Lower Hudson C.R.A.F.T.Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
It was the rainiest day for such an event but the 18th of May 2010 marked the inaugural Lower Hudson CRAFT series, a convergence of growers, owners, interns, and land trust reps. I’m thrilled!
C.R.A.F.T. - the acronym for Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training - fosters opportunities for interns to learn new farming skills or fine tune the old ones. Plus, what’s more than meeting the local farm community (certainly the best of Westchester and neighboring counties), for may we originate from California, Montana, the Carolinas, Indiana, New Jersey, or have been a New Yorker all our lives, we’re now here together to strengthen this community.
I wish I could impart the wisdom and good tales host Farmer Linsay Cochran shared while touring “Linsay’s Market Garden” at Kitchawan Farm located in Ossining, Westchester County. However, I sat below the tent safely out of the rain while Linsay’s brothers worked away stringing up tarps connected to tents to make the trendiest picnic patio on this side of Applachia.
Linsay is dedicated to “ecologically healthy growing” and is committed to the NOFA NY Farmer’s Pledge. And so I’ve heard that Linsay's overall emphasis centered on utilizing alternative market strategies other than CSAs for small or beginning farmers.
Her advice is to start with the small and do-able, then expand with time, experience, and a better understanding of the needs of the consumers. For her predominantly Westchester suburbanite consumers, Linsay’s strategy is to have customers pre-order exactly what kinds and amounts of vegetables, flowers or herbs they want. Twice a week orders are picked-up at Kitchawan Farm - a beautiful 19th century style and 21st century solar-powered homestead. Harvesting is done morning of making “Linsay’s Market Garden” the freshest produce in town.
After the tour a group of nearly three dozen sat down to a potluck dinner. Introductions revealed attendees came from Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center in Yorktown Heights, Glynwood Center in Cold Springs, Pfieffer Center in Chestnut Ridge, Ryder Farm in Brewster, a handful of other farms, and even a newbie independent farmer from New Jersey. Announcements included a gracious “Thank you!” to our host Linsay and her brothers Alex and John, foresight excitement for future CRAFT workshops, and even an announcement that the Westchester Land Trust is actively working to connect farmers to lease-able farmland.
I look forward to a summer of CRAFT! Until then keep your ears up on the latest news that for the first time in history a case is being presented to the US Supreme Court on genetically engineered foods, with specific grievances against Monsanto’s Round-up Ready GM alfalfa which threatens organic alfalfa growers’ ability to remain organic due to inevitable cross pollination between GM alfalfa and wild roadside and organically farmed alfalfa. The California-based sustainable agriculture legal advocacy group Center for Food Safety is representing Oregon-based organic growers Geerston Seeds Farm. This will be a landmark case to determine if genetically engineered food crops be required to have an analysis of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of such a commodity on society before entering the market.
No comments:
Post a Comment