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GoingLocavore

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One Tomato,Two TomatoWhen I was young, I hated tomatoes. You know the kind I am talkingabout. They were packed three to a plastic tray and wrapped incellophane. They were pale red on the outside and almost transparent onthe inside, and they were hard. So hard that if you threw one at yourbrother, it wouldn’t break open. It would hurt.

I remember vividly the first time I tasted a real tomato, picked freshand sun-warmed directly off the sprawling vine that my neighbor wastending among her flowers. It was a revelation! A hefty classic beefsteakthat, when sliced, was larger than the bread I used to make my sandwich.It was bright red throughout, juicy and sweet and slightly acidic. I washooked.

From cherries to beefsteaks and from red to yellow, purple, orange,and even black, the tastes and varieties of tomatoes available at our localfarm stands, farmers markets, and CSAs are astounding and delicious! AsI look at my own garden this year, I am grateful for the farmers and seedsavers who have brought back my favorite heirloom varieties that seemedlong gone when I was a child. Who knew tomatoes would become one ofmy favorite foods!

Tomatoes started me on my journey to discover what real, fresh foodtastes like. Fresh tomatoes led me to try other fresh foods directly fromlocal farmers. I discovered the amazing fresh flavors of standards likecarrots, beets, lettuces, apples, and berries. And I adventurously sampledfoods I had never heard of before: fennel, celeriac, and bok choy. Thosetaste experiences inspired me to start growing my own food as much aspossible.

September is National Organic Harvest Month, and during thismonth, we hold our annual Locavore Challenge to inspire awareness andaction in eating local organic and sustainably grown food. I hope you willjoin us in celebrating the harvest, thanking your farmer, visiting yourfavorite eateries that feature local foods, and inspiring others to try ourlocal bounty. Just save a tomato for me!

New York Organic NewsPublisherNortheast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY)EditorFern Marshall BradleyProduction DesignerDavid LembeckContributors:Ann Anthony, Ann Bennett, Brian Bennett, Carl Bennett, Catherine Bennett, Fern MarshallBradley, Krys Cail, Amy Halloran, JohannaHalsey, Elizabeth Henderson, Matt Kelly,Christina Le Beau, Maryrose Livingston, JesseMeeder, Robert Perry, Sarah Raymond, AnneRuflin, Rachel Schell-Lambert, Maddy Smith,Bethany Wallis

Advertising Inquiries:Contact Sondra at Sondra@nofany.org or 585-271-1979 ext. 510.

Subscriptions:A subscription to New York Organic Newsis a benefit of membership in NOFA-NY. For membership information, go towww.nofany.org/join or call the office at 585-271-1979.

Submissions:The Winter 2014 issue theme is Food Justice.Send article queries, photos, letters to the editor,and suggestions to Fern Marshall Bradley atnewsmagazine@nofany.org.

New York Organic News is published four timesa year by NOFA-NY, 249 Highland Avenue,Rochester, NY 14620. The views and opinionsexpressed here are those of the authors and notnecessarily those of the NOFA-NY Board ofDirectors, staff or membership. No part of thispublication may be used without writtenpermission of the publisher.

NOFA-NY is a statewide organization leading agrowing movement of farmers, consumers,gardeners, and businesses committed topromoting sustainable, local, organic food andfarming.

This publication is printed on recyclednewsprint.

Director’s OutlookANNE RUFLIN

Executive Director, NOFA-NY

Photo by Tanya Rogers

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FEATURES

Talking Farming with Richard BallNew York’s new Commissioner of Ag and Marketsshares his thoughts on the future of New York Stateagriculture. by Maryrose Livingston ................. 20

Cooking with Local GrainsUsing locally grown grains and flours to makedelicious quick breads, crepes, and cooked dishes. by Amy Halloran .............................................. 22

How a Locavore Drinks CoffeeFour principles to follow in seeking out coffee roasters and brewers with a locavore sensibility. by Matt Kelly ................................................... 25

The Shrinking of AgricultureWhy every drop in the small farming andhomesteading bucket counts in a quest for trulysustainable food production. by Brian Bennett.............................................. 28

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DIRECTOR’S OUTLOOKOne Tomato, Two Tomato

Notes from NOFA-NY Executive Director Anne Rufflin ...................................................... 3

FOOD ADVOCACYA Foolish Practice

For everyone’s better health, it’s time to ban thefeeding of antibiotics in conventional livestockfarming. by Krys Cail ......................................... 7

THE FARMERS’ ROUNDTABLEPresent Problems, Future Possibilities

Advice from NOFA-NY’s education team on coping with a new swine virus, trying a new grain crop, and planning ahead for next year’s sales. by Bethany Wallis, Robert Perry, and Rachel Schell-Lambert .............................. 10

ON THE FARMCreating an Urban Ag Ecosystem

How to build an urban farm field with healthyorganic soil on a vacant city lot. by Jesse Meeder .............................................. 14

FOOD LITERACYTaste Test

Discovering the joy of seasonal eating—unsurpassed flavor. by Christina Le Beau .......... 16

IN THE KITCHENFall Dinner on a Share

A fail-safe plan for a delicious local foods main dish. by Ann Anthony .............................. 17

WHY LOCAL ORGANICOur Steps to a Better World

by Johanna Halsey, Green Thumb Farm .......... 34

DEPARTMENTS

LETTERS .............................................................. 5

ORGANIC BITES ................................................... 6

NOFA-NY NEWS ................................................. 31

MEDIA ................................................................ 32

Contents

At the Saratoga Farmers Market, Jody Somers of Dancing Ewe Farm in Granville displays someof the Tuscan-style cheeses that he and his wife,Luisa Scivola-Somers, make by hand using rawmilk from their sheep. Photo by Suzanne Carreker-Voigt.

On the cover

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To the Editor:

This letter describes a conflict with our local powercompany, which was insisting on applying a totalherbicide under a transmission line running throughour certified organic farm.

In May, a subcontractor for New York StateElectric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) apprised me oftheir intention to herbicide 4.7 acres of ourfarmland under their high-voltage transmission line.I contacted the NYSEG forester in charge ofoverseeing the maintaining of transmission lineprojects. He did not have a copy on file of my letterregarding not using herbicides on our land due toour certified organic status. He told me they had aright to go ahead and that they had governmentalagency support to go ahead regardless of myobjection. He also told me I should have read mylease agreement more closely.

After that conversation, I immediately contactedthe NOFA-NY Technical Support toll-free helpline.(It was Friday noon.) The helpline gentlemanreferred me to Sarah Johnston, Organic & RiskManagement Specialist with the NYS Department ofAgriculture and Markets (518-457-2851). Shereferred me to a gentleman in her office namedMatthew Brower. He spoke to the Department ofPublic Service regarding my situation. Matt thenreferred me to speak with Dave Morrell of the PublicService Commission (518-486-7322). It was after 5p.m. on Friday. Mr. Morrell and I spoke Mondaymorning. He apprised that he had set up a meetingwith NYSEG for Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday morning Mr. Morrell met with aNYSEG executive and the NYSEG transmission lineforester. The next day, NYSEG contacted me and

apprised me that they would not be using herbicideon our property but would be returning to theprevious practice of hand-clearing (brush-hogging)the forest land under the transmission line.

End of story. So, organic farmers, be aware. Makesure your power company has an authorized letterfrom your certifying agent attesting to your organicstatus: check annually at the power company’s officeto be sure the letter is on file.

— Sincerely, David Ingalls, Certified OrganicBlueberry Farmer in Otsego County

P.S. There is a lot of pressure from thegovernment on electric companies to keeptransmission lines cleared of trees (brush) due tothree power-line incidents regarding trees androlling blackouts. Hence, likelihood of more organicconflicts.

Editor’s note: NOFA-NY’s Education Team is alwayswilling to help organic farmers connect with governmentofficials and others who can assist them when anysituation arises that might jeopardize their organic status.The helpline phone number is 855-2-NOFA-NY.

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DEPARTMENTS

not imply non-GMO, Campbell said.“We are not saying GMO is bad or good, but

rather that local does not imply GMO-free,” he said.U.S. and Canadian governments both mandateorganic production to mean grown withoutsynthetic pesticides, among other things. The USDAorganic seal verifies that irradiation, sewage sludge,and genetically modified organisms were not used.

Monsanto TestingGMO BluegrassMonsanto and Scotts have begun testing the first

genetically engineered grass: Scotts Roundup-ReadyKentucky Bluegrass, genetically engineered towithstand massive amounts of Monsanto’s Roundupherbicide. It will not be labeled “GMO,’’ and spreadswith ease.

“As these seeds spread and more and more grasstakes up that genetic trait, we’ll find organic farmerswho want to grass-feed their beef but can’t do itbecause their grass is genetically modified, which isprohibited in organic standards,” said Bill Duesing ofthe Northeast Organic Farming Association.

In July 2011, Scotts Company and Monsantoconvinced the USDA to give the companies a freepass to market Roundup-Ready Kentucky Bluegrass.No testing required.

Scotts avoided USDA restrictions by avoidingusing plant pests in the development of theKentucky Bluegrass and instead chose a glyphosate-resistant gene originating from other plants thatwere not considered pathogens.

It’s well known that bluegrass spreads easily,because its light pollen can be carried for miles onthe wind. Inevitably, genetically modified bluegrasswill transfer its genes to established conventionalbluegrass. Beyond its potential impact on organicfarmers, even more troubling is the fact that onceScotts Roundup Ready grass hits the market, it willlead to a dramatic increase in the use of Roundup.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundupherbicide, has recently been described by researchersas the most biologically disruptive chemical in ourenvironment. It’s been linked to a litany of healthdisorders and diseases including Parkinson’s disease,cancer, and autism.

