Northeast Organic Farming Association of New YorkVOL. 32, NO. 1 • SPRING 2014

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An EcologicalReckoningSPRING is just around the corner. At this time of year, those of us tiedto nature’s signs of spring are ready for another season of growth,change, transition, and renewal. In fact, if you are reading this hot off thepress, you may be standing in an ecological reckoning—the prevernalseason between the hibernal (winter) and vernal (spring) seasons. This isexactly where I find myself at NOFA-NY, in an ecological reckoning. Afteralmost a decade working with NOFA-NY (and many years before that inawe of this fine organization), I will be leaving New York state with myfamily to return to my hometown of Okoboji, Iowa. I will be apprenticingon a diverse organic livestock farm—an adventure I have always wantedto pursue and one we recommend to all aspiring farmers. I hope to helpgrow the organic movement in my home state as a farmer/homesteader.There will be plenty to do.

This move will be bittersweet for me, much like our 2014 Farmer ofthe Year Brian Bennett’s move to Bittersweet Farm in the North Countrywas for him. I will miss every member and friend of NOFA-NY. I willespecially miss the Board of Directors and the NOFA-NY staff, who are socommitted to creating a stronger organization to support this growingorganic movement. I know you will continue to motivate and inspire theNOFA-NY community through your passion and hope for a betteragroecology and food system.

Although I am sad to leave NOFA-NY, I am also so excited for itsfuture. NOFA-NY will welcome its new Executive Director, Anne Ruflin,in mid-April. She brings a lifelong love of farming to NOFA-NY—biodynamic farming is in her genes! She also brings skills from a fullcareer in organizational management. The staff and board unanimouslyjoin me in welcoming Anne. We are so thrilled she will be leading thegrowth of the NYS organic movement into the next decade.

I encourage you to reach out to Anne when she arrives at NOFA-NY.Share with her your own journey—how you became passionate aboutorganic and what you value about NOFA-NY. We are a community, whichto me feels like one big organic family. So raise a glass and stomp yourfeet to the ecological reckoning of the NYS organic movement! Long liveNOFA-NY! Be well and keep in touch—I’ll see you in the audience at the2015 NOFA-NY winter conference.

Photo by David Turan

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New York Organic NewsPublisherNortheast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY)EditorFern Marshall BradleyProduction DesignerDavid LembeckCommunications & Development DirectorTanya SmolinskyContributors:Ann Anthony, Jenn Baumstein, Joelle AsaroBerman, Anton Burkett, Krys Cail, AmandaDavid, Anne Eschenroeder, Andy Fellenz, AmyHalloran, Elizabeth Henderson, MaryroseLivingston, Kate Mendenhall, Robert Perry,Maryellen Sheehan, Tanya Smolinsky, DulliTengeler, Bethany Wallis

Advertising Inquiries:Contact Tanya Smolinsky at tanya@nofany.org or 585-271-1979 x502.Subscriptions:A subscription to New York Organic News is 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 theme of the Summer 2014 issue (publishedin May) is Farmers Markets. Send article queries,photos, letters, and suggestions to FernMarshall Bradley at newsmagazine@nofany.org.

New York Organic News is published four times a 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 a growing movement of farmers, consumers,gardeners, and businesses committed topromoting sustainable, local, organic food andfarming.

This publication is printed on recyclednewsprint.

Director’s OutlookKATE MENDENHALL

Executive Director, NOFA-NY

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FEATURES

Fresh, Local Food the CSA WayAnswers to frequently asked questions about joining aCSA. by Tanya Smolinsky .................................... 16

An Antidote to Industrial FarmingCommunity supported agriculture is a sustainable route toa decent livelihood for farmers and healthy food forconsumers. by Elizabeth Henderson ....................... 19

Creating Community for Your CSACommunication and opportunities to connect beyondweekly pickup help CSA members maintain their sense ofbelonging to the farm. by Anne Eschenroeder ........... 23

No Two AlikeEvery CSA shapes its own unique community centeredaround a direct and supportive relationship betweenfarmers and eaters. by Dulli Tengeler, Amanda David,Anton Burkett, and Joelle Asaro Berman ............... 26

COLUMNS

DIRECTOR’S OUTLOOKAn Ecological Reckoning

Notes from NOFA-NY Executive Director Kate Mendenhall .................................................. 1

FOOD ADVOCACYKeep Up the Fight Against GMOsNow’s the time to make a commitment to joining theworldwide movement to end GMO contaminaton of our food. by Krys Cail ............................................ 4

THE FARMERS’ ROUNDTABLEChickens, Row Covers, and Old-Time WisdomGet ready, get set, and learn something new for yourfarming in 2014. by Bethany Wallis, Maryellen Sheehan, and Robert Perry ..................... 7

IN THE KITCHENGive Us Our Daily PancakesBreakfast is always better with pancakes, especially made with locally grown grains. by Amy Halloran ...... 13

HOMESTEADINGSay ‘CHEESE!’Learn the art of home cheese making. by Krys Cail ..... 15

WHY LOCAL ORGANICPlanting a Dream

by Andy Fellenz, Fellenz Family Farms .................. 36

DEPARTMENTS

ORGANIC BITES .............................................. 3

NOFA-NY NEWSWhy we can’t shop our way to a sustainable food system; a change in leadership .......................... 30

RESTAURANTS ............................................... 32

MEDIA ............................................................ 33

Contents

Rebecca Doll is one of many St. LawrenceUniversity students who study sustainable livingtechniques with farmer Brian Bennett atBittersweet Farm in Heuvelton. Brian is NOFA-NY’s 2014 Farmer of the Year; he was featuredas a keynote speaker at the NOFA-NY WinterConference in Saratoga Springs in January.Photo courtesy of Bittersweet Farm

On the cover

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Factory Farms: Follow the MoneyThe agribusiness giants would have us believe

that our inherently unsustainable and morallyreprehensible factory farming system is the only wayto feed the world’s burgeoning population. But thefacts prove otherwise. Factory farming is all aboutmaximizing profits for a handful of the world’slargest corporations. Agribusiness spent$751 million over the past 5 years on lobbyingCongress and another $480.5 million in directcampaign contributions over the past two decades.Since 1995, taxpayers have provided $292.5 billionin direct agricultural subsidies, another $96 billionin crop insurance subsidies, and over $100 billion insubsidies to promote the growth of geneticallyengineered corn and soy. How did we end up withthis cruel, unsustainable, unhealthy,environmentally destructive factory farm model?The numbers say it all.

—Organic Consumers Association

Organic Bites

Who Smells a Rat?What do you do when your journal publishes a

study that Monsanto doesn’t like and bombards youwith complaints? You hire a new editor and retractthe study. In September 2012, the journal Food andChemical Toxicology (FCT) published the findings ofthe first long-term study of rats fed geneticallymodified corn. The study’s authors concluded thatthe GM corn caused cancerous tumors in the testrats. The biotech industry wasted no time attackingthe study, which was released about a month beforeCalifornians were set to vote on an initiative torequire labels on foods containing GMOs. While theattacks were predictable, who would have predictedwhat followed next? Not long after the study cameout, FCT created a new editorial position andappointed none other than a former Monsantoemployee to the post. Fast-forward to November2013, when the publisher of FCT announced it wasretracting the study. Not because of fraud ormisrepresentation of data. But because, uponfurther review, the journal’s editors had decided thestudy was “inconclusive.” The biotech industry ispuffing out its chest and throwing around a lot ofI-told-you-so’s. But scientists who don’t have avested interest in GMO technology are calling theretraction “unscientific and unethical.”

—Organic Consumers Association

A Victory for Food SafetyUSDA Agricultural Marketing Service has just

announced that it has terminated the proceedingregarding whether or not to establish a NationalLeafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA).NOFA-NY testified in Syracuse in 2009 to opposethe NLGMA. In its explanation, USDA essentiallysaid that the NLGMA is not necessary because of theFood and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food SafetyModernization Act (FSMA) rulemaking. While wedon’t particularly like what the FDA is proposingwith FSMA, it’s still good to remember that acommodity-specific, industry-controlled approachto food safety, without any real opportunity forpublic involvement, would actually be far worse.Let’s enjoy a victory on this, but keep fighting toimprove the FSMA.

—NOFA Interstate Council

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I f you were one of the manypeople who joined togetherthrough Food Democracy Now! tocontact your congressionalrepresentatives and urge them todefeat the Monsanto ProtectionAct, you may have received thesame offer I did—to make adonation in return for acommemorative cup: “To celebratethis victory we’ve [created the] IFought the Monsanto ProtectionAct, and Won! 16-oz. cup so youcan show all your friends what youdid in 2013 and inspire them tostand with you against Monsantoand corporate corruption of ourfood supply in 2014.”

It’s true—we did push for andgain the repeal of an absurd provision thatMonsanto had surreptitiously tucked into the lawpassed to appropriate federal funds and avert agovernment shutdown. Congrats. But, is this trueprogress? We are celebrating repealing a law thatwould have eliminated the power of U.S. federaljudges to stop the planting of GMOs found to becausing environmental damage.

Rather than progress, I would call this parrying avery aggressive biotech thrust (“our products areabove judicial review”). It’s worrisome that theprovision was ever passed to begin with, althoughwe certainly showed our strength in rallying torepeal. This was but a minor battle in a longcampaign, and much remains to be done.

Our forces have become stronger, reachingbeyond organic circles. 2013 was when people begantaking the fight against GMOs to the streets, withthe Millions Against Monsanto marches held incities across the globe. The Just Label It campaign(justlabelit.org) gathered signatures and supportnationwide, bringing new visibility to the issue. Pollsreliably show the vast majority of U.S. consumerswant a label and a choice. Connecticut passed aGMO labeling law (although it won’t take effect untilother states follow suit), followed by a GMO ban onthe island of Hawaii. The Center for Food Safety(centerforfoodsafety.org) reports that, in 2013,nearly 26 states had a GMO labeling bill introducedin their legislatures, including New York state.

The antilabeling forces put forth massivespending to mislead the public about the GMOlabeling referendum in Washington state, and theyeked out only a narrow (51 percent to 49 percent)

victory. We are swaying the opinion of the populationtoward the scientific truth about GMOs and awayfrom the heavily advertised GMO fictions thatmaintain corporate profits at the expense ofecosystem and human health.

