Fall 2006 Natural Farmer

Fall, 2006 Vol. 2, No.
70 Publication of the Northeast Organic Farming Association 1077-2294

Inside This Issue
Features
A Few Thoughts on National Animal ID 7
On Perennializing Annual Plants 10
Supplement on
Organic Potatoes
A Brief History of the Potato 11
Ivy Donovan: Potatoes at the Worlds Top 14
Organic & Conventional Spuds Compared 17
How to Harvest and Store Potatoes 22
Wood Prairie Farm 23
Potato Leafhopper and Organic Pesticides 27
Producing Potatoes Organically 31
Managing Potato Diseases Organically 33
Paul Maiewski on Forty Acres of Potatoes 34
Departments
Letters to the Editor 2
Editorial 2
News Notes 4
NOFA Exchange 6
Book Reviews 42
NOFA Contact People 46
Calendar 47
NOFA Membership Information 47
by Kathy Litchfeld and Ben Grosscup
A cool breeze swept through the Hampshire
College campus Aug. 10-13, fanning the fames
of the hundreds of minds on fre during the 32
nd

Annual NOFA Summer Conference. Hundreds
of people learned, danced, shared, ate, camped,
drummed, and luxuriously sampled from the
weekends vast array of activities, laughing and
sharing their lives with each other all the way.
The NOFA Summer Conference truly offered
something for everybody. Registrations topped
1,000 and people traveled from all over the
country to experience one of the most educa-
tional and fun-flled conference weekends avail-
able for organically minded people.
Children, teens and adults of all ages enjoyed
a stellar array of educational opportunities,
choosing from amongst 218 workshops during
the days, fueling their bodies and minds with
delectable organic meals either in the din-
ing hall or as provided by enthusiastic organic
vendors. As usual, the maple ice cream topped
with fresh blueberries during Saturdays Local
Meal sold out and food was a major topic of
conversation both in and out of the dining hall.
While the many conference exhibitors shared
their expertise in everything from biodiesel to
land trusts, long-time conference goers met
new friends and swapped the years stories with
long-time buddies.
The NOFA Pre-Conference on Food & Farming
Education refreshed educators and participants
with inspiring stories, exciting discussions and
pathways to the future, heading for true change
in our food system.
One of NOFAs Pre-Conference presenters
received a special surprise on Friday evening.
NOFA-VT Agriculture Education Coordinator
and VT Feed Coordinator Abbie Nelson was
honored as NOFA Person of the Year. Gracious-
ly and with tears in her eyes, the extraordinary
2006 NOFA Summer
Conference a Success
photo by Steve Gilman
A young and enthusiastic crowd turned out for the 2006 NOFA Summer Conference.
More Conference pictures on pages 39 to 41!
educator called a gift from the Goddess and
school lunch queen by NOFA-VT Executive
Director Enid Wonnacott, accepted her green-
handled engraved shovel.
Its really about relationships and webs, and I
love this job because I can web together every-
one who cares so much about kids and schools,
she said. Its fabulous to be part of this organi-
zation, so thanks.
Keynote speaker Sister Miriam Therese Mac-
Gillis shared thought-provoking ideas about the
Earth we share, inspired by the work of Earth
Scholars Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme.
Interspersed with beautiful poetry, MacGillis
talked about the end of an era and the birth of a
new, more sustainable and spiritual one.
Were living at the end of an age where the
tremendous attractiveness and seductiveness of
the industrial model of growing food has swept
across the planet (and no longer serves us) . . .
so to be faithful in the midst of that, we must
remain passionate about the future of food,
health, farming and the overall call of being on
the planet. There is no roadmap, book or guide.
We are the generation who has discovered a
totally different way of understanding the very
nature and makeup and function and activity of
the universe itself. Faith takes us beyond obser-
vation, beyond the realm of human experience,
she said. In each and every one of us the uni-
verse is refected. Who am I, why am I, where
am I. Our identity is shifting in a fundamental
way. Were an expression of the earth itself.
On Saturday evening, conference goers focked
to the Franklin Patterson Main Lecture Hall,
which was packed to the hilt for the Saturday
night debate, covering a topic that small farmers
and those who rely upon them tend to strongly
oppose: the National Animal Identifcation Sys-
tem (NAIS). The debate was a unique gather-
ing of people from far disparate points of view.
(continued on page 39)
by Steve Gilman
Some 50 visionaries gathered for two days at a
special NOFA Summer Preconference session
organized to picture what organic can look like
in ten years and to discuss how we might get
there.
The NOFA meeting was the kick-off of a
project designed to develop a National Organic
Action Plan (NOAP) in a process scheduled to
be repeated in regions around the country in the
next year to garner grassroots input and to build
a proactive farmers voice to help direct the
debate on what organic is, infuence legislation
and determine the future direction of organic in
the U.S.
In the course of the discussion it was reported
that Gary Hirshberg, CEO of Stonyfeld Farm
Yogurt (bought out by the French Corporation,
Danone, in 2004) voiced industry sentiments
and pronounced that the organic movement is
dead -- its all about the organic INDUSTRY
now -- in a speech he gave at this years
Organic Trade Association (OTA) Conference,
All Things Organic, held in April in Chicago.
Somehow, however, the industry observers
holding the funeral didnt realize they were
Grassroots Organics
Alive and Well at the
National Organic
Action Plans NOFA
Preconference
(continued on page 41)
Th e Nat ur al Far me r F a l l , 2 0 0 6 2
Advertisements not only bring in TNF revenue, which
means less must come from membership dues, they also
make a paper interesting and helpful to those looking for
specifc goods or services. We carry 2 kinds of ads:
The NOFA Exchange - this is a free bulletin board
service for NOFA members and TNF subscribers for oc-
casional needs or offerings. Send in up to 100 words and
well print it free in the next issue. Include a price (if sell-
ing) and an address, E-mail or phone number so readers
can contact you directly. If youre not a NOFA member,
you can still send in an ad - just send $5 along too! Send
NOFA Exchange ads directly to The Natural Farmer, 411
Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005 or (preferably) E-mail to
Jack@mhof.net.
Display Ads - this is for those offering products or ser-
vices on a regular basis! You can get real attention with
display ads. Send camera ready copy to Dan Rosenberg,
PO Box 40, Montague, MA 01351 (413) 863-9063 and
enclose a check for the appropriate size. The sizes and
rates are:
Full page (15 tall by 10 wide) $300
Half page (7 1/2 tall by 10 wide) $155
One-third page (7 1/2 tall by 6 1/2 wide) $105
One-quarter page (7 1/2 tall by 4 7/8 wide) $80
One-sixth page (7 1/2 tall by 3 1/8 wide), or
(3 3/4 tall by 6 1/2 wide) $55
Business card size (1 1/2 tall by 3 1/8 wide) $15
Note: These prices are for camera ready copy. If you
want any changes we will be glad to make them - or to
typeset a display ad for you - for $10 extra. Just send us
the text, any graphics, and a sketch of how you want it to
look. Include a check for the space charge plus $10.
Advertise in or Sponsor The Natural Farmer
Frequency discounts: if you buy space in several issues
you can qualify for substantial discounts off these rates.
Pay for two consecutive issues and get 10% off each,
pay for 3 and get 20% off, or pay for 4 and get 25% off.
An ad in the NOFA Summer Conference Program Book
counts as a TNF ad for purposes of this discount.
Deadlines: We need your ad copy one month before the
publication date of each issue. The deadlines are:
January 31 for the Spring issue (mails Mar. 1)
April 30 for the Summer issue (mails Jun. 1)
July 31 for the Fall issue (mails Sep. 1)
October 31 for the Winter issue (mails Dec. 1)
Disclaimer: Advertisers are helping support the paper so
please support them. We cannot investigate the claims
of advertisers, of course, so please exercise due caution
when considering any product or service. If you learn of
any misrepresentation in one of our ads please inform us
and we will take appropriate action. We dont want ads
that mislead.
Sponsorships: Individuals or organizations wishing to
sponsor The Natural Farmer may do so with a payment
of $200 for one year (4 issues). In return, we will thank
the sponsor in a special area of page 3 of each issue, and
feature the sponsors logo or other small insignia.
Contact for Display Ads or Sponsors: Send display ads
or sponsorships with payment to our advertising manager
Dan Rosenberg, PO Box 40, Montague, MA 01351. If
you have questions, or want to reserve space, contact Dan
at (413) 863-9063 or dan@realpickles.com.
The Natural Farmer is the newspaper of the Northeast
Organic Farming Association (NOFA). In most chapters,
regular members receive a subscription as part of their
dues, and others may subscribe for $10 (in the US or
$18 outside the US). It is published four times a year at
411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005. The editors are Jack
Kittredge and Julie Rawson, but most of the material is
either written by members or summarized by us from
information people send us.
Upcoming Issue Topics - We plan a year in advance so
that folks who want to write on a topic can have a lot of
lead time. The next 3 issues will be:
Winter 2006-07 Agriculture & Globalization
Spring 2007 Water & Agriculture
Summer 2007 Organic Minor Fruit
Moving or missed an issue? The Natural Farmer will not
be forwarded by the post offce, so you need to make
sure your address is up-to-date if you move. You get your
subscription to this paper in one of two ways. Direct
subscribers who send us $10 are put on our database here.
These folks should send address changes to us. Most of
you, however, get this paper as a NOFA member beneft
for paying your chapter dues. Each quarter every NOFA
chapter sends us address labels for their paid members,
which we use to mail out the issue. If you moved or
didnt get the paper, you need to take it up with your state
chapter. Every issue we print an updated list of NOFA
Contact People on the last page, for a handy reference to
all the chapter names and addresses.
As a membership paper, we count on you for articles, art
and graphics, news and interviews, photos on rural or
organic themes, ads, letters, etc. Almost everybody has a
special talent or knows someone who does. If you cant
write, fnd someone who can to interview you. Wed like
to keep the paper lively and interesting to members, and
we need your help to do it.
We appreciate a submission in any form, but are less
likely to make mistakes with something typed than
hand-written. To be a real gem, send it via electronic mail
(Jack@mhof.net.) Also, any graphics, photos, charts, etc.
you can provide will almost certainly make your sub-
mission more readable and informative. If you have any
ideas or questions, one of us is usually near the phone
- (978) 355-2853, fax: (978) 355-4046. The NOFA Inter-
state Council website is www.nofa.org.
ISSN 1077-2294
copyright 2006,
Northeast Organic Farming Association
The Natural Farmer
Needs You!
Letters to the Editor
To the editor:
I have enjoyed reading The natural Farmer, have
patronized one of your advertisers (Magnetec) and
will others as well. Thank you for this paper.
Phil Keys, Batavia, NY
Dear Phil:
Thanks for your renewal and note of support. Our
advertisers make the difference between life and
death for this paper, so I appreciate your support
of them, too. Most are small businesses providing
quality products and opening liberated zones in an
economy otherwise dominated by multinationals.
Jack Kittredge, editor
by Jack Kittredge
Depending on whether you pick the Western or
Eastern tradition, wheat or rice has been the Lord of
Staple Crops. Recently the protean contribution of
Central America, maize, has joined them in global
volume -- if not prestige -- because it is so easily
turned into other things.
But the lowly Andean potato, the fourth staple in
world food statistics, has not gathered much status
even after 500 years.
Perhaps this is because people are notoriously dif-
fcult to dissociate from their cultural food prefer-
ences. On this basis we may forgive their lack of
judgment. For that lowly spud is a truly remarkable
piece of Nature.
Potatoes are more productive than any other staple
on a yield per acre basis. The production of one
acre can feed ten people for a year! And these are
not empty calories. Potatoes provide all the vital
nutrients necessary for humans except calcium and
vitamins A & D (which can be supplied by any dairy
product). Thus a family with a potato feld and a
cow (or goat) is set for life!
This productivity, and the fact that potatoes can be
planted and tended with nothing more than a spade,
has made the humble spud the peasants best friend.
Potatoes in the home garden give one a sense of
independence from the lord and the miller. That they
can be stored so easily all winter in a corner of the
cellar gives a household a certain freedom from the
market as well.
For the organic farmer, potatoes are one of the crops
for which the organic premium is highest. Although
conventional commodity potatoes can be had for
5 or 10 a pound retail, organic varieties routinely
bring $1 to $2 and fngerlings can easily go to $3 or
$4. Slip those numbers into a calculation involving
normal yields of 15,000 to 20,000 pounds per acre
and you can see the appeal.
But organic potatoes are also a diffcult crop to raise
in volume. The number of insect pests and diseases
which enjoy this productive plant is legion. Only
good rotations, careful seed selection, thorough
monitoring and judicious use of allowed materials
can achieve those productivity targets.
Potato harvesting is also a big deal. Either you have
a lot of labor doing it by hand, in which case your
expenses are quite high, or you invest in a harvester
a complicated and fnicky machine in which
cases your expenses are quite high.
We devote this issue of The Natural Farmer to the
lowly spud in the hopes that it will earn a little more
respect as the healthful, productive, and democratic
vegetable it assuredly is.
Organic Potatoes: Miracle Crop?
FREE CATALOG!
Hundreds of hard-to-find sustainable
ag books from around the world!
P.O. Box 91299 Austin, Texas 78709 U.S.A.
512-892-4400 fax 512-892-4448
e-mail: info@acresusa.com
For a FREE sample issue
or to subscribe call today!
$27 U.S./12 monthly issues
Hands-On Agronomy
by Neal Kinsey & Charles Walters. The soil is
more than just a substrate that anchors crops in
place. An ecologically balanced soil system is
essential for maintaining healthy crops. This is a
comprehensive manual on soil management. The
whats and whys of micronutrients, earthworms,
soil drainage, tilth, soil structure and organic mat-
ter are explained in detail. Kinsey shows us how working with the
soil produces healthier crops with a higher yield. True hands-on
advice that consultants charge thousands for every day. Revised
& updated edition. Softcover, 416 pages.
#4120 $30.00
The Biological Farmer
by Gary F. Zimmer. This is the farming consultants
bible. It schools the interested grower in methods of
maintaining a balanced, healthy soil that promises
greater productivity at lower costs, and it covers
some of the pitfalls of conventional farming prac-
tices. Zimmer knows how to make responsible farm-
ing work. His extensive knowledge of biological
farming and consulting experience come through in this complete, prac-
tical guide to making farming fun and profitable. Softcover, 352 pages.
#6438 $25.00
Weeds Control Without Poisons
by Charles Walters. Low biological activity is
inherent in each weed problem ... Each weed is
keyed to a specific environment slotted for its
proliferation. So says Weeds Control Without
Poisons author Charles Walters. Specifics on a
hundred weeds, why they grow, what soil
conditions spur them on or stop them, what they
say about your soil, and how to control them without the obscene
presence of poisons. All cross-referenced by scientific and various
common names with a pictorial glossary. Softcover, 352 pages.
#4005 $25.00
Natural Sheep Care
by Pat Coleby. In this comprehensive guide for
all breeders of sheep Coleby draws on decades
of experience in natural animal husbandry to
provide essential information for both organic
and conventional farmers. The original edition
has been expanded significantly in the areas of
breeding for finer wool and meat, land
management, sheep management and treatment of health
problems. Coleby covers breeds of sheep, wool, meat and milk
production, feeding requirements, poisonous plants, minerals and
vitamins, herbal, homeopathic and natural remedies, and more.
Softcover, 232 pages.
#6734 $25.00
Natural Cattle Care
by Pat Coleby. Natural Cattle Care encompasses
every facet of farm management, from the
mineral components of the soils cattle graze
over, to issues of fencing, shelter and feed
regimens. Coleby provides systems-level
solutions and specific remedies for optimizing
cattle health and productivity. Softcover,
198 pages.
#6490 $20.00
Natural Goat Care
by Pat Coleby. Goats thrive on fully organic,
natural care. In Natural Goat Care, consultant Pat
Coleby shows how to solve health problems both
with natural herbs and medicines and the
ultimate cure, bringing the soil into healthy
balance. Topics include: correct housing and
farming methods; choosing the right livestock;
diagnosing health problems; nutritional requirements and feeding
practices; vitamins and herbal, homeopathic and natural remedies;
psychological needs of goats; breeds and breeding techniques.
Softcover, 374 pages.
#6491 $25.00
Rebirth of the Small Family Farm
by Bob & Bonnie Gregson. This is a concise, yet
complete handbook for starting a successful or-
ganic farm based on the community-supported
agriculture concept. The book illustrates how
two middle-aged novices made a decent living
on less than two acres of land. The model ex-
plained in the book is an updated version of the
diverse market gardens/farms found throughout recorded history.
Not just a theory book, it details specific tools, techniques and how-
to information. Softcover, 64 pages.
#6288 $12.00
Lessons in Nature
by Malcolm Beck. This new, expanded edition of
Becks classic The Garden-Ville Method includes
even more practical and inspirational philosophy
and techniques on soil building, planting and
growing, pest control and more. Told in a mod-
est and often humorous style, Lessons in Nature
combines empirical observation with a healthy
dose of common sense. Through his observations and experience,
Malcolm Beck will help readers discover nature while growing deli-
cious food, all without damaging the environment. This book can
provide the beginner with all the information needed to get started
using organic methods, and to experience the rewards of an organic
lifestyle. Softcover, 330 pages.
#4015 $20.00
Fertility from the Ocean Deep
by Charles Walters. With the republication of
Dr. Maynard Murrays Sea Energy Agriculture,
readers rediscovered the forgotten legacy of an
eco-ag pioneer. Murrays idea that ocean
water contains a concentrated, perfect balance
of trace minerals in bioavailable form seems
almost as revolutionary today as when he intro-
duced it 30 years ago. In this fascinating book, Charles Walters
examines Murray's career and the amazing successes that growers
have experienced with his methods, as well as further developments
in this technology by creative experimenters. Using hard data
obtained in the field, Walters demonstrates that sea-solids fertilizers
produce stress-resistant plants and food with naturally extended
shelf life and vastly increased nutrient levels. Both an amazing narra-
tive and a practical guide for improving soil and crop health, Fertility
from the Ocean Deep is a must-read for everyone interested in the
cutting edge of agriculture. Softcover, 175 pages.
#6735 $20.00
Real Medicine, Real Health
by Arden B. Andersen, Ph.D. Western medicine
unquestionably provides the best emergency/
trauma treatment available anywhere in the
world. If you are having a heart attack or have
suffered an acute injury, Western emergency
medicine is what you need. Unfortunately, once
you leave the emergency room, this medicine
quickly fades into corporate agendas and bottom-line profits. Dr.
Andersen, a respected physician and world authority in biological
agriculture, presents real options for treatment of everything from
heart disease to chronic fatigue, autism to cancer treatments
that are well documented in the medical literature but "politically
incorrect" for mainstream medicine. Softcover, 258 pages.
#6668 $20.00
For organic/sustainable farming sys-
tems that are proven in the field, look
to Acres U.S.A., North Americas old-
est and largest magazine serving eco-
logical farmers. Covering all facets of
organic/sustainable agriculture, Acres
U.S.A. makes the connection between
the soil and human and animal health.
Our book catalog contains more than
475 titles to help you improve your
farm and your life.
Acres U.S.A. your source for organic knowledge . . .
To order toll-free call:
1-800-355-5313
For our complete selection
shop online: www.acresusa.com
REVISED
& UPDATED
SHI PPI NG: U.S. $3/1 BOOK, $1/ BOOK
THEREAFTER; OUTSI DE U.S.: $8/$6
Please help us thank these
Friends of Organic Farming
for their generous support!
Socially Responsible Investing
Douglas J. Calnan
Vice President-Investments
douglas.calnan@agedwards.com
(800) 543-8010 Norwell, MA
Member SIPC 2006 A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.
[2
4
7
7
8
-v
1
-0
2
9
3
]
compiled by Jack Kittredge
Organic Farmers Raise Their Voices - The
Organic Farming Research Foundation is helping
organic growers make their voices heard in the
policy arena with the new Organic Farmers
Action Network (OFAN). Members of the free
Network receive information about policy issues
directly affecting organic producers, and timely
alerts for taking action. More than 500 growers in
226 Congressional districts across 48 states have
joined the OFAN Network since its inception in
February. The action alert system demonstrated
its effectiveness in May after Rep. Rush Holt (D-
NJ) introduced an amendment to the 2007 USDA
budget bill (at the request of the NOFA-New Jersey
growers group) to increase USDA funding for
organic farming research. OFAN alerts generated
phone calls to House Members from growers across
the country, helping the amendment to pass by a
voice vote on the House foor. The Senate has yet
to fnalize its version of the 2007 budget bill, so
the OFAN Network will be alerted this Fall as that
moves forward. Organic producers and others are
invited to join OFAN through the OFRF web site at
www.ofrf.org. For questions & suggestions, contact
Brise Tencer and OFAN via email: action@ofrf.org,
or phone: 831-426-6606.
source: July 31 OFRF Media Advisory
Climate Change and Farming in the
Northeast Website at www.climateandfarming.
org. The site provides a unique and comprehensive
set of resource materials to help farmers make
practical and proftable responses to climate
changes.
source: personal E-mail
Super Valu Enters Organic Business
Following Wal-Mart - Conventional supermarket
chains have been rushing out their own organic
store brand lines, costing signifcantly less than
comparable brands in natural food stores. On
average, prices on private-label goods are about
27% below brand products. SuperValu Inc., second
largest supermarket chain in the US, is introducing
a line of 50 organic products called Natures Best
with cereal, juice, apple sauce and pasta. 100 more
organic products will be introduced by the end
of June. Its goal is to have an assortment of 300
products by mid 2007. Natures Bests prices are
about 10 to 15% lower than comparable products.
Safeway Inc. recently introduced 150 organic
products and plans to have as many as 300 organic
products by the end of next year. Stop & Shop also
has a new line called Natures Promise, and Sams
Club (owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.) started
selling organic food in January 2006 and keeps on
adding products. It is estimated that organics will
reach $15.5 - $16 billion this year.
source: www.post-gazette.com
Study Says Mad Cow Epidemic May Be
Incubating in Thousands of People - A new
study in the Lancet medical journal (UK) suggests
that variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD),
the human variant of Mad Cow Disease, may not
peak in the human population for several decades,
by which time many thousands of beef eaters and
hospital patients that have received tainted blood
transfusions could die. The study shows how Kuru,
a similar fatal brain-wasting prion disease in New
Guinea, has been found to have an incubation
period of 35 to 41 years. Researchers suspect it
could be longer for vCJD because the infection is
transmitted between species, from cows to humans.
The 160 fatal human cases of the disease that have
already surfaced around the world could represent
a distinct genetic subgroup of the population with
an unusually short incubation period, according
to John Collinge, the study leader and a professor
at University College, London. There could be
substantial underestimations in recent estimates
of the size of the vCJD epidemic, Collinge said in a
report in The Lancet medical journal.
source: Organic Bytes #86, 6/29/2006, www.
organicconsumers.org/organicbytes
News Notes
Scotts Goes Organic. The Scotts Miracle-Gro
Company recently announced it is expanding its
organic product line with the addition of Miracle-
Gro Organic Choice Blood Meal and Bone
Meal. Both products contain 100 percent organic
ingredients and join the Miracle-Gro Organic
Choice family of products that includes potting mix,
garden soil and garden fertilizer. The Company
created the Miracle-Gro Organic Choice line for
those gardeners who seek organic options, and also
expect the same level of performance associated
with the Miracle-Gro name. The Companys brands
are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S.,
the Companys Scotts, Miracle-Gro and Ortho
brands are market-leading in their categories, as is
the consumer Roundup brand, which is marketed
in North America and most of Europe exclusively
by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. The Company
also owns Smith & Hawken.
source: Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Press Release,
May 19, 2006
Boycott of Horizon Dairy Generating
National Publicity - The Organic Consumers
Associations (OCA) call for a boycott of the
nations largest organic dairy brand, Horizon
Organic has recently generated stories in the New
York Times, USA Today, National Public Radio,
and the Associated Press. The media coverage
has highlighted the growing backlash by organic
consumers against industrial scale dairy feedlots,
who are misleadingly labeling their products as
USDA Organic, even though the animals on these
factory farms have little or no access to pasture. In
addition, most of the cows on these giant feedlots
have been imported from conventional dairies,
where they were weaned on blood, injected with
hormones and antibiotics, and fed genetically
engineered grains and slaughterhouse waste.
While Horizon sources half of its milk from family
farms where the lactating cows do have access
to pasture, Aurora Organic, OCAs other major
boycott target, gets all of its milk from intensive
confnement feedlots. Aurora sells its organic milk
to supermarket chains including Costco, Safeway,
Giant, and Wild Oats, who bottle it under their own
private labels.
Pesticides Increase Risk of Parkinsons
Disease - A new Harvard study has linked pesticide
exposure to a 70% increase in Parkinsons disease.
The study, which is the largest ever conducted, was
released in the July 2006 issue of the Annals of
Neurology. This research backs up earlier animal
studies linking pesticide exposure to brain and nerve
damage. For those who were exposed, occupation
was not a risk factor, as farm workers and everyday
home bug-sprayers all had the same increased
risk. The study did not correlate the increased risk
with any specifc pesticides, but rather found the
connection in overall general use of pesticides.
This is certainly the biggest and most serious
populations study on people, and it appears to be the
best proof today that there is a general association
between pesticides and Parkinsons among people,
said Robin Elliot, executive director for the
Parkinsons Disease Foundation in New York City,
describing the fndings as important and solid.
Biodiesel: Worse Than Fossil Fuel - Biodiesel
enthusiasts are backing the most carbon-intensive
fuel on earth. Large areas of S E Asia are being
deforested for palm oil to supply the new demand.
source: http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.
asp?arcid=6709
Prions Cling to Soil Minerals Researchers at
the University of Wisconsin have confrmed that
prions, the proteins thought to cause Mad Cow
disease, are more durable than previously known.
They latch onto certain soil minerals and remain
infectious, rather than changing their shape and thus
their infectious qualities.
source: Acres, USA, June, 2006
US to Slash Testing for Mad Cow Disease
by 90% - The Agriculture Department is cutting
its tests for mad cow disease by about 90 percent,
drawing protests from consumer groups. The current
level of 1,000 tests each day represents about 1
percent of the 35 million cattle slaughtered annually
in this country. Beginning in late August, the new
level will be about 110 tests per day. Its time that
our surveillance efforts refect what we now know is
a very, very low level of BSE in the United States,
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said. There
is no signifcant BSE problem in the United States,
and after all of this surveillance, I am able to say
there never was. His comments were applauded by
industry groups such as the National Cattlemens
Beef Association.
source: The Houston Chronicle, July 20, 2006,
9:59PM
USDA Approves Digital Angel RFID Tag for
NAIS- Digital Angel Corporation, an advanced
technology company, announced on August 1 that
its electronic RFID (radio frequency identifcation)
livestock tagging system has been approved by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use in
the National Animal Identifcation System (NAIS).
Digital Angel is the frst animal tag manufacturer
to be designated as an Animal Identifcation
(AIN) tag manufacturer by the USDA, which
signifes that the Companys tagging system is
capable of identifying livestock with the unique,
lifetime animal identifcation number that is being
established as a national standard through the NAIS.
Digital Angel, which has been in the livestock
tagging business since 1945, has developed a
proprietary and comprehensive RFID traceability
system that includes electronic tags and scanners
as well as a related IT system that can provide for
the identifcation and tracking of all animals tagged
as part of the NAIS. The target date for having all
livestock identifed that are covered in the NAIS
guidelines is early 2009. Digital Angel sells its
electronic tags under the brand names e.Tag (TM)
and Destron Combo e.Tag (TM).
source: August 1 Digital Angel Press Release
2006 Statistics on Certifed Organic
Agriculture in Vermont - Vermont Organic
Farmers (VOF) the certifcation arm of the
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
(NOFA-VT) announced that out of the total number
of farms in VT, 6% are certifed organic., out of the
total number of acreage in farmland in VT, 4% is
certifed organic, out of the total gross sales of farm-
related income in VT, 6% is from certifed organic
farms, and out of the total number of dairy farms in
Vermont, 9% are certifed organic.
source: NOFA-VT Press Release
Whole Foods Pledges Aid to Small Farmers
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market,
pledged to devote $10 million annually to support
locally grown food. The frm had been coming
under increasing criticism for buying from large
farms. I know that, over the years, some smaller
farmers have stopped selling to us and have been
frustrated with our regional distribution centers,
Mackey said. We should and will do a better job
of this in the future, because we are making it a
company priority.
source: Organic business News, July, 2006
Producing Ethanol and Biodiesel from Corn
Is Not Worth The Effort, New Study Finds
- A new study from the University of Cornell and
the University of Berkeley, California has found that
turning plants, such as corn and sunfowers, into fuel
uses much more energy than the resulting ethanol or
biodiesel generates. The study, published in Natural
Resources Research (Vol. 14, 65-76), found that:
corn needs 29% more fossil energy than it
produced
switch grass needed 45% more fossil fuel than it
produced
wood biomass needed 57% more fossil fuel than it
produced
soybean plants needed 27% more fossil fuel than it
produced
sunfower plants needed 118% more fossil fuel
than it produced.
source: http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.
asp?arcid=6709
Organic Sales to Reach $16 Billion - Meat
sales grew by the highest percentage last year
(55.4%) but condiments grew 24.2%, dairy 23.5%
and non-food items 32.5% to bring total organic
sales projections by years end to reach $16 billion.
source: Organic business News, May 2006
Arctic Ice Failing For the second straight year
sea ice in the Artic has failed to re-form, worrying
scientists that a new feedback loop is kicking in.
As ice melts, more sunlight is absorbed by the dark
ocean rather than refected off the ice, causing the
waters to warm further and melt more ice.
Organic Cotton Beat the Bt Variety Despite
the higher yield per acre of Bt cotton, organic
cotton has bested it in overall proftability studies
in India. While income from an acre of Bt cotton
ran $266, overall costs per acre were $186, leaving
a net income of $80. The comparable numbers for
organic cotton are $237 gross income, with $112 in
expenses leaving a net of $125.
rBGH in Trouble Monsantos recombinant
Bovine Growth Hormone has been hurt by the
efforts of Dean Foods, Wal-Mart, Kroger, as well as
smaller regional milk processors, to fnd rBGH-free
milk. The company has lowered the drugs price.
source: Acres, USA, August, 2006
Ruling Expected on Country Hen Case
Following a hearing June 28 in Worcester,
Massachusetts, Federal Dictrict judge Dennis
Saylor is expected to rule on a motion by the
USDA to dismiss the case. The USDA argued that
Massachusetts Independent Certifers, Inc. (MICI)
was acting as a government agent in the case and
had no standing to bring suit. Farmers Legal Action
Group attorney Jill Krueger, representing MICI,
countered that the governments view of the appeal
rights of certifying agents violates the Organic
Foods Production Act and Congress intent to set up
a careful public/private partnership.
source: personal attendance at hearing
Alberts Produce College Popular Alberts
Organics, a produce distributor, has set up an
online college to educate retailers on how to buy,
receive, price and handle organic produce. More
than 800 students have signed up for the 20-lesson
course, overwhelming the companys expectations.
For information on the school, visit www.
albertsorganics.com.
source: Acres, USA, August, 2006
Is There an SUV in your Kitchen? David
Pimental of Cornell has demonstrated that, given
our food system, it takes ten calories of fossil fuel
energy to deliver one calorie of food energy to our
table. But only 2 of those calories are used to grow
the food. Another 4 are spent in processing and
shipping it, and 4 to refrigerate and cook it.
source: Ohio Ecological Food and Farm
Association News, Summer, 2006
Organic Corn Beats Conventional in Ohio
Corn hybrids grow in the 2005 Ohio State Organic
Corn Performance Test produced 13 percent more
corn per acre than the statewide average, and topped
the record-high state average by four bushels. One
variety did so well it beat the state average by
almost 50%. Yields at the two organic sites averaged
162 bushels per acre. The states Department of
Agriculture, however, cited a statewide average last
year of 143 bushels per acre.
source: Organic Broadcaster, July/August 2006
Johnnys Selected Seeds to be Bought by
Employees Rob Johnston, Jr., founder and
owner of the Albion, ME seed company since
1973, announced this Spring that he is setting up an
Employee Stock Ownership Plan which should turn
a majority interest in the business over to employees
by July of 2009. This settles the ownership
question moving ahead, and that benefts the whole
Johnnys community customers, employees,
suppliers and research cooperators, he said. This
place has a life beyond me, and that life begins
now.
source: Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, June-
August, 2006
Harvey Sues NOP, Again! On June 30,
Maine blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey fled suit
against the National Organic Program (NOP) for
failing to comply with a court order prohibiting
the use of food contact substances and synthetic
processing aids in organically labeled products.
That court order was the result of an earlier Harvey
lawsuit, fled in 2002. His victory in the earlier
suit threatened to force major changes in the way
large organic processing companies dealt with
numerous substances. Much of it was overturned,
however, when the Organic Trade Association
(OTA) sponsored an amendment to the Organic
Foods Production Act (OFPA) in a backroom deal in
Congress last winter.
According to Paula Dinerstein, Harveys
attorney, the NOP must either revoke its food
contact substances policy or require that all
synthetic ingredients must be on the National List.
They must also do away with their public policy
of allowing synthetic processing aids and other
substances which confict with the requirements of
the OFPA for organic handling. The OTA has not
responded to this suit.
Contacted at his Maine farm, Harvey
was clear that the problem with the NOP is not
incompetence: There can be little doubt that it
was their intention all along to not offer detailed
procedures in the rules because the Organic Trade
Association does not want the National Organic
Standards Board (NOSB) to review every substance
used in processing. Jim Riddle, former chair of the
NOSB, agrees: We always felt any substance in or
on processed food must appear on the National List.
We were never a party to that [policy] and it was
developed without our knowledgeThe lawsuit has
merit. There are food contact substances that are not
on the list and that is contrary to the court ruling.
They (the NOP) ignored us and now they are facing
a lawsuit.
sources: Organic Business News, July, 2006 and
Acres USA, August, 2006
Call for the location of your
nearest wholsale distributor
Depot Street
Bradford, VT 05033
Ph. 802.222.4277
Fax 802.222.9661
info@norganics.com
www.norganics.com
Fertilizers:
Azomite
Cheep Cheep 4-3-3
Greensand
Greensand Plus 0-0-17
Kelp Meal
Chilean Nitrate 16-0-0
Natural Sulphate of Potash 0-0-51
Organic Gem 3-3-.3
Phosphate Rock 0-3-0
Phosphate Rock and Greensand Mix
Pro-Gro 5-3-4
Pro-Start 2-3-3
Stress-X Powder
Livestock Nutritionals:
Redmond Trace Mineral Conditioner, Salt
Blocks & Granular Salt
*
Pest Controls:
PowderGard
Pyganic
Seacide
Surround
*
*Many of our products that are not OMRI listed may be allowed for use on a
certifed organic farm. Check with your certifcation representative to be sure.
Opportunity at Organic Dairy Farm, Simsbury,
CT - Seeking Assistant Farm Manager for small,
organic dairy farm with on site processing and retail
store. Position includes feld work, milking and
processing milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. Opportunity
to become Manager. On site housing available.
Call Bill Walsh at 860-658-5362 or email resume
to TownFarmDairy1@aol.com. Also visit www.
townfarmdairy.org. Farm is assisted by non-proft,
community group, Friends of Town Farm Dairy.
Environmentalist civic group seeks to rent 1 to
2 acres to organically grow annual vegetables in
2007. We seek to rent the parcel anywhere between
Worcester, MA and Boston. We will pay 1000
dollars per acre, up front. No power machinery
will be used, and only designated adults who have
signed liability waivers will work on the acreage.
Call Rob at 860-564-7310
NOFA
Exchange
Blow Your Own Horn!
Seeking families with young children interested
in exchanging work and socializing while the kids
play or help. I am the mother of three (ages 3,3,5),
living in Hartford CT area. We grow much of our
own food. Raising my children to appreciate the
outdoors, creative play and manual labor. Would
like to connect with other families to exchange visits
and all kinds of help (cooking/farming/building/
gardening/cleaning/ sewing etc.!)kind of Amish-
style, if you know what I mean. Please contact
Hannah Roditi at (860)242-7265 or email me at
hannahro@comcast.net.
Vendors wanted: Long Island Garlic Festival, Sept
31-Oct 1, Riverhead Long Island. All farm products
welcome, pickles, sauces, spices, crafts, etc. www.
gardenofevefarm.com for more info, farmer@
gardenofevefarm or (631) 523-6608.
4 Dairy Goats, Saanens, organic, milking, need
home from late December 2006 through mid-May
2007 (possibly mid-April if we are unable to locate
a caretaker through May), will consider all options
including families who would like to share goats on
a regular basis, as four goats produce a lot of milk!
Contact Laurie at birdsngoats@yahoo.com or (860)
974-7056.
Looking for unused hoop house frame we can put
to use. Any size 10 feet wide or wider, 20 feet long
or longer. I can build ends, doors, etc. as necessary.
We cant afford to pay you what it is worth, but we
can thank you with my famous homemade wine,
produce or animal products we raise. Jack Kittredge,
978-355-2853 or jack@mhof.net
Organic suburban homestead available, sale
or other arrangement total 1.89 partly wooded
acres near Skaneateles Creek, extensive raised
beds, small fruits, 2 apple trees, small-ish old 3-4
bdr house, solid but needs updating, spacious attic;
hardwoods throughout; wood stove and wood pellet
heat, gas furnace, new self-storing storm windows,
tasty Skaneateles Lake water, septic, dirt foor in
basement good for root cellaring; 2-car garage,
woodshed. Back yard fenced for pets/poultry/young
uns. Handyperson could do much. Walk to library,
groceries, school. Seeking right person/people to
take over careful, loving stewardship of property.
Email dhughes45961@usadatanet.net or call (315)
689-1305 for more info.
Food coordinator wanted for NOFA/Mass Winter
Conference on Saturday, January 20
th
, 2007 in
Worcester, Ma. Involves 10 hours of work for two
people on day of conference and about 5 hours pre-
conference. Responsibilities include:
coordinate and pick up donations of coffee, tea,
baked goods, etc., supervise snack table, receive
donated pot luck items, during morning workshops
set up for lunch, supervise lunch line, clean up
after lunch, recruit and supervise volunteers to help
during the day. Pays stipend of $220. To apply
please contact Jassy Bratko, Winter Conference
Coordinator at, jassyhighmeadow@yahoo.com or
978-928-5646.
Hardworking, Experienced Family seeking organic
farm to lease or work on with housing or possible
land with home to purchase with down payment and
owner fnancing. Spent this past season growing
a market garden and selling at a farmers market
and farmstand. Owner is selling property due to
ill health and we cannot afford. Please email at
naturalearthfarm@netzero.net or call at 802/754-
2697
Farm Manager, The Mountain School, Vershire,
VT is seeking an experienced farmer to live on
campus and work with students, faculty, and
other farmers to manage all operations beginning
January, 2007. Includes salary, housing, benefts. If
interested, please contact Trudy Amber-Dowlin for
more information: trudy.amber@mountainschool.
org or (802) 685-4520 x110.
Position available for farm caretaker, live-
in caretaker needed immediately at the Natick
Community Organic Farm in Natick, MA. One
bedroom apartment on 22-acre working, educational
organic farm. Individual or couples welcome to
apply. Reduced rent in exchange for weekend
chores and night security. Must be able to interact
with the public, help with farm maintenance and
work with staff and board of directors. Interested
candidates should send a resume and cover letter
to: The Natick Community Organic Farm, 117
Eliot Street, Natick, MA 01760, or Email us at
ncorganic@ verizon.net
Experienced organic farmer, to operate organic
CSA farm, (100 members, ambition to grow
to 300), attendant greenhouse & orchard near
Charlottesville, VA. Housing plus great benefts,
401-K, Salary provided on receipt of resume.
Successful applicant will have proven experience
with organic farming and employee management.
Reference required, Equal Opportunity Employer,
Send resume to: veglady@mac.com
Lawn Garden Farm
Best Performing All Natural Fertilizer in testing
at Iowa State University
Proven Results in New England
Soy Bean Based (no manure, no sludge)
Organic Fertilization Programs
Landscaper Retail Golf Course School Farm
Locate a Dealer Visit our Website www.pjcecological.com
Distributed by PJC & Company Rowley, MA 978-432-1019
PJC Ad 3/14/06 8:58 AM Page 1
(5 W x 8 H)
The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance
(NODPA)
Join NODPA and support NODPAs work in
keeping organic family dairy farms in business, maintaining the integrity
of the organic standards and ensuring that accurate information is available
to everyone. NODPA is the largest organization of organic dairy farmers,
run by farmers to protect the interests of farmers
Visit our Web Site:
www.nodpa.com and www.organicmilk.org
Yes! I would like to Join NODPA and receive the quarterly
NODPA News, plus support the NODPA list serve, NODPA
web site, Action alerts, Field days and much, much more
_______ $35 covers NODPA News
_______ $50 NODPA supporter
_______ $100 Friend of NODPA
________ Other
Name:______________________________________________________
Address:_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Phone: ______________________________________________________
Email: ______________________________________________________
Make checks payable to: NODPA
Mail to: Ed Maltby,NODPA,30 Keets Rd
Deerfield, MA,01342,emaltby@comcast.net.
by David Ellis
116 Cliff Ave, Portsmouth, RI 02871
There are always people who wish to exert power
over their fellow beings; when there is a perceived
threat to public welfare, it gives people the excuse
they need to exert power.
If in the beginning there may be some justifcation,
such power once consolidated is readily and often
redirected to suit those who have it.
One hundred and ffty years ago slavery was
common in the United States. Those people at the
butt-end of slavery the slaves were often sorely
oppressed. In the management of slaves, whipping
was a very common punishment. And yes, even
occasionally slaves were whipped to death. Of
course we would now call this murder.
When a hard slave owner, however, consigned
those under him to minimal food, minimal clothing,
minimal shelter and relentless labor, that owner
was extracting the life out of his slaves by degrees.
Is this any less murder than the frst case? In some
ways it was worse. The most serious errors often
happen by degrees.
Our own United States Declaration of Independence
states: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit
of Happiness. This sentiment, it is clear, went
unheeded by many in pre-Civil War days.
Now perhaps you, the reader, at this point may be
inclined to ask, But what does all this have to do
with the NAIS? Im afraid quite a lot.
A Few Thoughts on the Proposed
National Animal Identifcation System
One interest that virtually every person who ever
frst set foot on American soil had on arrival was
simply a desire for the opportunity to live. And
America surely has been, for many, the land of
opportunity.
But it is a basic truth that whenever one group of
human beings is in power over others, there is great
temptation to glean the frst fruits and the cream and
leave the underclass with any leftovers. The longer
a government persists any government the more
this state of affairs is apt to be. Yes, it happens even
in a democracy.
And there are few people so much in the power of
others as those who are dependent on others for
food, clothing, shelter and other basic needs; this
state of dependence is largely ours today. And it gets
worse every year. We like to pride ourselves on our
freedom and independence, but in some signifcant
ways we are as dependent, or more so, as those pre-
Civil War slaves.
One of our most basic sources of food and clothing
(and companionship) is animals. Which of us lives
without them? Most all of us are greatly reliant on
them. We have lived among and depended upon
animals since the dawn of history.
As Indian chief Seattle wrote to President Franklin
Pierce long ago, there is no quiet place in the white
mans cities. No place to hear the leaves of spring or
the rustle of insects wingsWhat is man without
the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would
die from great loneliness of spirit.
Many a new American came to this country with a
cherished desire to have a little piece of land, a cow
or two, a few chickens, maybe a horse. Now we
have the prospect that we cannot raise these animals
or purchase them from our neighbor without being
part of a great national system, a system which
entails vast high-technology equipment, which
equipment has a fast turnover, which cannot be
composted in a thousand years, which is in large
degree toxic waste. Through this system, some
person in a far-away place, not someone on our
local Board of Selectmen, will make decisions about
our animals how to care for them, what animals
we might have, or whether we may have animals at
all.
The door to living a quiet, small-scale, sensible life
has been slowly closing in America, by degrees.
Gradual consolidation of power is a very common
thing in human society. It is the kind of slow, broad
oppression that Thomas Jefferson was writing
against in the Declaration of Independence. At its
core, a proposal like NAIS seeks to consolidate us
into a large and harmful system; it is a signifcant
step along a path that truly deprives us of certain
unalienable rightsLife, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness.
by Jassy Bratko
As I stared in disbelief at the deep ruts my
tractor had made in the hayfeld my thoughts
turned to Vern Grubingers comments on
climate change and agriculture. It was mid-
July and the hay was well past its prime,
surrounding me in a sea of brown instead of
the vibrant green that I am used to, and yet here
I was lifting up the mower to stop the tractor
from bogging down in my driest feld. I would
expect it in April, in May I would have to be
careful, but never in July with the hay gone
by. Yet Vern tells us, that at a result of global
warming, theres a steady increase in extreme
precipitation events and that many farmers will
have to spend more on water management for
drainage. Just one example of how climate
change may affect agriculture in the future.
This will be the topic of the keynote address to
be given by Vern Grubinger at the 20
th
NOFA/
Mass Winter Conference to be held January
20
th
, 2007 at Bancroft School in Worcester,
Ma. He is the director of the University of
Vermont Sustainable Agriculture Center, a
vegetable and berry specialist at the University
of Vermont Extension, teaches a class at UVM
about renewable energy on the farm and was
just recently named as the next Coordinator of
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education (SARE) program of USDA.
He has a BS in Plant and Soil Science from
the University of Massachussetts, an MS
in Agronomy from Cornell and a PHD in
Vern Grubinger to Deliver Keynote on
Climate Change and Agriculture
at 2007 NOFA/Mass Winter Conference
Vegetable Crops. He is also a member of
the Board of Trustees of the Vermont Land
Trust, and the Windham County Farm Bureau.
Recently he has been active in efforts to educate
picture courtesy of Vern Grubinger
Vern Grubinger, director of the UVM Sustainable Agriculture Center
the agricultural community on the effects of
climate change on agriculture.
A long time advocate of sustainable agriculture,
Vern has written many publications on
ecological farming and gardening. His book,
Sustainable Vegetable Production from Start-
Up to Market has been a valuable resource
for beginning and experienced vegetable
growers and gardeners. It covers a full range
of topics from farm business management,
marketing, soil fertility, composting, cover
crops and feld preparation, transplanting and
harvesting, irrigation and season extension
to wildlife management and grower profles,
while emphasizing the need to manage natural
resources effectively.
For many years Vern taped a series of short
radio addresses on sustainable agriculture
in Vermont for Vermont Public Radio. A
collection of these essays have been gathered
together in a book titled With an Ear to the
Ground: Essays on Sustainable Agriculture and
published by USDAs Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education Program. Vern begins
this humorous yet insightful book by saying I
have a vision of Vermont in which small rural
communities continue to thrive, based on an
economy that cultivates the interdependent
strengths of agriculture, forestry, recreation,
tourism, and cottage industry. It is in his fnal
chapter that he addresses climate change and
tells us that climatologists at the University
of New Hampshire have determined that the
average annual temperature in the Northeast
has risen by 1.8 degrees. That little change
is powerful: The frost-free growing season
is a week longer; lake ice breaks up fve days
sooner; and Vermonts maple syrup production,
which tends to be greater in years with colder
temperatures, is declining. Thats not solely
due to climate change, but if temperatures
continue to rise, sugar maples may not survive
in New England. New insects pests will arrive,
and cool-season crops will no longer thrive.
Vern had a vague uneasiness for quite a while
about global warming but it was at a meeting of
the American Society of Horticultural Science
in 2004 that he realized the full extent of the
problem and now considers climate change to
be the most critical environmental issue of our
time. He found that, while there was a great
deal of interest and information on the subject,
there were no extension programs addressing
something that could have a huge impact on
the future of farming. He received a grant from
SARE to educate agricultural service providers.
The information generated by this project is on
the website http://www.climateandfarming.org/.
In an interview with the Valley Advocate
in March 23, 2006, Vern tells us that the
last 10 years have had some of the warmest
temperatures on record. While the longer
growing seasons may help grass based dairy
operations and grape growers, they could
result in lower apple yields, increased insect
populations and a change in weed species. In a
fact sheet written for the University of Vermont
Extension on Climate Change and Agriculture,
Vern tells us that As rainfall gets more erratic,
reliable irrigation as well as good feld drainage
will become even more important. Farmers
will have to adapt to the changing climate if
they are to be successful. As the climate has
changed, the ideal geographic area for some
crops has been moving northward. Its going
to be a long transition and farmers need to be
thinking about how to adapt rather than simply
react.
The main cause of climate change is the
burning of fossil fuel which generates carbon
dioxide. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)
levels have risen dramatically in the last one
hundred years and the U.S. produces more CO2
per person per year than any other country.
This may soon change now that countries
such as China are dramatically increasing
their industrial base. Even though farmers
have not contributed signifcantly to climate
change and may be forced to adapt by growing
different crops, there are steps they can take to
reduce the problem. Among other things these
include taking CO2 from the atmosphere and
storing it in soils by the use of cover crops
and green manures, increasing the use of bio-
fuels and increasing the effciency of fuel,
fertilizers and pesticides. Through innovation,
and implementation of more sustainable
technologies, farmers can enhance their
stewardship of natural resources, reduce their
contribution to climate change, and improve
their bottom line. These are concepts NOFA
members understand well!
On this blisteringly hot July day, as I watch
the swelling fruit in my trees that were
miraculously pollinated despite two solid weeks
of torrential, record breaking rain during bloom
time, I am glad that Vern can offer hope for a
very real problem.
www.newsociety.com
New Soci ety Publi shers
Slow is Beautiful
New Visions of Community,
Leisure, and Joie de Vivre
Cecile Andrews
US$16.95/CDN$18.95
Speed kills-slow saves: how we
can recapture a life of joy, leisure,
community and well-being.
The Carbon Buster's
Home Energy Handbook
Slowing Climate Change
and Saving Money
Godo Stoyke
US$12.95/CDN$14.95
How to reduce carbon emissions
and save over $15,000 in energy
costs over five years.
The Oil Depletion Protocol
A Plan to Avert Oil Wars,
Terrorism and Economic Collapse
Richard Heinberg
US$16.95/CDN$18.95
A unique proposal for the last, best and
most practical global response to Peak Oil.
The Post-Petroleum Survival
Guide and Cookbook
Recipes for Changing Times
Albert K. Bates
US$19.95/CDN$23.95
A hopeful and humorous
look at the next 30 years
to a world beyond petroleum.
Eating Fossil Fuels
Oil, Food, and the Coming
Crisis in Agriculture
Dale Allen Pfeiffer
US$11.95/CDN$13.95
A shocking outline of the
interlinked crises in energy
and agriculture and
appropriate responses.
Fermenting Revolution
How to Drink Beer and Save the World
Christopher O'Brien
US$18.95/CDN$20.95
Around the globe beer activists
are fermenting a revolution one
beer at a time.
AVA I L A B L E N OV E M B E R
AVA I L A B L E N OV E M B E R
AVA I L A B L E S E P T E M B E R
AVA I L A B L E O C T O B E R
ph. 231/889-3216
O!!LNl1Y O!!LNl1Y O!!LNl1Y O!!LNl1Y ^k! ^k! ^k! ^k!
3480 Potter Rd, ear |a|e, N| 49614
1 11 1L L L L
A V A V A V A V0|C| 0|C| 0|C| 0|C| |0R |0R |0R |0R C CC C0NNUN|IY 0NNUN|IY 0NNUN|IY 0NNUN|IY S SS SUPP0RI|D UPP0RI|D UPP0RI|D UPP0RI|D A AA AuR|CU|IUR uR|CU|IUR uR|CU|IUR uR|CU|IUR| || |
A quarterly journal for CSA
and small farm advocates
C CC C
l ll l
Web: www.csafarms.orq
|mal|: csafarmQjac|plne.net
$ $$ $17 17 17 17 per year per year per year per year
$22 Canadlan funds $22 Canadlan funds $22 Canadlan funds $22 Canadlan funds