Scotts CEO Jim Hagedorn told shareholders hisgoal is to have the GMO grass ready for commercialapplications in 2015 and on the consumer market in 2016. — Ecowatch

Organic Bites

More HouseholdsNow Growing FoodAccording to a National Gardening Association

report, one in three US households are now growingfood—the highest overall participation andspending levels seen in a decade. During the pastfive years, there’s been a significant shift towardmore Americans growing their own food in homeand community gardens, increasing from 36 millionhouseholds in 2008 to 42 million in 2013. Thereport shows that young people, particularlymillennials (ages 18 to 34), are the fastest-growingpopulation segment of food gardeners. In 2008,there were 8 million millennial food gardeners. Thatfigure rose to 13 million in 2013. Additionally, therewas a 29 percent increase in food gardening bypeople living in urban areas, up from 7 million in2008 to 9 million in 2013. — farmanddairy.com

Local Vs. Organic:What’s What?According to University of Connecticut economist

Ben Campbell, the organic food industry has spentmillions building brand awareness; however, aUniversity of Florida study revealed that nearly onein five consumers confuse the terms “local” and“organic” when it comes to food.

The study aims to help local and organic foodproducers and sellers target their marketing toreinforce or dispel consumers’ perceptions.University of Florida assistant professor in resourceeconomics Hayk Khachatryan worked to survey2,511 people in the U.S. and Canada and found that17 percent thought the terms were interchangeable.

“If consumers can distinguish between local andorganic, then by buying organic, they will be able toreduce their exposure to synthetic pesticides,” saidKhachatryan. “However, there is no guarantee thatorganic is grown locally.”

He noted that locally produced food may not bethe sustainable choice, if same or better qualityproduce can be grown and transported lessexpensively.

Another finding showed that 22 percentincorrectly thought “local” means non-genetically-modified. Now that several states have, or aredebating, GMO regulations, it’s essential thatconsumers know that a locally labeled product does

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Food Advocacy

In the organic community, we doour best to follow nature’s path togood health for ourselves and ourfamilies. No matter how careful weare to eat clean, nutrient-densefood and pursue healthy lifestyles,however, our health is alsoinfluenced by the level ofhealthfulness of our environmentand society. As believers in holisticapproaches, we understand that, inthe end, there are no individualsolutions. Especially when it comesto contagious diseases, health is asocial, as well as an individual,goal.

Organic folks have differingviews on the use of antibiotics totreat contagious diseases inhumans. Some people choose tonever use them. Some use themsparingly, and others use themregularly when a doctor thinks it iswarranted.

Use of antibiotics in raisinganimals is not allowed under theNational Organic Programregulations for certified organicmeat and milk. But in conventionalagriculture, antibiotics by the tonare fed to livestock—not to treatdisease, but to fatten up theanimals. This widespread factory-farm practice has an unintendedresult that could have seriousdetrimental consequences: itbreeds antibiotic-resistant strains

A FoolishPracticeby Krys Cail

of serious human pathogens. In essence, these confinementfarms become dangerous germfactories. You can read all aboutit—including how medicalprofessionals are rallying toprevent this dangerous practice—in Food & Water Watch’s excellentresource “Antibiotic Resistance101—How Antibiotic Misuse onFactory Farms Can Make You Sick.”It’s available for download fromthe Food & Water Watch website atwww.tinyurl.com/fwwantibiotics.

Many of the very farmers whofeed antibiotics to healthy animalsagree it is a dangerous practice,and they would like to stop doingit. However, absent regulation,they are constrained by marketpressures to keep feeding

antibiotics. The reality is that ifthe practice were banned, the biglosers would not be farmers but,rather, pharmaceuticalmanufacturers.

This is not a small problem.Over 2 million people in theUnited States suffer fromantibiotic-resistant diseases everyyear, and 23,000 annually die fromthem. With 80 percent ofantibiotic drugs, by weight, used inthe livestock industry, it is clearwhere these germs are evolvinginto resistant strains.

This past May, medicalprofessionals in North Carolina, inthe heart of hog-factory territory,sent an open letter to PresidentObama, asking him to ban thisdetrimental practice. Among thedoctors who signed the letter wasthe Executive Director of theNorth Carolina Pediatric Society.The letter notes that 30 years ago,only 2 percent of staph infectionsin hospitals were antibioticresistant, while now 60 percentare. The problem is becomingacute, with more cases of MRSA(methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus) nowcontracted in the communityrather than in the hospital. And, a2013 study published in JAMAInternal Medicine (Journal of theAmerican Medical Association)

Taking ActionFood & Water Watch has initiated a campaign to ban the practiceof feeding antibiotics to livestock. FWW is moving town by town,city by city to pass resolutions. Take action by visiting the Food &Water Watch website at www.tinyurl.com/fwwantibiotics, whereyou can sign a petition to support the Campaign to SaveAntibiotics (by banning their misuse in agriculture), or you cancontact an FWW campaign coordinator to ask for help rallyingyour local government to pass a resolution calling for a ban on thepractice. Eleven local governments have already voted on aresolution. Will your town be next?

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conclusively determined that the risk ofcontracting MRSA is significantly higher if youlive near a hog farm or a field fertilized withmanure from an industrial hog farm. Factoryfarming is dangerous to your health, even if youdon’t eat the products produced there.

Krys Cail is an agricultural development consultantand is an active member on NOFA-NY’s PolicyCommittee.

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COLUMNS Food Advocacy

Photo by Courtney Sutton

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Present Problems,Future PossibilitiesAs summer turns to fall, Organic Dairy and Livestock

Coordinator Bethany Wallis describes how a swine virusnewly discovered in New York State is affecting theindustry and what you can do to prevent it fromspreading. Field Crops Coordinator Robert Perry offerssome basic tips on growing malting barley for New York’sgrowing craft beverage industry. And Beginning Farmer

Coordinator Rachel Schell-Lambert encouragesfarmers to take some time to reflect on what they can doto boost next year’s sales.

This trio of experts always enjoy answering farmerquestions at workshops, field days, and conferences aswell as through e-mail or calls to the NOFA-NY TechnicalAssistance Helpline (1-855-2-NOFA-NY).

New Swine VirusProblem

Bethany hasworked for NOFA-NY since 2006 inroles ranging fromco-manager on theDairy TransitionsProject to foodcoordinator for theWinter Conference,field day coordinator, and file reviewspecialist for NOFA-NY CertifiedOrganic LLC.

Have you noticed the rise in theprice of pork products? One reasonfor the increase is Porcine EpidemicDiarrhea Virus (PEDV), which hashad a profound effect on the porkindustry. PEDV is a viral diseaseassociated with outbreaks ofdiarrhea and vomiting in swine thatcan result in loss of production anddeath. The disease is most severe inyoung pigs, but can affect pigs ofany age. There may be hope forprotecting animals from PEDV.Harrisvaccines, Inc. has beengranted USDA conditional licensureof a vaccine. The conditional license

will allow Harrisvaccines to selltheir vaccine directly toveterinarians and swine producersbattling PEDV. The vaccine wasexpected to become available inNew York State in July.

The other “good news” is thatPEDV does not affect people andthus is not considered a foodsafety concern.

Porcine Epidemic DiarrheaVirus is thought to have causedoutbreaks of diarrhea in Europe asearly as 1971 and was identified inAsia as early as 1982. Morerecently, outbreaks have beensporadic in Europe; the virus hasgreater significance in Asia. Thepresence of PEDV was confirmedin the United States during thespring of 2013. By the end ofJanuary 2014, PEDV outbreakshad occurred in 23 states, withmore than 2,500 confirmed cases.PEDV has now been confirmed inNew York State, and the New YorkState Fair has announced thatthere will be no hogs at the fairthis year.

Caring for swine infected withPEDV is limited to treatment fordehydration and is often

unsuccessful. The virus causesacute outbreaks of severe diarrheaand vomiting that affect up to 100percent of a herd when previouslyunexposed. The incubation periodmay be as short as one day in anindividual pig and is typically seenin two to four days at the herdlevel. Death rates as high as 80 to100 percent have been observed ininfected piglets less than 7 daysold; older piglets infected by thevirus can recover. In herds wherePEDV has become prevalent (andpigs have developed antibodies),diarrhea and vomiting usually areseen only in suckling and recentlyweaned piglets.

Pregnant females can developsufficient maternal antibodies toprotect their litters from the virus;these antibodies generally requirethree weeks to develop. Pigletsneed to ingest ample amounts ofcolostrum for the immunity to beprotective. Newborn pigletsurvival should begin to return tonormal three to four weeks afterthe feedback and exposure processbegan.

PEDV is most commonlyintroduced via fecal-oral contact

Bethany Wallis

COLUMNS The Farmers’ Roundtable

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The Farmers’ RoundtableCOLUMNS

with infected swine. Infected pigs,manure, or any materials thatcarry manure such as dirty boots,clothing, hands, equipment, ortrucks can spread the disease. It ispossible that the virus can surviveon housing surfaces where infectedlitters have been kept.

Sanitation and biosecurity arethe suggested preventionstrategies for PEDV. It is alsorecommended to avoidcommingling sources or groups ofpigs. Be certain that all pens,trucks, and trailers are thoroughlywashed, disinfected, and driedbefore pigs enter. Do not takeboots, clothing, or equipmentbetween pig populations. If you aregoing to visit a farm, or anytimeyou are exposed to animals, it isimportant to practice biosecurityto keep our farmers’ animalshealthy.

For more information on PEVD,visit the American Association ofSwine Veterinarians website ataasv.org. You can read articles onPEVD on the National Hog Farmerwebsite at nationalhogfarmer.com.

Malting BarleyProduction

Robert is a sixth-generation farmeron the familyhomestead, wherehe grows a varietyof grains and hay.He works part-timefor NOFA-NY andis a longtimeinspector for NOFA-NY CertifiedOrganic, LLC. Robert is also involvedin the Organic Agriculture Researchand Extension Initiative (OREI)Value-Added Grains Project mobileprocessing unit.

