under conservation restriction, but it has worked out well," noted Mario recently over a plate of scallops out on Route 1.

There are any number of reasons why things have "worked out so well." It is clear that Mario Marini is very simply a good neighbor. He was the first farmer in the area to embrace Integrated Pest Management, which has allowed him to minimize pesticide spraying. That was in the mid-1980s, and it was clearly a gamble, especially when it came to sweet corn. There are lots of varieties of corn and lots of opinions about which is best, which is sweetest, exactly how long to cook it. But there is one cardinal rule: You can't sell wormy corn. Period. No European Corn Borers. No Ear Worms. Not even one.

"You can't live with worms. People don't want wormy corn. You can't live with 10-percent wormy corn. You can't even live with five-percent," says Mario gravely.

"That's why I was afraid in the beginning. We were all used to just pouring on the pesticide. But when Dave Ferro showed up from Extension to talk about corn IPM, I decided I would take a chance. You see, I'm a UMass grad, and I have a lot of faith in the University."

Mario took part in some of the earliest pilot programs to trap ear worms - all under the watchful eye of other area farmers.

"They kept asking me how it was going, then after that, a lot of the others decided to give it a try," he says with undisguised satisfaction.

Beginning in 1989, Marini turned to Jim Mussoni, a former Extension employee and now a private independent IPM scout, for help in determining what pest problems might be emerging, and what kinds of IPM strategies might be most effective. There is a lot of collaboration in their decisions even now as Mario stands over Jim's shoulder as Jim inspects seedlings for mites and aphids. On this particular day, Jim is encouraging Mario to apply for a state grant to test the use of a gelatin-based compost as soil-fumigant for strawberries, to replace the chemical methyl bromide, which is being banned.

And, whatever they are doing, it seems to work. Last season, the kind of careful monitoring that is the backbone of a good IPM program allowed Mario to avoid spraying for four weeks.

"And not one worm," he says with delight as Jim reviews the records.

The other thing that is delighting Mario Marini these days is that he has a new partner. His son Michael, a recent graduate of the University of Delaware, has come home to run the retail end of the Marini Farms.

"It frees me up to get back out where I belong," says Mario. "I gets me back out into the field."