Farmer Profiles

"Profiles of Sustainable Farming Systems"

     Small farms must be profitable to be successful, and they must be farmed in a sustainable manner to stay successful over the long-term. Farming sustainably takes knowledge, skill, and dedication. The results extend beyond the production of frsh, flavorful, and nutiritious food. Improved soil health and fertility on the farm, decreased air and water pollution, and the stablization of agricultural communities are among the long-term benefits of sustainable agriculture.

     This publication illustrates small farm successes in the mid-Atlantic region. We used interviews and farm visits to develop profiles of six farms. Farms ranged in size from 2.5 to 60 acres. All produced some combination of fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs, and chickens. All had a CSA as part or all of their marketing strategy. The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation is a system whereby members buy a “share” of the farm’s crops before the season starts, and get weekly produce from the farm, either delivered to a central location or picked up on the farm. Five of the farms profiled were located within an hour and a half of a large, metropolitan area. CSA member recruitment is often easier near a large, urban population.

     We asked the farmers to share with us their farming operation methods, their backgrounds and guiding principles, their goals and their tips for other farmers. It’s our hope that these profiles will enlighten and inspire you.

Mark Guenther
COMMUNITY HARVEST AT TAIT FARM
Centre Hall, Pennsylvania

Field mailbox at Community Harvest at Tait Farm.

The Farming Operation:   Mark is the manager of the Community Harvest CSA operation located on Tait Farm in Centre County, Pennsylvania. With 170 acres, Tait Farm was known for its apples, raspberries, asparagus, and Christmas trees. More recently, Tait Farm has become recognized for its value-added line of products such as raspberry shrub (a colonial American beverage), fruit preserves, and apple butter. The products are available at a store on the farm, at other retail sites, and through mail order.

Mark began the CSA in 2000 using six acres of land and sharing facilities and equipment with Tait Farm. Asparagus and rhubarb plants were well established when he arrived, and he rents the apple orchard. After getting settled, he began growing a mix of vegetable crops to supply his CSA members.

Mark considers his arrangement with Tait Farm's owners as "cordial." They help with marketing, accounting, and answering the phone. Mark splits the asparagus harvest with them and pays them 10 percent of his gross earnings. He has a full-time, capable assistant and gets about 12 hours a week of help from volunteers.

Some of the land had been cropped, but most was under sod or pasture when he began farming. The farming situation isn't ideal with clayey soils, fields with too much slope, and "giant hedgerows between half-acre fields." Mark is working toward achieving the so-called European rotation - two years in grass and legumes, then a heavy feeder, followed by a light feeder, with cover crops grown between cash crops. He uses pig power to turn his compost mix of municipal leaves (200 tons) and dairy manure (100 tons) that has been biodynamically prepped. He also gets old straw bales (used for seating) from the local ice skating rink to put into his compost. His usual cover crops are cereal rye with hairy vetch or dwarf white clover.

The first year, Mark aimed for 200 members in the CSA, but only signed up 110. He recruited 150 members in 2002. In one strategy to increase membership, Mark offers current members a $10 gift certificate to use in the Tait Farm retail shop if they sign up a new member.

The apple orchard has a total of 360 apple trees in three varieties - Liberty, Jonafree, and Redfree. Mark loves Surroundä, the kaolin clay product that helps protect apple trees and their fruit from insects, diseases, and sunscald. He also likes the Tifoneä sprayer that he uses to apply the Surroundä. Mark is tolerant of the garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata that grows prevalently in the orchard. It's an invasive, exotic plant, but in Mark's view, the garlic mustard displaces more troublesome weeds. It's a minor detail, but an example of Mark's ability to be creative in his approach to farming.

Mark has tried selling his fruit and vegetables to local restaurants, but feels that it's a hassle. He much prefers running the CSA, and markets the excess CSA produce through the retail shop at Tait Farm on a 50% commission basis. He also donates "tons" of excess produce to the local food bank, which also purchases two CSA shares. Mark gets a lot of satisfaction from helping feed low-income members of his community.

The Community Harvest operation is not certified organic, but Mark follows traditional organic farming principles. He hasn't bothered with certification because his customers know him and his farming philosophy - he doesn't need to go to the expense and the trouble of getting certified.

Animals in the Scheme of Things:   Mark advocates the use of animals in sustainable agricultural production systems. Not only do they serve as a food source, but they also provide labor and manure. Since arriving at Tait Farm, Mark added a dairy cow and three Angus beef cows, each of which should provide a calf annually. Mark's assistant in 2001 built a chicken tractor (a moveable chicken coop). Mark now has a flock of free-range chickens to provide eggs for the CSA. He's added pigs to the farm system and uses the pigs and chickens to help turn his municipal leaves and dairy manure into compost. The pigs begin the composting process. Every time Mark feeds them, he makes holes in the compost pile and drops their corn to the bottom of the holes. The pigs root through and turn the compost to get to their corn. When the compost is sufficiently mixed and trampled, the pigs are moved to a fresh part of the windrow. Then the chickens are brought in to continue mixing the compost by traditional chicken-scratching around in it. The farm dogs, Susie and Cisco, help with varmint control and a couple of cats keep the rodent population in check.

The Farmers' Background:   Mark was raised on a "homestead" for the first 10 years of his life, and his family produced much of their own food. That's where he acquired the desire to farm for a living. His father and sister are both involved in CSA production. He credits his mother with teaching him about being at home in nature, and some of that information is getting passed onto his CSA members now.