New York’s new farm brewerylaw is modeled after the state’sfarm winery law. The farm brewerylaw requires beers brewed in the

state to use 20 percent New York–grown hops and 20 percent NewYork–grown other ingredients (i.e.,grains) by weight. And seven yearsfrom now, the requirement forNew York ingredients goes up to60 percent, and then to 90 percentafter another 5 years. This revivalof craft alcohol has created a newinterest in cereal grain productionacross the region to meet thatdemand, attracting many growerswho have no previous experiencewith grain crop production. It willbe a significant shift, becausemuch of the grain production formalt- and milling-quality grainshas been centralized in less-humidregions of the United States andCanada for close to 100 years. Thisis especially true for maltingbarley.

Growing considerations.Malting barley can be grown aseither a winter or spring crop. Thecrop quality levels required formalt barley are similar to those ofwheat grown for milling.Compared to barley grown asanimal feed, malting barleyvarieties contain lower levels ofprotein and higher levels of sugars,and thus require different growingtechniques. Soil preparation,disease control, and harvestingprocedures are critical toproducing malting-quality grain.

One of the risk factors is Fusariumhead blight (FHB). Fusarium headblight is predominantly caused bythe fungus Fusarium graminearum.The spores are usually transportedby air currents but can also survivein crop residue, especially cornstubble, and soil. FHB will reducegrain quality and yields and mayincrease the level of a mycotoxincalled deoxynivalenol (DON). If the DON value is greater than 1 ppm, the grain is consideredunsuitable for humanconsumption. For milling andmalting purposes, the level mustbe less than 1 ppm. This topicdeserves a column in and of itself;for further information on thisdisease and how to test grain, theUVM cereal lab is a great resource.Check their website attinyurl.com/uvmcereallab.

Planning, crop rotation, andhealthy soil are key ingredients forbarley crops. Winter barley shouldbe planted between late Augustand early September, and spring-planted grains should be plantedas early as soil temperatures andmoisture allow. Cereal grains willdo best in well-drained, fertile soilswith a pH of at least 6.0. Barleyneeds a higher pH, ideally 6.5. Soiltesting and nutrient managementprior to planting are basics forsuccess. Cornell researchers are

Robert Perry

Learning More About Malting BarleyPlan to attend a Field Day or workshop event about malting

barley production in New York. Plenty of resources are indevelopment, and several organic farmers in the state have hadsuccessful harvests. However, think small, and experiment withvariety trials on your own farm before planting a large acreage.Contact me with your questions at farmerhelp@nofany.org. You’llalso find more information on these websites:

• ogrin.org — Organic Growers’ Research and Information-Sharing Network

• wheatscab.psu.edu — Fusarium Head Blight Prediction Center

• northerngraingrowers.org — Northern Grain GrowersAssociation

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The Farmers’ Roundtablestudying the management of soilnutrient levels for production ofproper “plump heads” of barley formalting. Cultural recommenda-tions vary both with variety andend-user (maltster) preferences.

Harvesting. Harvest windowsfor malt barley are critical forquality and potentially marketablegrains. Barley is normallyharvested early to retain color andplumpness and to maintain thegrain and to reduce prematuresprouting. Malting barley shouldbe harvested prior to peakmaturity to retain color, proteins,and plumpness and to maintain a 95 to 100 percent germination atthe time of malting. Delayedharvest will affect that value.Harvesting grain early at 18 to 20 percent moisture for optimumquality potential (grain stores at13 to 14 percent) is extremelyrisky if you do not have grain-drying capabilities immediatelyafter harvest.

Natural field conditions maynot allow harvesting to preservethe full potential of the grain formarket potential. (PreviousFarmer Roundtable columnsdiscuss harvest and quality storageconcerns for wheat and areapplicable to barley; read themonline at nofany.org/about/newsletter.) Waiting to harvest fora custom harvester to have aschedule opening or for a friend tobe available to help out can resultin a crop loss or one that that canbe used only as animal feed.

Choosing varieties. Varietytrials are taking place throughoutthe Northeast to help determinewhich varieties will be successful inthe region. Some favorites to dateare Conlon, Scarlet, Lacey,Pinnacle, Robust, Rasmusson, andEndeavor. Discuss varietypreferences with your potentialbuyers to understand theirpreferences. Just because you growit may not create a marketable

product for the niche market.Varieties that are the industrystandard in the upper Midwest arenot proven successful in theNortheast. With hundreds of craftbreweries offering beverages onthe market, public opinion will bethe true evaluation of cropvarieties to come. Two of theregional malt houses dedicated tomalt barley production andsupporting farmers are Valley Malt(valleymalt.com) and FarmhouseMalt (farmhousemalt.com).

Seeding Your FutureMarket Plans

Rachel joinedNOFA-NY in 2010to launch acomprehensiveprogram forbeginning farmers(The programsupports thementors andteachers who workto train beginners too.) Rachel holdsa BS in Plant Sciences from Cornell.She has experience working on asmall diversified farm in Vermontand served as an agriculturalextension coordinator and regionalcoordinator for the Peace Corps inPanama and Bolivia.

Fall is the best time tostrategize for next year’s sales andproduction. There is potentiallyuseful information all around youthat can help you plan for the nearfuture of your farm business. Fact-finding missions and research willyield the in-season knowledge youneed to prepare for filling outfarmers market vendorapplications and recruiting CSAmembers during the fall andwinter. And if you’re consideringrestaurant sales, there’s work to bedone right now showing off yourgreat products to potentialcustomers!

Analyzing markets. Are youconsidering adding to or changingyour farmers market affiliations?Make a list of your top choices andvisit each of them at least once.Carry a notebook to record yourobservations and ideas. Talk tovendors and customers (withinreason; be respectful that it’s aplace of business). Ask farmershow well trafficked the market isduring bad weather and whethercustomers are regular and reliableor come in waves over the season(or year). Notice which productsseem to be overabundant orlacking (this is why it’s helpful tovisit a few times). Watch thecustomers too. Do they stop tochat with farmers and vendors andallow themselves to be convincedto try new foods? Or do thecustomers want exactly what theycame for, and do they expect acertain price point? Are peoplehaving a good time (and thus, arethey likely to return regularly)?

If you decide to sell at thatmarket in the future, you’ll want arecord of this information so youcan bring and price the productsappropriate for that clientele andknow how to interact withcustomers.

Satisfied with your marketschedule? There are still ways tooptimize your opportunity forsales next year. Based on yourrecords, highlight what seems tosell better in one market or at onetime of year. (Recordkeeping achallenge? See my advice onimproving recordkeeping in theSummer 2014 issue.) Can you spotsales trends during particulartimes of year or after you tried anew pricing scheme? Is one marketconsistently productive, eventhough your highest individualsales date took place at a differentone? Think about which trendsyou can rely on next year. Whatcan you leverage into more sales?

Rachel Schell-Lambert

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Consulting your customers.Ask your regular customers(including market managers andany wholesale accounts) whatthey’d like more or less of fromyou. Prompt them with otherquestions too: What local foodoptions interest and excite them?A new CSA pickup location?Different crops? More restaurantsusing local products? Delve deepertoo. Ask customers what mightmotivate more of their friends,family, and community toparticipate in the local foodmovement. Perhaps there’s aproduction or marketing channelopportunity you can consider, withyour current customers vouchingfor your great products.

Knocking on doors. Thethought of making cold calls torestaurants can provoke anxiety,but now is the time to do it, whileyou have products to show off.Start a weekly product list that you

reliably send out (on a specific dayof the week) to restaurants andfood purveyors. Include productprices (expect reduced per-productincome compared to direct sales tocustomers) and set an orderminimum (product quantity ortotal sale) so that your harvest anddelivery labor are worthwhile. If arestaurant is not ready to workwith your minimum order, suggestthey visit you at a market topurchase a few items.

Always be up-front about yourgrowing and food-safety methods.Even if these efforts land you noimmediate sales, getting wholesalecustomers attuned to receivingyour information might help themplan for the future or decide to callyou when they have a sudden needfor a local product. Decide whetheryou’d be open to growing new anddifferent foods for a specificrestaurant (and have a backup planfor selling any excess).

Another strategy is to provide amarket-basket sample directly to afew chefs a few times this year.Expect no payment! Provide alimited quantity—you’re notsupplying enough for an actualmenu item. Focus on high qualitythat you are confident you canguarantee in the future, and neveroverwhelm or harass anyrestaurant or chef.

The goal with this method is toallow the chef to experience thequality of your produce, to playwith interesting seasonal foods,and to talk with you about a futureproducer-restaurant relationship.Protect your needs as theproducer, but also listen to therestaurant’s needs in terms ofpacking, delivery (or pickup), andcrop updates. Communicationabout what works and what needsimprovement will keep therelationship positive andprofessional.

COLUMNS On the Farm

As farm manager for theMassachusetts Avenue Project(MAP) in Buffalo, I’ve had theprivilege of helping to develop anatural, efficient, and productivesystem for city food production.Our urban farm consists of 14properties, some sharingboundaries and others sittingalone. All of the propertiesoriginally were residences, but thebuildings had been torn down.MAP acquired them as vacant lots.In their vacant state, these piecesof land were impractical forfarming. The “earth” itself wasnothing more than compacted clayor gravel, and the lots containedpieces of demolished houses andother refuse. The only plantspresent were sod and invasiveweeds. Needless to say, in order togrow vibrant, nutritious food, weneeded to start fresh.