Contact us for a samp|e lssue Contact us for a samp|e lssue Contact us for a samp|e lssue Contact us for a samp|e lssue
A|so aval|ab|e as an emal| attachment -
$7/year
by Larry Siegel
Ive long maintained a curiosity about the affairs of
my garden and an enduring interest in quantifying
its results. For many years now, I have served as
a trialer for FEDCO Seeds and Moose Tubers, at
one time or another growing out carrots, lettuce,
corn miscellaneous root crops, peppers and beans.
This years trials include 15 cucumbers and 14
potato varieties. The meticulous observation
and record keeping required satisfes my need to
intellectualize my gardening activities.
A dozen or so years ago I turned my curiosity to
the possibility of perennializing what we treat as
annuals, to determine whether it would be possible
to maintain garden plots without annual seeding. It
started with lettuce, when I left a few in the ground
to complete their life cycle. The results were
dramatic: the rosette of leaves grew several feet and
were fowering by late July (as an aside, we eat, and
enjoy, the leaves of bolting lettuce) and maturing
its seed in September. Even more dramatic was
the emergence of lettuce seedlings the following
spring. The process had begun. That bed has
provided lettuce ever since, the principal task being
to thin out the multitude of seedlings. During really
mild autumns, like 2005, many seeds germinate
in October. Unassisted, they will not survive the
winter, so I make use of discarded fsh tanks to
provide that assistance and assure an early spring
crop of lettuce.
From there, I took note of the dill and cilantro, both
of which prodigiously self-seed, often in the same
year they have emerged and always in the following
year. Even if they did not, the yellow umbels of dill
fowers and white umbels of cilantro fowers are
striking additions to the vegetable garden. While
I continue to plant both throughout the gardening
season, the self-seeded ones provide me with my
earliest pickings.
My list of self-seeding annual fowers continues
to grow: elephant head amaranth, calendula, Chi-
nese forget-me-not, nigella, nicotiana, poppies,
On Perennializing
Annual Plants
rudbeckias, sunfowers, tri-color sage, milk thistle,
bupleurum, verbena. . . . The literature assures me
that many others will self-seed as well (cosmos,
bachelor buttons, larkspur, cleome, etc.) though Ive
experienced far less success with these. (All of my
initial seed stock came from FEDCO Seeds.) This
may be a self-seeded garden but it is hardly a self-
maintained one. The list of weeds in the plots is as
long as that of the desirable plants. More important-
ly, there is such a vast number of desired seedlings
that ruthless thinning is required. The rewards are
worth the efforts: as the season progresses, different
combinations of fowers dominate. Earliest are the
bupleurums, sages, calendula, and Chinese forget-
me-nots, followed by the poppies, nigella, and milk
thistle, followed by the verbena and sunfowers, fol-
lowed fnally, by the amaranth and nicotiana. Bear
in mind that many of these, particularly the poppies
and amaranth, can become pretty pesky weeds in the
midst of the vegetable garden, so prepare yourself
for the task at hand.
Turning my attention back to vegetables, I left a
couple of parsnips in the ground and was rewarded
with a striking show of fve-foot tall masses of
yellow fowers competing with, and complementing,
the hollyhocks with which they grow. They seem to
be more attractive to a larger variety of insects than
anything else fowering during that time. And I am
assured of parsnip seedlings the following spring,
providing a fall crop to supplement that which Ive
planted. At any given time the plot has new plants
growing and over-wintered plants fowering and
seeding, thus assuring its continuity.
Shallots and garlic, by virtue of their bulbs, are
already perennials, though growing practices turn
them into annuals (by harvesting these bulbs and
re-planting). In the fall of 2003, I established
small plots of each, closely spacing small shallot
bulbs and the bulbils from a garlic plant. The
shallots provided greens the next spring; garlic
the following year. This source of early greens
is especially important in our household, since I
lack a greenhouse and do not as a rule purchase
vegetables.
Establishing (and maintaining) a perennial
garlic bed is a particular challenge: those wispy
shoots emerging from the bulbils are darn near
indistinguishable from those wispy grass seedlings
emerging alongside them. But what is gardening
without the challenge?
It worked well in 2005 with the garlic yielding well
before the shallots. They were eaten to our hearts
content, the surplus being bunched up and sold like
scallions at farmers market. It worked less well
this year, their very success creating over-crowded
conditions. I have ruthlessly thinned for next year.
Finally, I addressed the matter of potatoes.
Notwithstanding my efforts to dig all the potatoes,
volunteer plants would emerge the following year
throughout the prior seasons plot, enough of them
so that they became the principal weed of that
plot. I decided to encourage that propensity by
establishing a twenty-fve square foot perennial
potato patch. In the fall of 2004 I planted it out with
eighty nubbins (weighing 3/8 ounce each), covering
well with hay. Forty emerged the following spring.
I dug approximately ffteen pounds, a yield of six
to one from that planted, but twelve to one from
that which emerged. As I dug, I left the nubbins
behind to continue the process, though I know not
how many or what they weighed. This year only ten
plants emerged, their yield yet to be determined.
I have notions to continue these experiments.
Parsley occasionally works, though I have trouble
wintering over the plants. This year only one
survived and fowered. There are so many seeds on
one parsley plant that, theoretically at least, I ought
to have a multitude of seedlings next spring. We
shall see. Tomatoes, too, show promise. Nobody
who grows tomatoes fails to fnd volunteers the
following year. Generally, these are too late to
provide a large crop but I imagine conditions could
be provided to encourage earlier emergence. This
year, a cherry tomato plant in a compost pile is
every bit as advanced as those in the garden.
This is, I suppose, SARE grant fodder, though
I have serious reservations about the program,
considering it little more than government hand-outs
to farmers who deliver questionably useful bits of
data. Perhaps somebody else will take on the task,
somebody comfortable with receiving the $25 or so
per hour the program generously provides.
Special Supplement on
Organic Potatoes
In the ancient ruins of Peru and Chile, arch-
aeologists have found potato remains that date
back to 500 B.C. The Incas grew and ate them,
and also worshipped them. They stashed potatoes
in concealed bins for use in case of war or famine,
they dried them and carried them on long journeys
to eat on the way (dried or soaked in stew) they
even buried potatoes with their dead. Ancient Inca
potatoes had dark purplish skins and yellow fesh.
The Incas called the potato papas, as they do
today. Following is the Inca prayer that historians
say they used to worship them.
Creator! Thou who givest life to all things and hast
made men that they may live, and multiply. Multiply
also the fruits of the earth, the potatoes and other
food that thou hast made, that men may not suffer
from hunger and misery.
The frst European to see the potato was Pedro de
Cieza de Leon (15181560), Spanish Conquistador
and historian, who wrote about the potato in his
chronicles, Chronicles of Peru, in 1540:
In the vicinities of Quito the inhabitants have with
to the maize an other plant that serves to support in
great part their existence: the potatoes, that they are
of the roots similar to the tubercoli, supplies of one
rind more or little hard; when they come bubbled
they become to hold like the cooked chestnuts;
seccate to the sun call to them chuno and they are
conserved for the use.
Spanish explorer and conqueror, Gonzalo Jiminez
de Quesada (1499-1579), took the potato to Spain in
lieu of the gold he did not fnd. The Spanish thought
that they were a kind of truffe and called them
tartuffo. Potatoes were soon a standard supply
item on the Spanish ships; they noticed that the
sailors who ate papas (potatoes) did not suffer from
scurvy.
John Gerard (1545-1612), a British author, avid
gardner, and collector of rare plants, received roots
of the plant from Virginia where he was able to
successfully grow it in his own garden. He wrote
in his book The Herball, the following about the
potato:
Potatoes of the Virginia. The potato of the Virginia
has many coppers fexible cables and that crawl
for earth... The root is thick, large and tuberosa;
not much various one for shape, color and sapore
from common potatoes (the sweet potatoes) but a
smaller P; some are round as spheres, other ovals;
the some longer other shortest ones... It grows
spontaneously in America where, as Clusius has
reported, it has been discovered; from then I have
received these roots from the Virginia otherwise
Norembega calls; they grow and they prosper in my
garden like in their country of origin... Its correct
name is cited in the title it. Poich it possesses not
only the shape and the proportions of potatoes, but
also their gradevole sapore and virtue we can call
them potatoes of the America or Virginia.
The potato was carried on to Italy and England
about 1585, to Belgium and Germany by 1587,
to Austria about 1588, and to France around
1600. Wherever the potato was introduced, it was
considered weird, poisonous, and downright evil.
In France and elsewhere, the potato was accused
of causing not only leprosy, but also syphilis,
narcosis, scrofula, early death, sterility, and rampant
sexuality, and of destroying the soil where it grew.
There was so much opposition to the potato that an
edict was made in the town of Besancon, France
stating:
In view of the fact that the potato is a pernicious
substance whose use can cause leprosy, it is hereby
forbidden, under pain of fne, to cultivate it.
An Irish legend says that ships of the Spanish
Armada, wrecked off the Irish coast in 1588, were
carrying potatoes and that some of them washed
ashore.
Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618), British explorer
and historian known for his expeditions to the
Americas, frst brought the potato to Ireland and
planted them at his Irish estate at Myrtle Grove,
Youghal, near Cork, Ireland. Legend has it that he
made a gift of the potato plant to Queen Elizabeth
I (1533-1603). The local gentry were invited to a
royal banquet featuring the potato in every course.
Unfortunately, the cooks were uneducated in the
matter of potatoes, tossed out the lumpy-looking
tubers and brought to the royal table a dish of boiled
stems and leaves (which are poisonous), which
promptly made everyone deathly ill. The potatoes
were then banned from court.
Potatoes had been introduced to the United States
several times throughout the 1600s. They were not
widely grown for almost a century until 1719, when
they were planted in Londonderry, New Hampshire,
by Scotch-Irish immigrants, and from there spread
across the nation.
Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (1737-1813), a
French military chemist and botanist, won a contest
sponsored by the Academy of Besancon to fnd a
food capable of reducing the calamities of famine
with his study of the potato called Chemical
Examination of the Potato. According to historical
account, he was taken prisoner fve times by the
Prussians during the Seven Years War (1756-1763)
and obliged to survive on a diet of potatoes. He also
served dinners at which all courses were made of
potatoes. Many French potato dishes now bear his
name today.
In 1785, Parmentier persuades Louis XVI (1754
1793), King of France, to encourage cultivation
of potatoes. The King let him plant 100 useless
acres outside Paris, France in potatoes with troops
keeping the feld heavily guarded. This aroused
public curiosity and the people decided that
anything so carefully guarded must be valuable. One
night Parmentier allowed the guards to go off duty,
and the local farmers, as he had hoped, went into the
feld, confscated the potatoes and planted them on
their own farms. From this small start, the habit of
growing and eating potatoes spread. It is said that
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Queen of France and
married to Louis XVI, often pinned potato fowers
in her curls. Because of her, ladies of the era wore
potato blossoms in their hair.
Russian peasants refused to have anything to do
with the potato until the mid 1700s. Frederick the
Great (1712-1786) sent free potatoes to the starving
peasants after the famine of 1774, but they refused to
touch them until soldiers were sent to persuade them.
Although potatoes are grown throughout the United
States, no state is more associated with the potato
than Idaho. The frst potatoes in Idaho were planted
by a Presbyterian missionary, Henry Harmon
Spalding (1804-1874). Spalding established a
mission at Lapwai in 1836 to bring Christianity to
the Nez Perce Indians. He wanted to demonstrate
that they could provide food for themselves through
agriculture rather than hunting and gathering. His
frst crop was a failure, but the second year the crop
was good. After that, the potato growing ended for a
number of years because the Indians massacred the
people of a nearby mission, so Spalding left the area.
The Great Famine or also called the Great
Starvation in Ireland was caused because the
potato crop became diseased. At the height of the
famine (around 1845), at least one million people
died of starvation. This famine left many poverty
stricken families with no choice but to struggle for
survival or emigrate out of Ireland. Towns became
deserted, and all the best shops closed because store
owners were forced to emigrate due to the amount of
unemployment. Over one and a half million people
left Ireland for North America and Australia. Over
just a few years, the population of Ireland dropped
by one half, from about 9 million to little more than
4 million.
According to a book written in 1962 called The Great
Hunger: Ireland 1845-1849 by Cecil Woodham-
Smith:
That cooking any food other than a potato had
become a lost art. Women hardly boiled anything
but potatoes. The oven had become unknown after
A Brief History of the Potato
The Center of Origin for Potatoes
is in the Andes
the introduction of the potato prior to the Great
Starvation.
Most Americans consider the potato as food for
animals rather than for humans. As late as the
middle of the 19th Century, the Farmers Manual
recommended that potatoes be grown near the hog
pens as a convenience towards feeding the hogs.
Harvesting Potatoes with Modern Equipment
In Isabella Beetons 1862 book called Book of
Household Management, she wrote about the
potato:
It is generally supposed that the water in which
potatoes are boiled is injurious; and as instances are
recorded where cattle having drunk it were seriously
affected, it may be well to err on the safe side, and
avoid its use for any alimentary purpose.
It was not until the Russet Burbank potato was
developed by American horticulturist Luther
Burbank (1849-1926) in 1872 that the Idaho potato
industry really took off. Burbank, while trying to
improve the Irish potato, developed a hybrid that
was more disease resistant. He introduced the
Burbank potato to Ireland to help combat the blight
epidemic. He sold the rights to the Burbank potato
for $150, which he used to travel to Santa Rosa,
California. In Santa Rosa, he established a nursery
garden, greenhouse, and experimental farms that
have become famous throughout the world. By
the early 1900s, the Russet Burbank potato began
appearing throughout Idaho.
Today, the potato is so common and plentiful in the
Western diet that it is taken for granted. We seem
to forget that the potato has only been with us for a
few hundred years.
by James W Davis
Excerpted from Aristocrat in Burlap
In certain ways the mighty Snake River is the
mother of Idahos potato industry. It has, through
the centuries, transported and deposited much of
the silt that farmers cultivate today in lower lying
felds along the river course. It provides much of
the water that makes possible the growing of a plant
that needs a soil moisture of eighty percent for ideal
growth. As it plunges a mile downwards in elevation
along its course, the Snake generates electrical en-
ergy that makes pumping from deep wells possible,
and most of the potato growing areas in the state lie
contiguous to the Snake River Valley as it twists its
way in a 550-mile arc across southern Idaho.
Early History
The frst potatoes grown in Idaho were planted in
northern Idaho by Rev. Henry Spaulding. It was
a successful crop, but his missionary work was
brought to an end by the Whitman massacre and the
Spauldings were forced to leave in 1850.
Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 22,
1847. On July 24 a fve-acre potato patch was
plowed and seed potatoes planted. The frst irriga-
tion in Salt Lake Valley was for the beneft of the
newly planted potatoes. A week later the potatoes
were growing.
Certain pioneers were sent northward to settle other
areas. One of these was Cache Valley. Some, think-
ing they were still in Utah, had actually crossed the
border into Idaho and began to establish their farms
there. One of these early settlers in Franklin was
William Goforth Nelson. He recorded in the sum-
mer of 1860: We all camped in our wagons the frst
summer, but we all got homes built by winter; these
houses were built in the present meetinghouse lot in
a fort. I spent the summer working on ditches, can-
ton roads, and hauling poles and wood from the can-
yon. I raised thirty-three bushels of potatoes, which
is all that was raised in Franklin that summer except
for a few onions.
This is the frst recorded planting of potatoes in
Idaho in an area where the settlers remained and the
crop is still grown to some extent today. The plant-
ing was accomplished three years before the Idaho
Territory was organized.
The spread of potato agriculture in eastern Idaho
was only a matter of time. Henry E. Jenkins was a
freighter hauling a load of potatoes from Farming-
ton, Utah, to Blackfoot, Idaho. The recipient of the
shipment was Judge Stephens, who was encouraged
by the freighter to plant the potatoes believed to be
the frst planting in the Blackfoot area. More and
more potatoes were planted and the Blackfoot area
has grown now into one of the principal potato pro-
ducing areas in Idaho.
The Potato in Idaho
Those frst Idaho settlers were pioneers mentally as
well as geographically because they had the initia-
tive and willingness to better their conditions re-
gardless of physical hardships and uncertain futures.
In the river valleys, where water was easily diverted,
and with the rich volcanic-ash soil, these hearty
people raised a few more potatoes than they needed
and found that the extra potatoes resulted in a good
cash crop. From this small beginning, Idahos farm-
ers set out on the conquest of the potato markets of
the United States.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates for
the state of Idaho were frst made in 1882 and they
recorded 2,000 acres harvested. Total value of the
potato market in Idaho that frst year was $250,000.
In 1904 there were 17,000 acres harvested for
$1,328,000. In 1915 more than three million dol-
lars was realized from 33,000 acres. Production had
grown to 16,146,000 hundredweight by 1930 and
Idaho potatoes were gaining their national reputa-
tion for baking quality and the higher grading stan-
dards of Idaho shippers.
Russet Burbank Developed
The famous Idaho potato, Russet Burbank, is known
as being large in size, white, mealy & delicious.
It was developed by Luther Burbank, beginning
in 1872 when he planted twenty-three seeds from
an Early Rose parent plant. All produced tubers,
but one was superior in yield and size. Originally
smooth-skinned, the familiar netting is actually a
mutant of the Burbank. It is more resistant to blight
than the original.
Important People in the Industry
Joe Marshall became known as Idaho Potato
King because of his untiring efforts in improving
the industry. He frst came to Idaho in 1902. Over
the years he was a careful overseer of all aspects of
potato growing, harvesting, storage, marketing and
shipping. He was always ready to pass on his exper-
tise to other growers, and his reputation as a potato
expert became widespread.
His concepts of seed potato quality were implement-
ed by the University of Idaho in a foundation seed
program. Seed growers in the high altitude seed
producing areas of the state owe much to Marshalls
vision and understanding of the value of certifed
seed.
Men such as Marshall are given credit for establish-
ing the principle that quality was an important factor
in marketing Idaho potatoes. Marshall took great
pride in his crop and insisted it be handled carefully
and he put only merchandise of which he was proud
in bags bearing his brand.
Other shippers soon followed suit when they real-
ized that the introduction of the Russet Burbank had
given the state of Idaho a unique product to sell, and
quality began to be the watch word of Idaho potato
shippers.
Another individual whose name is synonymous with
potatoes is John (Jack) R. Simplot. Simplot has been
in turn the largest fresh shipper of potatoes in the
state, the largest grower of Idaho potatoes and the
largest processor. His greatest contribution to the
industry has been his immense capacity for innova-
tion, pioneering, speculation and the absolute fear-
less assault of unknown frontiers in production and
marketing.
He began building his potato empire in the 1930s
as a fresh shipper. He aggressively sought new
customers and bought out competitors. In 1940 he
was the largest single shipper of Idaho potatoes,
with 32 packing warehouses from American Falls to
Jamison, Oregon, and in 1940 shipped 10,000 cars
of Idaho potatoes to receivers all over the nation.
Simplot started a system with growers from whom
he bought potatoes. He would buy certifed seed and
induce each one of his growers to purchase ten or
more bags from him on credit. They were instructed
to plant these ten bags of potatoes late in the season
which caused the tubers to be small in size and rela-
tively immature at harvest time. This lot of potatoes
then, which had been grown from the certifed seed
and multiplied by one years growing, served as the
seed for the next years crop. The practice, which
Simplot developed, proved to be so superior to us-
ing year out seed that it became almost a universal
practice in the potato growing areas of Idaho.
Simplot also discovered the value of chemical fertil-
izers one year when he purchased a carload of fertil-
izer to try as an experiment. A portion of the feld
was planted with the plant food as far as it went.
When it ran out the rest of the feld was planted
without the beneft of the new product.
At harvest time the portion of the feld where the
fertilizer had been applied had a beautiful crop of
potatoes. They were large, of good quality, good
type, and the yield was heavy. Where the fertilizer
supplied had run out was where we ran out of pota-
toes according to Simplot.
The fertilizer industry was in its infancy and sup-
plies of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer were diff-
cult to obtain. This led Simplot to build his own fer-
tilizer production plants which has become a large
and lucrative division of his enterprises.
Simplot has also developed a wide system of dehy-
drated and frozen potato products. He has plants in
many locations and markets all over the world.
In the early days of potato production the grower
was also the marketer and shipper. Hauling was
done by horse-drawn wagons to the railroad. Potato
shipping warehouses began to spring up along the
railroads to facilitate the process. Eventually the po-
tato shipping business separated from that of potato
growing.
Advertising and Marketing
Advertising and marketing of the Idaho potatoes as
a unique and trademarked product became impor-
tant. The Russet Burbank began to be produced in
other parts of the country and was sometimes mar-
keted as Idaho potatoes. A great deal of effort and
even some days in court resulted in the protection
of the Idaho potato trademark.
Potato Processing
As peoples habits and lifestyles have changed the
demand for processed potatoes has grown. Idahos
potato industry has recognized and met this demand.
The earliest form of potato processing was probably
drying potatoes to preserve them for future use. In
Idaho, the frst processing activity was the extrac-
tion of starch from potatoes closely followed by the
production of potato four and potato meal.
The Rogers Brothers Seed Company claims the frst
dehydration of potatoes for food use in Idaho. They
indicate that they were producing potato four in
1926 and drying diced potatoes in 1940. Military
needs during World War II forced the development
of techniques that gave birth to the modern potato
processing industry in the Gem State as well as the
rest of the world.
In 1942 Simplot produced dehydrated potatoes, us-
ing the same process as drying onions. R.T. French
began producing potato granules for instant mashed
potatoes in 1952.
The potato processing industry has evolved over the
years until it has become possible to buy potatoes as
frozen French fries, potato rounds, stuffed baked po-
tatoes, shredded potato patties, hash browns, curly
fries, seasoned fries, or mashed. Dehydrated pota-
toes come as fakes or granules for instant mashed,
hash browns, diced for soups and stews, or sliced
for au gratin, etc.
There are processing plants for frozen products and
those that are purely dehydration plants. Some op-
erations have facilities for both types of processing.
One of the benefts of processing potatoes, aside
from convenience to the consumer, is that it gives
an opportunity to use the less than perfect potatoes,
resulting in less waste.
Irrigation and Land Development
Irrigation plays a critical role in the growing and
production of potatoes. The Carey Act of 1894
made it possible for more land to be opened up for
agricultural use. Under this Act, the so-called public
land states with desert lands were offered one mil-
lion federal acres each, provided they would cause
the granted lands to be irrigated.
Idaho benefted from the Carey Act far more than
did any other state. About 60% of all lands irrigated
in the United States under the Carey Act are in
Idaho. Over the period of forty years, the state of
Idaho received 618,000 acres of previously desert,
arid land. The overall beneft from the construc-
tion of dams and canals, the settlement of farms,
the birth of towns and cities and the production of
crops on the economy of Idaho is impossible to
measure. Carey Act reclamation projects have put
substantial tracts of land under cultivation that be-
came family farms and were utilized to grow Idaho
potatoes. Without this one piece of legislation many
of todays potato felds would be range for cattle and
sheep.
High-lift pumping opened up even more of the des-
ert lands to farming. Several projects were devel-
oped to bring water from the Snake River. The water
was pumped 500 to 725 feet up from the river.
The combination of private citizens and private
lending institutions expanding the agricultural
economy of Idaho by adding signifcantly to potato
production must certainly be included in the history
of the industry. It is one of the noteworthy eras in
the story of the potato in Idaho, an era, however,
that belonged to the past when there was plentiful
desert entry land, cheap energy and lower develop-
ment costs.
Technical Development
When white men frst came to Idaho to farm, the
heavy work of soil preparation, planting, cultiva-
tion and harvesting was done by the muscle power
of men and horses. Women also helped out in the
felds, but there was usually plenty of hard work to
do around the farm house as well.
The internal combustion engine produced the frst
technological revolution in the Idaho potato in-
dustry. Gasoline-powered farm tractors and motor
trucks made their appearance about the same time
in the early 1920s. Horses continued to play an im-
portant role for some time and teams were used for
hauling after they had been replaced by the tractor
for the heavy work of plowing, cultivation and dig-
ging potatoes. Potato diggers were slow to improve.
They were designed primarily to unearth the pota-
toes and leave them exposed on top of the ground,
to be picked by hand and put in feld bags. Harvest
time required many hands and people who did not
do feld work any other time of year were recruited
to pick potatoes in the annual September-October
race against the freeze-up. The pickers flled their
feld bags about half-full and they were loaded on
wagons to be hauled from the felds and dumped in
potato cellars.
As harvest labor became harder to get, machinery
designers began to improve diggers. The use of
chain link conveyors to separate feld dirt from po-
tatoes soon led to a more complex machine that el-
evated the potatoes in bulk to the height of a potato
truck and eliminated hand picking and feld bags.
Space was provided on some harvesters for people
to stand so they could remove vines, trash, clods of
soil and feld stones.
A major breakthrough was the development of
sprinkler irrigation. The facts are not available as to
who did the frst irrigation with sprinklers in Idaho,
but by the late 1940s the trend had begun. A ma-
jor factor was the development of light-aluminum
sprinkler pipe that could be moved from one part of
the feld to another. These are called handlines. One
of the big advantages of sprinkling is that it was no
longer necessary to have fat ground. The system
adapted to the gently rolling hills of much of Idahos
unreclaimed desert areas and made possible the ad-
ditions of thousands of new acres of potato ground.
Pumps were used to create the pressure for sprin-
kling and were usually powered by an electric motor
or an internal combustion engine. At frst the water
was pumped from irrigation ditches.
Sprinkler potatoes proved to be of more uniform
quality because soil moisture and soil temperature
could be controlled with greater accuracy. Sprinklers
worked better on light soils and their use greatly
reduced irrigation runoff which carried silt and other
undesirable substances back into rivers.
Another technological advancement that has con-
tributed greatly to the Idaho potato industry is the
mechanically refrigerated railroad car and semi-
trailers. The freight car that is charged with liquid
carbon dioxide can keep a load frozen solid for
periods as long as 14 to 16 days if necessary. This
makes it possible for huge quantities of frozen pota-
toes to be shipped all over the country.
Use of automated controls on nearly every phase of
processing has likewise accomplished savings in la-
bor cost and tightened tolerances for higher quality.
Computers have steadily increased their usefulness
to fresh shippers in optical sizing and grading func-
tions. Machines that fll consumer-size bags now
depend on electronic brains to get the weight of the
contents exact without underweights and a mini-
mum of overweights.
Potato Quotes
What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes,
he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.
A. A. Milne (1882-1956),
popular childrens author
If beefs the king of meat, potatos the queen of the
garden world.
Irish Saying
Only two things in this world are too serious to be
jested on, potatoes and matrimony.
Irish saying
Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a
useful root that we cannot get on without it any
more than we can without potatoes.
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), American novelist
Potato Jokes
An old man living alone in South Armagh, whose
only son was in Long Kesh Prison, didnt have any-
one to dig his garden for his potatoes. So he wrote
to his son about his predicament.
The son sent the reply, For HEAVENS SAKE,
dont dig the garden up, thats where I buried the
guns!!!!! At 3 AM the next morning, a dozen Brit-
ish soldiers turned up and dug the garden for 3
hours, but didnt fnd any guns.
Confused, the man wrote to his son telling him what
had happened, asking him what he should do now?
The son sent the reply: NOW plant the potatoes!
Potato Facts
Europe and the former Soviet Union account for
75% of the worlds potato crop. Russia accounts
for as much as 33% of the worlds crop. Poland is
second with 15%, and then the USA is third with
a distant 5%. The average annual crop of potatoes
worldwide - 291 million tons - could cover a four-
lane superhighway circling the world six times.
A medium potato, weighing between 5 and 10
ounces, has 76 calories -- no more than an apple.
Potatoes are fat-free, rich in potassium and an ex-
cellent source of fber. Additionally, this vegetable
contains one-half the daily requirement of vitamin
C, 15 percent of the recommended daily allowance
of vitamin B6 and 10 percent of the niacin require-
ments. Potatoes should be stored in a cool, dry, dark
place between 35 and 50 F. They should always be
warmed to room temperature before being cooked.
Potatoes are more soil-particular than they are
climate-particular. Potatoes require deep, well-
drained soils that are open and loose, not hard and
clayey. High organic matter (humus) contents and
high fertilities are a must for potatoes.
There are more than 160 wild potato species, and
most of them contain high levels of alkaloids. The
frst edible potatoes are considered to have been cul-
tivated 4000 years ago in Peru. The south American
Indians were in fact able to select alkaloid-free po-
tato varieties, the results of which is still seen today.
The potato is part of the nightshade family and as
such does have some disagreeable traits. One should
never eat anything green from a potato. The leaves
and stem are poisonous. Potatoes should be stored in
dark, but dry places. Light will cause the formation
of solanine on the skin of the potato. Though not
likely to cause serious harm, green skinned potatoes
can taste bitter and may result in temporary diges-
tive discomfort.
When confronted by green skin on a potato, simply
peel it away. Potatoes are one of the most nutritious
staple crops discovered by man. With milk in the
diet, it can be a sustaining and healthful source of
energy, vitamins and minerals both in times of want
and in times of plenty.
by Jack Kittredge
Hawley, Massachusetts is one of those wonderful
New England towns that the years seem to have
ignored. Nestled high in the Berkshires, its 336
residents are spread out over 31 square miles. Two
state forests occupy almost half the towns land,
with the rest a mix of forests and felds. On the
top of one local mountain at an elevation of 2400
feet, on appropriately named Forget Road, Ivy
Donovan raises potatoes.
My father came down out of Maine in the forties
and bought this land, Ivy relates. This is good
potato land. Cool nights make good potatoes.
It was 800 acres then, he continues. My father
didnt want neighbors. But I had fve brothers and
three sisters. We pretty much got rid of the big
rocks. As a kid all we had was that Farmall. After
wed plant, wed go through the felds with that old
Farmall and a stone boat. Any of the real big rocks,
wed take a round pointed shovel and a chain and a
crowbar. You know, a guy learned more from that
than he realized! You look over a situation, youve
got to fnd a corner to get the chain around, place the
tractor just right You could bust your head against
that rock all day if you wanted, but if you do it right
you can get it out!
Although he was learning problem solving skills
from his father every day, Ivy says at the time none
of the kids appreciated it: Alls I wanted to do,
and all us boys, was to get off this hill! I did. When
I was 17 I got 13,000 miles away from here, to
Southeast Asia. I quit school and joined the army to
get off this hill.
When he got out of the service in the early 1970s
Ivy worked for his father for a couple of years, and
then he and his wife moved to New Hampshire. In
1984 his father, tired and not wanting to carry the
load on the farm by himself anymore, talked to each
of the kids about taking over for him. Ivy was the
only one willing to come back
I had a logging operation, and all my equipment
was paid for, he recalls. But Id always thought
about farming, so we decided to do it. We bought
the farm. Nobody else wanted anything to do with
it. I worked with my father here in 1984 growing
potatoes, and then in the spring of 1985 he was
diagnosed with colon cancer. He had an operation
but in 1986 he died. It was awful. He wanted to get
rid of the load, then go to farm auctions and pick up
old farm equipment, fx it up and resell it. He would
have loved that, but he never got the chance.
Ivy grew conventional potatoes through 1986,
then in 1987 he cut his acreage in half and started
growing some organic ones. The following year he
grew them all organically.
When I frst started with organic potatoes I only
did 200 pounds of seed, he says. But then we
went up to an acre. There was a three year waiting
period and when we hit the third year we went all
the way up to 20 acres. Ive had upwards of 25 acres
in 25 varieties! At that time most of it went to Bread
and Circus. I would package it on pallets and take
it down to Hadley to meet their trucks. They would
take it from there down to their stores. I once had
some people in town tell me my potatoes were being
sold in New Jersey!
There were several reasons Ivy decided to go
organic. But a large one was that organic products
had become available to deal with the potato bug. A
Bt insecticide named M-One had come out which he
felt was pretty effective. It is no longer available,
but has been replaced with M-Trak, which he thinks
is even better.
I sprayed last week, he relates, and my goodness,
I went out the next day and there were piles of bugs,
Ivy Donovan: Raising Potatoes
at the Top of the World
wherever they had been on plants. I always thought
that my biggest problem was the potato bug, but
now its the leafhopper. Today they have a product
that works on them, Pyrellin. But theyre still tough.
They come in out of the south on the jet stream,
he continues. Once theyre here they have ten
generations or so in a season. They dont over-
winter. Once you see one, thats too many! They
do a lot of damage in that they transmit viruses into
plants. Itll hurt the plants so much that later, when
you want them to size up and make bigger tubers,
the plants are too weak and they cant do it. They
have whats called hopper-burn. The leaves just curl