Mark's studies at Swarthmore College began with an environmental studies major but changed mid-stream to agriculture. After college, he biked across the country and worked at 40 different organic farms over six months. After the trip, he continued to work at organic farms, including one with a 600-member CSA operation, and spent two years at Genesis Farm, which specializes in environmental and spiritual education. Mark then spent six months in India and a year in Venezuela teaching sustainable agriculture before landing at Tait Farm to start a CSA there.

What's in a Share:   Shares at Community Harvest are unusual in several respects. Mark purchases and barters from organic growers in the area to provide additional variety to the weekly share. He buys organic, grass-fed meat in bulk for his customers to purchase from him to supplement their share. He also offers a variety not seen in many CSAs. Shares might include homemade maple syrup, eggs, popcorn, ground cornmeal, spelt flour, butter - even stinging nettle (with recipes of course!).

Guiding Principles:   Mark is a firm believer in living gently on the land, supporting his community by purchasing locally produced inputs for his farm, and the value of organic, locally produced food. Conducting agricultural research isn't a priority for him. He feels that we already know a lot of what we need to know about producing high quality food. For example, regarding weed management, he feels the technology and techniques are out there and "if weed control is important [to you], you'll have weed control." He would like to know how to make an organized area out of his tool shop and small office area, though. Mark has read up on biodynamics and relates to Rudolph Steiner's description of the "farm as an organism." He views his farming operation holistically and feels that animals are integral to its success and sustainability. However, he sometimes finds it hard to remember "…that the glory of farm life is no less wonderful when I don't finish what I intended to finish."

Goals:   Marks wants to have a year-round CSA that meets virtually all of its members' food needs - wheat, meat, and dairy, in addition to fruits and vegetables. He envisions a membership of 30 as workable, with payments due quarterly.

He would like to eventually use locally produced seed for all of his crops. He has a source for a locally produced spelt seed, which he grows and grinds to provide flour for the CSA share. In 2001, all of his tomatoes were planted with saved seed, and he hopes to increase the amount of seed that he produces himself.

Mark plans to include draft animals in the farm production system in the spring of 2003. Animals fit into his vision of farming and would reduce the amount of non-renewable energy he uses. He looks forward to the day when he starts up his plow "with a scoop of oats and a few flakes of hay." As part of the expanded animal component, Mark is also considering sheep to graze the orchard floor.

Mark wants to farm in a manner that renews rather than exhausts. In 2001, he and his assistant both reduced the hours they worked compared to the previous year. They planned a workload and a schedule that permitted it. Mark knew that adding animals to the farming system would increase again the number of hours he worked, but he feels that how hard and how long he works is a decision that he has some control over. Working smart and reducing hand labor to a minimum is one aspect of the process. (On the other hand, Mark loves to hand-scythe and can do an acre in less than 10 hours!) Mark considers farming his livelihood - more a lifestyle than a job.

Sources of Information:   Mark has found that other farmers are a very good source of information, and he has visited with and worked for dozens over the years. His pig composting method is based on a process learned from Anne and Eric Nordell of Beech Grove Farm. In fact, his pigs in 2001 came from the same litter as theirs - he got the technology and the technicians from them.

Tips:   Mark uses Premier Fence Company's 3D Anti-deer Fencing™ to keep the deer away. This fiberglass three-strand electric fencing is baited every three weeks. Mark feels the three-dimensional aspect of the fencing helps keep deer out of his fields.

Mark tries to follow a master plan for his rotations but often doesn't follow the plan. He does keep detailed records, though, and notes changes made. For better organization, Mark uses different colored paper for different years' plans, and he also puts original plans in one color and revised plans in another. The colors help him to make sense of all the plans when they begin accumulating.

He carries a standard toolkit with him in the field. This minimizes how often he needs to leave the field to get something. The kit contains a tape measure, a "leatherman" (all-in-one tool with pliers, knife, file, etc.), earplugs, microlight, and crescent wrench (he's thinking about deleting this item and replacing it with a mini vice grip). He also wears a Sharpie™ waterproof marker and ballpoint pen on cords around his neck.

Every field has a mailbox at the edge with a field notebook in it. It's an easy way to keep timely notes on what was planted and when, what materials were applied and when, what insects were found during scouting, etc. However, Mark reports that he hasn't used this innovation as often as he thought he would.

Weed control is an important part of farming successfully, and Mark feels the amount he invested in an Allis Chalmers tractor was worthwhile. He also does some flame-weeding. When cultivating, he is careful to adjust the cultivator frequently so it does the job it's meant to do. He does not like to hand weed and has been known to plow a field under if the weeds get away from him rather than spend too much time hand weeding.

He and his crew double-wash the produce to make it more "user-friendly."

Contact:   Mark Guenther, Farm Manager, Community Harvest at Tait Farm, RR 1 Box 329, Centre Hall, PA 16828 phone: (814)466-2386 e-mail: taitfood@earthlink.net
website: www.taitfarmfoods.com (general farm information and mail-order Tait Farm products).

Jonathan Weaver-Kreider
SIMPLE GIFTS FARM
Washington Boro, Pennsylvania

“The overall goal is to grow the best produce possible in an ecologically-sound manner while helping shareholders gain a sense of connection to the land and to their food supply.”