An Urban Ag Ecosystemby Jesse Meeder

Working with tall beds. Atfirst, MAP built 3-foot-tall, wood-framed raised beds and filled themwith rich compost. This type of tallraised bed serves a certain purposewell, but for our situation, the bedshad many drawbacks andlimitations. One limitation wasproduction capacity. A tall raised

bed is not an efficient use of spacefor commercial food production. Itis impossible to replicate thegrowing area of a half-acre openfield with a half acre of waist-highwood-framed beds. In urbanagriculture, space is at a premium!The beds are also difficult to workand fertilize fully every season,

Dense commercial production of kale, onions, parsnips, beets, carrots, head lettuce, and many others grow on one ofMAP’s urban vegetable fields. Photo by Jesse Meeder

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On the FarmCOLUMNS

often resulting in a gradual loss ofnutrients over time. There’s a limitto the amount of new organicmaterial you can add to a tallframed bed each year. After acouple of seasons, you actuallyhave to remove soil and replace it.In essence, it’s large-scalecontainer gardening, which doesn’teasily allow the development of astronger, natural growingenvironment year after year.

Changing the system. Thosewooden raised beds have sincebeen demolished, making way for ahealthy, space-efficient, andcommercially viable farmingecosystem. The key has been tocreate a growing space composedof diverse materials. Doing soencourages a variety of beneficialorganisms to move into the farm,balances the nutrient content ofthe beds, and gives nature whatshe needs to build a healthyecosystem.

Nowadays, we construct a large-scale growing space by building upfrom ground level, layer by layer.We start with burlap sacks,obtained for free at our local coffeeroaster. Two layers of this materialprevent weeds and grasses fromgrowing into the bed during thefirst season. Next we add organicmatter, beginning with woodchips, leaves, straw, and othersources of carbon for a semi-decomposed base.

On top of this we may addmanures and other forms ofnitrogen. One resource available tous is spent grain from a localbrewery. Adding a thin layer of thiswet barley periodically throughoutconstruction adds sugary nitrogento the mix, encouraging wormsand other organisms to move upand down through the growingbed. Once a bed is 12 inches abovegrade, we top it with 6 inches offinished compost.

Bed construction like thiscreates a permanent urban field

that makes the most of the spaceavailable. A city lot that measures35 × 125 feet may have a growingbed measuring 30 × 120 feet. Welay out uniform rows within thebed for crop management, takingadvantage of simple labor-savingdevices such as wheel hoes andpush seeders. Every fall, we caneasily create a new layer of soil byadding wheelbarrowsful ofcompost, fish manure (from ourfish farms), or chicken manure,topped with a mulch of straw orburlap sacks. By adding these newlayers of material, we replace thenutrients consumed by densevegetable production. By spreadingmaterial in the fall, we let naturedo the work of incorporating itduring the off-season.

In the spring, using a fork toloosen the soil and work in themulch, we can plant straightaway,no tilling required. As thesefarming “mounds” continue togrow and age, the diversity of

beneficial organisms thriving inthem increases, and a well-balanced, healthy growing mediumdevelops.

This year, while spreading agrowing mound with a new batchof fish manure and compost, Ifound myself imagining the richfields of a floodplain along ariverbank. I wondered if we’dmanaged to simulate a comparableenvironment here in Buffalo. I’msure our fields aren’t nearly thesame, but I am excited by theincreased strength of our farm,season after season.

Jesse Meeder has been the farmmanager at the MassachusettsAvenue Project (MAP) for the pastseven years. Founded in 2003, MAPworks to create meaningful foodproduction in urban neighborhoodson the west side of Buffalo. To learnmore about MAP, visit the website atmass-ave.org.

Photo by Rachel Louise Lodder

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Food Literacy

At farmers markets everysummer, my daughter fills herbasket with sweet orange, yellow,and red cherry tomatoes. Usuallyonly half the tomatoes make ithome. And those don’t even makeit into a salad. They’re just toogood straight up.

By late September, our tomatocravings wane. Astute veggiegardeners and locavores will notethis corresponds with the end ofthe local tomato season. And, ofcourse, this is the way ourforebears ate, before every foodwas available everywhere in everyseason.

Yet it wasn’t until we joined ourfirst CSA that I began to appreciatethe timetable of seasonal foods,and not only in a sustainable, eco-political, support-a-local-farmerway. It was all about taste.

When you spend years buyingwhatever the supermarket has tooffer—which, if you shop at thesupermarket I do, is everything—

Taste Testby Christina Le Beau

you acquire habits. Like theautopilot reach for those bright redcocktail tomatoes on a vine, theones that look so luscious you justassume they’ll taste luscious too.You add them to a salad or tossthem with pasta, and they don’ttaste bad, so you keep buyingthem.

But they don’t exactly tastegood, either. In fact they don’t tastelike much of anything. Except Ididn’t realize that until we got ourfirst CSA shares of bite-sizedtomatoes with names like Isis, SunGold, and Black Cherry. What werethese wondrous things that burstlike candy on my tongue and made

me elbow aside fellow shareholdersto claim the choicest quart?

In short order, I became atomato snob. I wouldn’t buy themin the grocery store unless theywere local and in season. And if arestaurant salad included thosemealy wedges of tomatowannabes, I shoved themconspicuously off to the side.

In the years since, I’ve uppedmy game, buying bulk boxes oforganic heirlooms and preservingthe bounty. The first year, Iordered 30 pounds. Within a week,having variously roasted, canned,pureed, and frozen all of that, Iordered 20 pounds more. Mytomato-preserving enthusiasmwaxes and wanes from year to year,but one thing does not change:fresh tomatoes get eaten in season,or not at all.

My daughter, she of the loadedmarket baskets, will eat the shinygrape tomatoes that are nowrestaurant salad staples. (Hurrahfor the apparent demise of themealy wedge!) And as last winterdragged on interminably, shestarted asking for the trucked-inplastic clamshells of tomatoes inthe store, even though she knows Imake bug-eyes at the thought. Ibought some anyway, and she atethem. She did not ask for themagain.

Christina Le Beau lives in Rochester.She blogs at Spoonfed: Raising kidsto think about the food they eat(www.spoonfedblog.net).

Photo by Laura Popielski

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In the Kitchen

It’s dinnertime on a weeknight,hungry people are hovering in yourkitchen, and the refrigerator isstocked with your CSA fall share ofveggies. All the raw materials for asatisfying, perhaps evenwonderful, dinner are here. Excepttime and a recipe.

No need to panic! Cookingwithout a recipe is easier when youhave top-quality ingredients onhand and a general plan that willhelp you build a tasty single-dishmeal from great materials in about40 minutes. Read on to learn howmy plan works.

First ingredient: trust. Nothingwill flow without trust, so trustyour instincts and trust the plan. Ifyour kitchen experience is limited,add a little faith and wing it untilyou develop cooking instincts. Itcan be done. Raised by an artistand an engineer, I watched mymother (the artist) develop mastercooking skills without any formaltraining. She experimented with apassion and learned what worked;my family learned that a wildlymessy kitchen often meant a greatmeal.

On your exploratory nights,always have a favorite side dish onhand as an option. The rule in mykitchen is: if you don’t like themeal I’ve created, you can always

Fall Dinner on a Shareby Ann Anthony

eat yogurt (or another healthy,popular alternative) instead.

This plan will yield a single-dishdinner: a CSA Casserole that isfresh and full of fiber, nutrients,and flavor. To build this meal, youstart with a few key decisions oningredients, and then it’s a layeredcooking process.

Meat or not? If yes, sauté,broil, or grill a few chicken cutletsfirst (figure a handful of meat perperson), and set them aside. Iprefer to use poultry or tofu ratherthan red meat in my CSACasseroles, but you can use anymeat/alternative or none.

Red or white sauce base? Thiswill be a light sauce that integratesthe meal ingredients, not a thickmarinara-like sauce. If you have alot of tomatoes—fresh or

preserved from your summershares or garden—red base is agood decision.

Which vegetables? Choosefrom your CSA share with colorvariety in mind, following theseguidelines:

u 2 or 3 kinds of root vegetables,such as carrots, parsnips,rutabagas, onions (required),turnips, potatoes, sweetpotatoes

u 1 or 2 kinds of leafy vegetablessuch as spinach, kale, Swisschard

u Optional: 1 or 2 kinds of seededvegetables: tomatoes for a redbase, or sweet peppers orzucchini (preserved fromsummer shares)

Other ingredients. Theseinclude rice, beans (legumes), orpasta (smaller pasta, such as bowties or ditalini or orzo, notnoodles); vegetable or chickenbroth; garlic; parsley; fresh dill,basil, and/or thyme (dried is fine,too); salt; and olive oil. Use otherherbs to your taste.

Now let’s build this dish!

1. Start the rice or pasta or beanscooking.

2. Chop your root veggies intosmallish cubes or slices. Vary the sizes and shapes by veggie

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Photo by Tanya Rogers

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In the Kitchenfor interest; for example, cut potatoes aslarger cubes, parsnips as medium-sized coinscut in quarters, and carrots as small coins.

3. Boil these veggies for 5 to 7 minutes, or untilyou can poke a fork through them easily.Drain, saving a half cup of the liquid, and setaside.

4. While the pasta/rice/beans and root veggiesare cooking, sauté some chopped onion andseveral diced cloves of garlic in a tablespoonof olive oil until the onion becomestranslucent. (Add tomatoes and zucchini nowif they’re part of your plan.)

5. Add your base liquids to the sautéed veggies:start with 1 cup broth, cooking on mediumheat. Add ½ cup dry red or white wine forextra flavor if you wish. Add your choppedherbs now too—1 to 2 tablespoons of eachfresh herb (½ teaspoon is enough if you’reusing dried herbs). I love dill and parsley witha white base; basil and thyme work well witheither a white or red base.

6. Now add your drained root veggies to thesaucepan to merge all the flavors. Stir, and

test the flavor. If necessary, add the rootveggie liquid you saved, sparingly. If you areusing pasta or beans, add them next.

7. The final step is to toss in the chopped leafyveggies. They will wilt quickly, which is good.Add a few more tablespoons of root veggieliquid if needed.

8. Cook the whole mixture for 2 to 3 minutesmore as you adjust the flavor. Add herbs, salt,pepper, or salt alternative now. For a richflavor, you can add a tablespoon of herbedbutter.