There’s a growing array of actions we can take toput our people-power behind the worldwidemovement to end genetic modification’scontamination of our food supply and biopollution ofour environment. What actions can you commit to in2014? Here’s a list of possibilities.

u Educate yourself and your social networks aboutthe emerging science that demonstrates that GMOcrops do NOT produce higher yields, but DOexhibit a tendency to crop failure in difficultweather (more common with climate changeeffects), DO produce toxins that destroy necessaryprobiotic bacteria in the human gut, DO lead toincreased input costs for farmers, and DO lead toheavier use of pesticides.

u Grow organic food.

u Buy organic food. Where and when that isn’tpossible, look for the GMO-free label, or stick tofoods that don’t include plant or animal speciesthat have GMO varieties.

u Grow and save your own seed, and/or trade self-saved seeds through networks of your neighborsand friends.

u Buy organic seed and/or patronize seed companieswith a commitment to not producing or sellingGMO seed.

Keep Up theFight AgainstGMOsby Krys Cail

Food Advocacy

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Food Advocacyu Sign online petitions and submit online

comments objecting to the introduction of newGMO crops in the United States. Good sources:National Organic Coalition (nationalorganic-coalition.org/take-action) and Organic ConsumersAssociation (organicconsumers.org/gelink.cfm).

u Join a Millions Against Monsanto march nearyour home, and/or plan a “seed freedom” event incollaboration with Vandana Shiva’s Seed Freedomglobal mobilization (seedfreedom.in).

Actions like these really do matter. Recently,General Mills, the manufacturer of Cheerios,announced that they would be removing GMO cornproducts from their Original Cheerios. And Chinarejected more than 500,000 tons of corn byproductdue to GMO contamination. Never doubt thatconsumer pressure, when we apply it together, canhave an impact.

Krys Cail is an agricultural development consultant andhas been an active member on NOFA-NY’s PolicyCommittee for a number of years.

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Chickens, RowCovers, and Old-Time Wisdom

As we transition from winter to spring, it’s a good time todo some reading and planning for new ventures, say NOFA-NY’s team of farming advisors. Dairy & LivestockCoordinator Bethany Wallis shares excellentinformation about raising chickens that she learned bytaking a Cornell online course. Organic Fruit & VegetableCoordinator Maryellen Sheehan details pros and consof working with row covers. Grain & Field Crops

Coordinator Robert Perry reflects on the enduring valueof classic farming resources for the new generation oforganic farmers.This trio always enjoys answering farmer questions at

workshops, field days, and conferences as well as through e-mail or calls to the NOFA-NY Technical Assistance HelpLine (1-855-2-NOFA-NY).

Raising ChickensBethany Wallis

has worked forNOFA-NY since2006 in rolesranging from co-manager on theDairy TransitionsProject to foodcoordinator for the WinterConference, field day coordinator, andfile review specialist for NOFA-NYCertified Organic LLC.

From the backyard to thebarnyard, the popularity of raisingchickens is growing among foodiesand farmers alike! I recently hadthe opportunity to participate in agreat online Poultry Productioncourse offered by CornellUniversity and instructed by LynnBliven, Gia Marie Codispoti, andKelly Frank-Scott. I would stronglysuggest you keep your eyes open forfuture courses led by Lynn on thistopic! (Check out all the greatonline course offerings of the

Northeast Beginning FarmersProject. You’ll find them atnebeginningfarmers.org)

I would like to share many ofthe excellent tips I gleaned fromthe poultry production courseabout winter management of birdsand preparing for spring chicks,too. Here goes!

Cold weather basics. Mostbird breeds are not cold-hardy, sowinter is a stressful time of yearfor them. If you plan to keep birdsover the winter, look for breedswith a shorter comb that sitscloser to the head. The function ofthe comb is to cool the birdthrough circulation of the blood,so a compact comb prevents birdsfrom losing as much heat. Thecomb is a good indicator of healthand should be bright red in color.

If chickens are too cold, theflock will pile to try to stay warm,which could result in birdssuffocating. Suffocation of birdshappens because, rather than adiaphragm, their respiratory

systems include air sacs that worklike bellows to ventilate the lungs;when the birds pile up, their airsacs can’t inflate. Older birds don’ttend to huddle for warmth, theyare more apt to hunker down andwill not eat or drink; thus, they canslowly freeze to death. Closelymonitor your birds. Even if theyare not piling, they may still becold. Adult birds should be okaydown to 20°F; temperatures lowerthan that can be a problem. Youcan use a heat lamp to maintainappropriate temperatures for youradult birds if needed.

Ventilation is key to preventwinter scald due to inhalation oftoo much ammonia. If you havebirds of more than one age groupwithin a building, set upventilation to pull air from thearea where your youngest birds arehoused to your oldest birds.Providing enough indoor space willhelp with air flow. Adult chickensneed 3 to 4 square feet of floorspace per bird, one nesting box per

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The Farmers’ Roundtable5 chickens, and 8 to 10 inches ofroosting space per bird. Birds canbe let outside during the winter,but be sure the birds stay dry; wetbirds will result in sick birds.Higher than a 5 percent death lossindicates a health problem withinyour flock.

Birds need to have adequatesources of fresh water and feed.Using heated waterers will preventwater from freezing. The termpecking order exists for a reason:Chickens have a very strict peckingorder, and if food and water isinadequate, some of your birdsmay not be getting the propernutrition.

Preparing for spring chicks.Baby chicks cannot tolerate beingtoo cold. Avoid getting your chickstoo early if there’s a risk that youcan’t provide warm, dry, draft-freehousing. Monitor chick behavior inthe brooder. If the chicks huddleunder the heat lamp, your brooderis too cold. If they are spread out atthe outside edge of the lightedarea, it is too hot. Chicks bunchedon one a side of a brooder canindicate a draft. Provide deepbedding that won’t mat down; drywood shavings are ideal.Remember, wet down and featherslead to sick birds!

A good rule of thumb is thathalf of your flock should be able toeat at a time; observe them feedingto be sure that access to feeders isadequate. Commercial feeds suchas starters are ideal for the firstcouple of weeks. If you areinterested in raising certifiedorganic birds, be sure to have all ofyour feed sources approved by yourcertification office prior to feedingyour chicks.

Housing rules of thumb: for100 chicks, 50 square feet isadequate. A 15-by-15-foot roomcan hold up to 400 chicks. Foroptimum growth, though, it’s bestto partition birds into separategroups of less than 300 per group.

When preparing your pastures,a legume-grass mix is best. Foragequality should be similar to thatfor other types of pasturedanimals. When moving your flockto the field, remember that waterquality and quantity is mostimportant. Birds must have ampleclean water. Make sure you provideyour birds with enough shade inthose hot summer spells;otherwise birds will pile in shadedareas and can suffocate.

There are many great resourcesto learn more about raising organicpoultry. A great way to start is byreading Humane and HealthyPoultry Production: A Manual forOrganic Growers by Karma Glos.

Plant Saviors, orFarmer TortureDevice?Maryellen

Sheehan switchedfrom working horsesto working withvegetables when shemoved east fromIndiana in 1998.She’s grown onorganic farms and managed CSAsaround the region and is thrilled to bepart of the NOFA-NY team. Whennot fielding calls on fruits andveggies, she works with her husbandon their farm in central New York.

With spring bearing down, it’stime to prepare for the impendinghordes of flea beetles. Due tofarming at windy sites, I’ve had ahate-hate relationship with rowcovers. However, last year’s rainand pest pressure finally pushedme to add row covers to my items-I-don’t-want-to-farm-withoutcategory.

Pros and cons. Row covershave many advantages: theyprovide relatively affordableseason extension and frost

protection, excel at pest exclusion,and help maintain soil moisture.Additionally, they protect plantsfrom blasting wind and rain, withthe overall effect of markedlybetter plant growth.

Row covers also havedisadvantages. They can bedifficult to handle in the wind thatinvariably starts once you’veunfurled a few hundred feet. Whilewell-cared-for covers can last a fewseasons, they do tear easily,especially on high-wind sites.Improved crop growth conditionsunder covers also exist for weeds,and the labor of putting on coversand removing them makesweeding a larger task. Themanufacturing of row covers usesfossil fuels. And while row coverbenefits translate financially intolarger, more marketable crops, theup-front costs of building yourcover collection can be daunting tonew farmers. Even before shipping(which can be expensive due toweight), our farm’s 14-foot-widecovers cost $1,000/acre (hopefullyto last 2 seasons), plus $150/acrefor anchors (which last 2 seasons),and $17/bed for hoops (which lastforever).

Row covers range in width andthickness. In general, the thinnermaterials run a half ounce/squareyard and are used for insect controland light frost protection. Theadvantages of lighter covers arethat they let more light reach theplants, trap less heat in thesummer, and cost less. Thickercovers range up to a coupleounces/yard, provide more degreesof frost protection, and aresturdier and tend to tear less.Cover width ranges from 6 to50 feet or more. Narrow covers areeasiest to handle and give you themost flexibility with planning yourprotected plantings, while largercovers are more cost- and labor-efficient.

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Anchoring. In wind, rowcovers turn into sails, blowing andtearing on any snag—and smalltears quickly lead to big ones!Anchors are essential, and optionsinclude rocks (for farms “blessed”with them), commercially madepegs (if you have serious wind,these will not work), bags filledwith rock or sand, or trenching andcovering fabric edges with soil.Choose anchors based on yoursite—we have tons of wind andneed access for frequent weeding,so we use rock-stuffed bags at10-foot intervals. (Rocks wear outbags more than sand, but we haveplenty of free rocks!)

Some tender crops dislikecovers chafing against them (or infrost, leaves touching the coverscan burn). For these, use sturdy9-gauge wire hoops or bentconduit to raise the cover off theplants. Hoops must be spacedclosely (4 to 6 feet) to be effective.This requires a lot of hoops, butthey do last forever.

Hints and tips. There are afew tricks to using row covers.First, row covers can trap heat, sowith freshly transplanted crops onwarm days, monitor your plantscarefully, and vent as necessary. Ifyou have high weed pressure, lookunder the covers frequently tomake sure they aren’t hiding aweed jungle. For frost control, youcan layer covers over each other forgreater frost protection.

When you use covers for pestcontrol, it’s essential to lay thecover as you plant the crop. It’samazing how fast seeds germinateand pests find your crops! Rowcovers are also most effective forpest control with good rotations. Ifyou plant spring brassicas on thesame ground where flea beetleswere present the previous fall, youcould trap beetles in with the croprather than excluding them. Forpernicious pest issues (like fleabeetles living in every inch of your

soil), you can still use row covers,but may have to sporadically sprayunder the cover to kill the peststhat magically teleport in.Alternately, you can use stickytraps under the covers to kill sub-cover pests.