Sorghum-sudan grass cover crop in late fall at Simple Gifts Farm.

The Farming Operation:  Jonathan began farming independently in the spring of 2000. He rents 2½ acres of farmland and "inherited" an existing CSA operation from the farm's owner. The owner continues to live on the farm with her four children and rents out the rest of the 10-acre property. Jonathan lives in town with his wife, who teaches at a local private elementary school. Jonathan works off the farm in the winter.

The farm is situated on the east bank of the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County in southeastern Pennsylvania. Jonathan grows a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers, and his sole farm income comes from the CSA. Jonathan houses his equipment in a wonderful, old Swiss bank barn, which came with a complement of farm machinery. He's especially fond of the Allis Chalmers tractor with its belly-mounted equipment.

Jonathan works to improve soil quality on the farm. He buys straw to use as an effective weed-reducing, moisture-conserving, organic matter-enhancing mulch. He experiments with cover crops and intercrops, although he says "I'm very much still on a steep learning curve in terms of being successful at achieving a sustainable farming system." He conducts soil tests yearly to monitor the fertility and organic matter content of his fields. While he does not make and use much compost, he expects to begin adding horse manure from a nearby farm into his soil fertility program next year.

Jonathan uses drip irrigation for the cash crops, but doesn't irrigate the cover crops. He gets two or three years out of the drip tape by taping up holes in it each year before laying it again. He uses wide row covers for some crops but has a problem with wind blowing them off.

Jonathan received organic certification in 2002. He went through the process of certification because he wants to be able to call his produce "organic." He shares his farming philosophy with his CSA members and encourages them to walk in the fields and observe and participate in what's happening on the farm.

Jonathan uses a high tunnel to extend the season until early November. While he avoids plastic mulch, Jonathan has found paper mulch to be very successful in the high tunnel. The tunnel was built from an old Eliot Coleman design that moves on wooden rails. The high tunnel can be used effectively in a crop rotation plan because it can be moved on its rails onto an adjacent plot of land after harvest. With this design, it takes 12-15 people to shift the tunnel from one spot to the next. Coleman's design has since been changed and the newer design improves the tunnel's moveability.

Jonathan did not use hired help the first two years, but employed two part-time workers in 2002. He gets significant help with harvesting two days a week from CSA members who have "working" shares. He has also utilized third-graders from his wife's school to plant and mulch garlic and to pick beans. It's an outdoor learning experience for them and low-cost labor for him.

Jonathan enjoys learning by doing and is eager to experiment with cover crops, new technology and products, and by utilizing beneficial insects. He began using a flame weeder in 2001 and is pleased with the results. He found hot pepper spray to be effective on the aphids on his Brussels sprouts. He's bought and released parasitic wasps (Pediobius foveolatus) to help control Mexican bean beetles but was late releasing them the first year. They need to be ordered and released as soon as you see the first beetle eggs. The wasp's population builds throughout the summer, and they can provide a significant amount of control by the end of the season.

Cover Crops and Intercropping:  Jonathan's cover crops and intercropping strategies suppress weeds, increase soil organic matter, and add nitrogen to his soil. He likes to experiment and try new cover crops and combinations of cover crops. The experiments aren't always successful, but he learns something from all of them. He tried intercropping broccoli and cabbage with Dutch white clover - but the clover grew too fast and competed with the cash crop. He might try the clover again intercropped with a different cash crop. He found that a mix of sorghum-sudan grass and cowpeas do well in warm, dry weather - separately and together, but he had to mow the cover to keep the cowpeas from going to seed. He has planted tomatoes and summer squash into rolled rye and vetch, and it worked well. This technique was not successful when he direct-seeded winter squash into the rye/vetch. The crop residue had begun to decompose by the time the winter squash was planted, so the ground was only sparsely covered, and there were resulting weed problems.

What's in a Share:  The CSA had 25 shareholders in 2000, 43 in 2001, and 57 in 2002. Jonathan offers full shares, half shares, and working shares (with a 10-hour per season work requirement). Shareholders can pre-pay in the winter or make up to three installments beginning in the spring. There is a twice weekly CSA pick-up at the barn, and shareholders pack their own produce. Jonathan directs the pick-up by putting out signs that say how much of each product is in the share that week. His CSA members are free to pick their own flower bouquets and herbs, and about half of them do. Jonathan puts out a biweekly newsletter with farm news, recipes, and vegetable storage tips.

He also sells organic coffee and tea as well as honey, preserves, and cheese. He brings in eggs, chicken, and pork from an organic producer, and it's available for purchase by his shareholders. Jonathan said the CSA has all the "normal stuff" but he also offers a good mix of heirloom tomatoes, asparagus, sweet corn ("so-so" results with organic production), red raspberries, and edemame soybeans.

The Farmers' Background:  Jonathan is a graduate of the Sustainable Systems Master of Science (MS3) program at Slippery Rock University. He interned at the Accokeek Foundation's organic Ecosystem Farm before beginning to farm on his own.

Goals:  "The overall goal of the Simple Gifts CSA is to grow the best produce possible in an ecologically sound manner, while helping shareholders gain a sense of connection to the land and to their food supply," Jonathan says.

Jonathan works to increase the number of beneficial insects on the farm so they can help manage pest insects. He has left weedy areas around the edges of his fields as habitat and intends to plant more pollen and nectar sources for the beneficials.