When it tastes good to you, it’s ready! Freshor canned fruit always tastes good as a side dishwith this casserole.

Use the versatile CSA Casserole plan withyour fall CSA shares and you’ll have delicious,popular dinner options whenever you needthem!

Ann Anthony is a writer and gardener living inRochester.

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In April, I met with newly appointed Department ofAgriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Balland his assistant, Christina Layne, at the New YorkState Fairgrounds in Syracuse. It was a greatopportunity to talk about the commissioner’s agenda forthe Department of Ag & Markets, about NOFA-NY, andabout how organic agriculture in New York fits into thefuture of food production in the state. Here’s part of myconversation with the Commissioner.

Maryrose Livingston: What is your history,and how did you get into farming?

Richard Ball: My grandparents gave me the bugwhen I was a kid; they were dairy farmers. But I wasonly eight when they retired and sold the farm. Ididn’t have a farm to go to, so I got a job working ona farm. After 20 years of that, we were finally able tobuy our own farm. So, technically I’m a first-generation farmer. Already there are threegenerations on my farm. I haven’t done anythingother than farming since I was 18. I started off as afarmworker, became a manager of a farm, then got achance to come back home.

ML: What are some of your passions that you’dlike to bring to bear as commissioner?

RB: One thing that’s really important in NewYork is we have great land prices and good land, andwe have water. There are 36,000 farms in New YorkState, enough so we have equipment and theinfrastructure that we need. And we get to live in thebest-kept secret in the country, and we’re all only afew hours away from the biggest appetite in thecountry. We have to take better advantage of that. Ithink one thing the governor and I were able tospeak about is connecting the dots between upstateand downstate, particularly because the dividebetween the city and the rural communities hasnever been more stark. Later this year there willactually be an Upstate/Downstate Summit, thegovernor announced that in his State of the Stateaddress. From an economic standpoint, I think ifNew York just did business with New York, we’d bedoing just fine.

ML: Right now there’s more organic food beingconsumed in New York City than we’re able to

TalkingFarming withRichard Ballby Maryrose Livingston, President, NOFA-NY Board of Directors

The new Commissioner of New York State’s Department of Agriculture & Markets talkswith the president of NOFA-NY’s Board of Directors about the future of agriculture andorganics in the state.

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produce in this state. Do you see anything on thehorizon that you’d like to promote either to helptransition farms into organic production or tosomehow increase organic production?

RB: I think it’s inevitable that we’re going toincrease production, because the market wants it. Soit’s always better when you have a market pulling,rather than a producer group trying to pushsomething into it. The largest phenomenon, though,is know who your farmer is, knowing where yourfood was grown and how it was grown. I get to NYCfairly often and every time I go there I’m justamazed by the number of appetites there and thethirst for understanding about agriculture. I thinkthat’s our greatest asset.

ML: What role do you see organics playing in theNew York farming scene?

RB: I typically try to go to the [NOFA-NY]conference in Saratoga every year; we’re members.We’re not certified organic, we grow some stufforganically. Forty years ago when I began workingon a farm, the conventional world of agriculture wasover here, the organic world was over there. Theywere 180 degrees apart. I think the reality today isthat we’re in the same room. There are somemarketing advantages in organic, which is awesome,but we’ve got to remember that we’re all in thistogether. Because, and I mean this with all duerespect, but organic can be stolen from us. Thismorning, in Boston, at the produce market, there’s apallet of organic carrots sitting on the loading dock.They’re from China. I’m not sure what that means,but our strength is going to be that we’re in a ruralcommunity in New York State: this is your state,your economy, and we can hang our hat on that.Nobody else can steal local from us.

ML: I agree, but there are production differences.RB: Yes, and those are great opportunities for us

to exploit, but I want to make sure that we worktogether, not divisively.

I have another passion, and that is young peopleentering agriculture. The “entrance fee” and learningcurve is very steep for someone not inheriting afarm, or who does not have a farm to move to.Across the state we’re looking at a lot of farmersapproaching retirement age, but without aretirement income. They have this asset [in theirland], but they don’t have the next generation on thefarm. And here we have young people who want theopportunity. So we have to do a better job atproviding those older farmers who want to retirewith a retirement fund, and these younger farmerswith the opportunities they’re looking for. That’s

where the Department [of Ag and Markets] can lenda hand.

ML: You’ve talked about the Governor conveningan Upstate/Downstate Summit—do you see thepossibility of an Organic Summit in the future?

RB: It’s something we could talk about. The bigthing at the Department now is a procurementpush— we’ve got tomake sure that ourinstitutions andschools in the stateunderstand how tobuy stuff locally. Also, we have to teachour growers how tointeract with thoseinstitutions. NewYork City schools feed 850,000 kids a day—they’re thebiggest buyer ofproduct, outside the Department ofDefense. I thinkorganic has a place or a piece of that, but we’ve got to cross some of those entry barriers first. One of the things the governor and I got to talkabout is a project called Corbin Hill Farm, whereover 40 farmers are raising food for 1,000 families inunderserved urban communities. We’re puttingtogether an order for them today [at my farm] inSchoharie. I met Dennis [Derryck, director of CorbinHill Farm] at a NOFA conference in Saratoga! So thefirst thing we need to talk about is access. It’s aboutmore than just organic. Access is about food—there’s a place for organic in there, no questionabout it.

ML: What do you think about the future of rawmilk in the state?

RB: New York’s raw milk program strikes abalance between those consumers who want toconsume raw milk and those producers who want tomake it available. The program requires individualsto purchase raw milk on the farm in which it isproduced, allowing the consumers to learn aboutdairy farming, its practices, and if the conditions ofthe facility meet their expectations. This results infarm fresh milk directly to informed consumers.

ML: Final thoughts?RB: I don’t think we’ve ever had a better

opportunity than we have today. That’s why I’mhere.

We’re all only afew hours awayfrom the biggestappetite in thecountry. We haveto take betteradvantage ofthat.

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Adding more local grains to your diet is a greatchallenge to try during NOFA-NY’s LocavoreChallenge. The learning curve might seem steep, butunderstanding a few basics about how to preparegrains will go a long way to increase your kitchenrepertoire. All grains have three major parts:

u the outer layers of bran

u the starchy endosperm

u the germ, which is the portion of the seed thatwill start another plant

Eating whole grains is good for your health.When you use whole grains, you are takingadvantage of all the nutrition available.

Rounding out your plate to include more locallyproduced staples is not only a benefit to you, but tothe regional food system as a whole. This is becauseorganic farming requires crop rotation to help soilhealth. If farmers grow the same crops year afteryear on the same ground, problems develop.Switching from vegetable to grain crops, forexample, helps prevent crop diseases and pests frombuilding up in the soil. Growing grains helps improvesoil structure, too. By supporting a market demandfor locally grown grains, you help vegetable farmsstabilize their economies as they build soil.

A Grains Mini-Primer Grains are the edible seeds of certain grasses,

including wheat, spelt, emmer, rye, barley, triticale,

oats, rice, and corn. Except for rice, all of these cropsare grown commercially in our region. Think ofthese seeds as the very stable fruits of staple crops.

Ancient and heritage varieties of wheat, such asemmer and spelt, are available from New York statefarms and mills. These grains have unique flavors.They are also desired because they have a differentgluten-forming capacity than other wheats. Somepeople who can’t tolerate common varieties of wheatfind they can eat emmer and spelt. However, don’ttry to push these foods on people with celiac disease.Gluten is gluten.

Buckwheat, which is in the same family asrhubarb and sorrel, is also regionally available; it isnot a grass at all, and contains no gluten.

Cooking withLocal Grains by Amy Halloran

Here’s a twist on going locavore—diversifyyour plate with some of New York State’sgreat locally grown grains.

Photo by Amy Halloran

Wheat or Rye Berry Chowder2 slices bacon, chopped (optional)2 ounces butter (if not using bacon)1 cup chopped onion¼ cup flour1 teaspoon thyme3 cups chopped turnip or mustard greens3–4 cups milk (depending on desired thickness)2 cups cooked whole grains

Cook the bacon pieces until crisp or melt thebutter. There should be 3 to 4 tablespoons of liquidfat in the pan. If needed, remove excess fat. Add theonion, and cook over low heat for a few minutesuntil soft. Add the flour, stirring with a fork or flatwhisk, and cook on low heat until the flour/fatmixture is light brown. Add the greens and half themilk. Simmer until greens are cooked to your desiredtenderness.

Add remaining milk and grains, and cookthrough. Season to taste with salt (if needed) andfresh ground pepper.

Whole-Grain Crepes1 cup whole grain flour2 cups milk3 eggs½ teaspoon salt

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix untileverything is incorporated. Or, use a whisk and mixby hand in a bow bowl. Let the batter rest for at least10 minutes. Alternately, set the batter in the fridgefor 30 minutes or overnight. You want all theingredients to combine well.

Heat the griddle as you would for cookingpancakes, until water dances on the surface. Melt upto a full tablespoon of butter on the griddle to lend alot of flavor to the crepe. Pour ¼- to ⅓-cup batteronto a 10-inch griddle, turning so the batter reachesthe edges of the pan. Flip after the first side stopslooking shiny at the edges. Serve with everything—savory or sweet.

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grown NYS grains. Other mills in the state thatgrind organic, regional grains include Wild Hive andChamplain Valley Milling. Not all flour labeled localis locally grown, though; some of it is only locallymilled. Some farmers sell grains and flour at farmstands and farmers markets, including GianforteFarm and Hawthorne Valley.

Tips for Better BatterLocally grown grains tend to have lower protein

overall, which can be challenging for bread baking.Plenty of people figure out how to do it—StefanSenders of Wide Awake Bakery offers great classes inthe skill. You can skirt this hurdle by sticking toquick breads, noodles, and crackers. Crepes madewith fresh flour and sunny-yolked eggs are kind ofextraordinary. Rye crepes are my favorite these days.