up and turn brown.
Ivy thinks Pyrellin is pretty effective against leaf
hoppers, but of course you have to hit them with
it. It has to get on their bodies. And that is tough,
he says, once the potato plants fll the rows in.
You have to spray with high pressure, with a lot of
volume. He gets his best results spraying at night, in
a full moon so he can see what hes doing. During
the day much of it evaporates, and theres almost
always a breeze so he gets a lot of drift.
Donovan currently has about two and a half acres
in potatoes. They are planted in long rows near
the house, each row being about a quarter of a
mile long. He does all the work himself, and has
specialized equipment for each stage. For planting,
he uses a two-row planter that opens up the row,
puts the organic fertilizer in, drops in the seed, and
covers it up. He cuts potatoes for seed by hand,
sitting on a seed cutting horse with the radio on.
For cultivation he uses a spring-tooth weeder. He
says: If you took a black and white picture of
me cultivating, you couldnt tell if it was me or
my father in the 1950s. Its the same tractor, same
equipment. I learned to operate as soon as my leg
was long enough to reach the pedals! But I did put
power steering on it. I have rheumatoid arthritis and
its hard to steer with all that weight!
After awhile the potato plants get so big he cant use
the cultivator any more because hed do too much
damage. So every morning he spends the frst half
hour walking through the potatoes picking weeds.
His old dog goes with him and he enjoys the peace
and quiet.
Generally Ivy has to irrigate. Only one year in
fve I dont have to irrigate, he says. Its a big
job to set that line up here from the pond. But the
two things I say about organic growing is isolation
and irrigation. Control what you can. I dont have
to worry about a neighbor not taking care of his
bugs. In lots of ways youre better off if you have to
irrigate. You can water as necessary then.
When you harvest potatoes you should take the tops
off and wait two weeks for the skins to get tougher
and the potatoes to cure before digging them. You
can wait for the tops to die back, but if you have
a lot of potatoes youd never get them harvested.
Ivy starts in early September and goes to late
October. Some years he gets pretty early frosts on
the mountaintop, however, and remembers one on
October 3
rd
that went down 3 inches and spoiled a
lot of potatoes.
For this task, too, he uses his fathers equipment:
Back in the ffties wed use a roto-beater to take
the tops off it had rubber fngers and you would go
through and beat the tops off. Then the vines would
die back and in two weeks you could dig them.
Well, I got that out and were using it. I had to take
my chain saw to get it out of where it was!
He also built a weed famer. Once the tops are off
the potatoes, the weeds will start growing. Then,
when it comes time to harvest you have to pick
through weeds. So he goes through with the famer
once the weeds start poking up and kills them while
the potatoes are still under cover.
Ivy and his father used a regular harvester when
they were harvesting 60 acres of potatoes. But when
Ivy started growing organic he got the old two-row
digger out. He explains: The big harvester would
bruise a lot of the potatoes on this kind of ground.
And all your smaller ones would shake right through
and youd lose them. But today those small potatoes
are an excellent item. A lot of people want them.
Well mix all different colors of creamer size and
sell them. People will pay extra!
The two-row digger brings the spuds up, the dirt
falls through properly spaced rods, and the potatoes
are carried to the end and laid on the ground behind
the digger, for hand picking. The bar cuts just to the
bottom of the hill, lifts the whole hill up and shakes
the potatoes free. The sprockets have removable
photo by Jack Kittredge
Ivy Donovan stands before his meticulous quarter-mile long hills of potatoes
long and short arms which can raise and lower the
rods rapidly to shake the dirt free. That shaking is
great if the ground is wet, but if it is too dry and you
dont want to drop the dirt too soon you can take
those arms out and the shaking stops.
Ivys digger has a gearbox mounted on the shaft
coming from the PTO. They dont come through
from the factory with a transmission on it, he
laughs. That was the frst thing my father did,
was put that transmission on. It gives you more
control to run it faster or slower, depending on
the conditions of the feld. Nowadays you have
more gears on your tractor so you dont need the
transmission as much.
Ivy also has a potato washer and a grading machine
to screen out the smaller ones so you can pack them
separately. Potato grades are As which are full size,
Bs which are smaller potatoes, creamers which
are golf ball size, and babies the size of a mans
thumbnail. There is also a storage building, built in
1956. Ivys father insulated it and used wood stoves
for heat. Some winters, he recalls, it got 10 below
zero and they had all the stoves going!
Donovan says his biggest problem now with
growing potatoes is to get a good organic and also
certifed disease-free seed. The state of Maine has a
seed disease certifcation program. To be in that you
have to rogue your plants while theyre growing -
- you have to walk your felds and pull up any plants
that are diseased and haul them out of the feld. You
also have to send a sampling to Florida, which is
grown down there in the winter. If you have more
disease than they allow you cant sell that crop as
seed.
For years one could buy commercial certifed
disease-free potatoes for seed and grow them it out
as organic. But now the organic regulations require
you to search for organic sources. Ivy buys most of
his seed out of Colorado from Rockey Farms. He
gets some from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine.
His personal favorite is Kennebec, the round white
potato his father grew. Its great both for chips
and for the table. Ivy also likes the Norwood as
an eating potato. But he grows about 12 different
varieties, picking the ones which sell the best and
also store the best. He says right now people like
yellow potatoes like Yukon Gold.
He says on some of his better varieties he gets
a yield of 200 hundred-weights per acre. Some
varieties, of course, dont do that well. Again,
depending on the variety, he can get a base price
of a dollar a pound to a high of three dollars a
pound, for the fngerlings. The market at which he
has sold well for years is the Northampton farmers
market. He laughs: I cant sell too many roadside
here. Pretty much the only one that goes by is the
mailman!
For a while Ivy and his wife Cinni tried adding
value to their potatoes by chipping them. We
started the potato chip business in 1990, he recalls.
They were called Rocky Row. We had the plant
in this red barn, insulated, purchased a kettle cooker.
The hardest part of that was the packaging. We
werent automated. In one hour I could cook more
chips than we could package in half a day or more.
We had a machine that, once you flled the bin with
cooked chips, it would vibrate them into a chute and
weigh it off. But you had to stand there and hold
the 5-ounce bag while someone flled it, and then
someone would have to heat seal it.
One problem Ivy had making an organic chip was
that, with the chipping varieties then, you couldnt
store them at lower than 55 degrees or the chips
would turn brown. All the starch would turn into
sugar. If you dont use sprout inhibitors, however,
and keep the storage at 55 or more the potatoes will
start sprouting. Thats what nature tells them to do
at that temperature. Conventional growers either
spray their felds with sprout inhibitors, or gas their
storage buildings.
Thats the worst thing about commercial potatoes,
Ivy says. I wouldnt worry about the sprays they
use to grow them, Id worry about what they put
into that potato later telling it not to grow! Its in
there you got to be eating it when you eat that
potato!
Finally Frito-Lay developed varieties that would
chip in cold storage. Snowden was one of the big
varieties, but many dont even have names -- just
numbers. Now they have varieties that you can chip
at 45 degrees.
But back then Ivy found a way to keep some in
cooler storage, and then bring them slowly into
more heat. Gradually they warmed back up and the
color came back to white. That way he was able to
operate the business from September until April.
I was doing 25 acres for Bread and Circus and
chipping also, he says. That time a guy was
younger and he thought he could do it all! It doesnt
work like that!
We sold to a middleman, he continues. Thats no
good. It never is. If I sell my potatoes at a farmers
market, we get that 100% markup, not the stores.
Im glad I tried it, but it come down to I didnt want
to hire someone else to do it. That product was
going out with my name on it, and I wanted to do
it. But I had to choose between that and being out
here in these felds. Also, they were fried, and you
couldnt call them a health food. So maybe its just
as well that it ended up as it did. They sold fne I
have people asking for them today!
The other crop Ivy raises is hay. Unlike the potatoes,
Ivys hay is not organic.
Theres not enough of a market for organic hay,
Ivy insists. The organic fertilizer I use on the
potatoes is way too expensive for what I can charge
for hay. I dont have animals or neighbors with
animals for manure, and you cant haul manure very
far up these hills to get it here to be cost effective.
Right now Donovan is haying 65 acres by himself.
He does this by selling it standing in the feld to
neighbors. He doesnt have a kicker with a trailer, so
just goes through and drops them on the ground.
Ivys two-row harvester cuts under the potatoes and brings the entire hill up and over
the moving rods. The dirt falls between the rods and the potatoes are carried
to the back and dropped onto the ground. Note the added gearshift just past
where the universal joint transfers power from the PTO.
A close-up shows the cutting edge of the potato harvester.
Ignore the cultivating bar and tines on the ground just in front of the harvester
I have customers who take it right out of the feld,
he says. Theyre all waiting and will come right
up here. A guy coming Saturday is picking up 600
bales. They go out in the feld and pick them up
bale by bale, where I drop them. You hear of people
down in Boston paying $7, $8, $9 a bale. But you
cant get that here. Here you get $2.50 in the feld!
By the time you buy a truck and try to keep in on
the road to get to Boston, youre better off selling it
in the feld.
Theres no way one man can load and move bales
from 65 acres, he continues. Especially in a year
like this. Youd be doing frst cutting in September
and it would be nothing but mulch. Hay is a lot like
frewood. Too much work involved. The equipment
is too expensive, and maintaining it is worse. These
days there are lots of people fxing up old tractors as
antiques. It used to be you could fnd an old tractor
or parts reasonable. But now everyone is restoring
them, they cost too much. And new stuff today is
out of the question.
Ivy spoke about what he would recommend to a
young farmer, just getting into the business. He said
without hesitation: If I was a younger man Id get
into organic dairying. Milking 50 head is the right
size operation. You can do well at that. Or selling
raw milk. What you got to watch is not to take on
too much, unless you are the kind of person who can
manage people. But hiring people is tough. Its hard
to pay what people can go out and make. It isnt the
money, they have to want the lifestyle.
Donovan has been thinking a lot about the future.
He had health problems 4 years ago and doesnt
want what happened to his father to happen to him.
When Im gone, thats it. We have one daughter,
but she doesnt want to run the farm. If I had to sell,
it would be tough. Its protected APR land. Am I
going to sell it for $300,000 for someone to farm,
or am I going to sell it for $1,000,000 to someone
with the money who would want this just to live on
-- have a couple of horses?
Theres 350 acres here, he continues, split on
both sides of the road about even. Theres 110 open,
20 acres of pasture down there. We have a pond for
irrigation. This would make 3 farms. But now its
getting too much. It would be nice to have someone
else come in and farm along with me. Everything I
know about growing potatoes, theres no one to pass
it along to. I could show them what I did know.
On July 5 some of the early potatoes are fowering in Ivys beds. Note the weed-free spuds.
A NOFA DREAMER
Young widower seeks organic land west of Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts
Areas of Interest
As an Arborist, I am used to going out on a limb to get done what needs done and I understand that
entertaining the public is a natural part of it. So, once you have had your little chuckle about my ad,
would you please consider that I have invested some hard earned money to get your attention. I am
serious about relocating to the West Quabbin Area.
Bottom line: I deeply appreciate all who are willing to assist me in making this dream a reality.
P. S. A warm thank you to everyone who responded to my previous ad.
A trustworthy soul,
Kevin Stitt
10 Cross Street, Woburn, MA 01801 Email: info@organicsoilcare.com
Home: 781-932-3828 Cell: 781-983-4086 Web Site: www.organicsoilcare.com
Proposed Land Use
Orchard: diverse as possible, either established or I will establish
Nursery: organic practices only, low volume, high quality, non-invasive, specimen plants
Green House: propagation of trees and shrubs, year round salad greens
Composting Site: small scale, compost tea brewing center
Tree and Landscape Business: small scale, organic practices only
New Salem
North New Salem
Wendell
Lake Pleasant
Shutesbury
Leverett
East Leverett
Pratt Corner
Montague
North Leverett
Moores Corner
Locks Village
Pelham
West Pelham
Dwight
Belchertown
Certined Organic
Vegetable-Herb
Ldible Ilowering Plants
Gorgeous 8 Unusual
Annuals-Perennials
Ilowering Shrubs
Gins tor Gardeners
M
H
YBY THY CCCD TH1CS CBC
M
1800 Scituate Ave. Hope, RI
goodearthcox.net
401-826-3130
by Abby Seaman
We initiated a three-year study of organic and con-
ventional systems in 2000, focusing on potatoes and
winter squash production. Our team consisted of
myself, Jeromy Biazzo, who was hired to coordi-
nate the project, Anu Rangarajan in the Department
of Horticulture at Cornell, Brian Caldwell, then
Education Coordinator with NOFA-NY, Mike Hoff-
mann in the Department of Entomology, George
Abawi in the Department of Plant Pathology, and
Bruce Dehm, with Dehm Associates Farm Business
Services who analyzed our economic data. Our
goal was to look at the whole production system
on these farms and look for relationships between
management practices, soil health, and pest pres-
sure. Another goal was to document pest pressure
in organic systems and see how it compared with
that on similar conventional farms that have a much
wider variety of pest management options at their
disposal. Since this issue of The Natural Farmer is
about organic potatoes, Ill concentrate on the potato
portion of our study.
Nine farmers cooperated with us in this study. Four
used conventional practices and fve were organic.
The organic farmers had been operating for at least
fve years, and most had been organic for 10 or
more years. One organic/conventional pair was in
western NY, another was in eastern NY, and a group
of fve farms was located in the Ithaca area. All
the farms were mixed vegetable operations, with a
variety of marketing strategies including farmers
markets, CSA, farm stands, and wholesale. Most
of the farms grew both potatoes and winter squash,
however in the Ithaca area one organic farm did not
grow squash, so we recruited an additional organic
farmer who grew winter squash. So we could have
a consistent measure of yields, we chose target va-
rieties of both potatoes and winter squash that were
grown by a majority of farmers. For potatoes, the
target variety was Superior. We supplied seed of
Superior to farms that were not already growing that
variety so it was grown on all the farms.
We were interested in fnding out as much as pos-
sible about the productions systems on these farms
so we took a wide variety of samples. A subset of
plants was scouted weekly for insect and disease
pests, and benefcials. Colorado potato beetle
larvae were collected and held in the lab to deter-
mine the level of parasitism by naturally-occuring
parasitoids. Yellow sticky cards were placed in the
feld every other week for an additional sample of
benefcials. On alternate weeks, pitfall traps were
used to monitor ground-dwelling benefcials such as
ground beetles and spiders, both in the feld and in
the feld borders. The vegetation type and percent in
the borders of the felds was recorded. Soil samples
included a regular soil test for nutrients, organic
matter, pH and cation exchange capacity, assays
of microbial activity and nitrogen mineralization
rate, and particulate organic matter fractionation.
Particulate organic matter (POM) is the active
fraction of organic matter that results from regular
additions of organic matter, and is thought to con-
tribute to induced resistance to pests in crop plants.
Parasitic and saprophytic nematodes were sampled
Potato Production on
Organic and Conventional Farms:
Differences and Similarities
directly from the soil, and parasitic nematodes were
also indirectly sampled using a greenhouse bioassay.
Soil-borne root rotting fungi were also evaluated in
the greenhouse bioassay. Weeds were sampled three
times per season; before the frst cultivation, at mid-
season, and before harvest.
While our goal was to relate different aspects of
the systems to each other, our analysis showed few
strong relationships between different aspects of the
systems. This is not surprising in retrospect because
of the amount of variability associated with work-
ing on different farms, soil types, and geographic
areas. When you are taking as many different types
of samples as we did, the trade-off is that the inten-
sity of samples is reduced. One important lesson we
learned from this study is that to examine relation-
ships that are fairly subtle, its important to maintain
some factors, such as soil type and general insect
and disease pressure, relatively constant. This study
re-emphasizes the importance of long-term research
farm systems trials for teasing apart the sometimes
subtle relationships between different aspects of
production systems.
That leaves us with the question of how pest levels
on organic farms, where the emphasis of the pest
management program is on cultural practices and
soil health, with occasional use of approved pest
management materials, compare with those on
similar conventional farms, which use a variety of
products to reduce pests to acceptable levels. And
how do the different production systems compare
in terms of soil health and benefcials? This type of
comparison can help identify factors that are limit-
ing yield or quality in the systems and focus on ar-
eas in need of research or outreach.
Insects:
The three main insect pests we focused on in po-
tatoes were Colorado potato beetle (CPB), potato
leafhopper (PLH), and fea beetles (FB). To obtain
one number that would refect the seasonal amount
of a pest or benefcial we borrowed a measure used
by plant pathologists, the area under the disease
progress curve (AUDPC). The numbers that appear
in the tables are the seasonal AUDPC divided by
the number of weeks a particular feld was sampled.
Higher numbers indicate seasonal higher levels of
a particular pest or benefcial. The organic growers
who participated in this study used very few insecti-
cides in potatoes. One farmer used Bt for CPB and
another did some hand picking.
CPB is the most widely recognized potato insect
pest. Adults are about 3/8 long, and strongly dome
shaped, with black and yellow stripes. They over-
winter as adults near the previous years potatoes,
colonizing felds as soon as the potatoes emerge,
sometimes stripping the foliage when populations
are high. Females lay masses of bright yellow eggs
that hatch into reddish nymphs, which grow quickly
and chew voraciously on the plants. Larvae bur-
row into the soil to pupate, emerging after 5-10
days. Our data showed that numbers of CPB were
not signifcantly different on the conventional and
organic farms (Table 1) despite the fact that the
organic farmers, on average, invested very little in
time and materials to control them. We sampled
fourth instar larvae to estimate the levels of parasit-
ism for two tachinid fy parasitoids of CPB in felds
with suffcient populations to collect a sample of 50.
While parasitism levels were not signifcantly differ-
ent between the conventional and organic systems
(Table 2), they were higher on the organic farms,
as were number and diversity (number of types of
benefcials per sample) of benefcials we found on
the plants. The lack of statistical signifcance in the
case of the benefcials may be related to the fact that
benefcials are relatively rare in the feld, and would
need to be sampled more intensively than the more
numerous pest species to have a chance of seeing a
statistical difference. Our sampling intensity was
more geared to the pest insects. Another factor that
may contribute to a lack of differences between the
organic and conventional systems is the fact that
many of the conventional growers were using imi-
dacloprid, a systemic insecticide, for early season
CPB and potato leafhopper management. Systemic
materials do not disrupt natural enemies the way fo-
liar applied products do. Carabid beetles, a type of
ground dwelling beetle that has been found to climb
up into potato plants to feed on CPB egg masses,
were one of the insects sampled in the pitfall traps.
Both diversity and numbers of benefcial organisms
caught in the pitfall traps were similar between the
organic and conventional systems.
Flea beetle is an early season pest that feed on the
leaves, leaving behind a shot-holed appearance.
They overwinter as adults near previous years
felds and are highly mobile, invading felds soon
after the sprouts emerge. Heavy infestations may
reduce plant vigor, especially if the plants are al-
ready stressed by hot and/or dry conditions. Flea
beetle numbers were signifcantly higher on the or-
ganic farms than the conventional farms (Table 1),
although it is not clear if they contributed to reduced
yield. In all the tables included in this article, an
asterisk indicates a statistically signifcant difference
and ns indicates no signifcant difference.
Potato leafhopper is a migratory pest that arrives
in the northeast in April-May and often colonizes
potatoes after the frst cutting of alfalfa, which is
also a host. Adults are pale green, wedge-shaped,
and about 1/8 inch long. They lay eggs in the peti-
oles and the veins on the underside of leaves, which
hatch into tiny chartreuse nymphs that develop into
adults over a period of 12-35 days, depending on
temperature. There can be multiple generations of
PLH during the course of the growing season. PLH
have piercing mouthparts, and their feeding causes
a reaction in susceptible plants called hopperburn.
The frst symptom of hopperburn in potatoes is leaf
rolling, followed by death of the leaf margins and
eventual death of the entire leaf (Fig. 3). New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and parts of Vermont
and Massachusetts are in an area of particularly high
risk of yield loss from potato leafhopper (Figure 1).
The appearance of hopperburn is more similar to a
disease than the typical chewing symptoms we asso-
ciate with insect feeding. Some organic farmers Ive
talked to have not been aware that the symptoms
they were seeing in their potatoes were caused by
PLH feeding.
Our study found that potato leafhopper numbers
were signifcantly higher on the organic farms than
the conventional farms, and that there was a sig-
nifcant negative relationship between yield and
leafhopper numbers (Figure 2). Average yields of
organic potatoes over the three years of the study
were nearly 50% lower than those on the conven-
tional farms (Table 3). While I think some of us in
research and extension suspected that PLH were
causing some yield loss on organic farms, I dont
think anyone expected the yield losses to be so high.
Nutrients were suffcient on the organic farms, and
we did not fnd that nutrient levels were associated
with yields in this study. We have followed up this
work with trials looking at the susceptibility of some
potato varieties commonly grown on organic farms
to yield reduction by PLH and found that there is a
difference between varieties when it comes to PLH.
We surveyed organic potato growers in several
Northeast states to determine the most commonly
grown varieties, and planted the top ten in a trial at
Cornells Freeville research farm. We compared
the yields in plots with no leafhopper controls with
those that received Admire, an insecticide used by
conventional farmers to control leafhoppers and
Colorado potato beetle, at planting. The trial was
conducted during a very wet growing season, so
overall yields were low, but we did see some dif-
A Grower Friendly Company
1-800-544-7938
www.harrisseeds.com
355 Paul Rd., PO Box 24966, Rochester, NY 14624-0966
A12
ORGANIC & UNTREATED SEED CATALOG
FOR THE PROFESSIONAL GROWER!
For over 126 years, Harris Seeds has been supplying growers in the
Northeast with the highest quality seed and service. Located in nearby
Rochester, New York, we stand ready to prove to you that we are truly a
Grower Friendly Company!
We are the first company to offer you a selection of market-leading
organically grown hybrid vegetable varietiesvarieties that are the
preferred ones to grow in the NortheastZucchini Elite summer
squashLady Bell pepperSorcerer pumpkinMultipik summer
squashand more!
We also offer an extensive listing of untreated varieties for most
vegetable species.
Check out our big cash discounts for prepays and our grower
friendly credit terms.
We have a full staff of product specialists to assist you with all of
your growing needs.
Call us Toll Free (800-544-7938) or visit us on the web:
www.harrisseeds.comfor easy ordering.
Ask about our Ornamentals Catalog for the Professional Grower
its full of annual and perennial flower seeds and plugs and liners.
F
R
E
E
ferences between varieties (Table 4). All Blue,
Carola, Kennebec, and Red Norland were especially
susceptible to PLH, while All Red, Prince Hairy,
Yukon Gold, and Elba experienced smaller yield
losses. NY-131 is a PLH resistant selection from
the Cornell potato breeding program that is more
advanced than Prince Hairy (also a product of the
breeding program), but shares its susceptibility to
scab. Walter DeJong, the Cornell potato breeder,
is working on improving the scab resistance in the
potato leafhopper resistant clones. Yukon Gold has
also proven resistant in on-farm trials conducted by
John Mishanec in eastern NY. Other varieties from
the eastern NY trials that show some resistance are
Keuka Gold, (a yellow feshed variety), Eva, and
Adirondack Blue from the Cornell breeding pro-
gram, Katahdin, and Green Mountain.
Aphids
Aphids are tiny insect with piercing sucking mouth-
parts. The females give birth to live young that ma-
ture quickly, causing populations to increase rapidly.
While they do occasionally occur at high enough
numbers to reduce yield in some crops, in potatoes
they are a concern mostly because of the possibility
of virus transmission. We found that aphid numbers
were signifcantly higher in the conventional sys-
tem. The high average numbers are due mostly to
spectacular outbreaks in a few conventional felds.
Aphids are often kept at low levels by the many
natural enemies that feed on them. Aphid outbreaks
are often the result of natural enemies being killed
by foliar insecticide applications. Aphid outbreaks
tend to be followed by an increase in natural enemy
levels in the feld, In fact, one of the signifcant
relationships we found in this study was a positive
relationship between aphids and benefcials, with
higher numbers of aphids resulting in higher num-
bers of benefcials, rather than the negative relation-
ship we might expect, in which higher numbers of
benefcials are associated with lower numbers of
aphids.
Plant Diseases
We also scouted the potatoes for diseases, focusing
on early blight and late blight. Late blight was not
present on any of the farms the years we conducted
the study, and unfortunately. early blight symptoms
are similar to and somewhat masked by hopperburn,
so we were not able to collect useful data on that
disease.
Weeds
We sampled weeds three times during the season;
before frst cultivation to assess the potential weed
pressure, at fowering to assess the potential com-
petition to the crop, and at harvest to assess what
would be contributing to the weed seed bank. Weed
numbers were not signifcantly different between the
organic and conventional farms, and numbers tend-
ed to be lower on the organic farms (Table 5). Most
of the organic farmers we worked with were able to
When it comes to organic feed, Natures Best
offers the most nutritionally balanced formulas.
Designed for peak performance, our special
blends are expertly prepared by our experienced
team and nationally recognized on-staff
nutritionist to ensure your livestock is healthy
and productive! We guarantee complete
nutrition - well even prepare custom feeds if
youd like!
Learn how your farm can
benefit from Natures Best
Organic Feeds
and poultry products,
call 1-800-767-4537 today
or visit
www.organicfeeds.com
for a dealer near you.
Helping to sustain the family farm
through knowledge and experience.
A support network for
Northeast new farmers
Searchable Directory of
programs & services
Tools and resources for
new farmers & service
providers
Growing
New
Farmers
Visit
www.growingnewfarmers.org
achieve the same level weed control with cultural
practices and cultivation as the conventional farmers
were able to achieve using a weed management pro-
gram that included herbicides. This speaks more to
the experience and skill of our cooperators than ease
of weed control in organic systems, in which weeds
are one of the more diffcult management chal-
lenges. There were a few spectacular weed control
failures in both systems.
Soil Quality
The soil quality data Ill discuss is for all the felds
we looked at, both potatoes and squash. Ill focus
on the biological aspects of soil quality as nutrient
levels on the farms were generally adequate.
Parasitic Nematodes and Root Rotting Pathogens
We used a greenhouse bioassay to assess damage
from root rotting pathogens such as Pythium, Rhi-
zoctonia, and Fusarium, which have the potential
to reduce seed germination, cause damping off, and
damage roots, decreasing their ability to take water
and nutrients from the soil. Soil was collected from
the feld shortly before harvest and placed in pots in
the greenhouse. Beans, which are very susceptible
to root rots, and show distinctive disease symptoms,
were planted in the feld soil and the roots were har-
vested and rated for root rot symptoms on a scale
of 1-9. Root rot ratings were signifcantly higher in
the soils from organic felds than those from con-
ventional felds (Table 6). This was true only with
the soils taken from the potato felds, not from the
squash felds, and we dont know why that would be
the case. One potential explanation for the higher
levels of root rotting pathogens on the organic farms
is that some root rotting pathogens are facultative
saprophytes, which means they can operate either
as plant pathogens or live on decomposing organic
matter. Regular additions of organic matter that oc-
cur on organic farms may stimulate the growth of
certain root rotting pathogens. One of the organic
farms cooperating in the study has problems with
germination in large seeded crops such as spinach
and beets. They have started to add their compost
(partially composted manures) in the fall instead of
the spring and report that this has helped.
Nematodes were sampled directly from the soil
using the pie pan method in which soil is placed
on flter paper in a fat pan and moistened. The
nematodes leave the soil and can be counted under
a microscope in samples of the water. Two species
of parasitic nematode were identifed, root lesion
nematode and root knot nematode. Both cause
damage to the roots and disrupt the uptake of water
and nutrients to the top of the plant. We did see sig-
nifcant differences in parasitic nematode numbers
between the two systems. Interestingly, root lesion
nematode was higher in the conventional system
than the organic, but the opposite was true for root
knot nematode (Table 6).
Organic Matter
Both total organic matter and particulate organic
matter (POM) were signifcantly higher on organic
farms than conventional farms (Table 7). POM is
a measure of actively decomposing organic matter.
Total organic matter includes both POM and more
stable forms of organic matter that contribute to soil
structure than to microbial activity. There was a sig-
nifcant relationship between the amount of organic
matter in the form of compost and/or cover crops
and soil organic matter. Each of the different POM
fractions was signifcantly higher on the organic
than the conventional farms. The middle fraction
(250-2000 m) is of particular interest to research-
ers as it appears to be related to induced resistance
reactions in plants. Induced resistance occurs when
a plant is exposed to any of a number of things that
turn on the defense reactions that occur when plants
are attacked by insects or diseases. Among the
things known to turn on, or induce, plant defense
mechanisms are: growing in compost amended
potting mixes, seed treatments with specifc plant
The Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association,
Inc., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3). Its principal purpose is to
foster knowledge of the practices and principles of the
biodynamic method of agriculture, horticulture, and
forestry, and to advance the applications of such meth-
ods through educational activities, support of regional
grassroots membership associations, and the funding
of formal research and training institutions. The
Association also publishes books and the quarterly
journal, BIODYNAMICS.
Please join with us in the renewal of agriculture,
health, and nutrition. An annual membership, which
includes a one year subscription to BIODYNAMICS,
is $45.o0. (Please inquire for Canadian and foreign
shipping rates.)
For complete information, visit our website at www.biodynamics.com or contact
Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association
25844 Butler Rd Junction City, OR 97448 888-516-7797
biodynamic@aol.com
BIODYNAMICS
Working for Social Renewal Through Agriculture
spring 2006 number 256
2007 Biodynamic Planting
Guide and Calendar
Planting Charts and Thought-Provoking Essays On:
BIODYNAMICS IN
CONTEXT
Exploring the relationship between biodynamics and
other positive developments in agriculture, we are
pleased and honored to have as our lead article a
talk by Wendell Berry on the purpose of a
coherent community.
Price per forty-page, 9" 12" wall calendar is $14.95,
plus $4.50 shipping;, $3 of this goes to Camphill
Village, Kimberton Hills, an intentional community
which includes adults with special needs.
Down-To-Earth Advice For
Gardening With Cosmic Rhythms
Edited by Sherry Wildfeuer
growth enhancing bacteria, addition of benefcial
fungi to soil or potting mixes, and foliar applications
of certain proteins, plant extracts, or nutrient solu-
tions.
Microbial Activity
We used two laboratory assays to measure micro-
bial activity, the fuorescein diacetate (FDA) assay,
which measures total microbial activity, and nitro-
gen mineralization rate, which measures the amount
of ammonia generated by decomposition of organic
matter in a soil sample that is incubated at a constant
temperature for a prescribed amount of time. Both
measures of microbial activity were higher in soils
from the organic farms than those from the conven-
tional farms, refecting the higher levels of organic
matter on the organic farms. Both microbial activity
and nitrogen mineralization rate showed a signif-
cant positive relationship with total organic matter
(Fig 4), meaning that in general, higher organic
matter levels result in higher microbial activity and
more available nitrogen. An exception to this gener-
alization would be muck soils, which are composed
mostly of stable forms of organic matter.
Saprophytic Nematodes
Saprophytic nematodes are an integral part of the
soil food web. They feed on bacteria, protozoa, and
fungi, releasing plant available nutrients into the
soil. Both the total number of saprophytic nema-
todes and the ratio of saprophytic to pathogenic
nematodes are being examined by researchers as
indicators of soil health. We found that numbers of
saprophytic nematodes were signifcantly higher on
the organic than the conventional farms (Table 7).
Numbers of saprophytic nematodes had a signifcant
relationship with total organic matter and all the
POM fractions. The strongest relationship was with
the POM 250 fraction (Fig. 5) meaning that num-
bers of saprophytic nematodes, which are relatively
easy to sample (by the right person), could conceiv-
ably be developed as an indicator for POM 250 lev-
els, which are diffcult and expensive to quantify.
Economics
Our economic analysis is from such a small sample
of farms with a variety of marketing strategies that
general conclusions should not be drawn regarding
the economics of organic and conventional potato
production. For the farms we sampled, we found
that the expenses associated with growing organic
potatoes were higher than those for conventional
potatoes but the overall income per acre was higher
for organic potatoes because of the price difference
between organic and conventional potatoes (Table
8). This may in part refect different proportions
Don't take it so hard !
SoPhTec Water Conditioning Systems
solve your hard water problems
without salt, electricity or chemicals.
Controls hardness, calcium scale and corrosion.
Removes existing scale. Helps control sulfur odor.
Saves energy costs. No maintenance or service.
Use less soaps & detergents.
Extends equipment life (such as water heater).
Prevents scale buildup, clogging of pipes & equipment.
Safe for soil, plant life & animals.
SoPhTec is a cost effective, environmentally friendly
alternative to a salt based softener.
Total system cost for the home is only $409
- shipping & handling included (continental US).
90 day money back guarantee & ten year warranty (residential system).
711 W 17th St., Bldg. F-3, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