Row covers can last a few yearsif treated with care (i.e., don’t leavethem sprawled in the field allwinter). If possible, store them in aspot that rodents can’t access,because critters like to nest in rowcover fabric. Many farmers rollthem up neatly on pipes, which areeasy to store; this method helpsthem last longer. We roll ours intoround balls, which is less desirablefor storage, but allows us to unrollthem in the aisles between ourbeds in spring so there is lesschafing damage on seedlings in ourbrutal winds. In general, a fewholes in the covers aren’t aproblem, especially for frostcontrol, but as the holes grow, thecovers become less effective at pestexclusion. Retired covers can beused for extra frost layers or placedover direct-seeded crops to boostgermination rates and protectfrom extreme spring rains.

Old-Time Books with Staying PowerRobert Perry has

experience milkingcows, operatingcombines, runninggreenhouses,growing certifiedorganic vegetables,and serving on theNOFA-NY organic standards board.He has served for many years as anorganic inspector for NOFA-NYCertified Organic, LLC. Robert alsoplayed a role in the OrganicAgriculture Research and ExtensionInitiative (OREI) Value Added GrainsProject.

I grew up in the 60s on a fifth-generation family farm in upstateNew York, on land granted to anancestor for serving in theAmerican Revolution. Most of myrural heritage had alreadytransitioned through severalagricultural revolutions before Iwas born. The farm supported adairy with on-farm butterproduction and a raw milk wagonin town, as well as cabbage, maplesyrup, and grain production.Diversification was a natural partof old-time farms, although thedeserted foundations of some ofthe less fortunate settlersscattered amidst the hills are atestament to great ambitions butless-than-ideal soils and markets.The stability of blue collar factorywork, bulk milk, the shift awayfrom local grain production, cheapfuel, and modern times continuedunraveling the rural economy.

Farmers are no strangers tohard times, but I am happy to saythat we are experiencing the nextrenaissance of rural America.Interest in farming to nurture thesoil and produce real foodcontinues to be the fastest-growing segment of Americanagriculture. The growth ofnonprofits such as NOFA, TheGreenhorns, and The NationalYoung Farmers Coalition providesa crisp new era in farmingorganizations.

Roots of knowledge. I collectbooks and agricultural journals, aninterest I inherited from mygrandfather, who taughtvocational agriculture and had adiversified farm of vegetables,orchards, poultry, dairy and fieldcrops in Western New York. Hewas a product of the newCooperative Extension movementin the early 1900s. A growingexposure to education andknowledge about agriculture washeightened by philosophiceducational resources such as L.H.

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Bailey’s The Rural Science Series.These references were popular inthe “preGoogle age” when theland-grant university systemimproved the potential for ruraleconomies as never before.Farming handbooks provided thelatest information on whole farmmanagement, soil fertility andtesting, seed saving, and otherdeveloping rural sciences.

Eventually corporate fundingfor new methods and the rise ofthe chemical age after World War IIpushed agriculture production intoa growing dependency on outsideinputs, and monocrop systemsprevailed over the diversity of theearly farm economy. But many ofthe old handbooks of agriculturestill provide relevant informationresearched and trialed before thechemical age. Educators andscientists such as William A.Albrecht, Sir Albert Howard,F.H. King, J.I. Rodale, L.H. Bailey,

and others provided in-depthstudies of the foundations of soilsand organic agriculture,challenging the persistence of newtechnologies. Much of the basis fortoday’s organic systems ofproduction are rooted in thiswealth of knowledge.

The current excitement inagriculture will no doubt achieveparallel historical significance. Therenaissance of young and newlydiscovered agriculturalists andeducators, as well as new farmers’desire for knowledge, may farexceed that passionate past I grewfrom. The old books eventually arescanned and made available onlinewith a swipe for reference in thefield, on the tractor, at the market.They are reworded, hybridized,and modified from long-forgottenUSDA bulletins and CornellExtension pamphlets.

The new skill set can provide afarmer the tools to develop a viable

farm enterprise in urban and landdeserts not considered viable byconventional growers surroundingmajor city markets. Directmarketing is here to stay as thelocal food system revolution deniesthe food giants a larger slice of thepie every day. CSA and farmmarkets continue to flourish. New-generation farmers are accessingland with internships and sharedresources. Spring is coming: Plantyour passion, one seed at a time.

Every day, every season, eachcrop, and each year on a farm isdifferent. Take your newly learnedskill sets out to the soil and grow.With the ever-present virtuallearning tools at your fingertips,pause and interact with otherfarmers and growers—keep somecommunity in your heart for thetimes you need many hands tomake light work, or just tocelebrate the season with friends.

The Farmers’ Roundtable

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While you’re waiting for yourCSA box to fill out with everythingunder the sun, now is a good timeto think about your staples andhow to localize them. I eatpancakes made with New York–grown and milled flours—andsometimes backyard-grown andneighbor-ground flours—at leastonce a day. I’ve always loved them,but when my first son was atoddler my fondness inchedtoward my current obsession.

I was suspicious of dry cereal.Even in seemingly sanctified“natural” brands, sweeteners satnear the top of the ingredient list.Plus, extruding batter intogeometric shapes didn’t seem likethe best way to treat food foranyone, let alone a growing kid.

Yet cereal is what we eat onweekdays, right? Pancakes are atreat for weekends. However, noone in my family is a big fan of hotcereal, and I don’t like eggs. I triedmaking granola and mushingkasha into a form of dry cereal: itcut my gums. I even made my ownGrape Nuts. They were tasty. Butthey were not pancakes.

Eventually, I decided to focus oningredients and drop any notions

about what I should serve and eatwhen. After all, pancakes are flourand liquid, same as dry cereal:carbohydrates, and protein if I addeggs. Why did I feel guilty about“indulging” in pancakes?

I realized that it was theluxurious reputation of pancakesthat dogged me. But the way Imake pancake batter is simple, notrich. And since I don’t drownpancakes with sweet toppings,they don’t speed me up or slow medown. Training my son to enjoypancakes with yogurt instead ofmaple syrup on top removed theone potential negative from theequation. In the battle forbreakfast, pancakes won.

Pancakes mean more than theirclassic American interpretations.Sure, they are a beautiful vehiclefor maple syrup, a quintessentialcolonial product. (From what I’veread, Native Americans used maplesap for cooking, but New Englandsettlers introduced the step ofboiling the sap into syrup.) Imagesof little boys strapping pork ontheir feet to skate on a griddle bigenough to take a stab at PaulBunyan’s appetite are hard toshake. Yet pancakes have beenfeeding people far longer than wehave been trying to be Americans.

Flat cakes are linked to some ofthe first foods that early humansmade in the Fertile Crescent regionin the Middle East. As hunter-gatherers began to domesticatewild barley and wheat, they groundthe edible seeds and mixed themwith water to make a pasty gruel.Who knows how many steps existbetween gruel and batter, but oneday, somebody slid a puddle ofgruel on a hot stone and voila:pancakes. This was sustenance,not indulgence.

Over time, pancakes, hoecakes,and griddle cakes have remained astaple food for people with

In the Kitchen

Give Us OurDaily Pancakesby Amy Halloran

These are the first pancakes writerAmy Halloran made using maltedbarley flour, ground from grainsmalted by Valley Malt. Photo by Amy Halloran

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minimal resources. While caviardressed up some blinis, andwealthy Europeans ate pancakesmade with lots of cream and eggs,many more people have relied onsimpler forms of pancakes. Flour

plus water equals fuel.The cakes I make don’t need a

lot of fancy ingredients ortoppings because the whole-grainlocal flours I use have tons offlavor. Freshly milled from

regionally grown grains, theseflours are a far cry from the five-pound bags of starch that sit on asupermarket shelf.

Keeping a stock of homemademix ready to go will speed up theprocess of making the pancakesthemselves. And, with any luck,increase the frequency of yourpancake enjoyment. Do so withoutguilt: these are the original, andmost beautiful, fast food.

Amy Halloran is writing a book aboutregional grain production and herobsession with pancakes. She growsenough grain to remember howmuch she likes other people to growit for her. Find her writing atamyhalloran.net and .com, as well asFromScratchClub.com andZesterDaily.com.

In the Kitchen

Amy’s Homemade Pancake Mix4 cups whole grain flour1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda1½ teaspoons salt

Mix well with a whisk and put in a container with a tight-fitting lid.

Instructions for use:u Combine 1 cup pancake mix, 1 egg, 3⁄4 cup milk, and 1

tablespoon yogurt.u Blend well and let sit for 10 minutes before using. This helps the

flour absorb the moisture thoroughly. If the batter needs a littlethinning, add some more milk.

u Spoon or pour batter onto a hot, buttered griddle. Flip eachpancake when the top surface develops little bubbles.

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least equipment, too. From there,you might move on to “30-minuteMozzarella.” The home cheesemaking community helpfullymarks hard cheese recipes as easy,moderate, or difficult. Don’t aim tomake temperamental cheeses suchas Stilton or Gruyere until youhave some experience with Fetaand Colby!

If you decide to make hardcheeses, you will need a specialplace for them to age and store.Not necessarily as elaborate as thecheese room in the house I grew upin—many home cheese makers usean old refrigerator or a root cellar.You will need to consider thetemperature, humidity, and

rodent-proofing of yourhomestead cheese aging area,where your cheese will develop itscharacteristic flavor over weeks ormonths. That’s because cheese,like other fermented products, isless something that you createthrough cooking, and moresomething that livingmicroorganisms create for you,when you provide them the rightenvironment in which to grow andprosper. That makes cheesemakinga little bit like gardening in a milkmedium. Enjoy watching theprocess unfold and the cheesysmiles when your family memberstake a bite!

Some cheese making is veryeasy, some difficult. I have learnedto make many different cheeses,and for necessary supplies such asrennet and cheese cultures, I relyon one excellent resource: NewEngland Cheesemaking Supply,operated by Ricki "the CheeseQueen" Carroll. This company canbe your one-stop online shop forcheesy recipes, equipment, andsupplies. I also recommend Ricki’scomprehensive guide for beginningcheese makers, Home CheeseMaking. It can provide you with allyou need to get started. An in-person workshop or two, as well ashelp and advice from a friend whomakes cheese, can also help you tolearn the art of home cheesemaking.

Krys Cail lives with her husband on a24-acre homestead and black locustfence-post plantation in Ulysses.

Homesteading

Say ‘CHEESE’by Krys Cail

In writer Krys Cail’s pantry, root cropssit at floor level, near several hardcheeses aging on shelves. Home-canned goods fill up the top. Photo by Krys Cail

My rural neighbors often talkabout growing up on a dairy farm,but I spent my childhood next doorto a dairy farm. In the cellar of thatold farmhouse, there was a cheese-aging room. It had an open hand-dug water well, and along bothwalls were shelves floor to ceiling,placed at an angle dipping toward acenter walkway. The shelves wouldhave held rows of cheese wheels,and the farm women (cheesemaking was typically women’swork back in the day), would havewalked down the walkway turningthe cheeses to help them age wellin the moist, cool cellar. I wasfascinated by the process, andeventually, after years ofhomesteading, I took the plungeand started making cheese myself.