I mix and match whole-grain flours in mostrecipes. For pancakes and crepes, I likebuckwheat/rye, cornmeal/buckwheat, andcornmeal/rye/wheat. I tend to use whole-grain speltflour by itself. The texture is velvety, and the taste isnutty. I’ve made nice pancakes, noodles, andcrackers from emmer. Crackers are pretty flexible,flourwise; many combinations can make really nicecrackers.

Whole-grain concoctions may need a bit moreliquid because of the bran, which is very absorbent.Adjust for this in recipes by paying attention to theconsistency. Also, it’s always a good idea to let

Great Grain FlavorAside from the ecological and nutritional virtues

of whole grains, the most important reason to gainfacility with local whole grains and flour is taste.Think about the difference in quality between asupermarket peach and one grown close by. Thesame stunning differences can be found in grainsand flours.

We think of flour as an anonymous substanceproduced far from sight. Functionally, white flourstands in the background too, performing astructural job in baked goods without competingagainst ingredients like chocolate or butter.However, bran and germ lend a lot to the way foodtastes, and can help grains and flour speak as loudand clear as other ingredients.

Just what can flour say? Here are some basics tohelp you articulate great baked goods using NewYork state flours.

Wheats are classified as hard and soft, accordingto the texture of the starch in the endosperm. Pastryflour is made from soft wheat. Bread flour is madefrom hard wheat. All-purpose flour is a blend of thetwo.

Stone mills grind all parts of the grain—the bran,germ, and endosperm—together. Roller mills workby first separating the parts of grain kernels, and, inthe case of whole-grain flours, putting thecomponents together again.

Farmer Ground Flour stone mills organically

whole-grain batters and doughs sit a few minutesafter mixing to allow liquids to be absorbed. Thisfeels wrong, because the maxim with baking powderis to get it to heat as quickly as you can, but trustme. Biscuits, cornbread, and pancakes improve witha 10-minute rest in the bowl before baking.

Ideas for Cooked GrainsTake a cue from oats and make porridge from

cracked grains, on their own or in combination. Soak1 cup of cracked grains in 3 cups liquid overnight,and simmer in the morning. How long to cookdepends on the coarseness of the grind.

Many farm stands have lovely varieties ofcornmeal to highlight in polenta. I use 4 cups waterto 1 cup cornmeal and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook slowly,and stir often. The starches in corn are differentthan other grains, and you need to pay attention.For a real novelty, use half buckwheat flour.

Another way to enjoy local grains is whole. I thinkof whole wheat, rye, or barley berries as rice, and Icook them the same way. Wash your grains first,skimming off any chaff that rises to the surface. (Itmight look like little bits of stalk.) Rinsing morethan once is sometimes necessary.

The cooking ratio for whole grains to water varies

with the grain. One cup of wheat, barley, or ryeberries takes 3 to 4 cups water. (Choose soft wheatrather than hard because the texture will be morepleasing.) Bring to a boil, and turn the heat down toa simmer. Cover the pot, and check after 35 to 45minutes. Taste a few berries and see if they are softenough for your liking. If not, make sure there ismore water for the grains to absorb, and let it cook alittle longer. Let sit in the pot for 5 minutes beforeusing, so that the grain can rest and fully absorb theliquid.

Some people soak their grains with a little yogurt,whey, or vinegar before cooking. This helps tomitigate the phytic acids in grains that can interferewith nutrient absorption. I keep a pot of cookedgrains in the fridge so they are ready for anything Idecide to make. They’re good in soups and stir-fries,and even to grind in the blender with pancakebatter!

Amy Halloran is writing a book on regional grainproduction, Bread Rising: the New Crop of Radical GrainFarmers, Millers, Maltsters, Bakers and Brewers (ChelseaGreen, 2015). She is extraordinarily fond of pancakes.

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I love coffee. I say this as someone committed toeating local.

By “local” I mean growing vegetables and raisingchickens in my own backyard, getting local seeds andveggies from the farm I work for, eating foods inseason, storing food for times when it is not,frequenting farmers markets, and trading withfriends (based on a reasonable eggs-to-chorizoexchange rate).

On the face of things, there’s a contradictionhere: coffee is not a local food. So how does someonecommitted to eating local get comfortable withconsuming this beverage? By thinking bigger thansimply where food is produced.

The importance of eating local is about more thanbuying food grown within a specific geographicradius. It’s about the quality of food, how it’s grownand how it’s prepared. It’s about the people involvedand supporting the community. It’s abouttransparency and knowing your food. Mostimportant, “eating local” is an ethos abouteffectively navigating the many-tiered relationshipbetween us and the food that nourishes us.

This ethos is what drives my decisions aboutcoffee. Coffee will never be a truly local food here inNew York. But we can still make educated choices toensure that the beverage nourishes both us and ourcommunity.

Sustainable ProductionYou value transparency in the origins of your

vegetables and meat, right? Seek out the same thingwith your coffee. Don’t let it be a mystery food.

Coffee can be produced on an industrial scale,with primary focus on quantity and the bottom line.Or coffee can be produced on a more sustainablescale, with emphasis on the quality of taste,maintaining the earth, and ensuring the well-being

How aLocavoreDrinks Coffee by Matt Kelly

Coffee handmade to order at Café Kubal in Syracuse:their Sumatra single-origin bean prepared using aBeehouse pour-over. Photo by Matt Kelly

How to find “local” coffee in yourhome territory

of the workers involved. It’s the difference betweenBig Ag and local farmers.

In Rochester, Joe Bean Roasters is one coffee barand roaster that sources directly from farmers andco-ops committed to their beans, their land, andtheir workers. Co-ops such as Fondo Paez inColumbia, which produces coffee and other cashcrops as part of a diverse agroforestry system thatgives equal importance to nitrogen-fixing crops forsoil improvement and feed crops for farm animals.“This year we hope to bring in more coffees backedby solid relationships in-country,” says Ben Turiano,co-owner of Joe Bean. “I’m traveling this summer tomeet some farmers to pursue a variety of moredirect trading options.”

Based in Ithaca, Gimme! Coffee seeks out“relationship coffee”: nurturing direct relationshipswith farmers and paying premium prices to get thebest beans and to help the farmers continue doinggood work. Through this process, Gimme! foundOmar Arango, a Columbian farmer who wasproducing excellent beans. Unfortunately, he wasready to sell at lower prices and abandon his organiccertification because of the cost involved inmaintaining it. Gimme! worked out an agreement toprefinance the next season’s crop,making it possible for Omar tokeep his certification and even buynew equipment. “It’s kind of like aCSA in this way,” says Liz Clark,Green Coffee Lab Manager atGimme! Coffee.

Roasted With CareSugar cane. Rainier cherry.

Whole wheat toasted finish.This is what coffee can taste like

all on its own, with no need forheavy inputs from oils, syrups, orsugar. These are the flavors of thebean itself.

Tasting the inherent flavors inthe coffee you drink starts withselecting the right beans. Localgrowing conditions, farmingtechniques, and the quality oftreatment of beans duringprocessing and transportation allaffect flavor. To enjoy the naturalflavors in your coffee, look forshops that source specialty-gradecoffee beans, which are free of anymajor defects when they arrive atthe end of this chain and areconsistent in size, shape, and color.

(Lower-quality beans are allowed defects andinconsistencies.)

Then there’s the roasting: the manipulation oftemperature and time to turn the beans from greeninto familiar brown. The care and skill that’s given toroasting can produce results that are as different as agrass-fed cut of meat is from a mass-produced hotdog. The roaster is responsible for identifying andpulling out the inherent flavors in each variety ofbean. The process is called cupping: roast and taste,repeatedly. It can be done thoughtfully with high-quality beans from a single origin. Or it can be doneindustrially with a mixture of low-quality beans.

In Syracuse, Café Kubal roasts exclusively single-origin varieties. “Our focus has been on single-originout of our appreciation for the characteristics eachof these origins offer,” says Peter Pullen, headroaster for Café Kubal. “When I roast, I will try acouple of different profiles. I’m really thinking aboutwhat the customer would like to drink.”

One Cup at a TimeI used to believe the grande venti latte mocha

chocolatto was a giant step forward from the days ofcanned coffee brewed with a generic drip machine.

The annual latte art competition at Joe Bean Roasters in Rochester is one of manyevents the coffee bar hosts in partnership with other local food and beverageproducers. Photo by Matt Kelly

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Finding “Local” CoffeeThe coffee bars and roasters featured in this

story are all favorite spots within a couple hoursof my home. But they might not be anywherenear you. No problem. All it takes to startfinding your own “local” coffee is a quick Googlesearch. Look for businesses that clearly tell youhow their coffee is sourced, roasted, and served.An active blog by a roaster or café can providefantastic insight into their philosophy and howlocal they are. Follow up with in-person visits ororder online. Try different beans and roasts.Order different pours. Attend some specialevents. Talk with the baristas. End result? Nomatter where you are in New York, you’ll findcoffee you enjoy drinking and that matches yourown priorities for eating local. And when youdo, tell your NOFA-NY friends about it byposting on NOFA-NY’s Facebook page atfacebook.com/nofanewyork.

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Then I met the Chemex. The Beehouse, theClever, the Hario, and the Kalita Wave.

These devices are used to prepare fresh coffee bypouring water over the beans by hand. Beans areground and the coffee made right when you order,often as a single cup. It hasn’t been brewed en masseand left sitting in a pump dispenser all day, whichchanges the chemical composition and the verynature of the beverage.

Giving careful attention to the grind,temperature, and time, each of these pour-overtechniques can highlight the different tastes of abean. It’s slow food meets caffeine.

Joe Bean was my first experience with coffeeprepared like this. I ordered a Chemex and had mycoffee served to me in a wineglass.