To place your order or receive additional information call or write:
MagneTec 949-548-7639 Toll Free 1-877-854-SOFT (7638)
e-mail magnetec@sbcglobal.net
Conditioned water used for irrigation penetrates the soil and
the plant cells better than unconditioned water. It significantly
reduces water spotting on leaves and fruit. In greenhouse tests
cuttings rooted more quickly and produced healthier plants.
Crops such as cantaloupes and tomatoes have been shown to
produce more and larger fruit.
Works with city or well water.
Other applications: Farms, Greenhouses,
Dairies & Irrigation Systems.
The SoPhTec water conditioning system makes
hard water act like soft water.
of direct marketing between the organic and con-
ventional farmers, but theres no doubt that organic
potatoes are selling for a lot more than conventional
potatoes.
This article summarizes some of the results of this
study. We found that organic systems provide
reasonable management of some pests ( CPB and
aphids) but that other pests are present at problem-
atic levels (PLH and possibly fea beetles). Soil
quality is clearly better on the organic farms, but
we were unable to relate soil quality to lower pest
levels. We are still working on the data, and trying
to tease apart some of those questions about rela-
tionships between different aspects of the systems,
using some different statistical techniques. But in
the meantime, the data has generated some useful
information, interesting research questions, and im-
portant extension needs. I have been collaborating
with Ward Tingey, from the Department of Entomol-
ogy at Cornell, to work on management of potato
leafhoppers in organic systems. Well have some
results to present from that work this winter.
Many thanks to the farmers who allowed us to in-
vade their potato and squash felds during the course
of this study.
Abby is WNY Vegetable IPM Educator for the New
York State Integrated Pest Management Program
Want to grow potatoes that stay fresh and
store longer into the winter? Alvin Mosley,
potato expert with the Oregon State University
Extension Service has sage advice for home
gardeners. Hes spent more than three decades
studying the best way to grow, harvest and store
potatoes.
Mosley advises gardeners to:
Grow potatoes that keep well. Red potates
dont keep as long as yellow or white varieties.
Thin-skinned potatoes dont last as long in
storage as those with thick skins, such as
Russets.
Toughen up your potatoes for storage before
harvest by not watering them much after they
fower. Let the vines die all the way back before
you harvest them.
Clean your potatoes before storing them. You
need only brush the soil off potatoes grown in
coarse, sandy soil. But if you grow potatoes
in fne, sticky clay soil, your potatoes may
need washing. If so, be sure the potatoes are
completely dry before placing them in storage.
Cure your newly dug and cleaned potatoes for
a week to 10 days in moderate temperatures and
high humidity and they will last longer. After
digging them out of your garden and cleaning
How to Harvest &
Store Your Spuds to
Make Them Last
them off, store your newly harvested potatoes
where the temperature is about 65 F and the
relative humidity ranges from 85 to 95 percent.
Keep them under these conditions for a week
to 10 days to harden off and heal any injuries
caused during harvest.
Sort out and cull your injured and diseased
spuds before storing them long term. Once they
are cured, sort the potatoes, putting the best
ones in well-ventilated containers. Eat the ones
hit by your shovel and the ones with bad spots
or disease in the frst month or so after harvest,
as injured potatoes dont last as long. They also
may spread spoilage or disease microorganisms
to uninjured potatoes.
Store your tubers in a cold, dark, environment
with moderate humidity. Store your best tubers
in a dry room with constant temperature of 35
to 40 F and moderate humidity. Make sure to
keep them dark, as light will turn them green
and make them unft for table use. Discard
potatoes with an excessive amount of greening.
Under these conditions, well-matured potatoes
will stay in good condition for seven to eight
months. When storage temperatures exceed
40F, potatoes should keep for two to three
months, but sprouting and shriveling may
occur. If they sprout and shrivel, save them for
planting.
Organie SeeJ Potatoes!
125 C|y1es1a|e Cour: or P.O. Box 2209 Grass Va||ey, Ca|iioruia 95945 Or1er To||-Free (888) 784-1722
GrowOrganie.eom
One-Stop Shopping
Over 4,000 pro1uc:s. Grea: prices,
geuerous 1iscouu:s, au1 a iree 18-page
ca:a|og. We ship auyhere iu :he LSA.
Now oering who|esa|e to qua|iieJ retai|ers!
Everything You Need
to Grow Organically!
A|| varieties are eertiieJ seeJ
anJ eertiieJ organie.
Choose iron A|| B|ue, Ye||o a B|ue
Mix, Co|ora1o Rose, Russiau Bauaua
Fiuger|iug, Ruby Cresceu: Fiuger|iug,
Nugge: Russe:, Yukou Go|1, Gernau
Bu::erba||, Freuch Fiuger|iug, Ye||o
Fiuu, Purp|e Peruviau, Ia Ra::e, au1
A|| Re1.
Ca|| to request our Fa|| Cata|og!
Biodynamic Gardening
Gardening in Education
Organic Beekeeping
Environmental
Education
& Outreach
B
iodyn
a
m
i
c
s
a
n
d
t
h
e
e
n
v
i
r
o
n
m
e
n
t
info@pfeiffercenter.org
845.352.5020 x 20
260 Hungry Hollow Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977
THE
Pfeiffer
Center
w
w
w
.
p
f
e
i
f
f
e
r
c
e
n
t
e
r
.
o
r
g
Training, workshops and
conferences in the community
where both biodynamics
and organic gardening got
their start in North America.
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE!
Pfeiffer Center 4.875w x 7.5h | 073006 Natural Farmer
jhmelchior@optonline.net | 845-883-0038
by Jack Kittredge
Aroostook County is as far north as you can go in
Maine. Actually, it is as far north as you can go any-
where in the United States east of the Mississippi
River! The frst potato grown there was planted in
1807 by Joseph Houlton, the founder of the town of
the same name. At frst, the roads were bad and it
was hard to move such bulky crops to the northeast
markets. Instead, most towns had starch factories.
Starch was used in great amounts to starch clothing,
so they would condense the potatoes down to starch
and sell that. The same economic dynamics resulted
in making whiskey out of corn in Appalachia --
make a high value, light product out of a low value,
heavy one.
When the railroads came through in about 1880,
however, potatoes came into their own. At the peak,
right after World War Two, there were 237,000 acres
of potatoes grown in Aroostook County. Thirty
years ago the number was down to 145,000 acres,
and now it is 62,000 acres. Even more striking that
the acreage reduction is the reduction in the number
of farmers. Thirty years ago there were approxi-
mately 35 potato farmers in the town of Bridgewa-
ter. Now it is down to fve. While the yield per acre
keeps going up, consumption has shifted dramati-
cally. Up until 20 or 30 years ago people would eat
a lot of fresh potatoes and consumption stayed at
about 73 pounds per capita. While per capita con-
sumption has not declined, 60 of those pounds are
now processed into chips and French fries. It seems
that people have busy lives and potatoes take a
while to cook.
The trend does not seem like it is going to change.
Conventional potato farmers in Aroostook County
lost money 8 of the past 11 years. Agricultural land
goes for $1000 an acre, and you can buy a house for
$2000. One group which has been showing inter-
est in the area is the Amish. A community moved in
about 10 years ago because land was cheap. They
went up and down the road knocking on doors and
asking if the farm was for sale. If it was, they paid
for it in cash. The elders in the community discuss
each technology and decide what is appropriate for
that community. The kids go through 8th grade, and
then work on the farm.
Bridgewater is where Jim Gerritsen and his wife
Megan have built Wood Prairie Farm. Jim bought
the place in 1976 for $150 an acre. It last had po-
tatoes on it in 1960. After that it had been used for
beef cattle, which kept the felds open and free of
chemicals. Jims dad grew up on an apple farm in
Yakima and his mom on a wheat and cattle ranch in
South Dakota. They were the generation that left
the farm for a better life, he smiles. I dropped out
of college when I was 19 and started working on
farms. I came here 2 years later. I looked into Alas-
ka, where land was cheap, but I couldnt stand those
long dark winters. I worked on local farms here and
started selling in 1979.
During his early bachelor days, for three winters Jim
went south and planted trees. He worked piece rate,
making 4 a tree. He says that all the members of
the crew he worked with had the same dream -- buy-
ing a piece of land. When they learned that he had a
piece of land already and was still down there with
them every winter, it was sobering.
Megan was born in 1961 in a rural area of upstate
New York. She was going to college at Middlebury
when she went to visit a friend who was working on
a farm. It clicked, she says, and she knew what she
wanted to do. Megan came to Maine in 1984 with
$600. I fgured Vermont was a little expensive,
she laughs. So I decided to buy a farm in Maine.
The couple met through a mutual friend in 1984 and
married in 1985 and sold in several farmers markets
until 1989. But they couldnt make a go of that, so
started a CSA in 1990. When we had our CSA,
Gerritsen relates, I fgured the standard was we had
to provide vegetables as soon as any market garden-
er in the area. So we had tomatoes by the Fourth of
July. It wasnt a lot, but one or two per share. Then
by mid July we had a gush for 6 weeks! Of course it
was all from having a hoop house. Wed be putting
the plastic up the frst week in April. Then for a few
weeks wed bat the snow off! Now that we dont
have the CSA were not so ambitious.
We were the second CSA in Maine, he continues,
after Jill Agnew. We heard Robin Van En talk and
we started off with 25 families buying 20 share
equivalents for $500. We started in 1990 and did
it for four years. We had a 90% renewal rate and
people loved us. But this is the most sparsely popu-
lated county east of the Mississippi River. Its very
rural. At the end of four years we still had 20 shares,
but the mail order business grew and grew. So we
stopped killing ourselves with the CSA and focused
on the mail order. We started out thinking the mar-
ket would be for table stock potatoes but the seed
potatoes took off.
The Gerritsens have four children: Peter 15, Caleb
12, Sarah 7, and Amy 3. Children is one of the rea-
sons that farming works, Megan says. Seven or
eight kids would be great. We couldnt do it without
our sons. They get paid, but they do a mans work!
The family has a milk cow around which an econ-
omy swirls. She has a calf or two each year, so at
times they are raising a steer or replacement heifer,
as well as processing the milk. Unlike many Ameri-
cans, they still eat a lot of potatoes. They put fresh
ones in the wood stove every morning and have
baked potatoes for lunch. Theyll make home fries
for supper if any are left over.
Of course thats a lot easier when you are working
at home, Gerritsen acknowledges. And that brings
up one of the weaknesses in organic -- this sustain-
ability thing. We talk a good game, but many of us
work 80 hours a week and tell our kids we dont
have time for them. We try to treat our employees
right, so often end up paying our help more than
ourselves. We keep fguring it will get better, but its
a hostile market for a small business!
Although he was living in Aroostook County,
Maine, Jim admits It took me a while to fnd out
what to grow. You have to grow something that
youre good at, that you like to grow, and that you
can fnd a market for. I worked on a couple potato
farms and enjoyed growing them, but it took me
a while to fgure out how to market potatoes. We
started the mail order business in 1988 and werent
convinced it was solid until 1994.
Northern Maine is probably the best region in the
country for seed potatoes. The soil and the climate
are perfect -- the coolness of the summer limits in-
sect vectors, specifcally aphids. And the severe cold
of the winter results in high insect mortality so there
is a lot less insect activity than in central or southern
Maine. Maine also has an excellent seed certifca-
tion program. One aspect of that is that the state of
Maine owns a farm in Homestead, Florida where
they will take a 400-tuber sample of every seed lot
that a grower wants certifed. It is hauled to Florida
and planted on their farm in early November. After
Christmas they take feld readings its called a
post-harvest grow-out test. The results tell a poten-
tial buyer what potential disease content is in that
seed. Other components of the certifcation program
are that the grower has to have credentialed seed to
enter the program, have three feld inspections dur-
ing the year, segregate varieties to prevent mixing,
and pressure wash equipment to prevent contamina-
tion and disinfect storage areas to prevent disease.
As part of this program, during the season Jim and
Megan walk their potatoes, spotting and eliminating
rogues. Our 7-year old, Sarah, drives the tractor
pulling a cart when were roging. Gerritsen smiles.
Megan and I go through with cans of red paint in
our back pockets. We mark the rogue plants, the
boys pull them and their sequentially planted mates,
and throw them in the roging cart. Then we take
them out of the felds and bury or burn them.
Jim kills his potatoes down early for seed. Its a
common practice, he says, reassuringly. It means
they will have more vigor next year, since their
physiological age will be less. We sometimes kill
them as early as August 3, but usually its the 15th
or so of August for the early varieties. I record the
dates that we plant, and the Maine cooperative
extension sends out a list of growing degree days
based on what week you planted. I use that as a
gauge. Im still trying to get this refned, but I try to
fgure out the number of days from planting and cal-
culate a kill date based on the growing degree days
in the 5 or 10 year average.
Wood Prairie:
Seed Potatoes from Where They Grow Best!
Gerritsen ponders the answer to a question. Behind him is an irrigation pond which doubles
as a swimming and boating hole.
The Gerritsens also green-sprout their seed in the
spring to cut 10 to 14 days off the growth cycle in
the feld. Its an optional preconditioning procedure
beginning 30 days before the intended planting date.
You break the potatoes out of dormancy at a high
temperature, typically 75 degrees, and in the dark. It
takes them about a week to break dormancy. Once
theyve broken dormancy you turn the temperature
down to 50 or 55 degrees, and turn the lights on. The
spuds are in green-sprouting trays, which hold the
potatoes 2-thick. The trays have slatted bottoms so
light can get through and Jim stacks these 10-high on
pallets 3 stacks per pallet. Then they can move them
around with the forklift. The light greens up the tu-
ber and the sprout, which prevents elongation of the
sprout.
All of us have had potatoes in the cellar which get
away from us, he explains. In the absence of light
they will grow long, white sprouts. In the presence of
light they will grow short and stubby, and turn green.
Through this procedure you gain about 10 to 14 days
in the feld. When you get into August and you have
pressure from Colorado potato beetle or leafhopper
or late blight or aphid spread, you thank your stars
that you can kill them now and not have to keep that
crop going.
The Gerritsens plant the late potato varieties frst,
then the mediums, and they end up with the short
season varieties. They take a lot of care to keep
potato virus out of the felds during planting. They
disinfect the seed knives every 250 feet, and cut the
seed right in the row rather than ahead of time. This
enables them to plant the seed pieces sequentially
into the row on the planters segmented conveyor
belt. That extra step is what enables them, once they
have spotted a rogue potato, to remove it was well as
all the other plants from that original cut potato.
A good yield for seed potatoes is similar to that for
table stock, Jim says. We try to get smaller tubers,
but we plant them closer together so it probably
evens out. We cant really afford to sacrifce yield.
The county average is 273 hundredweight per acre.
We grow some varieties like fngerlings that just
dont yield. But in a good year our rolling average
over the whole crop is about equal to the Aroostook
County average, 250 to 270 hundredweight an acre.
Gerritsen grades all his potatoes himself -- probably
a million a year. As I do that I look for mutations,
he says, and I found one that weve been growing
out for a few years and are planning to commercial-
ize. Its a mutation off a Yukon Gold. In this muta-
tion the pink normally associated with the eye of
the Yukon Gold takes up between a third and a half
of the skin. Its a beautiful potato with splashes of
pink, or blushes, against a golden background. Were
planning on propagating it up by tissue culture. Its a
way of getting around the high risk of disease when
you propagate vegetatively, from the seed piece. Old
timers used to say a potato had run out. What hap-
pened was a virus was being propagated along with
the seed, and was robbing that line of vigor.
Wood Prairie Farm sells 16 varieties of potatoes,
and grows an additional 5 or 6 each year which they
are trying out. Yukon Gold is still their number one
variety. Its Megans favorite. Jim, however, likes
the Rose Gold. Thats a good seller, he says. The
Russet variety Butte is good. The Burbank Rus-
set is a remarkable variety. Luther Burbank bred it
as a Russeted version of his original variety called
Burbank. There are potato breeders who will do a
hundred thousand crosses and thank their lucky stars
if they get one good variety. Luther Burbank bred 17
crosses and got the most widely grown potato in the
world.
Its a good variety for processors but a lousy one
for farmers, he continues, at least here in the
east. It does best under irrigated conditions. If it
goes through a dry period, then gets water, then is
dry again, it will tend to lump up and get second
growth, or knobs. That is a problem for production
in the east. Butte doesnt get second growth. It was
released in 1977 and has 20% higher protein than
the Russet Burbank and 57% more vitamin C. Its
a dry potato with a good taste, and few production
defciencies.
Carola is an excellent eating variety, with a golden
or yellow fesh. Its mid dry with a waxy texture
and good eating, and yields well, especially farther
south. Red Cloud is a high gravity, dry potato. Most
red potatoes are red and moist, but Red Cloud has
a high level of dormancy -- which is perfect for a
storage potato. It is quite resistant to sprouting. In
fact, even when green-spouted, they are slow to get
going.
Gerritsen is on the lookout for the occasional muta-
tion, but does not breed potatoes. He feels it is more
an art than a science. Once the fower drops, he
explains, there will be a seed ball that looks like
a miniature tomato. Some varieties will set many
seed balls every year. Some varieties will set many
seed balls in certain years. And some varieties, like
Yukon Gold, are extremely cheap with regard to set-
ting seed and seed balls. Inside that seed ball will be
from 50 to 100 seeds, which are a cross between the
mother plant and the father plant. Breeders will use
cages to prevent bees from getting in with unknown
pollen, and then at the appropriate time will use a
paint brush to pollinate the fower with the pollen
they select. You can then grow that potato out from
true seed. But its very slow growing -- the seeds are
tiny, quite a bit smaller than the head of a pin.
Jim likes a variety called Island Sunshine, which
was bred by two Dutch brothers (Everett and Gerrit
Loo, pronounced low) who emigrated to Prince
Edward Island from Holland. They were what
they call hobby breeders. They would cross 5000
crosses a year and did it for 40 years. In the typi-
cal protocol it takes about 12 years from coming up
with a cross to commercializing it. And it isnt until
the seventh year that any taste testing is done. The
breeders are looking for qualities like yield, disease
resistance, and alkaloid content.
What Garrett does, Gerritsen enthuses, is plant
his 5000 crosses and not baby them. He says: It
will make my life easier if Nature wipes out half
of them! If theyre weak I dont want them any-
way. Then in the frst year, at harvest, hell take his
pocket knife and slice off a little sliver of potato
from each plant and put it on the back of his tongue.
After 40 years he knows instantly from how bitter
it is whether its worth pursuing. If its too bitter the
alkaloid content is too high and he spits it out and
eliminates it.
The industry measures the alkaloid content of po-
tatoes as the milligrams of alkaloid per kilogram
of potato fesh. A low number is good, and Yukon
Gold, which is incredibly free of alkaloid, has a
reading of about 6. The Island Sunshine, Jim in-
forms me, has a reading of 2! The threshold right
now is 30. If you have higher than that Ag Canada
wont let you register it. But the reading of the Rus-
set Burbank is thirty-two. If Luther Burbank showed
up with that today, Jim laughs, he wouldnt be al-
lowed to register it.
Of all the varieties identifed, Island Sunshine has
the highest tolerance to late blight -- the fungus
which thrives in rainy weather and temperatures
from 62 to 75 degrees and wiped out the Irish
potato crop. Of course, all the potatoes grown in
Ireland supposedly originated from two tubers, and
thats not a lot of genetic diversity, Jim suggests.
There is a concept called horizontal resistance that
breeders for the organic market are investigating.
They plant test varieties in an area open to every-
thing Nature can throw at you. Any plants that
survive will be genetically suited to organic condi-
tion, the reasoning goes. This concept is opposed to
that of vertical resistance where breeders look for a
particular quality, say resistance to late blight, and
narrowly breed for that. But with vertical resistance
breeding you can go backwards on other traits and
these potatoes tend to become pampered varieties
that do well only with a lot of chemical inputs.
Jim has worked out a careful 4-year rotation that
works for him. We farm 116 acres, and about 60
acres of that is woodlot, he explains. We grow 10
or 11 acres of potatoes each year in a four year rota-
tion. The frst year is seed potatoes, the second is a
spring grain, usually wheat and sometimes oats. We
undersow that grain with timothy and three clovers
so when the wheat is combined the feld overwinters
as clover. The next spring we take an early cutting
of hay about the middle of June, chop the regrowth
with a bush hog to feed the ground, turn the cows
out and it overwinters as clover for a second year.
The fnal spring we plow the feld, sow buckwheat
and grow that for 7 weeks, then plow it down and
grow Dwarf Essex rape seed as a plow down crop
and biofumigant. They are doing research on this
at Orono. Apparently when you plow down any
brassica the decaying organic matter gives off a gas
similar to methyl bromide, which kills pathogenic
fungi and weed seed without depleting the ozone. In
the ffth year we go back to seed potatoes.
Gerritsen plows down the rape seed late in October
or early November, just before the ground freezes.
He tries to get it as close as possible to when the tu-
bers go into the ground. Sometimes he leaves a little
to plow down in the spring. The whole goal of the
rotation and the biofumigant is to try to grow a bet-
ter crop of potatoes.
In year three the frst cut may be 60% clover and
40% timothy, with the timothy coming back stron-
ger. The buckwheat in year three helps rot down
the residue in the soil and improve its friability.
After the potatoes come out Jim tries to put in a
cover crop of oats, but half the time he doesnt have
enough degree days in the fall to get it up more than
3 or 4 inches. The oats winter kill so he discs them
in come spring.
Gerritsens potato planter is old, from the ffties.
Four women sit on the back and take green-sprouted
seed from the hopper, cut it, and lay the pieces se-
quentially on the conveyor so they are planted one
after the other in the row. Different spacing cogs
enable them to space appropriately for each potato.
Yukon Gold, for instance, go in 6.7 inches apart. In
the front is a fertilizer box to drop fertility into the
row as each potato is planted.
Wood Prairie Farm catalog
We can do an acre or an acre and a half in a day,
Jim says. There are some farmers up here with 2500
acres of potatoes. They have to go a lot faster! Our
rows are a thousand feet long and were planting
two rows at a time. In the 20 minutes it takes to get
from one end of the feld to the back were cutting
4000 seed pieces, a thousand apiece. Thats fast, a
little over one second per seed piece. We do all that
so we can get sequential planting. Then we can bet-
ter catch disease when were roging.
Gerritsen gets herring scales every two years from
a sardine cannery on the coast of Maine, plus the
heads, tails and backs of salmon left over from fl-
leting that comes dried and hammermilled. They are
dispensed through the fertilizer box of the planter.
Jim and Megan have dug two big ponds on their
land to catch and hold water. What Im fguring
about global warming, he says, :is that its also
going to be a drying. But to grow a good potato
crop you need uninterrupted growth, and if you go
ten days without rain youre going to interrupt that
growth. So I fgured lets dig as much pond as we
need to take care of two dry years in a row.
Potatoes are hard to grow organically. There is a
lot of disease and insect pressure. Their nutritional
requirement is relatively high. There is late blight,
early blight, verticillium, white mold, Colorado Po-
tato Beetles, Leafhoppers, aphids, cutworms, spider
mites and secondaries, which used to be regularly
killed by spraying but now that less toxic chemicals
are used they are also a problem.
Weve had a nice vacation from CPB over the last
10 years, Gerritsen confdes. In 1995 the commer-
cial growers up here started using a chemical called
Admire. When it frst came out it was $70 per acre
and about half of the farmers used it. The second
year about 98% of the farmers did! In the short term
it has been an incredibly effective insecticide. There
has been CPB genocide going on in our midst and
the population is only a fraction of what it was.
Admire is applied in furrow and gives good cover-
age until the second week in August, he continues.
Before that we used the Bt product Novador. But it
doesnt meet the new standards because of a group 3
inert in it. I hope it will be reformulated for organic
growers. Its a wonderful product and only goes af-
ter CPB. I tried the product Entrust this year. Its a
biological product, I think a bacterium. It has a long
shelf life because it is the product of a living organ-
ism, not itself alive. It can also kill adult CPBs.
But Id still prefer a narrower spectrum product. Of
course there is a danger of resistance developing, so
the ideal would be to have two products available
and rotate them to slow down the growth of resis-
tance.
Up until 10 years ago Jim said hed only read about
leafhoppers in a book. They dont over-winter that
far north and hed never seen them. But as the win-
ters get more moderate they are beginning to show
up. If they come in late June or July you have a
problem, he cautions. If they dont come until
August, you can ignore them. Youll be killing your
potatoes soon anyway. With late varieties you might
have a problem.
One year I used Surround WP for leafhoppers, he
continues. Id spray it on and it would rain. That
happened many times. It would be ideal for west-
ern agriculture where you dont get rain and you
use drip irrigation. But Im not convinced kaolin
clay is right for New England. The other possibility
is Pyganic. I dont like to use that because it is so
broad spectrum. My preference is to use nematodes
to control the larva. Its the second generation of
leafhoppers that tunnels into tubers. Leafhoppers are
often misdiagnosed as wire worms. But with wire
worms the hole is 3/4 inch long and perfectly round.
The leafhopper goes in only a quarter of an inch and
the hole is irregular.
One year Aroostoock County had a tropical storm
that brought in melon aphids. It turned out that they
were the vector for a particular virus and growers
who were still needing a couple of weeks more had
real problems. Gerritsen buys several gallons of
ladybugs and releases some of them in the morning
when it is supposed to rain. The idea is to spread
them when its raining, he explains, since they
wont fy away then. You want them to hang around
long enough to lay eggs. Then you have a popula-
tion there. Typically the aphids will spike around
the 25th of July and you want to have ladybugs out
then. What an aphid will do is jump onto a plant
and put its probe in to feed. If its a sick plant the
aphid picks up the virus, and as soon as it next puts
the probe into a healthy plant it transmits the virus.
Even these very potent chemicals like Monitor take
three seconds to kill the aphid. But it can transmit
the virus in one second.
A localized strain of European corn borer that pre-
fers potatoes over corn has become a problem in
Maine. Jim and Megan burn their potato tops in the
fall, which destroys their habitat. They also trap to
monitor for ECB. Once the moths show up they
calculate how long it will be until egg laying. Then
there is a 72-hour window for emergence before
the larvae tunnel into the potatoes where nothing
will kill them. Wood Prairie Farms numbers are
low partly because theyre west of most of the local
potato growers and the prevailing winds are from
the west. The nearest potatoes are three miles to the
east.
Our isolation here is extremely valuable, Gerrit-
sen stresses. The old adage here is that if the seed
potato growers were really concerned about quality
they would give their table stock growing neighbors
their seed for free. Usually the problems you get
up here are from your process-growing neighbors.
Theyre going for tonnage, theyre growing older
stock and are not that concerned about disease, and
they become the inoculum source for spread. Maine
was one of the frst states to require the planting of
certifed seed. That has lowered the level of disease
in the whole system.
One of the big disease problems in the potato in-
dustry is bacterial ring rot. Its a persistent bacteria
that can live for several years in potato dirt or potato
slime. The Gerritsens go through a long process of
washing out their boxes to get rid of all organic mat-
ter, then disinfecting them with bleach. They do the
same in their potato storage area. Jim says: When
were done you could eat off of the foor!
But the worst disease affecting growers in potato
virus. There are six primary viruses in the US, and
a number in Europe that arent a problem here. Its
easy to spot a plant with two viruses, Gerritsen
says. The leaves will be all shrunken and mottled.
But often you will miss if there is only one. We
go through the feld three or four times a year and
rogue out the bad plants. But some varieties like
Shepody and Pontiac are what we call symptomless
carriers. You cant spot the infected ones, but they
are still an inoculum source.
Our strategy to avoid virus in our seed, he con-
tinues, is to plant the best possible seed, and tuber
unit plant it. That means to plant the pieces of the
same potato sequentially in the row so that when we
go through, if we see a plant with virus we cull it
and the others from the same tuber unit or original
seed potato. We do that by pulling adjacent ones
until we can jigsaw the pieces back into the original
potato.
Technicians can, however, produce back a virus-free
potato from an infected one by tissue culture. The
way they do it is to take the very tip of the sprout for
the culture. That is growing faster than the virus can
keep up, so it is virus free. There are also some heat
treatments and some chemical treatments that can
burn out the virus, too.
The Gerritsens have constructed a large root cellar
below their packing shed. It is big enough for their
entire harvest, plus 30% for safekeeping. A large
fan brings cool air into the cellar every cold night
beginning October 20. They shut the fan off in the
morning, close the doors, run the humidifer for
an hour or so to get the moisture up, and then shut
that down. Then they wait for the next cold night.
Gerritsen grows his potatoes in one thousand foot rows.
Each variety is easily seen by differences in leaf color and stage of fowering.
The farm has two irrigation ponds. Here Jim
is using the water to irrigate rows of carrots
for sale in his mail order catalog. They are
French Chantenay, an heirloom variety, and
can yield close to 20,000 pounds per acre.
Gradually they bring the temperature down but keep
the humidity up. The ideal temperature for potatoes
in storage is 38 to 40 degrees, and Jim shoots for 38.
Once into November they worry about it getting too
cold. They have a heater that hardly ever runs, but
during a cold January two or three years ago it was
essential.
Once the potatoes are in storage, during November,
December, and January, Gerritsen pre-grades them
into small 50 pound boxes on pallets. Once the busy
period starts in the last week of February, theyre
working 7 days a week to get the potatoes shipped
on the exact day they promise people. This lasts
all of March and the frst two weeks of April. Jim
brings the potatoes out of storage in graded boxes
and they bag out of those boxes.
Wood Prairie Farm markets most of its products
through a brightly colored catalog that makes an
asset of their far northern location and includes pic-
tures of the family, recipes, and ample descriptions
of the products. Besides the potatoes, the catalog
lists organic root crops such as carrots, beets, onions
and garlic, whole grains and grain mixes, a num-
ber of Maine gift items, and new this year organic
garden seed for 10 different fruits and vegetables.
The seeds are bought from friends who raised them
nearby. But potatoes are really the mainstay of the
business.
The beauty of our business, Gerritsen confdes,
is that we take the large potatoes and sell them as
table stock. The eating customer wants the big ones
because they are easier to clean and there is more
perceived value in size. But the seed customers want
the smaller ones.
We have a wholesale business and sell to compa-
nies like Johnnys, Moose Tubers, Cooks Garden,
and Territorial, he continues. But the lions share
of our business tends to be direct sales to growers.
We say well sell one pound to ten thousand pounds.
We dont sell many at the ten thousand level, but we
do sell a few in the 3000 or 4000 pound level, and
a good number of 1000 pound lots. We sell a lot of
200 to 800 pound shipments, and then plenty to gar-
deners who buy down to a few one-pound bags.
Seed potatoes are 75% to 80% of their business,
for which they get $69 for a 50 pound box, $38.95
for 20 pounds, $24.95 for ten pounds, $13.95 for 5
pounds, $9.95 for 2 and a half pounds, down to one
pound at $6.95. Table stock goes by similar pricing.
Fingerlings, of course, are a lot more per pound.
Shipping hikes the fnal total as much as 25% to
50%, depending on size of order and distance to
travel.
Weve been hit by the price of oil, Jim says. Ev-
erything that is trucked has gone up. We ship seed to
a company in Oregon and it used to be $300 a pallet.
Now its $600 a pallet. They pay the trucking, but
at some point it will impact on us. They may decide
its too expensive to buy seed in from here.
Gerritsen feels the prices he charges are fair, given
the quality of the product and the service. On our
scale we have to get retail dollars. For the customer,
trying to save money at the seed stage is usually
being penny wise and pound foolish. In fact in Eu-
rope they sell seed potatoes by the count, not by the
poundage!
Jim is a little scornful of folks who pride themselves
on buying locally. This local thing has gotten a
little carried away in my humble opinion, he says.
Do I want to buy my potatoes from my neighbor
after he has sprayed Monitor on them? No I dont!
I want to buy local, but still it has to be organic!
Johnnys grows fve or ten percent of their seed at
most. Theyre a marketing company. If you want
to support a local company that is buying from seed
growers all over the country and call that buying
local, fne. But were unusual in that we grow all of
our seed.
Boutique farms on the coast may be able to sell lo-
cally to tourists up from Philadelphia, he continues,
but Aroostook County is much more the norm for
American agriculture. Family farming here means
you also have to have a job in town if you want to
survive. We market primarily through the catalog,
and maybe a third of our orders come through the
website. Most of our customers are east of the Mis-
sissippi. A lot are in the south, because you cant
grow good seed in the south -- too many insects that
can be vectors for disease.
Gerritsen seems proud of his success and feels small
farmers have to adopt similar marketing strategies if
they are going to remain viable. Most of the potato
growers around here are third or fourth generation
growers, he says, and they are completely out of
touch with consumers. Thats the way they want it.
But theyre having a harder and harder time, too.
You cant continue to grow commodities at their
level and compete in this world. Somebody else can
grow them cheaper. We need to grow for taste, for
nutrition, and attract consumers back into eating
high quality food!
You can get a free copy of the Wood Prairie Farm
catalog, or order online, at www.woodprairie.com.
Or you can contact them at Wood Prairie Farm, 49
Kinney Rd., Bridgewater, ME 04735
Jim stands at the rotational divide of one of his felds.
To the left is spring wheat, to the right is hay.
Reap profits from
Direct Marketing
with our Labels!
G
R
O
W
E
R
S
D
I
S
C
O
U
N
T
L
A
B
E
L
S
growersdiscountlabels@tds.net
request a free catalog
1-800-693-1572
We design and print labels
for berries, vegetables, sauerkraut,
soap, lip balm, yoghurt, cheese,
meat, eggs, pastured poultry
labels for almost anything!
Since 1975
by Brian Schultz
Potato leafhopper (PLH) has been one topic of study
as well as a conspicuous pest in potatoes at the
Hampshire College farm. PLH in general arrives
on winds from the south in summer, and while feed-
ing it introduces a toxin to the plant that can cause
the spectacular withering and blackening of potato
plants called hopperburn (h-burn) (see Howell et
al. 2006, PSU 2004, Tingey and Muka 1983, includ-
ing web pages and photos) .