Cheese making requires someequipment, such as cheese moldsand presses. You can buyspecialized equipment or you cantry the farm-hack approach. I havemade some truly superb cheesesusing an enamel canning kettle, afood-grade peanut butter bucketwith holes drilled in it, and an oldwine press. You might substitute agallon jug full of water for the winepress. The only necessary piece ofequipment you may not alreadyhave in your homestead kitchen isan instant-read thermometer, andthose are inexpensive at thesupermarket. Also, don’t be afraidto make and store (refrigerate orfreeze) your own home-growncheese cultures, once you startthem from purchased driedcultures.

One caveat: cheese making isprecise work. This is no arena for“pinch of this and scoop of that”intuitive cookery. Measureaccurately and follow recipedirections—especially as regardstimes and temperatures—andkeep a clean environment.

Easiest for beginners are thesoft cheeses, and they require the

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Fresh, LocalFood the CSAWayby Tanya Smolinsky, NOFA-NY Communications & Development Director

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How does a CSA work?CSA members buy a farm share, which is an

entire season’s worth of food, in late winter or earlyspring. In the summer and fall, the CSA farmtypically delivers that week’s harvest to a designatedsite where CSA members pick up their share of freshfood.

What are the benefits of joining a CSA?Obtaining healthy food: Food loses nutritional

value the moment it’s picked. The longer it travelsand sits on a shelf waiting to be sold, the lessnutritious it is. When you belong to a CSA, you aregetting the most nutritious food available—foodthat’s been harvested that very day.

Deepening your understanding of foodproduction: Through your involvement in a CSA,you will gain a deeper appreciation of what isinvolved in producing the food you eat.

Strengthening your local economy: CSAs keepmoney within your community and help areafarmers stay in business, which contributes tobuilding a strong local economy.

Expanding your community: When you join aCSA, you are entering a collaborative relationshipwith an individual farmer and a group of people whoshare your values and ideals about food.

Reducing your impact on the Earth: The actof transporting food over long distances contributesto global warming. When you join a CSA, you arereducing your negative impact on the Earth.

What happens if there is a bad harvest?If we desire a truly sustainable food system,

farmers and consumers alike need to take a sharedrisk in food production. If a farmer has to assume allthe risk, he or she will be more likely to takeshortcuts, such as using chemical fertilizers andGMOs, to remain competitive and productive. CSAmembers make a commitment to supporting theirfarmer both when the harvest is bountiful and whenit falls short. CSAs are not just about getting greatfood; they are also about supporting a sustainablefood system.

How do I know whether joining a CSA isright for me?

When thinking about whether or not to join aCSA, here are a few questions to consider:

u Do I like to cook? Does my schedule allow me tomake homemade meals most evenings?

u Will I like eating vegetables that are new to me?

u How will I handle excess produce? Do I have aneighbor, friend, or coworker who would bewilling to take the excess produce off my hands?Or am I willing to explore new food storagetechniques?

u Am I willing to accept the shared risk?

u Can I make a weekly commitment to picking upmy farm share?

Answers to frequently askedquestions about communitysupported agriculture (CSA)

Subsidy Programs for CSAEveryone should have access to healthy,

delicious, locally grown, organic food. Below is alist of organizations that offer subsidies to income-eligible individuals and families to help offset thecost of a share in a CSA.

NOFA-NY249 Highland Avenue,Rochester, NY 14620(585) 271-1979sondra@nofany.orgnofany.org

GardensharePO Box 516Canton NY 13617(315) 261-8054info@gardenshare.orggardenshare.org

Just Food1155 Avenue of theAmericas, 3rd FloorNew York, NY 10036(212) 645-9880paula@justfood.orgjustfood.org

Healthy Food for AllCornell CooperativeExtension TompkinsCounty615 Willow AvenueIthaca, NY 14850-3555(607) 272-2292evk4@cornell.eduhealthyfoodforall.org

VINESPO Box 3104Binghamton, NY 13902(607) 205-8108natalie@vinesgardens.orgvinesgardens.org

How do I find the right CSA for me?Nothing beats a personal conversation with the

farmer to find out if that farmer’s CSA is a goodmatch for you. Here are some questions you mightask:

u What makes your CSA unique?

u Is your farm certified organic or NOFA-NYFarmer’s Pledge? If not, what chemical pesticidesdo you use on the produce you include in theshare?

u What happens to shares that are not picked up?

u How long have you been offering a CSA? Why didyou start your CSA?

u Are there items in your box grown by other farms,and if so, which farms?

u How was your last season?

u How many members do you have?

u How involved are your members? Do you havepotlucks, distribute a newsletter, etc.?

u Is there a work requirement?

—adapted from www.localharvest.org

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Industrialized agriculture offered a promise that itwould feed the world with plentiful, inexpensive,and safe food. That promise has not been kept. Foodinsecurity is still with us. Worldwide, 842 millionpeople lack sufficient calories for a healthyexistence, according to the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations (FAO). Here inNew York, every month three million people turn tothe state’s three thousand food pantries and soupkitchens for food.

Collateral damage from industrial farmingincludes the pollution of water, the depletion ofaquifers, massive soil erosion, the destruction ofbiodiversity, and the depopulation of thecountryside. In 1950 there were over 7 million farmsin the United States. Today there are fewer than2½ million. The low pay for seasonal farm workleaves families in deep poverty.

In 1986, when the farmers behind Indian LineFarm and Temple-Wilton Community Farm startedthe first CSAs in this country, they hoped to find apractical model that would keep family-scale farmerson the land. The number of farms was decliningevery year. The work of food production—not tomention all of the risk—fell on the farmers, whileprices rarely covered the costs of production, letalone providing living wages for the farmer and farmworkers. Based on experiments in Switzerland andGermany and the associative economy ideas of

Rudolf Steiner, Robyn Van En (owner of Indian LineFarm) and her friends created the CSA model. Theyinvited local consumers to share the harvest and therisks by paying in advance for a whole season. As“shareholders,” those consumers would feel a senseof ownership in the farm and take a portion ofwhatever the farm could produce in return. The CSAideal was to enable farmers to concentrate ongrowing food while their customers and communitymembers supported them with fair payments, helpon the farm, and assistance with the manynonagricultural tasks needed to make a farmsuccessful.

Though not a farmer, Robyn (who passed away in 1997) went on to become the Johnny Appleseedof CSA. She would have liked the way the UnitedStates Department of Agriculture defines CSA: “CSA consists of a community of individuals whopledge support to a farm operation so that thefarmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, thecommunity’s farm, with the growers and consumersproviding mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production.”

Economic Benefits of CSAHow many of you can name 20 farmers who are

making their entire living, including healthinsurance and a pension fund, through farming? Ican’t. Some of the best New York farmers I know

An Antidoteto IndustrialFarming by Elizabeth Henderson

Community Supported Agriculture(CSA) came into being as a solutionto the farm crisis and the otherdefects of the corporate-controlledfood system.

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still depend on their spouse’s job for healthinsurance or support their farming habit with anoff-farm job. Farmer poet and activist Wendell Berryobserved shrewdly that in a good farming systemlike that of the Amish, even an average person canbe a successful farmer. The successes I know arepretty exceptional or very lucky—we still have aways to go to make our systems socially just andeconomically viable. This is why over 400 New Yorkfarms have turned to the CSA model, and more jointheir number every year.

The term “CSA model” is a bit misleading; there isno single model or formula that a farm can apply.What distinguishes a CSA is the special relationshipbetween a farm and the people who sign up asmembers. Each CSA is distinct, the connection witha particular farmer or farm family or group of farmsand with particular pieces of land. This is about asopposite as can be to selling into mainstreammarkets, where a farm’s produce becomes acommodity that is treated as no different from theproduce of any other farm.

No agency or government body certifies CSAs.Each farm is free to apply the basic concept in itsown fashion so no two are exactly alike. Part of thefun for me in writing Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’sGuide to CSA (Chelsea Green, 2007) and interviewingpeople from over 300 projects was to discover howmany different and creative ways farmers and theirsupporters have found to do CSA.

CSA is attractive to farmers because it cuts outthe middleman. When a farmer sells produce to astore, the farmer receives only half the money thatthe store charges its customers. For a head oflettuce, if the store sells the lettuce for $2, thefarmer gets $1. With a CSA (and other direct salestoo), the farmer can pocket more of the final fooddollar while still giving the customer a good deal.Studies comparing CSA with other kinds of directsales show that the CSA model provides farms asteadier income with fewer fluctuations due to poorweather or other factors a farmer cannot control. If

the weather is bad, members who share the risk mayget less food, but the farm stays in business to farmthe next year.

Another advantage for farmers of CSA overselling at a farmers market is that the farmercontrols what the members receive each week. On arainy week, a farmer may have to take home a lot ofproduce when customers don’t show up at themarket. Or the week the farm has lettuce to sell atmarket, customers want spinach. With a CSA,members agree to accept the seasonal variation inwhat the farmer provides.

In the conventional farming world, before thebeginning of each growing season, many farms haveto borrow start-up money and then pay it back—with interest—when they receive payment for theirproducts at the end of the year. The upfrontpayments for CSA shares replace the need for bankloans. By paying before receiving the food, membersplace trust in their farmers and also spare them theaggravation of borrowing and then worrying aboutrepaying money to a bank. And farmers have plentyof better ways to spend their scarce cash than oninterest. That single payment also simplifies farmbookkeeping, which allows farms such as PorterFarms CSA in Elba to keep their prices relatively low.The Porter Farms CSA offers one share size for onelump payment, and has a highly experienced crewthat has been with them for many years.

On the Facebook “CSA Farmer Discussion” page,where farmers share ideas and information on topicsof mutual concern, a farmer sums up the economicbenefits of CSA: “My farm is a ‘traditional’ singlefarm CSA (180-plus members) and it is my solesource of income. I’m not getting rich, but I ammaking about as much as if I was an elementaryschool teacher, which is what I did in a ‘past’ life, so Ifeel it is an economically sustainable model for me.…there are a lot of different hats a CSA farmer hasto wear (customer service, member communication,accounting and oh yeah…farming) but if done cancreate long term economic sustainability for adiversified farm.”

Suzanne Wheatcraft, active member of thePeacework Organic CSA core group, sums up thebenefits for CSA members: “It’s an importantconnection to what we are all about (this is the bigwe—humans). We eat food. Food grows in theground. Farming makes that happen. Also, I like itthat pickup is always already on my calendar everyweek. I like that I don’t spend a lot of time makingfood choices. I like that I am not trying to get thelowest price possible from some poor farmers sittingat the farmers market on a cold, rainy Saturdaymorning trying to just get rid of all that produce

“Although agriculture has forestalled the totaltakeover of our food by crass agribusiness, thecorporate powers and their political hirelings continueto press for the elimination of the food rebels andultimately to impose the Butzian vision of completecorporatization. This is one of the most importantpopulist struggles occurring in our society.”