“We only serve coffee brewed with the single-cupChemex in the wineglass,” says Ben. “Because theChemex is so heavily filtered, the texture is crisp,and the aromatics are delicate. The wineglass willhelp gather the smells and will present the beverageto the palate in a more focused manner. Everybrewing method will present a coffee differently.”

Brewing Up Good CommunityThe Specialty Coffee Association of America says

the best coffee isn’t defined solely by how it tastes ina cup, but also by whether or not it “adds value tothe lives and livelihoods of all involved.” Right on: Iwant my coffee coming from roasters and cafés thathave a genuine connection to the local community.

Supporting local farms and businesses. Themenu at Joe Bean Roasters offers plenty of food andbottled beverage choices from local producers.Choices such as the Ploughman’s Lunch, whichincludes cheese from First Light Farm & Creameryin East Bethany, bread from Flour City Bread inRochester, and pickles from Sour Puss Pickles inBrooklyn.

The Shop in Ithaca sources everything it canlocally. It brews Gimme! coffee. It gets handmadeartisan breads from Wide Awake Bakery inTrumansburg, pastries from Edgewood Bakery inHomer, and a wide range of ingredients and bottleddrinks from Regional Access in Ithaca. Every Sunday,The Shop hosts The Good Truck food truck, whichserves up “locavore-fusion” cuisine made withingredients from local farms. The Shop even printstheir T-shirts next door at Standard Art Supply andSouvenir.

Making the community a better place to be.Café Kubal turns their burlap coffee sacks intoleather-handled totes through a partnership withSyracuse-based Lombardi Leather; they sell thesetotes in their cafés and online. Café Kubal also gives

you a dollar off your next purchase if you return thebottles that their cold-brew, cold-serve coffee comesin; the bottles are reused in a future batch.

Café Kubal also has a very special relationshipwith the Syracuse Rescue Mission: they have a minicafé set up inside the Mission’s thrift shop anddonate 8 percent of sales from this location to theRescue Mission. When you give a brown bag ofhousehold items to the thrift shop, Café Kubal willgive you a free cup of coffee. And at the end of everyday, Café Kubal donates its day-old food to theRescue Mission.

Gimme! Coffee offers a Fracktivist blend oforganic coffee. A portion of the sales from this blendgoes to support the anti-fracking efforts in NewYork. Over $20,000 has been donated so far.

If you’re the kind of person who just wants a cupof coffee in the morning, all of this might seemexcessive. But remember: at some point we all justwanted “a carrot” to chop up on “a salad,” too. Nowwe seek out locally grown organic purple Dragons toslice artfully onto a fresh bed of open-pollinatedWinter Density. And it is good.

Matt Kelly is a writer living in the Finger Lakes, slowlyturning his home into a self-sufficient, food-independent,backwoods place of his own. Which is why he drinks somuch coffee. He writes regularly at BoonieAdjacent.com.

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The myth of Big Ag says that the only way to feedthe world is to get big—and bigger. As a small-scaleorganic farmer, I say don’t believe it. We shouldcheer when individuals choose to feed themselves bygrowing what they can and canning what they grow.Once upon a time, work was life, and it was nevermeant to be a four-letter word. Those individualswho try to produce even a little of their own fooddeserve our respect. Each productive microfarmreduces the pressure (even by just a little) that BigAg must feel trying to feed the world. I recognizethat most of us buy much of the food we eat ratherthan growing it ourselves. However, if everyindividual put a small part of their head, heart, andhands into working the soil, then the accumulationof those billions of producers would certainlycontribute more than a drop in the bucket.

More and more, it seems as though fewer andfewer large landowners control our health and ourfood. Indeed, many farms are becoming too big tofail (just like the banks). Let’s help the big producers

by producing some of our food ourselves. CSAs,CSAAs (community supported arts and agriculture),urban farms, suburban gardens, container gardens:every drop does count. Financial expertsrecommend that we diversify our portfolios if wedecide to gamble on Wall Street. Maybe they shouldencourage us to diversify our farms and food as well.Imagine if all humanity relied on only 100 farmersto feed the world. What would the stress be on thosefarmers? And what kind of megafarming methodswould they have to use?

Let’s Celebrate Small FarmsI have found that engaging friends, family, and

supporters in the production of food on a small scalebrings us closer to the ever-elusive concept ofsustainable—using or harvesting a resource so thatthe resource is not depleted nor permanentlydamaged. When you decide to produce food on asmall scale to feed your family, then you are steppingaway from a system that destroys the lives of manyfarmworkers. If you use methods put forth by JohnJeavons (as well as many others), then your foodproduction is that much closer to sustainable andthus contributes to a reduction in oil consumption.When you successfully produce one dozen eggs, abushel of potatoes, or some salad greens in season,then you are increasing your chances of real freedomfrom the rhetoric of Big Oil and Big Ag.

TheShrinking ofAgricultureby Brian Bennett and the Bennett Family of Bittersweet Farm

Every microfarm and garden contributes to a more sustainable system of agricultureworldwide. How about starting oneyourself?

Small farms are beautiful, andwhen things go wrong on a smallscale, the scale of the wrongness isquite often small. For the small-scaleartistic farmer, the body, the mind,the eye, the pitchfork, the hoe, therake, the shovel, and the team workas one to improve overall health—which I define as a positive mental,physical, emotional, financial, andspiritual state of being.

We have a right to feed ourselves.If just two percent more of us were towork part-time at microfarming, wewould be able to impact the pressurebig agribusiness claims to be underto use pesticides and GMOs to feedthe world. As Margaret Mead hasfamously stated: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change theworld. Indeed, it is the only thingthat ever has." (Used withpermission.) Let’s eat well and helpout Big Oil and Big Ag: let’s give ‘em a hand, not a handout (subsidy).

There is nothing wrong withhaving fun. Food is fun, growing food is fun, and farming can be funand healthy. Many conservative pundits suggest thatunemployment is still too high and growth too slow.If so, then there is nothing wrong with peoplestretching out to diversify, employ their talents, andgrow (slowly) some of the food they consume. Thinkabout it—another 150 million entrepreneursfeeding themselves a healthier, fresher diet. It maybe unrealistic for you to produce your own organic“Silk” soymilk, but you can easily take pride, greatpride, in producing your own organically growntomato-and-basil salad.

Pay AttentionI believe it is time to err on the side of caution. A

large number of farmworkers are being paidunacceptably low wages and being exposed to anunacceptable level of toxic chemicals whose healthimpacts are not fully understood. They are sufferingso that eating can be easy and convenient for a vastmajority that takes no responsibility for producingfood. On average, those people who provide us withfood for life are paid $6.13 per hour, with no regardfor the dangers that impact their long-term health.Let’s take a little responsibility for something thatmay yet prove to be necessary for survival, namely,our food. Here at Bittersweet Farm, part of that

Although many view angelica as a weed, at Bittersweet Farm it is part of the ecosystem,nourishing lady beetles and other beneficial insects. Photo courtesy of Bittersweet Farm

responsibility is paying attention, something that allgardeners can incorporate in their food choices. Ithas become a building block of our basic philosophyand method of production.

When we first moved to this piece of earth, it wassterile, having been hayed year after year withnothing returned to the soil. There were no birds tospeak of and no insects, save mosquitoes. Whetherthrough benign neglect, limited resources, or simplytwo people with limited energy, weeds started toappear. We observed that the first weed to appearwhen we turned over a new garden was wildmustard, each plant producing hundreds of seeds toperpetuate the “problem.” Except, early in themorning, you could hear a hum. The mustardblossoms were covered in bees, hungry for the firstpollen of the season. We now purposely leave asubstantial amount of mustard in bloom throughoutthe season.

By the second year of thistle growing to seed, wehad flocks of goldfinches, getting fat all Septembereating thistle seed. Because of their appetites, wehave never been overrun with thistle.

One year, we had the brilliant idea to start someangelica, an old-world herb that is mostly ignoredthese days. It is a biennial that flowers the second

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year and then dies. Ever conscious about seedsaving, we gathered many seeds, hoping to startmore plants the following year. But the angelica didits own work, and within four years we were tryingdesperately to eradicate as much of it as possible.The thing grows 9 feet tall, and we were digging outover 50 plants a year. In the sixth year, after theangelica flowered and died back, the garden wasfilled with a graveyard of tall brown stalks and bushydead leaves. As I walked past this “disaster,” severalbright dots of red caught my eye. Lady beetles by thehundreds, thousands—many species in all stages ofdevelopment were sucking the dried sugars out ofthe stems. So we have redemption for the angelica.Today, the angelica plants around our farm hostmore kinds of pollinators than we can identify, easilyfeeding half a square mile of diverse life.

The point is, as growers our job is not to justcome in and change, improve, or control what ishappening—it is to pay attention. Every action has areaction, whether positive or negative. Ourphilosophy is to spend time making theseobservations, to embrace and encourage thediversity that others often see as a problem. Payattention to the edges and what is happening there.

Also notice how our farms interact with community.Small farms are often on the edges of ourcommunities, and if we want to be able to continuefarming, we need to integrate ourselves into thecommunity.

Exercise (garden), meditate (garden), eat well(garden), share (garden). Learn to grow something,label it with your pride, and share it. Gardening mayonly be a drop in the bucket, but no bucket has everbeen filled without drops.

Do not be fooled. You can improve your health,the health of your community, and the health of theplanet one drop at a time. The folly of never-endinggrowth will inevitably lead to our extinction. Small isbeautiful. Start small, go organic, grow slowly, andtake pride in the possibilities.

Brian Bennett is NOFA-NY’s 2014 Organic Farmer of theYear. Together with his wife, Ann, and their childrenCatherine and Carl, Brian tends crops and raises livestockat Bittersweet Farm, a certified organic small family farmin Heuvelton.

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Be Part of the Locavore ChallengeThe Locavore Challenge is an annual program of

NOFA-NY that is held throughout each September incelebration of National Organic Harvest Month. Thegoal of the Locavore Challenge is to inspire awarenessand action in eating local organic and sustainablygrown food. The challenge includes educational andinformational materials on our website (go tonofany.org, and look under Events), harvest dinnershosted by friends of NOFA-NY, and specialpromotions to encourage buying from local farmersand dining at restaurants that feature local food.