Jonathan would like to have more land to farm so he can keep cover crops on his fields longer.

His wife would like to become more involved with the farm.

Sources of Information  Jonathan got a good background in sustainable agriculture at Slippery Rock University. He was fortunate to take classes with Marianne Sarrantonio, a cover crop specialist. He attends farming conferences in the winter, e.g. Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA).

Tips:  Try out new techniques and new products - see what fits into your farming system.

Timing is very important in farming. Make sure you don't let cover crops like buckwheat or annual ryegrass go to seed, or you'll create a weed problem. If possible, get the fall cover crops planted on time - you'll get more benefit from them. If you're going to order beneficial insects, know when to order them, and then do it on time.

Contact:  Jonathan Weaver-Kreider, Simple Gifts Farm, 2121 River Road, Washington Boro, PA 17582 (farm) 202 South 8th St., Columbia, PA 17512 (home) phone: (717)684-3596 e-mail: organicag@yahoo.com

Larry Patrick COOL SPRINGS ORGANIC FARM
Evans City, PA

“We need commercial wholesaling of herbs in the Northeast.”

Larry Patrick, Cool Springs Organic Farm, with a Planet Junior (AKA Red Pig) hand cultivator.

The Farming Operation:   Larry's farm encompasses 60 acres in the rolling countryside of Butler County in western Pennsylvania - just north of Pittsburgh. He cultivates 15-20 acres of certified organic vegetables and herbs with a limited amount of help

Larry's farm encompasses 60 acres in the rolling countryside of Butler County in western Pennsylvania - just north of Pittsburgh. He cultivates 15-20 acres of certified organic vegetables and herbs with a limited amount of help.

Larry feels there's a ready and profitable market for leafy herbs and greens in the Northeast. They can be profitable at the wholesale market because the quality can be so much higher than leafy herbs and greens spending two days in transit from California. He doesn't recommend wholesaling for other products, however. Larry stresses that daily watering is essential for quality leafy herb production. A third of his income is derived from a 1/10-acre field of chives. He considers chives "green gold" and sells 70 pounds a week at $10/lb. wholesale during the season.

Larry has a small CSA operation which he uses as an additional marketing outlet. He began the CSA in 2000 with 40 members, but decided to reduce its size to 25 members in 2001.

A high tunnel made from locally obtained scrap lumber helps extend Larry's season. The high tunnel is designed for access by regular field machinery, thus cultivation and planting are fast and efficient. Larry plants tomatoes in the high tunnel on the fourth of July and has tomatoes into the beginning of December. The late-season fresh tomatoes keep his CSA members very happy. Larry found out the hard way that a tunnel 22 feet wide (supported with wood) needs vertical supports. A heavy snow one winter snapped every arch in his original high tunnel. He feels 14 feet should be the maximum width in snow country without additional support.

Larry has a spring on the farm, and the remains of a spring house surround it to form a pool. Watercress grows in the pool, and he receives $18/lb. when he harvests the watercress. Watercress is a good indicator species - since it won't grow unless the water is of high quality. Larry carries rubber boots to the pool to wear when he harvests to avoid contaminating the water with manure.

Larry starts farming in late February in the greenhouse he built onto the end of the barn. Larry makes all of his own potting soil - a cold operation in late winter - but organic potting soil is hard to come by, and Larry likes the quality and cost of what he produces himself. In April, Larry wholesales approximately 600 flats of cool-season vegetable seedlings at $14/flat, then refills the greenhouse with an equal number of flats of mid-summer vegetables, mostly those in the solanaceous family. This second crop of flats is wholesaled by the end of May.

Larry has tried other enterprises in the past, including sales to a local tavern and selling herbal Christmas gift kits (a 9-inch azalea pot, a bag of his dry potting mix, and a basil plant in a four-inch pot tied up with a red ribbon and a bow) to a local co-op that marketed the kit before Christmas. Larry remains willing to try new marketing strategies that fit into his overall farming program - some work for him, while others aren't as successful. Regardless, he remains flexible and open to new marketing ideas.

Farmscaping:   When Larry bought the farm, it was virtually treeless because the prior owner had cleared all of the land. Larry allowed natural re-growth of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers in 50-foot wide strips around at least three sides of each field. These strips provide habitat for wildlife, especially beneficial insects. Larry doesn't have a problem with pest insects, and he feels it's because of the ample habitat he's provided for beneficial insects.

Larry manages all of his fields in rotation: four years in vegetables, then the fields go into pasture and then into small grains.

Animals in the Scheme of Things:   Max and Jake are the registered Belgian horses on the farm. The original plan was to use them for plowing and cultivating, but there never seemed to be time to get them trained and working. They add ambiance to and manure for the farm. Larry calls them "one-ton pets."

The Farmer's Background:   Larry has a Ph.D. in cultural and historical geography. The majority of his working life has been spent as a college instructor, and he's written on topics ranging from geography to permaculture to land use. His last "nine-to-five" job was as an associate professor at Slippery Rock University in its Sustainable Systems Master of Science (MS3) program. He now farms full-time and teaches part-time at local universities.