Potato leafhopper adult and nymph (source:
Penn State; PSU 2004, web page http://www.
ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/potato_leaf-
hopper_veg.htm)

Early, moderate hopperburn on a potato leaf
(source: Penn State; PSU 2004, web page http://
www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/potato_
leafhopper_veg.htm)

The Hampshire farm is mostly organic with a CSA,
or Community Supported Agriculture share program
for the college. We were interested seeing in how
organic sprays might control PLH and how different
varieties that we use might differ in their responses
PLH, and perhaps fnd that some that are more re-
sistant to PLH. This article is largely adapted from
a paper for the New England Vegetable Growers
meetings in December (Schultz 2005), about some
work with PLH at the farm. Results from larger
studies by others in New York on potato varieties
vs. PLH also appear in those proceedings (Mishanec
2005).
In a nutshell. Here is a very brief overview if you
dont want to wade through the details below. Py-
Ganic greatly reduces the numbers of leafhopper
adults and nymphs, including at the lowest labeled
rate, but did not affect other pest species we sam-
pled, Colorado potato beetle (CPB) and tarnished
plant bug (TPB), nor greatly affect natural enemies.
However, we had quite a bit of h-burn even when
hoppers were kept below the commonly cited eco-
nomic thresholds. There were relatively small dif-
ferences in yield among treatments despite some
large differences in hopper numbers and/or h-burn.
One idea of our design was to see if some com-
mon varieties were more or less resistant to PLH,
by comparing them with and without sprays. If
a variety shows little or no yield increase when
sprayed, that should mean it is relatively resistant.
Potato Leafhopper vs. Some Organic
Pesticides & Common Potato Varieties
However, since we got so much h-burn even in our
sprayed plots, despite low PLH numbers, our results
are still ambiguous: there is still the possibility that
even very low numbers of PLH cause similar yield
loss. But a more optimistic possibility, given that
such large differences in PLH numbers could affect
yields so little, is that most of the burning does not
affect yields, perhaps happening too late (mainly in
August) to affect yield that much (and maybe espe-
cially for potatoes or varieties that are planted early
and/or that mature early, though we have no data on
this yet).
Farmers who want to greatly reduce PLH numbers
can do so with PyGanic, but may want to try treat-
ing only some potatoes and leaving some areas un-
treated, to see if yields really differ enough, if at all,
to justify the sprays.
These common potato varieties did differ in their
effects on hoppers and response to sprays: in our
plots Kennebec showed the least h-burn and also the
most increase in yield when sprayed. Red Nordlund
was pretty much killed completely whether sprayed
or not, but still could yield relatively well (it may
show some phytotoxic response to PyGanic too).
Yukon Gold was intermediate in h-burn and yield
and showed little or no yield response to sprays.
Red Nordlund seemed to encourage reproduction
of PLH, and also CPB, with similar adult pest num-
bers, but then more PLH nymphs and CPB larvae
in RN than in the other varieties (TPB numbers also
increased more in RN).
This next photo is more directly related to my
article:

