Monday, June 2, 2010
With sales in the first year at $20,000 to more than $330,000 six years later, Hearty Roots Community Farm located in Red Hook, Dutchess County originated as a 30 person CSA and is now up to 440 shares. Amazing! It is no wonder the USDA recognizes organic and local foods as the fastest growing market in agriculture.
The time has come that I am officially in awe of small scale growers that efficiently compliment the use of human and mechanical labor to achieve maximum food production while considering both economic and ecological longevity. Hearty Roots began with one inexperienced farmer on less than an acre of rented land and has grown to now be twenty-five acres of cultivation or cover crop with two head farmers and a staff of five. Ben, one of the two current head farmers, said to the group that evening of the summer solstice that “starting a farm is challenging, but do-able.” His shared words of wisdom were that starting small and expanding are how best to build a successful farm.
Hearty Roots is a completely portable farm. The farmers here would ideally like to have permanent access to land through a land trust arrangement, or less preferably, through private ownership. Since the beginnings and as of now, land is being rented with an annual hand shake to seal the deal. Not a single permanent structure of their own on the property; the walk in cooler, irrigation system, and tractor shed are all temporary structures shifted yearly to best accommodate the farm.
We walked the field to find ourselves amongst picturesque pastoral perfection (NOTE PHOTO AT TOP OF BLOG PAGE). Along a gently rising slope Hearty Roots lies in the low lands adjacent the estate owners’ Greig Farm, a blueberry and apple orchard operation. Due to actions with respect to pesticide applications by this farming neighbor, Hearty Roots may not become USDA organic certified even if they wanted to.
Their water supply is a large pond and the falling rains. A tractor-powered water pump feeds into a drip line and over heat sprinkler irrigation network. That day their pond was quite dry, reduced to no more than a puddle.
To minimize costs, or rather, to not spend money they do not have, equipment was borrowed in the early years, and as the farm acquired funds used-equipment was purchased one implement at a time. Hearty Roots has accumulated $100,000 worth of farming equipment in its short six years, without loans. I walked away from this workshop itching to get behind the wheel of a tractor. The field tour ended with the equipment. (Always save the best for last.) One thing that I find particularly helpful about CRAFT is that on top of teaching me new or improved farming technique, each exposes me to some aspect of farming that I find interesting enough to actively pursue. Hearty Roots reinforced my appreciation for tractor equipment. There is the Alis Chommer G - quite a versatile buggy - disc harrow, chisel blow, tine weeder, Kubota L 285 utility tractor and attachments, like the flail mower and rototiller.
ith the looming threat of another fungal outbreak of Phytophthera infestans, Hearty Roots is taking a three part defense against Late Blight. First, the tomatoes will be more heavily pruned to increase air flow, reducing moisture accumulation. Secondly, a few rows of tomatoes are being grown under a self-built high tunnel. Hoop houses create a less favorable environement for spore propoagation. They even bent the metal themselves, and cautioned us future farmers to use as little hardware as possible when building. Keep designs simple. This temporary three-season high tunnel cost $0.75 per square footto construct, while more permanent four-season green houses would have cost over $2 per square foot.
Lastly, all tomatoes are under eco-one biodegradable black plastic mulch which gets laid out at the beginning of the season and tilled under at the end. Despite polymer residues that remain in the soil, Ben advocates for the sustainability of plastic mulch. He explained the benefits of greater water retention, warmed soils preferred by tomatoes, and reduced human labor. “In the long run, the plastic mulch pays for itself from its environmental benefits,” quoted Ben.
An email sign-up sheet for the newly formed National Young Farmers Coalition was passed around too. With support from The Greenhorns the NYFC is a political advocacy group that will represent the voice of small farmers in our participatory political system called American democracy.
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