Guiding Principles:   Larry is committed to the principles of organic production and sustainability, which he has incorporated into all parts of his life. His home is a two-floor, straw bale apartment he fashioned at one end of the farm's barn. He recycles material and machinery whenever possible. His potting soil is mixed by a piece of machinery that was a cement mixer hopper in its prior life. And he builds his high tunnels with scrap lumber rather than support the aluminum industry. He really hates what bauxite mining and aluminum production does to the environment.

Tips:   Utilize auctions for farm equipment. Good equipment is practically given away.

Never let bindweed get a hold in your fields. To control a bindweed infestation, fallow the field for a year and cultivate lightly with a spike or spring tooth harrow every three weeks. It's important to cultivate lightly but repeatedly to eliminate the bindweed.

Clean your equipment between fields to minimize the possibility of spreading weed seeds and pathogens.

Tomatoes don't need to be weed-free. In fact, Larry feels they perform a little better with a few weeds in the row with them. The weeds help prop up the plants, don't hinder picking, and don't reduce the yield. He also feels that pruning out tomato suckers isn't worth the time and effort for the additional amount of fruit produced. However, peppers and eggplants do perform better if they're kept weed-free.

Try bat guano. Larry gathers about five gallons of it a year from the bat colony in his barn and uses it in the potting mix when he starts seed. He feels that one handful added to a 30-gallon mix will create a "mystical experience" out of your seed-starting venture.

Larry highly recommends the Planet Junior (AKA Red Pig) hand cultivator. He uses it in his chives field. It doesn't handle grass well, but is terrific at broad-leaf weed control. It's inexpensive, has changeable accessories, is easy to use, and keeps you in shape.

Contact:   Larry Patrick, Cool Springs Organic Farm, 830 Brownsdale Rd., Evans City, PA 16033 phone: (724)538-8440 Email: Ipicarus@msn.com

Liz McClunin
FULL CIRCLE FARM
Latrobe, PA

“Weeds and bugs are a state of mind - and if you let them get to you, then you will have a problem.”

A picture of the Full Circle Farm

The Farming Operation:   Liz and her husband, Dave Szurszewski, purchased their 42-acre farm in August 1991. It's located in the Laurel Highland mountains of Westmoreland County in western Pennsylvania, an hour east of Pittsburgh. The area is still largely farmland. Liz grows four acres of vegetables on gently sloping ground near the farmhouse and hay on the steep hillsides. The farm came already planted with black raspberries, blueberries, seckel pears, and sour cherries. Liz has added apple trees.

Liz, who believes that "old is good," makes good use of the equipment that came with the farm. Both she and Dave are handy, and like to go to auctions when they need equipment. However, despite her fondness for old equipment, Liz likes her new, two-person transplanter best of all her machinery, and they invested in a new Kubota tractor, too. Liz uses a friend's potato plow to harvest potatoes.

Liz and Dave spent their first few years on the farm fixing up the dilapidated farmhouse. They began farming in 1996 when Liz began a CSA operation. The farm is currently certified organic. Liz will decide later whether or not she will seek organic certification or biodynamic certification next year.

Liz uses hay cut from her fields as mulch and bedding for the poultry. She gets free horse manure from a farm down the road to help with her soil fertility program. To control deer, Liz employs IntelliTape™, a single, ½-inch wide strand of highly visible electric wire from Premier Fence Company, that she baits in the spring and turns on at night. Colby, the Labrador retriever, helps with deer control in the daytime. Binkley and Marble, the cats, help with rodent control. All three like to keep Liz company while she's working.

Drought has proven to be Liz's biggest challenge to date. She uses drip tape and mulch but has trouble supplying all the irrigation she needs from an on-site spring and with an 8- gallon- per-minute well capacity. Insect pests like cucumber beetles and squash bugs also hamper production. Liz controls them using Remayä row covers and applications of biodynamic preparations.

Animals in the Scheme of Things:   Liz has two moveable chicken coops and allows her chickens to forage for bugs and greenery during daylight hours within the confines of their electric fence. She has about 90 chickens at a time. She's had Rhode Island Reds, white Wyandottes, black Australorps, and currently has Barred Rocks. From these layers, she gets about six dozen eggs a day, marketed to her CSA shareholders and sold at the Ligonier Farmer's' Market. She also sells stewing hens to her CSA members. They're butchered by Randy Hawkey at Hearts Content Farm in New Alexandria, PA.

What's in a Share:   Liz began her CSA in 1996. In 2002, she managed 43 shares using two Thursday afternoon drop-off locations. The CSA operates from June until late October. One batch of produce and eggs goes to Monroeville (the driver of those shares receives a free share in exchange for doing the pick-up and delivery). Liz took the rest of the produce and eggs to a pick-up location in the parking lot of a Greensburg health food store. As a promotion for the store, each shareholder gets a coupon with the share that entitles him/her to $5 off a $25 purchase (that day) in the health food store. Liz feels that she and the health food store both benefited from the arrangement.

Each share contains about four grocery bags worth of a wide range of vegetables plus fruits and flowers. Free- range eggs are available for purchase, although Liz requires pre-orders a week ahead. Liz also buys organic fruit and makes it available for purchase.

Shareholders receive regular newsletters with recipes as well as opportunities to visit the farm for picnics and other events. They can work off a portion of their share (a minimum of six hours of work on Wednesdays for $100 off and six hours every other week for $50 off). That amounts to labor at the rate of 76 cents an hour, but Liz gets takers. In fact, she relies on it, managing the CSA herself with just seven regular volunteers. She estimates that she puts in about 70 hours a week during the season and has stopped growing labor-intensive produce like beans and strawberries because of the time they take to harvest. Liz believes that her CSA members volunteer more for the farm experience and the opportunity to help produce their own food than for the break in cost.