Late August 2005 differences in hopperburn
are evident in this photo of a plot boundary
with Red Nordlund on the right and Kenne-
bec on the left (by Brian Schultz)
So now here is a year by year account of some of
our results in detail
In 2003, we began studies of PLH in three of our
main potato varieties with some organic sprays.
These were compared in a randomized block trial
in small plots within the actual farm CSA plantings
(basically organic with cultivation but no mulch).
In a single preliminary spray trial late in the summer
we compared three sprays, applied with backpack
sprayers, to see how they might act against PLH
adults and nymphs. The spray materials were: 1)
PyGanic,
TM
a pyrethrin spray (5%), at the max. la-
beled rate equivalent to 18 oz./ac.; 2) Diatect V,
TM

with pyrethrins in diatomaceous earth (max. rate
of 6 lbs/ac); 3) a mixture of Surround
TM
, a kaolin
clay repellent (ca. 50 lb/ac), with BioNeem
TM
(3
oz/gal water). The pyrethrin sprays greatly reduced
numbers of both PLH adults (especially PyGanic)
and nymphs (ca. 95% reductions) compared to no-
spray control or check plots. The Surround+neem
combination showed much less effect; the clay also
made this messy to use. In retrospect, our coverage
with the Surround may not have been that complete
so it may be worth trying again, especially given its
apparent success in some other crops (R. Hazzard
personal comment; we have also found that it repels
cucumber beetles in our squash at Hampshire).
Numbers of adult PLH by treatment .after
spray trial in 2003 (different letters on bars
indicate statistically signifcant difference
between treatment; same letters indicate lack
of a signif. diff.).
Numbers of PLH nymphs (per 10 potato
leaves) after spray trial in 2003.

In general, the variety Red Nordlund (RN), showed
drastic h-burn, Kennebec (K) much less, even rela-
tively little, with Yukon Gold (YG) in between. One
interesting possible factor: PLH nymphs appeared
in greater numbers in the RN, even though the
numbers of PLH adults did not differ signifcantly
among varieties (suggesting greater PLH reproduc-
tion and/or nymph survival in RN potatoes). PLH
is known from previous literature to be sensitive
to variation in plant features that include trichome
hairs and chemicals such as glycoalkaloids in plant
leaves, a source of breeding efforts by some for
more resistant potato varieties (Madeiros et al. 2005,
Madeiros and Tingey 2006).
Differences in adult PLH numbers in 2003 by
potato variety.
Differences in PLH nymph numbers in 2003
by potato variety.
In 2004, we used only PyGanic in more complete tri-
als for the whole season, again in small plots (6 rows
x 6m ea.) within our CSA potatoes, at a range of la-
beled rates: 4.5, 9 or 18 oz/acre (vs. unsprayed check
plots). PLH was again greatly reduced, with greater
reductions as rate increased, but all rates showed
large reductions that allowed PLH to be kept by the
sprays at generally below commonly noted economic
thresholds of 1 adult per net sweep or 1 nymph per
potato leaf (e.g., Madeiros et al. 2005) (FYI, 4.5 oz.
of PyGanic = ca. $25/ac/spray).

Effects of different rates of PyGanic on PLH
Nymph numbers in 2004.
Again in 2004 we found that more PLH nymphs, but
not more early adults, appeared in Red Nordlund,
especially as the season progressed, and especially
in terms of nymph numbers adjusted for variety leaf
area (RN has much smaller leaves, but still had as
many or more nymphs per leaf as the other varieties).

We recorded plant damage observations and yields
in 2004. Yields were low in general (probably be-
cause we mainly use just our dining commons food
wastes as compost for fertilizer, which is enough for
our CSA needs). H-burn was evaluated by asking
an alumnus farmer, who not did know how each plot
was treated, etc., to survey them (on 2 August), and
she rated each plot from 1 (if all withered) to 10 (all
green, no h-burn). There were signifcant differences
between varieties in apparent h-burn, and reductions
in apparent h-burn with the PyGanic sprays, though
even many sprayed plots showed a lot of damage.
However, even though there were reductions in
PLH numbers in sprayed plots, and also apparently
healthier plants (greener, with less burn damage),
there was no consistent, signifcant effect of spray
upon yields.
It is possible that our yield results were just too
variable in 2004 (given small plots; we also had me-
chanical problems with the harvester); otherwise a
lack of yield differences due to sprays could suggest
that either: any of the very small numbers of PLH in
sprayed plots were still enough to cause comparable
yield losses, or that PLH just did not affect yields
much after all and damage is really mainly cosmetic
or was too late, or that other factors besides and/or
greater than PLH may be involved in the yields. (If
real, yield differences of particular interest were
that: yields improved only at the highest PyGanic
rate in YG, only at the lowest rate in RN, compa-
rable to the damage rating pattern, and not at all in
K despite damage differences; in general K is our
highest yielding variety, followed by YG and then
RN). Ideally, we would hope to see no response
to spraying in a given variety as evidence of plant
yield resistance or tolerance to the pest or its appar-
ent feeding damage.
In 2005, we simplifed the experiment to one Py-
Ganic spray treatment at the highest rate (vs. no-
spray check plots) with the three potato varieties
(with bigger plots, 9 rows x 9m ea., as well as the
large rate difference, to focus more on possible yield
effects). Again, PyGanic effectively reduced PLH
adult and nymph numbers (and again, nymphs but
not adults were relatively more abundant over time
in RN).
PyGanic and PLH Nymph numbers, 2005.
The s4, s5, & s6 marks indicate spray dates.
Damage and yield results were more complicated in
2005. Kennebec and Yukon Gold both showed less
h-burn in sprayed plots, but Red Nordlund showed
little or no reduction with sprays, and again even the
sprayed plots looked badly burned, especially in RN
(here we rated six plants in each plot, estimating the
proportion of green foliage remaining, on 15 Au-
gust). This year Kennebec showed yield increases
in the sprayed plots, but the other varieties did not (a
statistically signifcant spray x variety interaction).
(Kennebec potatoes also were larger in the sprayed
plots with relatively little difference in size in the
other varieties, though not quite a signifcant effect
overall).
Hopper burn ratings by potato variety and
spray treatment in 2005.
Potato yields burn ratings by potato variety
and spray treatment in 2005.
info@realpickles.com (413) 863-9063 (413) 863-9063 (413) 863-9063 (413) 863-9063 (413) 863-9063 www.realpickles.com
P.O. Box 40, Montague, MA 01351
Dill Pickles Sauerkraut Red Cabbage
Asian-Style Cabbage Ginger Carrot
Sold in natural foods stores in the Northeast
and
We ship 1/2 & 1 gallon buckets!
(Call or check our website for more information.)
REAL PICKLES
Naturally Fermented & Raw
NORTHEAST GROWN 100% ORGANIC
Our products are
made using natural
fermentation, which
was essential to
healthy human diets
before the advent of
industrial food
processing. As raw
products, they are
rich sources of active
cultures and
enzymes. 100%
vinegar free.
An optimistic interpretation, overall now, might
be that for some varieties (perhaps Kennebec for
example), spraying for PLH will improve yields in
some years, but that other common varieties may
not need or beneft from PLH control. Again, we
ideally would hope to see no response to spraying
as evidence of varietal resistance or tolerance to the
pest, but more consistent and reliable yield data are
still needed here.
This year we also noticed a browning to the RN
foliage that did not seem like h-burn and suggested
phytotoxicity to us. In whole-plot rankings by our
vegetable grower, sprayed RN plots were actually
ranked worse for this reason than unsprayed plots.
Perhaps this could also have been a factor in the plot
ratings where RN showed a decline at higher spray
rates in 2004, and perhaps yield declines with spray
in both years, unlike the other varieties. Note that
the increased PLH nymph numbers in RN occurred
in unsprayed plots too, so it is not an indirect effect
of any phytotoxicity.
Planting date could be an important underlying con-
sideration. One difference between 2004 and 2005
was that potatoes were planted a bit later in 2005
(17 vs. 24 May resp.), so they could well have been
all the more susceptible to any damage by PLH, and
also other pests in 2005, although on the other hand,
PLH arrived later and was not as abundant here in
2005. Both planting dates were relatively late (due
to wet felds), and earlier plantings could be tried,
which could be more resistant to relatively late pests
like PLH in general.

Other Arthropods were also noted in 2004 and,
more extensively, in 2005. We used Bt (Bacillus
thuringiensis; Btt or Btsd) sprays to control Colo-
rado potato beetle (CPB) in all years, but control
was poor in 2005, perhaps due to rains interfering
with early applications of Bt, and we made counts of
CPB numbers too in 2005. CPB was not affected by
the PyGanic spray at any stage (adult; egg; larvae).
However CPB also showed potato varietal differ-
ences, where again no difference was observed in
CPB adult numbers but more eggs and larvae were
found in Red Nordlund (followed by K and then
YG).
We noted major arthropod predators (e.g., lady
beetles, spiders, etc.) in four sets of sweep samples
in 2004 and found a signifcant reduction in total
predator numbers (ca. 45%) at the highest PyGanic
rate, but in 2005 there was no signifcant difference
in predator numbers overall (despite our use again
of the highest rate) in the more extensive, season-
long sweep samples.
Tarnished Plant Bug (TPB) was abundant in these
plots, so the numbers of adult TPB were noted in
three sweep samples in 2004, and again in more
extensive samples all season long in 2005. TPB
was not signifcantly affected by any of the PyGanic
sprays. Note that since PyGanic seems to affect
only PLH among prominent arthropods, it should
still be especially useful in eventually isolating the
effect of PLH on yields in these and any future ex-
periments.
TPB adults occurred in lower numbers in RN than
in YG and K in 2004, at least at frst, but overall in
2005 it briefy showed lower numbers but was more
abundant at the end of the season in RN than in YG
and K (again suggesting greater reproduction or sur-
vivorship in RN).
In 2006, now in progress we were able to plant
on two disparate planting dates for comparison, 26
April vs. 25 May, along with three varieties, Ken-
nebec, Yukon Gold, and Chieftain (Red Norlund
was not available), and sprayed vs. not-sprayed
plots, although the heavy early rains damaged or de-
stroyed some plots. Here we have found adult PLH
seemed to choose the early plots more, and so too
early results indicate more h-burn in the early plant-
ings. Small plots here may not well represent large
felds where no easy choice by the PLH is possible,
though small farms and gardens might be similar in
scale and such results in any side by side plantings
for different dates. We do not have yield data yet.
In summary, again, PyGanic greatly reduced PLH
numbers in potatoes in all years, even at the low-
est labeled rate used in 2004. In the limited trial
in 2003, Diatect V also showed very strong reduc-
tions, while a mixture of Surround and BioNeem
was less effective. There may, however, also be
some phytotoxicity with PyGanic, perhaps at higher
rates in some varieties (e.g, Red Nordlund). Red
Nordlund seemed to engender greater numbers of
PLH nymphs, despite a lack of difference in arriving
adult numbers, suggesting greater PLH reproduction
or survival in RN.
Other arthropods were also sampled. PyGanic
sprays did not affect CPB nor TPB, but varietal ef-
fects were also observed with them. CPB produced
more eggs in RN (followed by K), and TPB adults
in RN showed lower numbers early but greater
numbers later in the summers. Common predators
showed reductions at the high PyGanic rate in 2004
but not in 2005.

We could see differences in apparent hopperburn
among potato varieties and among spray treatments,
although even sprayed treatments showed real dam-
age. However, there was some, but surprisingly
little, effect of sprays on yields. Our yield samples
could just be too variable and/or other factors could
have overshadowed any effects of PLH in our plots.
Otherwise a relative lack of yield differences could
mean that any number of PLH causes comparable
yield losses, as well as noticeable damage, even
though sprays reduced PLH numbers greatly and
did affect damage levels too (ultimately we still
need to get essentially perfect PLH h-burn control
in check plots to see how much they really affect
yields or not). More optimistically, no yield differ-
ences among sprays could mean that PLH damage
is actually often cosmetic or too late to affect yields
for some varieties or perhaps planting dates. More
complete and consistent data on yields, especially in
relation to planting date and variety, are still needed.
A Final Note or Two. I am fnishing this just after
the NOFA Summer Conference where I attended the
Potatoes talk by Bryan OHara (noted here by per-
mission). He plants late, usually in June, to avoid
CPB (among other reasons, such as better winter
storage), and sees h-burn but only rarely sees it as a
real problem (despite the late planting). He mulches
and thought maybe that helps by discouraging PLH
and encouraging spiders and other predators. We
have found in earlier experiments at Hampshire
that PLH numbers were lower in mulch though not
www.organ|cva||ey.coop/farmer Farmer Hot|ine ~ 888-809-9297
Wouldrt you rathor bo a vital
mombor of tho farmorowrod
cooporativo thats providod
sovortoor yoars of stablo,
growirg pay pricos` is
Amoricas lifoliro for family farms.
rgaric Valloy has lod tho way.
Holp us carvo out a bottor futuro,
orjoy oxcollort cooporativo support, ard markot your milk locally.
Cull our furmer ho|lne |o leurn more ubou|
our orqunc Jury |runs|on uss|unce proqrum.

