Thread by @suresh_ediga

The Honey Brook Organic farms which was offering box shares of fresh farm food week after week discontinued its CSA program late last year. In an emotional email to all its members,

it said, while it sincerely believed in the CSA, it was not able to financially sustain despite a valiant 5 year effort. In the same email, it mentioned other farms participating in the CSA.

I visited one such farm today.

The farmer had an open house at her farm today and spent a good 3-4 hours explaining what it means to farm and what it takes to make it financially sustainable. This wasnt the first time I visited a farm nor the first time I spoke to a farmer, but every interaction feels anew.

A few highlights from this interaction

Going organic when the entire system is setup to promote and propagate chemical based farming inherently is an expensive affair.

Certain crops were discontinued as harvesting them was extremely tedious & staff retention wasa huge problem

Crop selection was also based on the skill set required to grow and harvest them as the cost of hiring the staff had to be justified

The farm equipment was expensive to buy and expensive to maintain. Repairs were inevitable.

The newer farm equipment costed a fortune. And the equipment available in the market was a one size fits all. But each farm was different and so are its requirements. There is a great need for customization

The weather fluctuations is a hard reality which needs to be accounted for. For e.g. what kind of crops to grow, when to sow, how to sow, what temperatures to be maintained, whether to greenhouse them or not etc

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is crucial in maintaining the organic nature of the farm. However, IPM, needs a deep understanding of the insects, their behaviors because killing them is not an option rather they are an essential part of the farming

Crop rotation, cover cropping are essential techniques to retain the soil fertility and its health

Maintaining the soil health i.e. the pH value, the potassium and nitrogen is not a one day exercise but a conscious set of practices that have to be adhered to

Soil testing is done once every year or two depending on how actively that part of the land is cultivated

The farmer works closely with the Rutgers university where she invites the research department to study some of her farming problems.

The university has been extremely helpful in conducting research and suggesting solutions to address the problems

#MeetTheFarmer #KnowYourFarmer

Join the CSA program If you can and support local farmers and buy local and buy fresh