In 2003, Liz plans to require that shares be picked up at the farm. This will save her not only the time involved in taking the shares to Greensburg, but also will get the shareholders more involved with the details of where their food comes from.

The Farmer's Background:   Liz grew up on a tobacco farm in southern Maryland. She participated in 4H as a child and learned organic gardening principles from her mother and grandparents. She attended the University of Maryland and received a B.S. in Agricultural Science and Resource Management (with a minor in Biology). While at Maryland, she was employed to do research on the biological control of insect pests. After graduating, Liz worked at Jug Bay Environmental Center for four or five years as an environmental educator before coming back to farming.

Dave does not have a farming background. He works full-time off the farm as a software engineer, but does a lot of the haying on the farm.

Guiding Principles:   Liz is a firm believer in organic production and uses biodynamic farming principles as well. She is also an advocate of sustainable agriculture, and feels that buying fresh and buying local may be even more important than buying organic. She actively promotes these topics to local groups, urging them to consider healthful eating, wholesome cooking, and the benefits of organic and sustainable agricultural production.

Goals:   Liz would like to increase the diversity of crops she grows and animals she raises. She wants to add more animals to her farm, including sheep for milk and soft cheese. She'd also like to have a Guernsey cow or two for butter.

She has selected a future pond and wetland site (and has a spring to fill them with). She likes the concept of a wetland on her farm, and the pond will help with the farm's irrigation needs.

She and her husband plan to put the farm into some type of agricultural easement program so that the land stays as farmland in perpetuity.

She also would like to build a new machine shed. It would have a second floor to provide housing for interns. Right now, she gets requests for internships but has to turn them down because she has no housing available.

And lastly, she would like to offer educational programs at the farm on topics ranging from nutrition, to cooking, to organic and biodynamic gardening philosophies and techniques.

Sources of Information:   Liz is a member of the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association and the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association. She likes to attend conferences in the off-season. She also reads a lot. She highly recommends the quarterly "Small Farmer's Journal."

Tips:   To philosophize, Liz believes that "weeds and bugs are a state of mind" - and if you let them get to you, then you will have a problem.
Her practical tip is to put juice from the Aloe vera plant in the chickens' drinking water when the weather's hot. She feels it helps the chickens deal with heat stress.

Contact:   Liz McClunin, Full Circle Farm, R.R. 4 Box 175-F, Latrobe, PA 15650 phone: (724)593-7041 e-mail: farmfolk@winbeam.com website:www.localharvest.org/listing.jsp?id=3955&hit=1

Rachel Bynum and Eric Plaksin
WATERPENNY FARM
Sperryville, Virgina

“Our customers know that our produce is as healthful as it can be and is grown in harmony with the environment.”

Packing shed at Waterpenny Farm.

The Farming Operation:  Rachel and Eric operate a 10-acre farm in Rappahannock County in north-central Virginia, just five miles from the Shenandoah National Forest. Their farm is part of an old, 850-acre farm that the landowner wants to preserve. The owner sought out farmers who would steward his land and gave Rachel and Eric the opportunity to establish their farming operation without having to pay cash rent the first two years. In exchange, they put in many hours of work doing repairs and clean-up and provided the materials needed to renovate the farmhouse during the start-up phase of the farming operation. They rent tractors and other large equipment from the existing farm, which lowered their start-up costs. Now, Rachel and Eric have entered into a more traditional rental agreement, and are in the process of establishing a long-term lease for the land, house, and barn.

Rachel and Eric began their farming operation in 2000. They started with a 42-share CSA operation, went to 72 shares in their second year, and in 2002 sold 90 shares. They also sell produce at two farmers' markets, Charlottesville, VA, on Saturday and Takoma Park, MD, on Sunday. They sell to a few local restaurants (including the five-star Inn at Little Washington), and have a self-service stand at the farm. The bulk of their income comes from the farmers' markets, where they sell their wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. They also care for a 60-tree apple orchard. They practice traditional organic methods but are not certified.

Rachel feels that the word '"organic" is now more a marketing tool than an agricultural philosophy. She says, "We enjoy being able to explain our farming practices to customers in a more detailed way, rather than labeling it the same as produce that was grown organically, but is a week or more old and was shipped from California. We think that the experience of buying and eating our produce is very different, and much more special, than the grocery store 'organic' experience." In addition, they feel the federal organic certification process is too costly and too time-consuming, and their customers do not require it of them.

Their horticultural practices include the use of plastic mulch and trickle irrigation. They use three high tunnels to grow a variety of crops in the early spring and late fall - primarily lettuce, flowers, basil, cherry tomatoes, and peppers. They start most of their transplants from seed. In previous years, one high tunnel was equipped with an old wood/coal stove, and it was used for the transplants. By spring 2003, they will have added a heated greenhouse for easier seedling propagation.

Their produce includes 25 kinds of tomatoes - many of them heirloom - and five varieties of watermelon. They like growing watermelon because they hold their quality well in the field. In 2002, they purchased an old, walk-in cooler that allows them to store highly perishable melons and vegetables. The cooler gives them increased flexibility because they can grow highly perishable produce, pick it at the peak of perfection, and not worry about it losing quality before the next CSA pick-up or market day.