T
H
E CO
O
P
E
R
A
T
I
V
E
CHO
I
C
E

F
O
R OR
G
A
N
I
C
D
A
IR
Y FARM
E
R
S
IMDEPEMDEMT unJ FARMER-OWMED
CRFF CFE RATl VE
enough in our plots to affect burn or yields, but of
course this could be worth more study, especially in
larger plots or felds.
I would also note that PLH nymphs seem like they
would be very susceptible to predation, much more
than the very jumpy adults. If you touch a PLH
nymph while counting them (I sometimes nudge the
very small ones with a thumbnail to help distinguish
them from other small insects by their sideways
scurrying), they are very likely to climb up your
hand, so it seems like any active predator would
fnd them easy prey, although the numbers of PLH
needed to produce h-burn are so low that predation
would have to be very high to have an impact. Also
by the way, Entrust
TM
applied in other plots this
year did not seem to affect PLH at all (in counts
after spraying). At Hampshire we also seem to see
more PLH entering the felds from legumes like clo-
ver (and PLH is a pest of alfalfa) after mowing, so
the relationship with other nearby hosts and where
and how they are planted and managed could be
important.
Some other farmers in discussion in Bryans talk
noted that PLH seemed like a serious problem for
them, but others did not, for various reasons (e.g.,
one suggested that Keuka Gold was a good variety
vs. PLH). We would love to hear about other peo-
ples experiences with PLH, whether it is a problem
or not, why or why not this is or seems to be the
case, or any other thoughts or suggestions (see my
e-mail and address here in this article).
References
Howell, J.C., A. R. Bonanno, T. J. Boucher, R. L.
Wick, and R. Hazzard. 2006. New EnglandVegeta-
ble Management Guide 2006-2007. Univ. of Mass.
Extension, Amherst, MA.
Madeiros, A. H., I. Delaliberia, Jr., and W. M. Ting-
ey. 2005. Aspects of potato leafhopper, Empoasca
fabae (Harris) (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) biology
on Solanum berthaulti and other potato genotypes.
J. Econ. Entomology 98: 1704-1709.
Madeiros, A. H. and W. M. Tingey. 2006. Glandu-
lar trichomes of Solanum berthaulti and its hybrids
with Solanum tuberosum affect nymphal emergence,
development, and survival of Empoasca fabae (Ho-
moptera: Cicadellidae). J. Econ. Entomology 99:
1483-1489.
Subscriptions & Back Issues!
A limited number of back issues of are available for sale.
The current issue and the last four issues cost $3.00 postpaid. Earlier
issues (collectors copies) cost $5.00 and are subject to availability.
Subscriptions are $10 per year (or $18/yr. if to a foreign address).
59 The NOP After 1 Year
58 Irrigation
57 On-Farm Dairying
56 Farm Equipment
55 Beginning Farmers
54 Organic Berries
53 On-Farm Research
51 Farming & Families
48 Home Gardening
47 Can Organic Feed the World?
46 Transition to Organic
Yes, I would like a subscription or back issue of , or both
as indicated below. I have included the total as a check made out to
The Natural Farmer. (Add $2 per back issue if to a foreign address).
If you have questions call: 978-355-2853 or Email: jack@mhof.net.
Issue No. Price
_____ ____
_____ ____
_____ ____
sub 1 yr.
sub 2 yr.
sub 3 yr.
Send to: The Natural Farmer, 411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005
Name _____________________________________
Address ___________________________________
Town__________________ State____ Zip________
Phone (_____)____________ Total enclosed $_____
Current issues ($3) :
69 Is Organic Better?
68 Who Owns Organic?
67 Organic Fine Dining
66 Renewable Energy on Farm
Collectors Copies ($5) :
65 Organic Cucurbits
64 Youth & Agriculture
63 Organic Meat
62 The Organic Consumer
60 Access to Land
OHara, B. Potatoes. 2006. Workshop 199 at the
Northeast Organic Farming Association 32
nd
Sum-
mer Conference, at Hampshire College, Amherst
MA, 10-13 August 2006.
Mishanec, J. 2005. Potato leafhopper variety selec-
tion trials. Proceedings of the New England Veg-
etable & Fruit Conference and Trade Show. 13-15
December. Manchester, NH. Pgs 26-30.
PSU. 2004. The Potato Leafhopper. Pennsylvania
State University Entomological Notes. http://www.
ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/potato_leafhop-
per_veg.htm
Schultz, B. 2005. Effects of some organic pesti-
cides and common potato varieties on potato leaf-
hopper (Empoasca fabae). Proceedings of the New
England Vegetable & Fruit Conference and Trade
Show. 13-15 December. Manchester, NH. Pgs 31-
37.
Tingey, W. M. and A. A. Muka. 1983. Potato Leaf-
hopper. Cooperative Extension; New York State;
Cornell University. http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/
factsheets/vegetables/potato/plh.pdf
Acknowledgements
This work was only possible with the support and
infrastructure of the Hampshire farm and Hampshire
and Five College administration, staff and students,
especially Hampshire vegetable and CSA director
Nancy Hanson, student Christal Boutte, and harvest
help by Lynn Adlers U.Mass. plant-insect interac-
tion course in 2005; Ruth Hazzard of U. Mass. Ex-
tension made many helpful suggestions and obser-
vations and provided extra Surround in 2003.
Brian Schultz is at the School of Natural Science,
Hampshire College , Amherst, MA 01002, Ph: 413-
559-5486, e-mail: bschultz@hampshire.edu
Tine Weeders with
working width
5 Feet
6 Feet
7 Feet
10 Feet
15 Feet
20 Feet
30 Feet
40 Feet
50 Feet
60 Feet
68 Feet
80 Feet
Our Tine Weeders are used in all felds:
vegetable, potatoes, cash crop
seed bed preparation, aerate pastures, etc.
Pivoting 5 feet sections with
60 spring steel tines, adjust-
able from
aggressive to
non-aggressive
with one lever
Hydraulic Fold
Main Frame
standard on
models 15 feet
and up
Strong,
Quality
Steel Frame
19 inches long
spring steel
tines 1/4 inch
in diameter
Adjustable Gauge Wheels
WEED PROBLEMS SOLVED!
Importer for Canada
HWE Agricultural Technology Ltd.
B.P. 1515
CDN-Embrun, ON,
Canada K0A 1W0
Telephone: (613) 443-3386
Fax: (613) 443-1389
New Importer for USA!!
Mog Implements LLC
171 Church St., Suite 300
Charleston, SC 29401
Telephone: (843) 723-7361
Fax: (843) 723-7362
gwillis@csroads.com
November 10-12, 2006
Iustln, Nlchlqan
{just south of Cadl||ac)
CSA-N|, 3480 Potter Rd, ear |a|e, N| 49614
231-889-3216 {or 877-526-1441 to|| free)
csafarmQjac|plne.net
www.csafarms.orq www.csafarms.orq www.csafarms.orq www.csafarms.orq
Wor|shops, Spea|ers, uood Company Wor|shops, Spea|ers, uood Company Wor|shops, Spea|ers, uood Company Wor|shops, Spea|ers, uood Company
and Conversatlo and Conversatlo and Conversatlo and Conversatlon nn n
|or CSA farmers and prospectlve farmers, students,
aq professlona|s, educators, farm members and
anyone lnterested ln sma||-sca|e aqrlcu|ture.
Ks|s|a t--|s||-s sa1 ||t|t \s|a-s
| |a ||- !I
s|
|-a|ar
Second 8iennioI
Conference for CSA
(Communify Supporfed AgricuIfure)
Keynote Spea|ers:
Steven Nc|adden, Steven Nc|adden, Steven Nc|adden, Steven Nc|adden, co-author of |arms of Iomorrow Revlslted:
Communlty Supported |arms, |arm Supported Communltles

Scott Chas|ey, Scott Chas|ey, Scott Chas|ey, Scott Chas|ey, farm manaqer at Qual| Hl|| |arm and author of
Ihls Common uround - Seasons on an 0rqanlc |arm