—Jim Hightower, activist, author, and former commissioner of Texas Department of Agriculture

they already picked, packed, andtransported because there are nocustomers that week. I hate tospend money where I see novalue—I never buy new clothes,I don’t go to the mall, I re-usemy plastic bags. But I do believethere is a big difference betweenprice and value. The CSA offersgreat value!”

Not Without ChallengesBuying locally grown, fresh

food directly from a farmer youcan look in the eye and trustmakes CSA attractive tononfarmers. The real trick forCSAs is retaining members. ACSA farmer has high hurdles tojump to retain members. Some people treat theirfirst season as a CSA member as a trial period. If itdoesn’t suit them quite right, they switch to anotherCSA the next season or decide to shop for theirproduce at a farmers market instead. Keepingmembers requires excellent communication.Farmers must offer a thorough and well-statedorientation session or brochure for new members sothat they know what to expect. The farmer or adesignated employee must learn to create anddistribute engaging weekly news from the farmthrough a newsletter, website, or social media. If theCSA does a good job of explaining problems—suchas a serious drought that cuts by half the producesupply for the week—members usually accept theloss without grumbling. But if the shares aresuddenly smaller without explanation, memberscomplain or even ask for their money back. CSAmembers can help by taking over some of thecommunication jobs from their farmers.

Running a CSA is not farming 101. Farmers needto be experienced, skillful, and willing to maintaincareful records to make the model work. Memberretention depends on reliable high quality, goodselection, and complex succession planting so thatshares consist of a steady flow of the vegetablesmembers like best. Some farmers drop CSA becausethey cannot stand the pressure of acceptingpayment in advance. Especially if the weather isdicey, they worry all the time about keeping theirpromise to members by filling the shares.

Ecological Benefits of CSAWith fewer and fewer corporations controlling

each sector of industrial farming, farmers

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experience a relentlessspeedup. A generationago, a 160-acre grainfarm could support afarm family; today,1,600 acres are needed.The federal system ofprice supports rewardsonly a few major crops(corn, soybeans, wheat,sugar), which adds tothe market pressures onfarmers to practicemonoculture—growingvast fields ofhomogeneous crops.Monoculture requiresfarmers to continuouslyincrease their use of

chemical fertilizers, toxic herbicides such asRoundup, and synthetic pesticides. Many havegrown dependent on genetically engineered (GE)seed.

Growing for a CSA has the opposite effect: toprovide an attractive weekly basket, farmersincrease their farms’ biodiversity, always on thelookout for new crops and tastier varieties. And thatbiodiversity makes CSAs more resilient, achievingthe ecological balance that keeps pests and diseasesat a minimum without reliance on chemical controls.

An encouraging new trend is underway—conventional (nonorganic) vegetable, fruit, and evencrop farms are branching into CSA to improve theircash flow. Public expectation, however, is that CSAfarms are using organic methods, even if they arenot certified organic.

In response to those customer expectations,these conventional farms are starting to transitionat least part of the farm to organic production. Forexample, at Lagoner Farms in Williamson—a well-established fruit farm with a popular farm stand—Jake and Mitsy Lagoner have been using organicmethods for two seasons for the produce offeredthrough their CSA.

Another trend is a new wave of CSA farms thatare pushing biodiversity to its limits, growing thecomplete food needs of their members year-round.Essex Community Farm in Essex greets the worldwith this bold statement: “We strive to produce anabundance of high-quality food while fostering thehealth and resiliency of the farm, the farmers, themembers, and the community. Our desire is to buildan agroecosystem that is sustainable economically,environmentally, and socially. We work to make afarm that is better tomorrow than it is today.” Essex

These onions curing in the field at Roxbury Farmin Kinderhook are just one of a diverse range ofcrops offered to the farm’s CSA shareholders.Photo courtesy of Roxbury Farm

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Community Farm supplies CSA members withvegetables, fruit, bread, milk, and meat, charging$3,700 a year for the first adult in a household,$3,300 for the second, and $120 per year of age forchildren. That sounds expensive, but if you sum upyour annual food bill, you'll see that Essex Farm CSAis a bargain!

In Agrarian Dreams (University of CaliforniaPress, 2004), Julie Guthman ranked 144 organicfarms from least to most agroecological. Accordingto Guthman’s evaluation, the farms that achievemost fully the environmental and social goals oforganic agriculture are “the ultradiversified farmswhose cropping and direct marketing strategiesfundamentally alter the organization of production.”And most of those are CSA farms.

As climate change ramps up weather extremes,we are at a critical moment in world history. We haveto learn how to work together to create new ways tolive more lightly on this planet, producing foodcloser to where people live, using less energy,building self-reliant and interdependentcommunities around the globe. Everyone hassomething to contribute. Joining an organic CSA isan easy way to do your part. Jean-Paul Courtens andhis wife, Jody Boluyt, run Roxbury Farm inKinderhook, one of the oldest CSAs in New York. In

2010, Courtens wrote: “Roxbury Farm’s success isbased on partnerships. We live in partnership withthe land and we are in partnership with you. You arein partnership with your brothers and sisters thatlive on the land, and this makes the relationshipabout a lot more than simply having access to high-quality veggies and meat. Your involvement serves amuch greater purpose as it helps to maintain thecultural resources for peasant farmers like us. It is inthose interactions whereby we have the opportunityto find the solutions to co-exist with this planet.”

This is a quote from a CSA website! At their best,authentic CSAs are a win-win-win. Farmers receive aliving wage and freedom from worry about profitsand losses. Everyone weathers the tough times andbenefits from the good times. Nothing goes towaste, and community investments help pay for landand equipment. Best of all, eaters enjoy healthyfood, good company, and the deep satisfaction thatcomes from playing an immediate role intransforming the food system.

Elizabeth Henderson farmed for Peacework OrganicCSA, which is now in its 25th season, and is coauthor ofSharing the Harvest and Whole Farm Planning. She is amember of the NOFA-NY Board of Directors.

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Community is inherent within the structure of aCSA, as the members of the CSA make thecommitment to support a local farmer and acceptthe risk that the season’s harvest may not be ideal.But community shines through in many otherunexpected and beautiful ways on CSA farms. I’veseen this in my own experience, and so have many of my fellow CSA farmers.

DistributionDistribution can be the most impactful and the

simplest way to build community through a CSA. Ifshareholders pick up their produce at your farm, youcan encourage them to hang out and connect witheach other and the farm by creating communityspace around distribution. Put out a picnic tableunder a shady tree. Create a U-pick area wherepeople can pick beans, cherry tomatoes, flowers, orherbs together. If shareholders pick up their sharesat a location other than your farm, you can still helpbuild community through distribution by having apresence during the pickup and chatting withpeople. If possible, find a distribution point thatlends itself to community building—a comfortableplace for "hanging out.”

Becky Fullam, who owns and operates Old FordFarm in New Paltz with her husband, Joe, reflects:“I’ve found that the best community-builder isdistribution itself. When different people are thereat the same time, they often start chatting about the

veggies and it leads to other conversations. Having afarm worker there helps because they can makeconnections between people who don’t know eachother. It has been great to have animals nearbydistribution. People always gather around thechickens or the cows, and then start talking. Theanimals give them a common thing to look at andtalk about.”

Marsha Habib, who owns and operates OyaOrganics Farm in Hollister, CA, said that bringingher baby to distributions and markets helped buildcommunity with her CSA. “Our CSA members lovedthe fact that I had a baby—most of our members arefamilies with young kids. I think it builds connectionwhen you have something in common, and remindsthem that the food they get through our CSA iscoming from a real family farm.”

NewslettersWeekly newsletters are a great way to connect

your shareholders to the farm, and your farm to itscommunity of eaters. Newsletters can conveychallenges and successes of the growing season,highlighting the bounty, but also recognizing andexplaining the blemishes. They can includedescriptions of unusual produce and excitingvarieties and offer recipes to help the community ofeaters best appreciate and enjoy the produce theyreceive. Some features I've included in my CSAnewsletters are produce in the share that week and

CreatingCommunityin Your CSAby Anne Eschenroeder

Help your shareholders connectwith your farm and each other.

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recipes highlighting how to use some of the moreunusual or bountiful items. You can includeannouncements about upcoming events andopportunities. Feature a portrait of a volunteer orcrew member of the week.

I did write some parts of the newsletter myself,but I discovered that the fewer pieces I wrote, thebetter. Having apprentices and shareholderscontribute to newsletters helps lessen your load ofwork and helps to bring together the community ofgrowers and eaters through the sharing of words,stories, and facts. If you’re new to newsletters, youcan explore the archive of newsletters I put togetherwhile farming at Phillies Bridge Farm Project here:philliesbridge.org/?page_id=120. I used Pagemakerto make the file, converted it to PDF, and uploaded iton our Wordpress website.

Farmers Bryn Roshong and Wes Hannah havecreated a newsletter for Second Wind CSA (at FourWinds Farm in Gardiner) simply by creating a blogfor the shareholders (secondwindcsa.com/blog-posts/).

Another vehicle for newsletter distribution is thefree online service MailChimp (mailchimp.com).Another option is to print paper copies to sendhome with shareholders along with their produce,but I’ve found that distributing newsletters digitallysaved a lot of paper and a lot of money.

Events/FestivalsHosting events and festivals at your farm is an

incredible way to connect the community with yourfarm and vice versa. Beware: it can also be anincredible amount of work. Harvest festivals, farm-to-table meals, and other events can be an incomegenerator as well as a community builder—but canrequire a fair amount of staffing to organize andexecute. This is important to realize and plan for inorder to have a successful event. Methods toorganize more casual, less planning-intensive eventsinclude partnering with other organizations orhosting something like a potluck or a music night.

PotlucksPotlucks are a no-brainer in the community-

building checklist. As host, you provide a space,dishware, and cutlery (though asking folks to bringtheir dishes and cutlery is often the easiest). You seta time, publicize the event, and the community doesthe rest of the work! Share and celebrate the producefrom the farm featured in the potluck fare. You caneven find groups to partner with to host a potluck,invite the larger community to your farm/event, andshare the responsibility of publicizing the event withyour partner organization: local Slow Food Chapter,

the NOFA NY Locavore Challenge, etc.

Music Makin’Farming and music seem to go hand in hand.