The Farmers' Background:  Neither Rachel nor Eric had a farming background. They both developed an interest in agriculture when they attended Carleton College. After college, Rachel worked for 3½ years as an environmental and sustainable agriculture educator. Then, both worked at Wheatland Vegetable Farms under the tutelage of Chip and Susan Planck. Rachel worked at Wheatland for parts of three seasons, while Eric was there for four years, two of them as a worker/manager. After several seasons with the Planck's, Rachel and Eric began to look for land of their own. They were offered this farming opportunity, after the landowner contacted the Planck's for help in finding tenants. Rachel and Eric were eager to establish a farm of their own and continue their life together (they married in November, 2002). The farm, which is their sole source of income, grossed $99,000 and turned a small profit in their first year of operation. They attribute that success to having worked hard to get their markets lined up before their first growing season began. Each subsequent year has been more successful for them.

Guiding Principles:  Stewardship of the land is very important to Rachel and Eric. Their farm is named for water pennies - small beetle larvae found in some high-quality freshwater streams - that are sensitive to water pollution. Rachel and Eric were happy to find water pennies in the stream on their farm. "We strive to run Waterpenny Farm in a way that allows water pennies, and therefore our local ecosystem, to thrive," Rachel says.

In addition to being good stewards, Rachel and Eric also work hard to produce tasty, nutritious food. One of the reasons that they didn't worry about gaining organic certification is because their customers know them and know their values - "…our customers know that our produce is as healthful as it can be and is grown in harmony with the environment," Rachel says.

Goals:  Rachel and Eric would like to build a new house for themselves and convert their current house into intern quarters. They want to increase the CSA to 100 - 125 shares and continue to sell at two weekend markets. They also want to find a way to have at least one day off a week for more of the growing season.

Sources of Information:  Their most important source of information is the network of growers with whom they associate. As members of the Virginia Biological Farming Association and Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, they regularly interact with other small-scale sustainable growers. They also read agricultural and marketing periodical literature, including Growing for Market and ACRES USA.

Internship Program:  Rachel and Eric hire four to six interns a year and prefer those who can work from May 1st to November 1st. Their intern information packet is thorough and clear about the benefits of working at Waterpenny Farm and their expectations of their interns. Interns experience all facets of farming, from planting, to weed control, to harvesting and marketing. Interns also write for the CSA newsletter and participate in or lead discussion groups. Rachel and Eric schedule regular field trips so interns (and they) can experience other farming operations. Housing is primitive, with cooking facilities and common space in the barn. Of course, interns have all the fresh, seasonal vegetables they can eat. Interns are paid a monthly stipend and work an average of 55 to 60 hours a week with 1½ days off per week and vacation time.

Tips:  Plan your markets before you start, keep good records, and pick on a schedule to keep your crops producing.

Work at one farm for more than one season to get the full scope of what needs to be done on the farm and how to adapt to seasonal variation. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions of your mentors.

Be aware of opportunities and take advantage of them. We don't pay Virginia state income tax because we can offset our taxes by donations to the local food bank.

Contact:   Rachel Bynum and Eric Plaksin, Waterpenny Farm, 12093 Lee Highway, Sperryville, VA 22740 phone: (540)987-8567 e-mail: waterpenny@earthlink.net website: www.ecofusion.com/waterpenny/index.html

Rusty and Claire Orner
QUIET CREEK HERB FARM AND SCHOOL
OF COUNTRY LIVING
Brookville, PA

“We share our community-building philosophy with you because we sincerely believe in the importance of living sustainable lives.”

Late fall at Quiet Creek Herb Farm.

The Farming Operation:   Rusty and Claire Orner have a 30-acre farm in Jefferson County in northwestern Pennsylvania. After living and working in various parts of the country, they returned to the area where they both grew up, buying their farm in 1996.

They grow a wide variety of herbs, vegetables, cut flowers, and fruit. They operate an on-farm gift shop, where they sell a large assortment of herbs, herb plants, and handcrafted herbal products. They also stock homemade bread, soap-making supplies, and an assortment of locally handcrafted items such as wreaths and birdhouses. They maintain a demonstration beehive and vermicomposter for customers to experience and sell bagged vermicompost produced by the nearby Orner dairy (and worm) farm. So far, the bulk of their income has come from the sale of herb plants - on farm and at the yearly herb festival they attend at Cook Forest. They find that potted herbs sell well, even into the fall.

Rusty and Claire began a small CSA operation in 1998 by enlarging their vegetable garden and offering free-range eggs and poultry produced by a neighboring farmer. The CSA is currently serving 15 people. They began high tunnel production in the spring of 2002 to extend their season and found success the first year. Rusty calls their production style a "Steve Moore/Eliot Coleman" hybrid. They had participated in a local farmers' market, but withdrew from it because they wanted to have a closer connection to their customers than the market provided.

What makes this farm so unusual, though, is their School of Country Living. Rusty and Claire offer a wide variety of classes, workshops, and special events at Quiet Creek. Herb classes - therapeutic uses of herbs, cooking with herbs, herb-crafting - make up the bulk of their offerings. Soap-making and whole grain bread-making are the most popular classes, but many enjoy weekly drop-in yoga classes, monthly basket-making workshops and occasional classes on topics as far-ranging as plant propagation, holiday wreath-making, and Thai cooking. Rusty and Claire teach some of the classes, but they also recruit instructors and guest chefs from the local community and occasionally from farther afield.