Calling All Photographers!Win free registration for the NOFA-NYWinter Conference!

NOFA-NY’s annual Best Organic Farming PhotoContest celebrates the beauty, diversity, andproductivity of our state’s organic farms andfarmers. For this year’s contest, photos will bejudged in four categories:

u Daily Life on the Farmu Honoring Our Farmersu Bringing in the Harvestu At the Market

We will select one winner per category plus oneoverall winner.

The winner in each category will receive a freeNOFA-NY hat and their photo will be featured onthe NOFA-NY website and Facebook page. Theoverall winner will receive a FREE conferenceregistration for the NOFA-NY Winter Conference inSaratoga Springs, January 23–25, 2015. Thedeadline for contest submissions is November 3,2014. To read the complete rules for the contest andlearn how to submit entries, go to the NOFA-NYwebsite: nofany.org/photo-contest.

Updating Our TechnologyThe NOFA-NY staff is excited to announce that we

are upgrading our online operating system to betterserve our farmers (and other program users), donors,members, and partners over the next several months.The operating system is a tool that is linked into manyaspects of NOFA-NY’s official “business,” including

data storage, financial records and transactions,webpages, e-marketing, and more. During thistransition, we will also be working to improve thequality of our records.

While we hope that you notice immediate positivechange in our communications and activities, weunderstand that this transition may take some timeto complete in full and may present some unforeseenchallenges. Since this is a new system, however, wecan’t predict specifically what those challenges will be.

You can help us by contacting our office atmembership@nofnay.org or at 585-271-1979 x512 toreport any challenges you face as a result of thistransition or with updated contact information aboutyou as an individual or a business you represent. Ourhope is that, over time, this technology upgrade willsolve many glitches we were experiencing with our oldsystem.

With your membership donation, you will receive the following:

u A one-year subscription to New York OrganicNews, a one-of-a-kind quarterly 40-pagenewsmagazine that includes feature stories,columns, and departments on local, organic foodand farming.

u A one-year subscription to The Natural Farmer, aquarterly publication of NOFA Interstate Councilthat contains in-depth coverage of a topicrelevant to organic farming in every issue.

u Our Annual Local and Organic Food and FarmGuide, the most comprehensive listing of organicand sustainable farms in New York State.

u Voting rights at our annual meeting, along withother opportunities to guide the direction of theorganization.

Photo by William Blanda

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instructions and step-by-step pictures. The bookincludes plenty of helpful tips, charts, and user-friendly recipes for beginners and experts alike. Thebook is divided into three main sections: Canning,Freezing, and Drying. In each section, the authorsoffer instructions for preserving not only fruits andvegetables, but also herbs and meats. The Freezingsection includes instructions for making andfreezing homemade baby foods.

Science for Sale: How the US Government Uses Powerful Corporations andLeading Universities to Support Government Policies,Silence Top Scientists,Jeopardize Our Health, andProtect Corporate Profits,by Dr. David Lewis. Skyhorse Publishing, 2014

Scientific research is controlled to a large degreeby the governments and industries that fund it.. Thegreatest threat of all is the purposeful corruption ofthe scientific enterprise by the institutionsthemselves. The science they create is often only anillusion, designed to deceive; and the scientists theydestroy to protect that illusion are often our best.This book is about both. In particular, check out thechapter called “How EPA Faked the Entire Science ofSewage Sludge Safety,” in which Dr. Lewis details anunprecedented case of scientific misconduct thatspanned the EPA, local and city municipalities,USDA, Synagro Technologies (a waste managementcompany), leading universities, and the NationalAcademies of Science. This pan-institutionalmisconduct falsely presented sewage sludge as safe,hid the evidence that it was not, falsified the

Labor and the Locavore: The Making of a ComprehensiveFood Ethic, by Margaret Gray.University of California Press,2013.

The author studied laboron small farms in the HudsonValley region of New YorkState, an area wheresupporting local farms is a

very popular trend and an amazing variety of high-quality local produce, meat, dairy products, andmore are available. Gray focuses not on the food, butrather on the working conditions that the mainlyLatino work force on Hudson Valley Farmsencounter. Her carefully researched book examinesthe economics and ethics of farm labor on smallfarms. Gray asserts that locavores should be asconcerned about the treatment of farm workers asthey are about issues such as “protecting watershedsor shield animals from pain and stress. With somuch laudatory attention heaped on the smallproducers, their employees, by right, should beafforded the same high moral estimate.”

Saving the Seasons:How to Can, Freeze, or Dry Almost Anything, byMary Clemens Meyerand Susanna Meyer.Herald Press, 2010

Canning andpreserving local, organicfood is a great way to

extend your locavorism well past the harvest season.Saving the Seasons shows you how through clear

Books

Backyard Foraging: Familiar Plant You Didn’t Know You Could Eat, by Ellen Zachos. Storey Publishing, 2013.

What could be more local than foraging for food right in your own yard? This funguide to foraging includes many common cultivated and wild plants, from gingko andrugosa rose to mayapple and wild ginger, and tells you which plant parts are edible,how to harvest them, and how to prepare them for eating. The author also offers tipson freezing and drying foraged foods and basic recipes for treats such as dahlia tuberbread, mountain ash jelly, and purple fruits liqueur.

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reported contents of municipal sludges, andsmeared Dr. Lewis with a scientific misconductcharge after he blew the whistle.

FilmsHungry For Justice: Spotlight on The South

Hungry for Justice tells the story of a local Floridafarm, The Family Garden, and their commitment tofocus on social justice issues for their workers byseeking the Food Justice Certification (FJC) andmarket label. FJC, a project of the AgriculturalJustice Project (NOFA Interstate Council is one ofthe four partners in this project!), is unique becauseit is the only third-party verification program tocover U.S. farmworkers and farmers, as well as otherfood system workers. AJP has included farmers andfarm worker representatives in the development ofthe certification standards, the verification process,and in a consensus-style governance structure. It isalso uniquely a collaborative program that

recognizes that improving conditions forfarmworkers in the United States needs to includeimproving the terms farmers receive in sellinggoods. You can view the film at the Florida OrganicGrowers website, foginfo.org.

EditorialsMany fine journalists are writing about

sustainable food production and food safety issues.Two recent columns of note are:

u “Monsanto GM Soy Is Scarier Than YouThink” by Tom Philpott, and published byMother Jones in April 2014. You can read it on theMother Jones website at motherjones.com.

u “Inexpensive Solutions Still OutperformGMOs” by Doug Gurian-Sherman in the BostonGlobe in May 2014. To read it, go to the BostonGlobe website at bostonglobe.com.

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Why Local Organic

Our Steps to a Better Worldby Johanna Halsey, Green Thumb Organic Farm

One might say that theRaymond Halsey family is deep-rooted in farming and familytraditions. Farming since the mid-1600s, the Green Thumb Farm hasmanaged to meet the challenges ofoccasional economic struggles,unpredictable weather,increasingly complex andvoluminous paperwork, and a hostof other headwinds common tosmall farms across the country.

The farm, located in Water Mill on the eastern end of LongIsland, was not always organic.From the early twentieth centurythrough the 1950s, we cultivatedpotatoes and corn nearlyexclusively and—as was standardpractice of the time—usedpesticides and synthetic fertilizers.This was our father’s farm, but hischildren (boys William andLawrence, daughters Johanna andPatricia)—who came of age in the60s and 70s and whose opinions ofthe world were informed by theVietnam War, civil rights, andRachel Carson’s explosive book,Silent Spring—wanted to take thefarm in a new direction. When mybrothers returned home fromcollege, they asked my fatherwhether they could try what wasthen considered a new, seeminglyuntested but very exciting methodof farming called “organics.” Myfather agreed, but because he wasnot sure whether crops could besuccessfully grown without the useof pesticides and syntheticfertilizers, he proposed acompromise. He said the farmshould be eased into organics.Each year, his sons could grow onenew crop without pesticides orsynthetic fertilizers, and if theywere successful, they could farm anadditional crop organically thefollowing season.

My brothers jumped at theopportunity. One of the first

weekly to CSAdrop-off points inBrooklyn, Queens,Huntington, andBrookhavenNational Lab.There is also anon-site CSA

program for our neighbors andcommunity members. All CSAmembers are invited to the farmfor strawberry picking in June anda hay ride/farm tour in October.

The 11th and 12th generationsare now farming at Green Thumband are as committed as ever togrowing the best food possible fora healthier planet. My familyvalues preserving and improvingthe land for future generationsand, by farming organically, is partof the solution to the problems ofthe increasingly complex worldthat we all share.

All of the crops grown at GreenThumb Organic Farm are certifiedorganic by NOFA-NY CertifiedOrganic LLC. You can find moreinformation about the farm online atgreenthumborganicfarm.com.

The author’s nephew, Ray Wellen, beams with pride at his pick of the day at Green Thumb Farm.

things they did was place a mailorder for 100,000 earthworms tohelp enrich and aerate the soil.What began slowly, crop by crop,now embraces the entire farm withwell over 300 different varieties ofveggies, herbs, flowers and fruit.Forty years later with about 100acres under organic cultivation,and using biodynamicpreparations, we are still learningand the farm is still evolving. Iknow our ancestors are happy, andI believe that the bees and singingbirds rejoice in the healthy land.

The summer of 2014 celebratesour 53rd year at the farm stand,which offers not only our producebut local cheese, meat, artisanalbreads, our honey, and so muchmore. This summer also marks the19th season of the farm’s CSA. Anassortment of fresh, seasonalproduce is bagged and delivered

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NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 1396

Rochester, NY

Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, Inc.249 Highland Avenue • Rochester • New York 14629-3025www.nofany.org