Maybe you play an instrument? Maybe some of yourcrew members or shareholders do too. Gatheringscan include an informal invitation to musicians toplay, or you could focus an event around a jamsession—campfire optional.

VolunteersThe next level in connecting with your

community is to help transform eaters into growers.First, have a conversation with yourself: how canyou best set up volunteer opportunities in a way thatwork for the farmer, the farm’s functioning, and thevolunteers themselves? Some farms require a certainnumber of volunteer work hours from allshareholders. For me, what’s worked best is an openinvitation for community members to volunteerduring weekly harvests. If shareholders volunteer acertain number of hours by the end of the season,they get a discount on next season’s share.Coordinating volunteer opportunities can also takethe form of barter shares (trading produce for skills),work parties, and gleaning.

Work PartiesWork parties can be a fun way to build

community while accomplishing a worthwhileproject on your farm. As a farmer, it allows you totarget volunteer efforts towards a single simple taskthat might not require much skill, but does requiremany hands. For the shareholders/volunteers, it canbe a great way to contribute to the farm, meet newpeople, and connect with their farmer(s) and farm.For example, garlic is a crop that lends itselfbeautifully to “party culture”: fall planting party,spring weeding party, summer harvesting party!Harvesting potatoes by hand is another good partyproject. Consider these questions if you plan to hosta work party:

What do you need to organize in advance?It’s important that all participants have a clear taskto tackle so they will leave feeling like they haveaccomplished something and made a positivecontribution.

What about worker comfort? Considerproviding gloves, beverages, and shady rest places.

How can you make it fun? Refer to MusicMakin’, above. Act as a crew leader/camp counselor;chat with your volunteers as you work, play gameswith them out loud to make the work go faster andeasier. You may also want to end the day with apotluck meal.

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GleaningUsing volunteers from your CSA to glean produce

that would not otherwise be harvested or consumedis a great way to incorporate volunteers on yourfarm. Joshua Faller, who owns and operates BonfireFarm in Troy with his partner, Megan Talley, says,“CSAs have been an amazing vehicle for gettingproduce that we cannot sell into the hands of folkswho need a good meal. Having volunteers harvestand deliver farm seconds to local food banks can bethe perfect way for a busy farmer to provide food tofamilies in need. This ties in folks to the the farm, aswell as letting customers see that their farm is doinggood in the community.”

Educational ProgrammingEducational programs build community and can

generate income, but they often take a fair amountof planning and additional staffing. You can dabbleby hosting a class, featuring an expert speaker, orholding a screening of an agricultural film. Offeringfarm camps, field trips, and other more intensiveeducational programming can really serve to connectfarm and community, but requires intentionalstaffing and budgeting around these additionalprograms.

These are only some of the ways that CSA farmsare connecting with their communities. Let’s wrap itup with this eloquent reflection from Kayla Hussey,who worked as an apprentice with me at PhilliesBridge Farm Project: “The farm is like a body. Thefarmer is the heart. The apprentices are the othervital organs who worked tirelessly. The board [ofdirectors] is the brain (and sometimes is at oddswith the heart). All of the CSA members andcampers and visitors are the cells. Each cell does itsown little job by providing the rest of the body withenergy! Without the CSA members’ investment(monetary and other ways of showing appreciation),we would fall apart.”

Here’s to community!

Anne Eschenroeder has been farming vegetables in theHudson Valley for the past four years, and farming foreight.  She is excited to be undertaking starting her ownfarm in New Paltz during the 2014 season.

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Birdsfoot Farm CSAby Dulli Tengeler

At Birdsfoot Farm, we offer a summer share weoffer a summer share, fall share, and winter share.Fall is the biggest season, with 40 members. We have17 winter members. Here in the North Country,population density is low. So we offer three pickupoptions to increase our reach: at our farm, at thefarmers market in Canton, and in Potsdam (15 milesfrom the farm) at the home of one of our members.

We prepack CSA boxes for the members; oftenthere is an “extra box” if we have abundance. Peopletransfer veggies from the box to their own bags.Figuring out how much produce to give memberswas tricky. I knew that if I gave out an amountequivalent to what I consume in veggies, it would beway too much for many members. But how much isenough and not too much?

The answer laid in a layer system. For example, inthe summer we offer a basic box, which includeshead lettuce, and we make it as affordable aspossible. Then we offer add-on options for an extrafee. Mixed greens can be substituted for an extra$45/season. For the greens lovers, we offer an “ExtraLeafy” box, which is packed with an extra head oflettuce and a rotation of spinach, kale, chard, or

collards for an extra $70/season. Then there are thespinach lovers who want extra spinach only. Spinachis the most expensive green for us to grow; we addthe “Spinach Leafy” share option for an extra$90/season.

About five years ago, a college student residencegroup asked if we could supply them with veggiesfrom August through December. They were alloweda 50 percent reduction in the cost of their regularmeal plan at the college. The student group works

Unlike shopping at a grocery store, receiving food or other products through a CSA is not a cookie-cutterexperience. Each CSA tweaks the basic CSA model tomeet the particular wants and needs of the farmers andmembers. The mix of food and value-added productsoffered, terms of membership, length of the CSA season,timing of pickup, and payment options all vary. Themutually beneficial relationship that blossoms betweenfarmer and CSA community—as well as the locally

based, alternative economic system that CSAs support—are regenerative for everyone involved. As CSA has grown in strength and popularity

through the decades, more and more farms are turning toCSAs as a viable way to grow, including an increasingnumber of nontraditional CSAs. Here’s snapshot of fourCSAs—just a taste of the diversity of CSA in New York,both from the farmer and member perspective.

No Two Alike

Hanna Harvester (left) and Birdsfooter Kate Fagerlund(right) peel garlic at the Birdsfoot Farm Garlic Festival.Photo courtesy of Birdsfoot Farm

Portraits of CSAs from around the state offer a glimpse of the exciting rangeof possibilities that this food-centeredcommunity experience offers.

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170 hours per semester as part of the payment fortheir share. They come to the farm on Fridays in agroup of 4 to 10 students. They accomplish a lot—and they perk me up at the end of a long week! Thisfriendship gets passed on to the next group ofstudents.

The high point of our CSA season is our garlicharvest festival in July. We invite all our friends andCSA members to help us pick and peel all of thegarlic we grow—8 to 10 thousand heads. One groupin the field forks, pulls, and shakes the garlic.Another group of up to 20 people sits in ourbackyard peeling and tying garlic while chatting.Kids jump on the trampoline or play in the smallpool or help peel garlic. We eat together; there is livejazz. It’s a celebration of Birdsfoot Farm garlic!

Birdsfoot Farm is an intentional community of eightadults and one child. The Veggie Business is set up as apartnership. The farm is certified organic. To learn more,visit www.birdsfootfarm.weebly.com

Rootwork Herbals CSAby Amanda David

With Rootwork Herbals CSA, I am part of theCSA tradition, but I have created something uniquethrough my focus on herbal medicine. I wanted folksto develop a more intimate relationship withmedicinal plants, to realize that herbs are far morethan those bottles of St. John’s wort capsules andother bottled products found at health food stores.Through Rootwork Herbals CSA, members receivefreshly harvested and freshly made herbal products,attuning them to the rhythms and seasons of theplants. Members learn about the timing of herbgrowth and harvest. For example, they discover thatSt. John’s wort is ready to harvest in mid-June. Theyexperience it prepared as a tincture, infused oil, andliniment. And, perhaps most important, they learnthat its uses go far beyond what a bottle of capsulesmight describe. St. John’s wort is well known for itseffectiveness in treating depression, but it is also apremier ally for damaged nerves and nerve pain suchas sciatica, sore and strained muscles, and skinirritations including burns and cold sores. Plus, it isstrongly antiviral. Not bad for a wayside weed!

St. John’s wort is just one of many products andpreparations that can be made from locally grownherbs. This helps to insure that my herbal CSAremains fresh and relevant even to repeatcustomers. Shares include a mixture of internal and

external remedies. A loose-leaf tea blend, an oil-based preparation such as a salve, and an alcohol-based preparation such as a tincture are staples inevery share. I also offer elixirs, powders, lozenges,sprays, pillows, herb starts, herbal honey, and fresh-cut herbs.

I devise each share with a theme. For example, ashare might be based on remedies for the respiratorysystem or remedies made from roots. An extensiveeducational newsletter details the share theme andthoroughly explains each plant and product.

Making the CSA model fit with my particularproduct has been challenging. Offering shares ofprimarily value-added goods that most folks areunfamiliar with, and that can take many months toconsume, required some creative adjustments to thestandard CSA structure. For example, I offermonthly pickup rather than weekly. Monthlydelivery is more practical because of the long shelflife of my products, and because it keeps productand newsletter production more manageable for meduring the growing season. Customers also benefitfrom the monthly share because it makes the shareprice more reasonable and allows time for folks tobecome better acquainted with the herbs beforereceiving more. Each monthly share contains six toeight products with an average overall value of $65.

All specialty CSAs will face their own distinctivechallenges. The logistics of Rootwork Herbals CSAare still evolving as I work to better meet the needsof my community, as well as the needs of my familyand myself. I’ve found that flexibility, creativity, andmaintaining enthusiasm are integral to making anon-traditional CSA a success.

Rootwork Herbals is a Farmer’s Pledge farm based inAlpine (near Ithaca). To learn more about the CSA, visitrootworkherbals.com.

A monthly CSA share from Rootwork Herbals includesseveral products that have a common theme, such asremedies for the respiratory system or remedies from roots.Photo courtesy of Rootwork Herbals

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Early Morning CSAby Anton Burkett

When I started Early Morning Farm 15 years ago,I never imagined that our farm would grow intowhat it is today. At first we focused on growing aCSA membership in the Ithaca area. With a smallland base and a few employees, we grew to a thriving275-member CSA. The work was very physicallydemanding and also rewarding and satisfying.Eventually however, balancing an all-consumingfarming schedule with family time becameincreasingly difficult. It may sound counterintuitive,but we decided the best choice for us was to grow thefarm even more, so that I could delegate many of mytasks to others.

Over the past six seasons, we’ve expanded togrow on roughly 70 acres, with a 1,200-member CSAprogram that serves Syracuse, Ithaca, Binghamton,Cortland, Auburn, and many smaller communities.In 2013, we delivered CSA boxes 5 days a week toapproximately 30 pickup locations. The growth hastransformed the way our farm functions.