The farm is quite picturesque and the gardens well-maintained - important because Quiet Creek Herb Farm is also used for events such as reunions and weddings. Rusty and Claire built a large covered pavilion that does double-duty as an ice-skating rink in the winter. The second floor above the gift shop has a large classroom area equipped with a commercial kitchen and the loft above hosts an extensive gardening library.

To further their mission of providing environmental education, Rusty and Claire applied for status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and this was approved in late 2002. The non-profit status covers the entire farm and educational operation. The pool of available grant money is greater for non-profits than for other types of organizations, and they hope to establish stable funding relationships with a few larger, philanthropic groups. They will use grant money to cover expenses and their salaries, although they anticipate that Rusty will continue working off-farm part-time for at least two more years.

The Farmers' Background:   Both Rusty and Claire grew up on farms. Rusty's family had a dairy farm, and Claire's grandfather a perennial plant nursery. They both have advanced degrees and both had a wide range of work experience before coming back to farming. Rusty has a general agriculture degree from Pennsylvania State University with liberal doses of art, wildlife, and religious studies to balance the ag classes. After graduation, he worked on the family dairy farm, then began a landscaping career that involved design, installation, and maintenance. Claire has two master's degrees and is certified to teach. She's worked in the fields of hydrogeology, hazardous waste (coal), and environmental and science education. Both are currently working off the farm. Rusty has his own landscape company, and Claire teaches high school science at her alma mater. They have two young sons - Walker and Ashton. Pesto, the Labrador retriever, chases off the deer, while Woodruff, the tabby, is in charge of rodent control.

Guiding Principles:   Both Rusty and Claire enjoy being with and talking to people. They have strong ties to their community, their children and extended family, and their church. Education is important to them - both receiving it and extending it to others. Along with a commitment to serve people is an equally strong commitment to care for their land - to steward it carefully using organic methods. They have decided not to bother with the process of organic certification, because they are able to share their principles and production methods with their customers directly. They have no need for organic certification. They also believe that good nutrition is vitally important. All of these guiding principles are evident in their conversations, their writing for their local paper and their website, in the courses offered at their farm, and in their daily activities.

Goals:   They want their farm to become profitable enough so that they can both retire from their off-farm jobs. They plan to continue to learn and continue to teach others. They aim to take January off every year (it happened in 2002!). And they want to steward their land well and teach their sons to do the same.

Sources of Information:   Both Rusty and Claire believe in the value of education. They are members of PASA and attend that conference and other workshops. They are very interested in the work that Elaine Ingham does with the Soil Food Web. Her lab was helpful in the development of Worm Wonder (vermicompost from dairy cow manure) that Rusty's family's farm produces. Rusty is interested in John Jeavon's work on biointensive gardening. Claire has grant-writing experience, and they seek grants to help them develop their business. They also are eager to work with university researchers and extension specialists - anyone who can help them further their goals.

Tips:   Claire says that when she teaches soap-making, she creates customers. Of the 250 people that have taken her classes - 10 have continued to make soap and 100 have continued to buy handmade soap. Claire sells both supplies and handmade soap.

Rusty likes to take people on a walk around the garden, to have them smell and taste the herbs and vegetables. He thinks it increases their connection to the farm and increases sales in the gift shop fourfold.

Claire has people pre-register for most classes with a 50%, non-refundable payment. Then they have only 50% to pay at the time the class is held, so they're more likely to buy from the gift shop that day. She also serves tea and bread as refreshments, and those are available for purchase after the class.

From the author - Both Rusty and Claire are creative in their problem-solving. When they began having a yoga class, they contacted the local YMCA and were given a list of people who were turned away from the YMCA class (because it was full). They sent information to this list about their upcoming yoga class as a means of generating customers for themselves.

They are also adept at requesting financial assistance for projects from grants. They've received money to revise and upgrade their farm brochure from the Small Farm Success Project. They have received 30 hours a week paid labor for a local youth to work for them in the summer through a grant. The 30' x 50' mobile high tunnel they recently constructed was partly funded by a Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) grant, in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University researchers. The grant is to research the use of beneficial insects and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in conjunction with high tunnel production. They have requested another SARE grant to research vermicompost use.

Contact:   Rusty and Claire Orner, Quiet Creek Herb Farm and School of Country Living, RD #4, Box 302-A1, Brookville, PA 15825 phone: (814)849-9662 e-mail: quietcreek@usachoice.net website: www.quietcreekherbfarm.com (class schedule, articles, and mail-order information). No calls or visits on Sundays, please.

For more information or additional copies of this publication, contact:

Future Harvest - A Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture
(Future Harvest - CASA)
P.O. Box 337
106 Market Court
Stevensville, MD 21666

Phone: 410-604-2681; Fax: 410-604-2689
E-mail: fhcasa@umail.umd.edu www.futureharvestcasa.org

Printed version prepared by Leslie Gilbert, Horticulturist, Sustainable Agricultural
Systems Lab, Agricultural Research Service, USDA.

Support for this publication and research on sustainable farms in the mid-Atlantic region is provided by the Small Farm Success Project, funded by the USDA's Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) program.