Is Mad Hatter Farm Organic? June 2009 (II)

Dear Mad Hatters,

I thought I would try to answer one of the questions we so often face, is our farm organic and what does organic mean? 

To be able to call your farm or produce "organic" you must be certified by the USDA or a sanctioned certifying agent.  There are many good reasons to become certified, as well as some obstacles.  In a nutshell, being an organic farm means not using synthetic insecticides, herbicides or fertilizers, not using GMO or chemically treated seeds, using sustainable farming practices such as crop rotation, cover crops, compost, green manures, and water conservation, and practicing careful post-harvest handling.  The word "organic" is a powerful marketing tool, but the word now belongs to the US Government.  Not a bad thing, because some regulation is always needed for consumer protection, but for those of us not certified, and thus not able to use the word "organic," how do we define ourselves? I do not have a good answer.

Mad Hatter Farm is not certified organic because we cannot provide a 3-year land history of our property.  This property was an unused pasture before we turned it into a vegetable farm 1 1/2 year ago, but the previous owner is deceased and there are no records stating the land's previous use.  We must wait 3 years before we can start the certification process.  In the meantime, we grow everything from certified organic seed, use only organic soil amendments, use products certified by the OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute), etc.

We are also signers of CT NOFA's Farmers Pledge, which goes above and beyond the requirements of the National Organic Plan (USDA), and we take our pledge seriously.  For more information on the Farmer's Pledge, please go to www.ctnofa.org .

Back here at the farm, we've gone from Summer back to Spring, and it feels like the fields are at a standstill.  You'll remember, our Spring crops tanked in the unexpected early heat, but our summer crops accelerated.  Now it is cool and rainy, so our second planting of Spring crops are getting going, while the summer stuff is struggling.  It will all even out in the end, because it always does, but these first couple of weeks have been doozies!

This week at the Ridgefield Farmers Market (Friday 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., rain or shine), we should have:

Luscious Lettuce Mix

Spicy Asian Greens Mix

Cardinale Head Lettuce

Red Russian Kale

Snap Peas

Garlic Scapes

Arugula

Beets

We look forward to seeing you there! 

Alix and Jeff

Mad Hatter Farm

135 Music Mountain Road

Falls Village, CT 06031

T: 860-824-7635

www.madhatterfarm.com