We manage our CSA primarily online—this iswhat makes sales and marketing to over a thousandmembers possible. But because we don’t see many ofour CSA members in person on a weekly basis, weinvest time keeping in touch in other ways.Answering e-mails and phone calls, posting recipeson the farm’s blog, keeping up with social mediapages, and sending out weekly e-mail newslettershas become a full-time job. It’s something we reallyenjoy, but we didn’t anticipate how much time itwould take. It helped to shape a change in ourmission. At first, our primary goal was to produce afantastic local vegetable package grown on our farm.We still do that, of course, but now we also realizewe are shaping the way people eat. Many of our CSA

members are putting forth an effort to improvetheir families’ diet and overall health. If we cansupport that attempt, our CSA share becomes evenmore valuable to our members.

Every year we seem to add more employees. In2013, our staff included a field manager, harvestmanager, packing manager, delivery driver, CSAmember coordinator, a part-time mechanic, andmyself in addition to our hardworking farm crew.When we were growing for 275 members, all ofthese jobs fell under my job description, but noweach task is connected with a different person—andpersonality. Keeping communication lines intact andrefining production systems to ensure efficiency andquality requires constant attention. Each year, wealso add a few more “rules” to our employee policymanual, creating a structure that is fair, flexible, andclear. This has significantly helped maintainharmony in the field. Keeping a strong team spirithas proven invaluable to our farm, and there is noway to overstate its importance.

Another big factor in growing the farm wassetting up the infrastructure. We have had to investin equipment to get the job done, including tractorsand implements for seeding, transplanting, tillage,cultivation. Finding appropriately sized equipmentand arranging financing can be challenging.Equipment is not usually cheap, and it has requiredsome tight budgeting and planning to ensure thatthe correct piece of equipment would arrive when weneeded it.

This all adds up to a big change in my job. I’m no longer out in the field planting and harvesting.I’m now more like a CFO: the Chief Farming Officerfor our organization. I’m in charge of logistics, cashflow management, and providing direction andcoordination for all of the managers. The ultimatequestion though, is whether or not these changeswill provide me more time with my growing family. At this point the farm still demands a goodamount of my time. And it’s my gig, so the buck still stops with me when a problem pops up and thecrew has gone home. However, I’m not in the fielduntil 9 p.m. anymore. As the growth stabilizes, I can envision a steady workweek of 45 to 50hours—I hope!

Early Morning Farm in Genoa operates one of the largest CSAs in central New York. To learn more, visit www.earlymorningfarm.com.

Susannah Spero packs collard greens in an Early MorningCSA share box. Photo courtesy of Early Morning Farm

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Brooklyn Bridge CSAby Joelle Asaro Berman

In 2010, two New York City–based organizationscalled Hazon and Pursue: Action for a Just World—both committed to environmental and socialjustice—assembled a group of volunteers toactualize a shared vision: bringing food justice toBrooklyn. This experimental project became theBrooklyn Bridge CSA, and these volunteers became adedicated core group, responsible for taking on thekey tasks required for the CSA to thrive.

During Brooklyn Bridge CSA’s first season, Ijoined the core group. Four seasons later, I realizehow much of our current success is built upon thefoundation that those original intrepid coregroupers established.

When a group of city dwellers set out to form aCSA, the first steps include forming a relationshipwith a farmer and finding a reliable distribution sitein the city. Brooklyn Bridge CSA benefitted from thehelp of Just Food, a local nonprofit that connectedus with Sang Lee Farms, a certified organic farmlocated in Peconic on Long Island’s North Fork.Farmer Fred Lee already supplied a wide range ofproduce to two other CSAs in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Bridge CSA is my first CSA experience.Before I became part of the core group, I was amember of the CSA, and I attended a screening ofthe short documentary film What’s Organic AboutOrganic? I was inspired to share the film with myfellow CSA members, and on a whim, contacted thecore group to suggest hosting a “movie night.” Luckyfor me, they welcomed the idea. I got to work,coordinating an appearance by the director and theevening’s program.

We hosted the event on a shoestring budget, and85 people attended. Afterward, the core groupinvited me to organize more events and get moreinvolved in the management of the CSA. Of course, Iresisted at first, but after an invitation to attend oneof the core group meetings, I couldn’t resist gettingmy hands dirty.

These days, our core group meets periodically at afavorite neighborhood bar that sources local beerand wine. But much of our other interaction isinformal and as needed. Each of the five central coremembers has a specific area of responsibility:volunteer management; registration and payment;farmer and distribution site liaison; eventcoordinator; and coordinating a weekly newsletter.Several other volunteers also help with specifictasks, such as photographing events and writingposts for the CSA’s blog, as well as updating the

CSA’s website and Facebook pages. Running a CSA is an investment of lots of hours

upfront, but after not too long, the yearly patternssettle into place. Now, we know exactly what weneed to do to plan fora successful season.And while I love thewonderful food thatFarmer Fred providesto the Brooklyn BridgeCSA, I feel even moreconnected to the CSAbecause of ourcommitment to foodjustice. BrooklynBridge CSA offers asliding scale paymentstructure, and eachmember determinesthe amount they arecomfortably able topay for a share. In theoverall balance, themoney paid for sharesexceeds the amountneeded to pay thefarmer and coveroperating expenses.So our CSA passes aportion of the fundsonto our sister CSA in a nearby neighborhood, whichthen further subsidizes shares for members in need.

Being a Brooklyn Bridge core group member is alabor of love, a volunteer commitment that is notcompensated by discounts or other perks. I and myfellow core group members are motivated by ourwish to see the CSA and its mission of food justicethrive. As a core group member, I have theopportunity to develop a creative vision of how thecommunity comes together. I love the freedom Ihave to brainstorm new events and CSA projects andthen implement them.

The secret to our core group’s success has beenfinding a way for volunteers to manage the taskswith which they are most comfortable, and thosethat speak to their own personal skill set andpassions. As a former summer camp counselor, I amright at home facilitating events and conversations;my role as events coordinator is more of a pleasurethan a task.

The Brooklyn Bridge CSA is looking forward to their fifth summer season. To learn more about the CSA, visit brooklynbridgecsa.org.

Brooklyn Bridge CSA runs events likethis recent cooking demonstration anddinner, led by CSA member and chefLaura Allen. Photo courtesy of BrooklynBridge CSA

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A Change of LeadershipBy Maryrose LivingstonPresident, NOFA-NY Board of Directors

NOFA-NY is looking ahead to big changes in2014! We are sad to say goodbye to our ExecutiveDirector, Kate Mendenhall, at the end of March.Kate will return to her home state of Iowa where shehopes to build a diversified livestock operation ofher own. And we are pleased to welcome a newExecutive Director, Anne Ruflin, in the spring.

Kate joined NOFA-NY in 2006 as a member of theeducation team and was appointed ExecutiveDirector in 2009. She moved the organization fromthe era of a few staff members working remotelyfrom home offices to a staff of 12 housed primarilyin a Rochester office. The organization’s revenuesand program offerings expanded significantly duringher tenure as Executive Director. NOFA-NY nowboasts both a Journeyperson program andMentorship program, providing guidance tobeginning farmers. Annual CSA fairs have helpedmore consumers gain access to healthy, local foods,as well as increase the consumer base for farmersoffering CSA shares. NOFA-NY became a leader inthe new Agricultural Justice Project, providingfarmers with resources to ensure job fairness. Theorganization developed an educational program tomeet the needs of New York’s organic dairy farmers,the Organic Dairy & Field Crop conference. TheLocavore Challenge receives national attention forits promotion of local, organic food production andconsumption. NOFA-NY members now have accessto an expanded number of educational field days.

Kate has always had the members’ best interestsin mind. We could not have asked for a morepassionate, hardworking Executive Director. Kategrew up in Iowa, where she saw a once-thrivingagricultural community be devastated by federalpolicies encouraging monoculture and commodityfarming. This inspired a lifelong passion in her fororganic, sustainable agriculture. We wish Katesuccess and happiness in Iowa—may her muck bootsalways be dry, and her truck be free from rust.

Anne brings an exciting array of skills andexperiences to NOFA-NY. Not only is she a seasonedexecutive in the nonprofit sector, but she has beenfarming in upstate New York since 1982. Anne hasworked in the health care sector since 1982, whereshe has led programs to create one of the first ruralhealth networks in upstate New York, expandedhealth care access for the elderly and underservedcommunities, and formulated funding development

and grants to address health care issues in our state.Anne was very happy in her career in the health caresector, but when she saw the job posting for theNOFA-NY Executive Director position (which shehappened upon by chance), she described it as her“dream job.” We are so happy to welcome her—she isbringing a wealth of experience as well as unbridledenthusiasm to the organization. Anne proudlyboasts that she does barn chores every day at herfarm in Canandaigua, where she and her husbandhave lived since the 1980s.

We Can’t Shop Our Way to a Sustainable Food SystemMaking an individual effort to buy local, organic

products is no doubt important, but it’s only abeginning. If we want to foster a sustainable foodand farming system, we need to provide theresources to help regionally based, organic andsustainable farmers thrive. We need to connectconsumers to these farmers. And we need to put inplace state and federal policies that support asustainable food and farming system.

No one person can do this alone. It requires amovement of people—farmers, consumers,gardeners, and business owners—coming togetherto press for change. NOFA-NY is our statewideorganization leading this growing movement.

When you join NOFA-NY, your membershipdonation supports programs such as our signatureevent—our annual Organic Farming & GardeningConference. Widely regarded as one of the bestsustainable agricultural conferences in the East, thisannual three-day event brings together hundreds oforganic and sustainable farmers, gardeners, andfood advocates. It offers attendees an opportunity todeepen their knowledge and learn about newtechniques and resources through more than80 workshops. It provides a much-needed forum fornetworking and information sharing.

There are only about 1,000 small-scale organicfarms in our state to meet the needs of 19.4 millionNew Yorkers. And the number of New Yorkers whoare choosing to buy organic products weekly isalready at 5.4 million and growing! The resourcesand support NOFA-NY provides to individuals whowant to farm organically helps us all gain greateraccess to local, organic food and farm products.

When you join NOFA-NY, your membership

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NOFA-NY Newsdonation supports our projects that promote local,organic food and farming—projects such as ourannual Organic and Local Food and Farm Guide. Thisis the most comprehensive farm-to-table guidepublished and distributed in New York State. Iteducates readers about the value of local, organicfood and connects them with more than700 regionally based, organic and sustainablefarmers.

When you join NOFA-NY, your membershipdonation also supports our efforts to advocatepolicies that promote a sustainable and fair food andfarm system. We’ve been working to pass a Farm Billthat betters serves small and midsize organicfarmers. Members from our Policy Committee havetraveled to Washington, D.C. on several occasionsduring the past twelve months to push forimprovements to the proposed Farm Bill—fightingto keep crucial organic programs funded. On thestate level we’ve been lobbying for passage of statelegislation that would require all GMO ingredientsand products to be labeled if sold in New York State.

Keep buying local, organic farm productswhenever you can. And join the growing movementof farmers, consumers, gardeners, and business

owners who are working together to promote asustainable food and farm system in New York Stateand across the nation. We need YOU!

With your membership donation, you will receive the following:

• 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.

• 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.

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

• Your membership in NOFA-NY also allows you tovote at our annual meeting and help guide thedirection of the organization.

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Photo courtesy of Matthew’s on Main

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Restaurants by Jenn Baumstein

Matthew’s on Main19 Main Street, Callicoon, NY(845) 887-5636 • matthewsonmain.com

About 10 years ago, Matthew Lanes and DominqueJenkins left their jobs in the city and movedpermanently to their country house. Shortly thereafter,they bought a big, flat-roofed red barn dating from 1865in Callicoon that would become their year-roundrestaurant. The building now houses a casual bar in thefront and a dining room in the back, with a privatedining room upstairs. The porch at the rear overlooks theDelaware River. The porch is built around a walnut treeso large that no canopy is needed.

The town of Callicoon is in the hub of the DelawareRiver basin, a location where, as Lanes says, “You canspend 10 dollars on a dinner or 100. We treat you thesame. I don’t play favorites. You can’t in this part of theworld.” Jenkins runs the front of the house and callsMatthew’s a “big social experiment” The community inthe area is mostly agrarian, and they and the weekendersdon’t have many places to co-mingle.

One benefit of the agrarian surroundings is the accessto local food and drink. The menu at Matthew’s isincredibly diverse, and specials change weekly. One weekyou may have a winter citrus and fennel salad with beet-pickled onions and the next the specials include aHungarian peasant soup. Lanes and Jenkins order fromfarms in New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania; all arejust miles from the restaurant. Their sources includeWillow Wisp Organic Farm, Heller Farm, CalkinsCreamery, Tonjes Farm, Sherman Hills Farm, MaynardOrchard, Stone and Thistle Farm, and Burd Farm. “I canput a respectable cheese plate together from farmswithin 15 miles,” says Lanes. It appears that thismovement is only growing: the town’s farmers market isright across the street from the restaurant. Restaurant hours: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.;

Saturday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.– 9 p.m. Photo courtesy of Felicia's Atomic Lounge

Felicia’s Atomic Lounge508 West Street, Ithaca NY 14850(607) 273-2219 • atomicloungeithaca.com

Nine years ago, Amelia Sauter and her partner, LeahHoughtaling, opened up a cocktail lounge in a city filledwith bars and local watering holes. The idea was to createa space in a college town that had a sophisticated feel at areasonable price. The Lounge has changed from being aspace to drink to a place to gather. That includesexpanded offerings, such as pizza daily and brunch onSundays.

Many offerings at the bar are grown close to home.Years ago, Sauter and Houghtaling began a relationshipwith the farmers at Tree Gate Farm. (Their first meetingwas, of course, over drinks.) The harvest is a bit differentever year, and includes horseradish for mimosas;lemongrass, flowers, and Sungold tomatoes for BloodyMarys; and herbs and seasonal vegetables for the pizzas.

Felicia’s staff are very careful to order only localmeats. Their meat comes from Autumn’s Harvest Farm,Lively Run Goat Farm, and The Piggery. Autumn’sHarvest is Animal Welfare Approved.

What stands out most about Felicia’s is their deepcommitment to diverting as much from their wastestream as possible. All but 2 percent of the trashgenerated by the Lounge is channeled into compost. Forexample, a lemon can be first zested for muffins, thenjuiced for a Bloody Mary, and the remainder thenchopped up and used to infuse vodka before beingcomposted. Their apples (from their own trees) are usedto infuse brandy before being composted. Restaurant hours: Tuesday-Saturday 4 p.m.–1 a.m.;

Sunday 11 a.m.–11 p.m.

Cosmos, Earth and Nutrition:The Biodynamic Approach to Agricultureby Richard Thornton SmithRudolf Steiner Press, 2013

Dr. Richard Thornton Smith is aBritish specialist in sustainableagriculture who began his career as ageologist working in soil science,environment, and conservation. Heembraced the theories and practicesof the founder of biodynamics, Rudolph Steiner, andhas written previously about this spiritual-ethical-ecological approach to agriculture, food production,and nutrition. In this book, Smith offers anexplanation and applications of Steiner’s approachand the biodynamic way to contemporary farmers,gardeners, and organic enthusiasts. Biodynamics ismore than agricultural techniques, with a goal ofachieving a holistic harmony through a revitalizedrelationship with natural elements, including theliving soil. Book topics include farm ecology, CSAs,planetary influences, and seed quality.

Cows Save the Planet: And Other ImprobableWays of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth by Judith D. SchwartzChelsea Green Publishing, 2013

Judith Schwartz shares what she discovered inher search for solutions to our planet’senvironmental woes and the practices that createdthem. Presenting the work of diverse experts inmany related fields, she translates the science of soil,air, and water so that we can understand how

Blessing the Hands That Feed Us:What Eating Closer to Home Can Teach Us About Food, Community, and Our Place on Earthby Vicki Robin, Viking, 2014

Vicki Robin won fame and respect for her 1990s bestseller Your Money or Your Life. This newbook describes her journey of discovery and transformation as she spends one month eatingonly what is created within a 10-mile radius of her home in Puget Sound, Washington. Thebook is being compared to Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Michael Pollan’sbooks as “part personal narrative, part global manifesto.” Her mission brings her closer to hercommunity and opens her eyes to the issues of our global food production and deliverysystems, as she lives the locavore life for a month and shares her experiences.

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specific practices would harness the real power ofsoil. She builds the case that we can replenish oursoil to solve the problem of increasing carbondioxide levels in our atmosphere, our waterproblems, and much more. As Gretel Ehrlich statesin the book’s foreword, Schwartz shows that “soilcan be seen as the crucible for our many overlappingenvironmental, economic, and social crises.”Schwartz offers comprehensive information andcompelling testimonies from experts on what somehave called surprising ways our soil practices mustchange to heal the planet and stop the destructivetrends. To achieve real change, we will need some“improbable” solutions and intelligent, persuasivevoices, and this book delivers both to get us thinkingin the right direction.

A Place at the Table: The Crisis of 49 MillionHungry Americans and How to Solve It edited by Peter PringleDocumentary: Magnolia Studios, 2013Companion book: PublicAffairs, 2013

This documentary and companion bookwere created to inform Americans of thereal nature of the hunger crisis in their richcountry and offer a way to solve it. Whenone in four children in America is going hungryevery day, something is very wrong. Peter Pringle,who wrote the 2005 eye-opener Food, Inc., bringstogether a compelling collection of those working tofight this hunger crisis every day. From actor JeffBridges and other well-known food activists,including Joel Berg, Robert Egger, and Marion

Springtime is a time for change. To keep the connection strong between thought and action, look tothese new resources that relate to sessions offered at NOFA-NY’s recent Winter Conference.

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Media by Ann AnthonyNestle; to the researchers and sociologists armedwith conclusive data and new trends; to Ken Cookanalyzing how the Farm Bill affects our food deliverysystems; the voices we hear take us beyond distressto motivate action. The documentary tells the storyof three Americans who don’t know where their nextmeal is coming from and shows how we can decideto solve the problem—now, as citizens of action.

Sustainable Market Farming: IntensiveVegetable Production on a Few Acresby Pam DawlingNew Society Publishers, 2013

With over twenty years of successful communityfarming experience, Pam Dawling knows thechallenges of intensive vegetable production. Shealso knows how to succeed, and she offers advice ona wide range of topics including what to grow, howto avoid common pests and diseases, how to extendyour season, how to develop farm-specific businessskills, and how to adopt the latest and most efficienttechniques. The book is designed to serve bothbeginners and experienced farmers as they strive tobetter grow and serve their CSA members, localfarmers markets, and other sales channels.

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Why Local Organic

Planting a Dreamby Andy Fellenz, Fellenz Family Farm

It is a beautiful late spring Sundayin 1998. I spend the morning inmy family’s garden enjoying thesmell and feel of a nice mellow soilrunning through my hands. I’mplanting seeds before leaving onyet another business trip. I workfor a large company and mostweeks I spend a few days on theroad working with engineers allacross the country. In May, thegarden is full of promise. By lateJuly, time away from home willtransform my spring vision into aweed patch.

My wife and I talk and think;maybe there is another way. I’vealways enjoyed gardening. As achild of suburbia, growing up onLong Island, I planted a garden.For a few years I even tried to growgrapes. We attend a farming fieldday to learn about biodynamics.We go to our first OEFFA (OhioEcological Food and FarmingAssociation) Winter Conference.Over the next few years there aremore conferences and weekendevents plus a lot of reading—WesJackson, Gene Logsdon, WendellBerry, Louis Bromfeld, and others.In 2000, a new job brings us fromOhio to the Finger Lakes.

Hopes and dreams begin togerminate and take root. Thedream of an organic farm turnsinto a plan. In November 2001, wetake the plunge. My wife hasreturned to teaching after stayinghome with our four boys for twelve

preschooler happily shout, “Lookmom, brussels sprouts! Can we getthem?” It’s not an epiphany, butover time I realize that thechildren get it—they areembracing the seasons and a dietthat honors not just the seasons,but the region.

Fast forward to 2013. I amfarming with my 22-year-old son,Erik, and several part-timeemployees. We are growing almost100 varieties of vegetables, fruits,and herbs for 200-plus CSA sharesas well as one farmers market andour farmstand. Erik and I havestarted the conversation abouttransition and how he can makethe farm his. I’ve farmed for 12years now. My original plan for anorganic orchard and cidery hasmorphed into something verydifferent. I started with a desire toknow a small space intimately, todo good work, and to forgeconnections with people in mycommunity. The farm has allowedme to do that, and for that I amthankful.

Subscribing to the philosophy oforganic growth for an organic farm,since 2002 Andy Fellenz has slowlydeveloped an intensively cultivatedyear-round farm on seven acres inPhelps, supplying certified organicvegetables, fruit, herbs, eggs, honey,and transplants.

Chester the bull mastiff makes a greatmascot for Fellenz Family Farm: heloves sweet corn. Photos courtesy ofFellenz Family Farm

Organic farmer Andy Fellenz

years. I leave my job. At age 39,with two boys in school and twopreschoolers, I start a farm on ourseven acres—all the while chasingafter our four sons. Our farm willbe small because that is what I willhave the time and skill to manage;

we’ll sell locally because we won’thave enough produce orconnections to sell any other way;we’ll grow organically because thatis what I know and what is rightfor us. The kids will be able to helpas they want to and can.

Several years later, myyoungest, who has just startedschool, asks, “Dad, when can westart having winter food?” A fewweeks later, at one of my CSAdistributions I overhear a

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