And other spea|ers who wl|| lnsplre and educate
w|t| sacrt |rcm HC >/R| w|t| sacrt |rcm HC >/R| w|t| sacrt |rcm HC >/R| w|t| sacrt |rcm HC >/R|
by Eric Sideman and Steven B. Johnson
Organic farming is the fastest growing segment
of U.S. agriculture, and potato production follows
the trend of other commodities. In 1986 the Maine
Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
(MOFGA) certifed fewer than 10 farms selling
potatoes. In 2005 MOFGA certifed nearly 100
small- and moderate-sized farms marketing organic
potatoes. Most organic potatoes are sold directly to
consumers at farmers markets and farm stands, but
some are directed toward the high-value restaurant
and specialty-store market. Some are sold as organic
potato seed. Organic potatoes generally demand a
much higher value in the marketplace, usually two
to three times that of conventional potatoes. The
premium rewards the farmer for more expensive
inputs and greater management demands.
In the marketplace, consumers commonly buy
organic potatoes to avoid pesticide residue and
other chemical treatments. However recent surveys
have shown that many consumers are also aware of
and support the values of organic production that
include taking care of the soil and protecting the
environment. Organic potatoes command a premium
price because consumers recognize and are willing
to pay for the direct and indirect benefts of organic
farming practices.
Organic production is based on soil husbandry
practices that build reservoirs of plant nutrients,
increase the level of organic matter and biological
activity in the soil, and improve soil structure. A key
practice is crop rotation out of potatoes into green
manures that build the soil. Other practices include
adding recycled organic matter to the soil such as
crop residues, compost, and livestock manures.
Pesticides are avoided as much as possible because
they can disrupt benefcial biological activity, and
synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are regulated by
the USDAs National Organic Program standards.
Soil
A soil test should be one of the frst steps in potato
production. Standard soil tests will provide basic
information on the chemical condition of the soil
and level of organic matter. Soil tests by your state
University will provide specifc recommendations
for the production of organic potatoes.
Potatoes will grow in many types of soils but prefer
fertile, well-drained soils. Heavy, wet soils with
poor drainage tend to cause tuber rot problems.
Current organic certifcation standards require a
crop rotation between potato crops. This helps
control soil-borne pathogens like Rhizoctonia and
Verticillium. Growers must rotate to manage the
soil, pests, and pathogens. Longer rotations provide
greater benefts. A four-year rotation with a soil-
building cover crop is ideal. Pay attention to rotation
crop choices to help break pest cycles.
Maine has many acid soils. The measure of soil
acidity is the pH. Potatoes do well across a wide
range of pH, but a soil pH of 5.3 to 6.0 is typical for
potato production in Maine. The addition of lime
to soil can be used to raise the pH above 5.0. A soil
test will provide a recommendation for wood ash or
lime.
The best time to incorporate wood ash or lime into
the soil is in the fall, but this can also be done in the
spring before planting. Better fertilizer effciency
is obtained at neutral (7.0) pH than at 5.3, but this
higher pH is more conducive to scab, a disease
caused by a soil-borne pathogen. Prepare for
planting by plowing and disking the feld to create a
smooth seedbed.
Cutting and Storing Seed
Potatoes are traditionally produced from seed
pieces. These are not true seed, but rather pieces
of or whole potato tubers. Always plant certifed
seed. Certifed seed has been specifcally produced
to be replanted under strict guidelines to ensure the
health of the tubers. By Maine regulation, certifed
seed is required for plantings larger than one acre.
Earlier generation seed is closer to tissue culture and
more desirable.
Seed that is received before planting should be
kept cool. Warm seed for seven to ten days before
planting to encourage rapid sprout development.
Many suitable varieties are available; let your
markets determine the variety you plant.
Seed tubers that are less than two inches in diameter
should be planted whole. Avoid seed smaller than
one inch in diameter. If larger seed is used, cut it.
Potato seed pieces should be blocky, must have
at least one eye, and should weigh between 1 3/4
ounces and 2 1/4 ounces. The fewer cut surfaces
the better, as less energy is used by the seed piece
to heal the cut surfaces. Make sure all cut surfaces
are smooth. Any jagged or torn surfaces will invite
seed-piece rot to occur. Seed pieces do not have to
be healed; they can be freshly cut and planted into
soil. If the seed is to be cut well before planting,
store the cut seed in an area with temperatures of 50
to 55F, and over 90 percent humidity, to allow the
cut surfaces to heal. The healed seed pieces can then
be held at low temperatures.
Pipping or green sprouting can be used to
encourage early production. Green sprouting can
produce short stubby sprouts that emerge quickly
and set tubers early. To green-sprout tubers, spread
seed tubers out in a single layer in an area exposed
to light. This can be done on a foor indoors or
out, or in trays that can be stacked, as long as the
temperature doesnt drop below freezing.
Temperatures up to 70F, with high humidity,
produce ideal conditions to green-sprout potatoes.
Once sprouts reach about an eighth inch in length,
reduce the temperature to around 50F. This will
encourage the sprouts to be green and thick. In
reality, many places in a barn or garage during early
spring will work well. Turn the potatoes over to
encourage uniform sprouts.
Fertilizing
A soil test will provide site-specifc
recommendations for fertilization. Establish soil
fertility before planting. Meet any initial needs
for potassium, calcium, magnesium sulfur, and
phosphorus with rock powders; then maintain them
over the years with organic amendments. Meet
nitrogen needs with crop rotations of legumes
residual nitrogen in other soil organic matter will
help. Supplemental nitrogen, if needed, often comes
from such sources as soybean meal, processed
manures, or fsh meal.
Table 1 provides a guide to the analysis of some
common organic soil amendments. Potatoes have
high nitrogen and potassium requirements. Most
organic potato producers in Maine should consider
producing a crop with about 120 pounds of nitrogen,
25 pounds of phosphate (P2O5), and about 140
pounds of potash (K2O) per acre.
Planting
Plant potato seed tubers when the soil warms to
50F. Potatoes planted earlier in colder temperature
soils may emerge a little earlier, but since they will
sit in a cold, wet soil, they are susceptible to decay.
Space seed from 8 to 18 inches within the row and
34 to 36 inches between rows (Table 2 gives seed
requirements per acre).
Make a furrow four to six inches deep, and, after
fertilization, place seed in the furrow and cover
with two inches of soil. Hill the plants once they
are about six inches tall by forming a mound onto
the potato row. Avoid late cultivation as this may
damage the potato roots and stolons.
Up to three hillings may be needed to build a
potato hill, depending on conditions. A good job of
cultivation will control weeds between the potato
rows, but crop rotations should be designed as your
main strategy against weeds. Get grass weeds under
control before planting potatoes.
Pest Control
First and foremost, any pest control materials must
meet the current standards approved by organic
certifcation bodies. Check with your certifer for
up-to-date information on approved materials.
Adherence to pest control practices will not only
improve the potato yield; it will help protect the
potato industry.
Weeds
Weeds compete with potato plants for water,
nutrients, and light. Weeds can be quite a hindrance
in harvest operations. Plan crop rotations to clean
felds between potato crops. For very weedy felds,
short periods of cover crops separated by fallow
periods can be used to help kill perennial weeds and
use up the seed bank. For example, plant oats in
early spring, followed by buckwheat for the summer
and then back to oats or a brassica crop for the fall
cover. Separate these cover crops by a few weeks
of fallow ground with periodic tilling to stimulate
weed seed germination and subsequent killing.
Propane-fueled famers have shown some promise
in weed control. Mechanical weed removal is still
the predominant means of weed control. While
hand weeding has a place on a small scale, tillage
is effective for larger operations. Preemergence
cultivation tends to be risky, as the seed tubers and
emerging potato sprouts are easily damaged. The
best results are achieved when the soil is dry at the
time of cultivation. Cultivation will dry the soil
out. Cultivation performed under wet conditions
will tend to compact soils and produce clods.
Adjust the cultivator to throw soil around the base
of the potato plants and bury weed seedlings. Use
standard S tines for between-row cultivation. Up to
three cultivations may be required. Avoid very late
cultivations, as root pruning is likely to occur.
Complete all cultivation and hilling by the time
the plants are 10 inches high. Early weed control
is essential for good potato yields. The potato
canopy should close within 30 to 45 days after
planting. After this, canopy shading will reduce
weed germination. Even plant stands will improve
weed shading. Try to keep weed seeds from external
sources from entering your potato felds. Do not
allow cover crops to set seed.
Insects
Locate potato felds a tenth to a quarter of a mile
away from last years potato crop, or at least as
far as possible. This will reduce the movement
of overwintered Colorado potato beetles into the
new potato crop. Leafhoppers, European corn
borers, and aphids occur each year, with very high
populations some years. Flamers provide some
control. Microbial, biological, botanical insecticides
(rotenone, Bt, pyrethrum, neem, etc.) may be
permitted in organic production, but only as a last
resort.
Check with your certifer for up-to-date information
on approved materials. Be sure to follow IPM
scouting reports.
Diseases
Late blight and early blight are the two main disease
threats to potato plants. Of the two, late blight is the
real threat. Late blight can spread and affect potato
production miles away. Late blight is a community
disease that needs community-wide attention and
response. Sanitation is the best defense against late
blight. Eliminate cull piles and control volunteer
potato sprouting in the spring. These are the
cheapest and best ways to reduce inoculum. While
no potato varieties are immune, some varieties
have some level of resistance to some races of the
pathogen that causes late blight.
Preventative copper sprays can be used for late
blight control; copper oxide is the most common
formulation. Copper is an ingredient in Bordeaux
mixture, one of the earliest fungicides. Check
with your certifer for up-to-date information on
approved formulations of copper fungicides.
Copper is toxic to many forms of life and tends to
accumulate in soils over extended use, so be sure to
monitor copper levels in the soil.
Producing Potatoes Organically
Supporting Our Regional
Growers and Producers
At Fairfield Farm Kitchens, we are committed to supporting small,
regional growers and nurturing the relationships we have with our
farmers. We invite you to taste their fresh, organic products in every
bite of our Moosewood and Organic Classics refrigerated soups, frozen
entrees and toaster muffins, available at your local natural foods store.
Fairfield Farm Kitchens is proud to
partner with organic farmers!
If you are interested in becoming one of our supplier partners, please
contact John Weaver via e-mail or phone,
jweaver@fairfieldfarmkitchens.com or 508-584-9300 ext. 301
www.fairfieldfarmkitchens.com
Brockton, MA
Harvesting and Storing
Potatoes are traditionally harvested at the end of
the growing season. At this time, temperatures
have dropped and there has frequently been a frost.
If the tops have not died, slash them off 14 to 21
days before harvest. Harvest potatoes with any
implement that can lift the potatoes out of the soil
without damaging them. Potatoes will bruise
handle them like eggs! Get harvested potatoes out
of the light to avoid greening. Select only intact and
healthy potatoes for long-term storage. Dont store
diseased or damaged potatoes. Store the harvested
potatoes in a cool, moist, dark environment. Ideal
storage conditions would be 38F with 95 percent
humidity. As this is not always available, a cool,
damp basement usual does fairly well as long as
the foor isnt prone to wetness. Maintaining tuber
quality beyond two months of storage will require
that you adhere carefully to ideal storage conditions.
A Growing Market
Potatoes require more attention than most
vegetables, but can be grown in all parts of Maine.
Organic potatoes in Maine are an industry that is
increasing in scope and in value. Organic potatoes
may bring a premium price in the marketplace,
because many consumers understand that organic
practices not only produce safe, high-quality
food; they preserve topsoil and reduce pollution.
Organically grown foods are favorful and
nutritious, which is why gourmet restaurants are
increasingly seeking organic suppliers.
Table 1. Analysis of common organic soil
amendments
Source N P2O5 K2O
percent percent percent
Alfalfa meal 2 to 3 0 2
Compost 1 to 3 0 to 1 1 to 2
Fish meal 9 to 10 6 0
Kalinite 0 0 12
Kelp 0 to 1 0 to 1 4 to 13
Manure (dairy) 1 to 2 1 2 to 4
Manure (horse) 1 to 2 1 1 to 2
Manure (poultry) 2 to 5 5 to 6 2
Manure (rabbit) 2 1 1
Manure (sheep) 3 to 4 1 3 to 4
Manure (swine) 3 to 4 1 1
Rock phosphate* 0 20 to 30 0
Soybean meal 7 1 1
Sul-Po-Mag 0 0 22 (11 Mg)
Wood ash 0 0 5
Potassium sulfate 0 0 50 to 53 (17 S)
*As these are slow release, the University of Maine
Soil Testing Service adjusts the required rate of
these by the following factors; rock phosphate,
increase the rate by 4. These adjustments are to
correct a defciency in the frst growing season after
application. For long-term adjustment or when this
material has been applied in several sequential years,
do not use the multiplication factor.
Table 2. Seed tuber requirements
Row Plant 1.75 oz 2.0 oz 2.25 oz Seed
spacing spacing seed seed seed pieces
(inches) (inches) cwt/ cwt/ cwt/ per
acre acre acre acre
34 8 25.2 28.8 32.4 23,061
9 22.4 25.6 28.8 20,499
10 20.2 23.1 17.3 18,449
11 18.3 21.0 26.0 16,772
12 16.8 19.2 21.6 15,374
14 14.4 16.5 18.5 13,178
16 12.6 14.4 16.2 11,531
18 11.2 12.8 14.4 10,249
36 8 23.8 27.2 30.6 21,780
9 21.2 24.2 27.6 19,360
10 19.1 21.8 24.5 17,424
11 17.3 19.8 21.8 15,480
12 15.9 18.2 20.4 14,520
14 13.6 15.6 17.5 12,446
16 11.9 13.6 15.3 10,890
18 10.6 12.1 13.6 9,680
from PRODUCING POTATOES ORGANICALLY IN
MAINE, BULLETIN #2419
For a printed copy of the UMaine Extension
publications catalog call 1-800-287-0274 (ME only)
or 207-581-3792.
Visit us online at www.umext.maine.edu
SEEKING AN INTERIM STORE MANAGER
The Board of Directors of Abundance Cooperative Market is seeking
qualified candidates interested in the position of Interim Store Manager
POSITION TO BE FILLED IMMEDIATELY
INTERESTED CANDIDATES SHOULD SEND A RESUME
AND SALARY HISTORY & REQUIREMENTS TO:
Search Committee
Abundance Cooperative Market
62 Marshall Street, Rochester, NY 14607
Or to: president@abundance.coop
Abundance is a five-year old retail food cooperative with
over $2 million in sales, over 1100 shareholders and 25
employees. We are and Equal Opportunity Employer
www.abundance.coop
by Margaret Tuttle McGrath
mtm3@cornell.edu. Department of Plant Pathology,
Cornell University
Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension
Center, Riverhead, NY 11901
and
Barbara J. Christ
Department of Plant Pathology, The Pennsylvania
State University
University Park, PA 16802
There are several diseases that can challenge suc-
cessful potato production. They include Fusarium
dry rot, Rhizoctonia canker (black scurf), silver
scurf, common scab, powdery scab, blackleg, bacte-
rial soft rot, Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, early
blight, late blight, Pythium leak, black dot and root
rot, bacterial ring rot, pink rot, Botrytis gray mold,
white mold (Sclerotinia stalk rot), and viruses. In-
formation about these diseases is available on the
web at
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/fact-
sheets/Potato_List.htm
and at
http://potatohealth.cas.psu.edu/pages/DiseasesOf-
Pennsylvania-1.htm
as well as numerous other sites.
To manage diseases in potato begin by selecting a
feld with good drainage that has not been planted
to potatoes for at least 2 years and is not adjacent to
where potatoes were grown last year. Longer rota-
tion is needed for some diseases, especially powdery
scab and Verticillium wilt.
Crops grown in rotation with potato can affect
pathogens that survive in soil. Other solanaceous
crops, especially eggplant and tomato, are a poor
choice because they are affected by some of the
same diseases, especially Verticillium wilt and black
dot. Avoid rotations with carrot, beet, spinach, tur-
nip and radish to manage common scab. Corn, small
grains, grasses (especially sudangrass), and legumes
are good rotation crops. When grown as green ma-
nures they may provide greater beneft. Alfalfa, rye,
and soybeans are also good rotation crops.
Select varieties with resistance when available.
Those that mature early are more susceptible to ear-
ly blight than late-maturing varieties like Katahdin,
Kennebec, Sebago, Elba, and Atlantic. Elba is re-
sistant to Verticillium wilt, while Katahdin, Norchip,
and Atlantic are moderately resistant; avoid Ken-
nebec and Superior as they are susceptible. Rus-
set-skinned varieties are less susceptible to powdery
scab. Superior, Monona, Norchip, Atlantic, Kenne-
bec, and Norland have some resistance to common
scab.
Purchase high-quality, certifed disease-free seed
and ask before buying about diseases present in
the seed production feld and the potential that any
pathogens are present. Most pathogens can be on
seed.
Frequently clean seed cutting equipment. Warm
the seed prior to planting and plant in warm (60F)
soil. These and any other practice that promote rapid
Managing Potato Diseases Organically
emergence will reduce attack by the fungus Rhizoc-
tonia and Erwinia bacteria.
Dispose properly of any cull potatoes well before
planting, such as by completely freezing, feeding to
livestock, burying at least 3 ft deep, or composting.
This is especially critical when late blight could be
present in the tubers.
Do not use manure as fertilizer if animals were fed
potatoes with common scab or powdery scab.
Contact local extension specialists for information
on which diseases are most important in the area
and for updates on disease occurrence during the
growing season.
Decide in advance which diseases could require
foliar applications of a disease-control product (fun-
gicide) such as copper to obtain desired quantity
and quality of yield. Note that in the US products
for which the manufacturer claims disease control
must be registered as fungicides with EPA unless
the ingredients are generally recognized as safe
(GRAS) by EPA. Learn what the initial symptoms
are because it is essential for successful control to
be able to accurately identify the disease and to ini-
tiate treatment at the frst sign of disease. There are
fungal diseases (eg Verticillium Wilt) that cannot be
suppressed even by conventional (non-organic) fun-
gicides. The many images of symptoms now posted
on the web can be accessed by typing potato fol-
lowed by the disease name in Google, then clicking
on Images right above the search line. Select a
sprayer that will provide thorough coverage of foli-
age, such as a high-volume boom sprayer equipped
with hollow cone or fat fan nozzles and operated at
ground speed of 4 mph or less, using 50-60 gal/A,
and with 60-100 psi of pressure.
Inspect crops at least weekly for disease symptoms,
especially those of diseases identifed as being most
critical, more often when there has been fog, heavy
dews, high humidity or rainy weather, or when there
has been an outbreak of a disease like late blight
in the area. Most fungal and bacterial diseases are
favored by leaf wetness, which enables the patho-
gens to infect. Some are dispersed in splashing
water. Give special attention when scouting to early
varieties and any section of the crop that is near last
years potato feld or dries slowly, such as where
trees provide shade or restrict air movement.
Determine the cause of any disease symptoms found
and assess severity so that a targeted management
program can be developed for subsequent crops.
Avoid over-irrigating and irrigating such that it
extends the leaf wetness period due to rain or dew
to manage foliar diseases. Withhold irrigation dur-
ing tuber set to manage powdery scab. Also avoid
excessive irrigation late in the season as this can
provide favorable conditions for tuber diseases, in
particular pink rot.
Make sure plants are adequately hilled so tubers are
well covered with soil and thus protected from late
blight.
Manage weeds. Solanaceous weeds can harbor
pathogens. Numerous weeds can increase humidity
thereby improving conditions for disease develop-
ment and interfere with fungicide coverage.
Remove soil from farm equipment and workers
boots between felds.
When a fungicide is considered necessary, based
on the destructive potential of the disease and time
of disease onset, begin applications at frst sign of
disease. Diseased tissue cannot be cured; fungicides
can only protect uninfected tissue. Furthermore,
when a disease is well established the pathogen may
be unstoppable because lesions present continue to
expand and produce spores.
Promptly destroying infected plants is recommend-
ed with a disease like late blight when it is found
early in disease development on a few plants.
If late blight becomes widespread in a feld, kill foli-
age to kill the pathogen and prevent it from infect-
ing tubers.
Harvest as soon as tubers are mature, vines are dead
and soil is dry. Do not delay harvest as this provides
more opportunity for tubers to become infected.
Also cold tubers are more susceptible to Fusarium
dry rot. However, avoid harvesting under extremely
warm conditions as this can favor development
of Pythium leak Minimize skinning and bruising
during harvest. Fields with tuber rots should be
harvested last. Grade out tubers starting to rot. Re-
move excess dirt from tubers before storing.
Provide proper conditions for stored potatoes. Dis-
infect storage space and equipment. Promote proper
wound healing by holding tubers before storage at
55 - 60 F with 90 - 95% RH. Reduce the storage
temperature gradually when curing is complete.
During storage avoid moist conditions that favor
disease development by providing good air circula-
tion and keeping relative humidity below 85%.
Destroy volunteer potato plants during rotation.
photo courtesy Meg McGrath
Potato blight
Rhizoctonia canker in a potato plant
Rhizoctonia canker in potato tubers
by Jack Kittredge
The Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts and
Connecticut contains some of the best growing land
in New England. The deep deposits of rich alluvial
soil, hot summers, and absence of rocks mimic
conditions in Illinois or Iowa. Hadley loam, prized
as a top vegetable-growing soil, gets its name
because it is found so commonly in the Connecticut
River town of Hadley, Massachusetts. Just across
the river from Hadley lies Whately, home of Paul
Maiewski and his organic potato farm.
My great grandfather bought this farm in 1908,
says Paul, on halves with another fellow. It was
wet and after a year that other guy said Youll grow
nothing but frogs here! So my great grandfather
bought him out in 1909.
During the Depression Pauls great grandfather
bought more land. Back then many people had
made a living on a 5 acre farm, he explains. Well,
those places went under and my great grandfather
bought them. Banks were selling land for just the
payments. He took over the payments.
Pauls great grandfather passed the farm to his 3
sons, one of whom was Maiewskis grandfather. At
that time, most Whately farms were raising onions
and tobacco. They would plant set onions, Paul
relates. In their planter they had a tank, and it had
formaldehyde in it. They would drip formaldehyde
on the onions as they were planting them, for onion
maggot! So they werent what you would call
organic.
But its hard to blame someone who does
something all their life, he continues, and theres
this pest you cant do anything about. Then all of
a sudden somebody hands you something and says
Try this. And it works! Hey, it seems wonderful.
Slowly you come to fnd out all the bad things about
it. But at frst, you just know about the problems
that are going away.
Pauls father worked on the farm for a while when
Paul was young, but he ended up quitting and
became a librarian. Paul, however, liked working
with his grandfather. After high school he went
to the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the
University of Massachusetts. After that 2-year
program, he returned to work on the farm.
Our farm has always had potatoes, he states. Its
a fourth generation potato farm! But when I started
managing it 12 years ago I started growing them
organically. My grandfather loved the idea of going
organic. He was born in 1916, so they didnt use
many chemicals back then.
Of course the ones they did use were pretty
strong, he laughs. I have an extension leafet
from 1935 and it says for seed treatment to dip the
potatoes in mercuric chloride!
When it came time to pass the farm along,
Maiewskis grandfather and his bachelor great uncle
Myron gave Paul their shares, and he had to buy out
only the other brother.
It was pretty cheap for what I got, he says.
What he got was a hundred acres of tillable land, on
which he rotates 40 acres of potatoes. He also rents
out 16 acres to another organic farm. Even on that
much land, Paul says he has trouble with his rotation
because some felds just arent suitable for potatoes.
Another problem is that there is no easy access to
irrigation. I havent invested in irrigation yet, he
says. It would make great sense if I could get the
water. But an acre inch of water is 27,000 gallons.
Theres not a place here where I could draw that
Forty Acres of Potatoes on
Maiewski Farm
volume. I could get it from the river, but that would
be a lot of piping!
Right next to one of Pauls felds is a neighbors
planting of tobacco. Its used for cigar wrappers
and is a high value product not the $50 a pound
that shade tobacco brings, but still valuable at $5 to
$8 a pound. Since tobacco farmers can get a yield
of one ton per acre, they are not about to leave
any row unplanted. And while not many insects
bother tobacco, it is highly vulnerable to fungus
and so is heavily sprayed. Thus Paul has to take the
required 50 foot buffer zone between organic and
conventional land out of his feld.
Maiewski uses a lot of seed, which he buys from
Moose Tubers, in Maine. I get two trailers of
seed, he says. I use a ton per acre. They say you
get 10 to 1 in yield, but I think I can get to 15 to 1.
Sometimes I plant only 1800 pounds. It depends
on the spacings. Yukon Golds tend to be hollow
hearted -- theres a hollow cavity inside. One of the
solutions, they say, is to crowd the potatoes a little
closer and they dont grow as fast. Russets need
more space. If you crowd them you wont get the
big ones. Reds are in the middle. So the spacing in
the row is different for each variety.
The best yield I ever got, he continues, was 300
hundred-weights to the acre. Thats 30,000 pounds.
I shoot for 200, if I get less than 175 its not so hot.
The year I got 300 it was in new ground a year after
it was in alfalfa. Of course those taproots dont
decay quickly and they made it hard to work the
feld that frst year.
Paul tries to start digging his potatoes on September
frst. Ideally, he says, you wait for your vines to
die back naturally. But he cant really wait for that
because he has so many potatoes to harvest he
wouldnt get to the last ones until too late in the
season. So rather than wait for a natural dieback, he
mows his vines.
Ill do a whole feld at once, he says. Once
you kill the plant, you have to wait a while for
the skins to be tough enough to be mechanically
harvested two or three weeks. But you know
mowing doesnt always kill them. There are still
some vines growing. What conventional growers
do is go through with a general herbicide. That
leaves them nice and dead. What I like to do is start
mowing in early August, and then harvest the frst
of September. But the problem is that leaves three
weeks or more for the weeds to start growing. The
frst potatoes I harvest that way are nice and clean
Paul stands in one of his 500 to 600 foot rows of potatoes.
and easy. But if I take too long, oh boy, those weeds
are ferce!
Maiewski has a specialized mower he pulls behind
the tractor. It has two blades and two wheels he sets
in the aisles. The wheels are adjustable for height.
He says you want to shred the vines at the top of the
hill, but keep from cutting into the hill at all on pain
of exposing the tubers to the sun and turning the
skin green -- or worse, cutting into the potato itself.
He throws a cover crop of rye down after the
harvest. He would like to do wheat, he says, but
needs to do that in September for it to take and he
just doesnt have the time then. Thus the rye after
the harvest is over.
If I could sow a winter wheat in the fall, he sighs,
when it would start up in the spring it would have
such a head start on the weeds that they wouldnt
have a chance. That would be a good way to rotate.
But Id need to sow the wheat in time. As it is, I
can use rye to cover the ground. I could do a spring
grain, but it would start off with the same timing
as the weeds, and would have a hard time out-
competing them.
Paul says he fnds that progress is slow. Every year
he learns something, but it takes a whole year to
correct his mistakes. And these days everything
changes. You used to be able to make do by doing
what your father did, he says, but no more.
Despite the size of his potato planting, Maiewski
feels he has insect problems under control. For
Colorado Potato Beetles he uses Entrust. Its a
fermented by-product of a soil dwelling bacteria,
whose active ingredient is called Spinosad. It is a
fairly broad spectrum larvacide so he tries to be
moderate in using it, but it needs to be sprayed
several times while the CPB pressure is on.
I use 2 ounces to the acre, he laughs, and it really
kills them dead! Its shocking! Its a product that
conventional growers could do well with. I only
need three applications per year. Everyone asks
about beetles, but beetles are easy to control with
Entrust. I foresee a time, however, when they will
become resistant to it. I cant rotate away from it. I
can rotate my felds away, which helps a lot, but I
have no other product to rotate through. If you dont
control beetles, theyll eat your crop up!
Every year, Paul says, he gets his sprayer out and
the tubes are flled with water. He tends to forget
that and start spraying without purging the sprayer.
So the frst 20 feet of crops get only water. You
can see the difference, he concludes. The beetles
destroy those potatoes, eat them down to sticks!
Leaf hoppers are a bigger problem than CPB for
Maiewski. He fnds Pyganic 5.0 is very effective,
however. It contains Pyrethrum. On the downside,
its expensive and you have to put it on a lot.
Some years are worse than others for the hoppers,
he says. They dont overwinter here. They live
down south and come in with weather fronts and
thunderstorms. The mechanism by which they feed
is to inject a little bit of toxin, which causes the leaf
to burn and curl. Once the leafhoppers are around,
they dont go anywhere, just keep breeding new
generations. But I always scout before I spray. The
material is expensive.
Paul is very conscious that he grew up in a
conventional farming paradigm and is adapting
to an organic one. That means sometimes I dont
think about things the right way, he confesses. If
I had started as an organic grower I think I would
have been more alert to various things rotations,
changing my cultivating systems. When youre
a conventional grower you always have a magic
bullet. Throw it in the tank, go out and spray,
and there goes your problem! I wouldnt have
hopper-burn at all. Hoppers are not a problem for
conventional growers! The mildest of conventional
insecticides will eliminate hoppers. Yet hoppers for
me are a big concern.
Pauls worst weed problem is yellow nutsedge.
Its a perennial weed and propagates by making
underground nuts. I think it is really called a
corm, he says. Itll grow that nut right into a
potato and it makes them less marketable. Theyll
get as big as a small bean. Its hard to cultivate out
because you can pull out the plant but unless you
pull out the nut it propagates again.
Maiewski practices traditional culture -- plowing,
harrowing, harrowing again, planting, then
cultivating with spring weeders when the feld is
perfectly fat, before the crop is up. The planter has
two disks and makes a little hill. But you dont want
much of a hill, he says. You only want the potato
to be two or three inches deep in the ground. The
deeper you go the longer it takes to emerge. And the
quicker you can get the potato to emerge the better
off you are with regard to resistance to diseases. He
goes through with the weeders 4 or 5 times, until the
plant is maybe 8 inches tall. Then he uses a Lilleston
rolling cultivator which banks the soil up a little bit.
Then fnally hell go through with a hiller which has
a set of plows that make the potato hill.
I usually cultivate until the leaves spread over and
fll the aisles, he says. You want to go through
before you are ripping up too many vines. Id say,
depending on the variety, that you might go about
one and a half or two months after planting. After
that, you try to keep the plants going as well as you
can. Yukon Golds size up quite fast, which is why I
put them in last.
Disease is also an issue with potatoes, so Paul uses
a lot of copper-based products. He depends a lot
on Serenade MAX, a biofungicide, which he tank
mixes with copper, which is fungicidal itself. A
good thing and a bad thing is that I grew up on a
conventional farm, he muses. The bad thing is that
I think back on all the wonderful products we could
use to solve problems. They worked!
For fertility Maiewski likes Purdues Agri-Recycle.
Its processed poultry litter which Purdue makes
from bedding and poultry manure. Its a 4-3-3, slow
acting fertilizer which they run through a steamer
and pelletize. The trouble is, he says, we need to
spread it 120 days before harvest because according
to OMRI its raw manure, not compost. They only
have those two categories.
We use one ton per acre, he continues, but I
think next year Ill go with two tons. Its pretty
cheap. This is the frst year Ive used it and I
really like it. At planting we put in feather meal,
and potassium sulfate blend. Then I spin on a top
dressing of feather meal, potassium sulfate, gypsum
for calcium, and some Chilean Nitrate. Also, every
time I spray I put in some fsh emulsion. I use 2
gallons per acre. Its kind of a pain to use, but I see
the difference.
The booms in this spray rig extend 25 feet on each side,
covering 8 rows to the left and 8 to the right of the tractor.
Paul regularly scouts for signs of insect problems.
Paul grows the varieties of potatoes for which there
is signifcant demand Dark Red Norlands, Yukon
Golds, BellRus, Superior, Purple Vikings, All Blues
and which his equipment can handle. The larger,
standard potatoes work well with my equipment,
he stresses. Fingerlings would fall through my
chains and get all beat up. They just wouldnt work
here. Im not looking for a niche market within a
niche market!
Maiewski wholesales everything through a growers
cooperative Happy Valley Organic. Its offce is on
Pauls land, right behind his packing house. They
pack everything almost exclusively in 5 pound bags
and wholesale them to area supermarkets Whole
Foods, Stop and Shop, Big Y. The retailers get as
high as $5 for a 5 pound bag, but Pauls average
price for that bag would be $1.70 to $2.00.
A lot of conventional growers will sell 50 pound
sacks for $6, he asserts. I sell them for $20. Its
like night and day! Thats what attracted me to
organic farming. But now I really enjoy fguring out
how to do a good job!
Paul says he harvests to order. If Stop and Shop
calls up well go and dig. Were harvesting and
grading most of the time, but not if we dont have
orders. Last year we had a very wet October and I
lost a lot. But this year Id like to do something new
dig and pack into one ton bulk bags in the storage
building. That way if I get an order and cant get out
in the feld because its too wet I can still ship. Last
year we had one storm in October with 8 inches
of rain and I couldnt get out for a week! I fnally
harrowed up 3 or 4 acres of potatoes!
Because of the scale of his production, equipment
and labor issues are crucial in Maiewskis operation.
All his activities are highly mechanized. His 2-row
planter can plant at a speed of two and a half miles
an hour and covers 2 or 3 acres before it needs to be
reflled.
The fertilizer is supposed to drop from this bin into
the hill, he explains. The planting shoe opens up
the row and cups carry the potatoes from the hopper
into the planting chutes. A marker arm sticking out
the side marks the place where I should keep the
nose on the next pass.
Paul examines Dark Red Norland potatoes at about the golf ball stage.
They are forming up well.
The big thing with planting any crops, he
continues, is that you dont want skips or doubles.
You dont want skips because youre wasting space,
fertilizer, and spray material. Big waste. But you
dont want doubles because they reduce your yield
and cost you more for seed. If you have an operator
sitting there when youre planting you can be
perfect.
As in any organic operation, Paul has to be
aggressive with weeds. When it comes time to
harvest, a clean feld makes all the difference in
bringing the potatoes up smoothly. He has various
cultivators, all set for working four rows at a time.
One takes out small weeds with banks of tines that
are adjustable for the angle at which they enter the
ground. This is the only thing that will take out
nutgrass, Maiewski explains. You run this right
over the feld after planting and it takes out the
weeds but doesnt take out the sprouted potatoes.
You have to go several times with it, but it does a
marvelous job. Of course it is $5000 of steel!
Another has spider gangs which break the crust and
can also throw soil up onto the hills, depending on
how you adjust them. A third makes hills. The shape
of the hill is important, Paul cautions. A good hill
is wide and not very tall. That way you will get less
potatoes turning green from exposure to the sun.
Maiewski has a boom sprayer which can cover 50
feet, or 16 rows at a time. I used to hate spraying,
he grins. But this makes spraying quite pleasant.
Everything works on it. I spray 4 miles an hour and
put 50 gallons of solution on an acre, running at 125
pounds pressure. It has two shock absorbers on each
side and an air bag suspension. It rides great!
Pauls potato harvester is a wonder of agricultural
engineering design. It is a $50,000 machine new, but
he picked it up used for $25,000. The cutting head
is controlled hydraulically, he demonstrates, you
can lower it as far as you want. The cutting disks
on the side cut any vines so you dont wrap the
nose. The hills are dug up and brought onto chains
that shake off most of the dirt, then onto a de-viner
chain where the large vines and weeds are separated
and the potatoes fall down onto a third chain. This
harvester has a giant fan which blows the vines and
weeds out the back. I love it! Then the potatoes go
up a big elevator and over a cleaning table that takes
out some lumps and weeds, then onto a boom chain.
We have a big ten-wheeler truck with a V bottom
ride alongside us. One truck holds 8 tons, the other
10 tons. The boom drops the potatoes into the truck
and when full it goes to our storage where we have
the packing line. It takes about 125 horsepower to
run the harvester. You can run this with two people
if your felds are clean. Its a good machine, but
if something goes wrong thats it. You cant do
anything else. If you have a good yield and clean
feld you can harvest an acre in an hour.
The truck has a conveyor belt in it, he continues,
so the potatoes come out of the truck and up a
chain sizer which has wires which let the small
potatoes fall through the chain. US #1 is an inch and
7/8, so thats the size of the holes. Anything bigger
than the holes is a number one and gets carried to
the washer and past a picking table where we pull
3 Days on Our Diversified, 3 Days on Our Diversified, 3 Days on Our Diversified, 3 Days on Our Diversified, 3 Days on Our Diversified,
Horse Powered Family Farm Horse Powered Family Farm Horse Powered Family Farm Horse Powered Family Farm Horse Powered Family Farm
Small Classes & Home Grown Meals Small Classes & Home Grown Meals Small Classes & Home Grown Meals Small Classes & Home Grown Meals Small Classes & Home Grown Meals
Draft Horse Workshops Draft Horse Workshops Draft Horse Workshops Draft Horse Workshops Draft Horse Workshops
Horse Training
Draft Horses I & II
Women & Draft Horses
Farming with Draft Horses
Jay & Janet Bailey Family
www.fairwindsfarm.org
511 Upr Dummerston Rd.
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-254-9067
Maiewskis planter opens up a furrow, drops in fertilizer, plants a potato,
and covers it up automatically.
This two-row harvester digs the potatoes up, shakes the dirt loose, blows any vines out the
back, and conveys the potatoes to a waiting truck for transport to the storage building.
out the green ones and cut ones or whatever. Then
they go to an automatic fve-pound bagger. You put
in bales of poly bags, it weighs the potatoes, opens
the bag, flls it and seals it. A guy throws those into
a master bag.
To help with the harvest Maiewski hires 3 or 4
Mexicans. He also needs some help planting, to
fll the planter and ride on it. But that is only part-
time for maybe 5 or 6 days altogether. As far as
ftting the land, he says, I can do that all myself.
I cultivate it, I spray it. Thats the advantage of the
mechanized crop. I used to cultivate with a two-row
cultivator and Id spend two months doing that.
Now we have a four-row one and it takes half the
time!
But Maiewski sometimes regrets having gotten so
capital intensive on his farm. There is just so much
stuff and if one thing goes wrong youre done, he
cautions. I bought that tractor brand new to run my
harvester. I needed more horsepower. But it shut
down after 25 hours. The brand new tractor had a
bad injection pump. I was down for a week! Thats
what you buy new equipment for so you wont be
down for a week! Once you get on the escalator its
hard to get off. Weve built up the markets and now
we have to supply so much that we cant go back.
Paul fgures he needs to grow close to 50 acres of
potatoes each year to pay for his equipment. He has
enough land to grow 100 acres, but then he would
have no land to rotate to the next year. So he feels
kind of locked in. But he says he has a dream of
doing things differently.
What Id like to do is become more diverse,
he muses. Its actually too hot down here for
potatoes. Thats why they like it in Maine. They
have those 50 or 60 degree nights. I could grow a
few crops. Maybe cucumbers, tomatoes, whatever.
And Id have a crew year round, for the whole
season. I could put up an organic farm stand. I have
a building right on the road. Id offer truck crops,
organic eggs, buy in a few things. But I dont ever
want to grow greens. I cant tell the difference
between one lettuce and another.
I could convert a section of my land to pasture,
he continues. It was that way in my grandfathers
day. Massachusetts is 80% woodland. A hundred
years ago it was pasture -- it could be that way
again. The way beef is raised on feedlots out west
is unsustainable. It uses hundreds of gallons of fuel.
But it could be done differently. Here we have the
grass to pasture beef. There would be more jobs; it
could be intensively managed.
You cant grow this kind of acreage and go in at
5:00 every day for a good nights sleep, he sighs.
Theres too much to take care of and worry about.
Nestled in the
hills of western
Massachusetts
near the cultural
resources of the Five
College Consortium,
CSLD is accredited
by the New England
Assn. of Schools and
Colleges
332 S. Deerfield Rd.
PO Box 179
Conway, MA
01341-0179
413-369-4044
info@csld.edu
www.csld.edu
Master of Arts in Landscape Design
The Conway School of Landscape Design teaches the application
of ecological principles to the design and management of land and
resources. By planning and designing projects for residential, municipal,
and non-profit clients, students learn a constellation of skills including
design graphics, practical problem-solving, ability to communicate design
solutions, and ecological advocacy.
Founded in 1972, CSLDs ten-month program stresses self-direction
and team learning, and prepares graduates for a rich and diverse range
of jobs in such fields as community planning, conservation, site design,
land stewardship, and site management.
Conway School of Landscape Design
Graduate Program in Landscape Planning, Design, and Management
Purple Conefower Herbals
Apryl Martin
Herbalist & Owner
71 Mercia Rd. Wolcott, VT 05680
Phone & Fax: (802) 888-6167
Toll Free: 1-866-211-5511
Email: apryl@purpleconefowerherbals.com
Web: www.purpleconefowerherbals.com
Herbal Extracts Hand-Crafted Using Sacred Tradition in Vermont Since 1989
Maki ng a connecti on between trees & peopl e
Design/Build David Johnson (802) 644-8187 Cambridge, VT.
Our .4i : t. r.r:1. to. o:o.t i.r.i
.( 4t:.nt .4r. r.m.t:n +.iin.
tor.uo .r4i o.4ito
G. Robert Evans, DMD
Iean Nordin-Evans, DDS
Mi kur luzu
497 Muir Stroot
Crotor, MA 01470
918-449-9919
Groton Dental wellness Sa
o.4ito-(..u.1 1.nt:tr
www.grotondentalwellness.com
A general dental ractice offering:
- loistic/Lioogicu dortistry
- sulo norcury liirg ronovu
- digitu x-ruys
- root curu irlornutior
- dortu nutoriu LioconputiLiity tostirg
- lA\ tostirg
- dotox progrun
NatFarmer_xad.pdf I0/?8/0S I?.4.9 PM
The
NorthEast Herbal Association NorthEast Herbal Association NorthEast Herbal Association NorthEast Herbal Association NorthEast Herbal Association
is dedicated to merging the ancient
traditions of Herbalism with the needs
and developments of the modern day
herbalist through
Networking, Education, and
Resources for the Herbal Community
Membership in NEHA is open to all
who consider themselves to be herbalists
no matter how they work with our Green
Friends, the plants. If you work with the
plant world and its magic and wisdom
runs green in your blood you are invited
to join us in this exciting circle.
a Membership Benefits Include A
o Tri-Annual Journal Tri-Annual Journal Tri-Annual Journal Tri-Annual Journal Tri-Annual Journal O
o Membership Directory Membership Directory Membership Directory Membership Directory Membership Directory O
o Annual Retreat Annual Retreat Annual Retreat Annual Retreat Annual Retreat O
Visit NEHA on the web at
www.northeastherbal.org www.northeastherbal.org www.northeastherbal.org www.northeastherbal.org www.northeastherbal.org
e-mail neha@northeastherbal.org
NEHA NEHA NEHA NEHA NEHA
P O Box 2285 P O Box 2285 P O Box 2285 P O Box 2285 P O Box 2285
Manchester Center, VT05255 Manchester Center, VT05255 Manchester Center, VT05255 Manchester Center, VT05255 Manchester Center, VT05255
NOFA Video Project, 411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005
NOFA Videos
2006 Pre-Conference on:
Agriculture & Education
Intro with Panel;
Farming, Food & Care of the Earth with Bill Duesing
Please send me this video, #0611, for $15.
Learning by Growing, UVMs Food Farm & Nutri-
tion Program with Sara Coblyn Porth
Farms, Schools & Adult Ed with Abbie Nelson,
and We Can Do this with Mikey Azzara
Farm-based Apprentice Programs with Dan Kaplan
I enclose a check to NOFA Video Project. For each video I return
in 30 days, rewound and in good shape, youll refund me $10.
call us at...
1 800 307 8949
visit us online at...
www. GrowingFor Market . com
Cross-pollinate!
with a subscription to Growing for Market.
Youll get great ideas from all over the U.S. with a
subscription to Growing for Market, the monthly
newsletter for market farmers. Every article is
written by an experienced grower. Read about...
Suppliers
Marketing
Fruits
Vegetables
Herbs
Flowers
Production
Pricing
Mary Zanoni of Farm for Life directly criticized the
Massachusetts Department of Agriculture (MDAR)
for handing over private farm data to the USDA for
a program she said would fail to address disease
problems and lacks proper authority. MDAR Com-
missioner, Douglas Gillespie, who was one of the
debaters, responded that the state was sharing data
with USDA because it is the most effcient way to
share data. Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch
criticized the NAIS proposal for failing to provide
any useful information to consumers or any mean-
ingful protections. NAIS fails at disease prevention
and only tries to deal with the problem after the
fact, she said. Ken Kelly, staff attorney for Center
for Science in the Public Interest argued in support
of the general idea of animal tracking but said that
USDAs specifc approach was deeply fawed. While
it never heated beyond an angry simmer as polite-
ness was maintained by moderator and Hampshire
College Farm Manager Leslie Cox, plenty of strong
feelings were vented and everyone went home with
a lot to ponder.
Each evenings entertainment sparkled, from Ben
Grosscups stellar guitar picking inside the Red
Barn Thursday night and the Rhubarb Pie String
Bands Contra Dance inside the Robert Crown Cen-
ter Friday night, to the storytelling magic of Steve
Leicach and the infectious zydeco beat of Dirty
Rice Saturday night. Thanks to The Peoples Pint
Brewpub of Greenfeld, those who imbibed enjoyed
the light and refreshing favor of the NOFA Summer
Conference Ale, brewed specially by Alden Booth
as a NOFA/Mass fund-raiser.
The Saturday Old-Fashioned Country Fair drew
large crowds, who converged around the farmers
market as well as the pie eating contest stage where
three heats of pie lovers competed with chop-
sticks, partners and the most deliciously enjoyed
raspberry-strawberry experience. Dale Perkins
Horse Show was a huge hit as always, and the chil-
drens parade was much-loved by all in attendance.
Thought-provoking flms, singing and drumming
by the campfre, relaxing on the barn deck and
swimming were among the additional recreational
activities enjoyed by all during this years not-soon-
forgotten event.
The NOFA Summer Conference Committee has
already begun planning next years big event, and
wed love you to get involved! The Summer Con-
ference Committee is also always looking for new
members and is presently also looking for a publica-
tions coordinator. This person, with desktop publish-
ing experience, designs the program book, registra-
tion forms, posters and other publications, leading
up to the conference. The helping hands position is
also available. This person coordinates volunteer
activities at the conference. If you are interested in
learning more about these positions or in joining the
Summer Conference committee, please contact Julie
Rawson at 978-355-2853 or email Julie@nofamass.
org. The frst meeting of the year will be October
15, 2006. There are six meetings annually. Members
receive free conference registration, two free meals,
a T-shirt, and housing during the conference for the
year they serve. Each staff job includes a fnancial
stipend as well.
Share Your Ideas!

Do you have a topic youd like to see explored at a
workshop during the NOFA Summer Conference or
the Pre-Conference, or one youd like to present, or
the name of a speaker/presenter you fnd inspiring
and think others would also enjoy? We are always
on the lookout for new and exciting people to bring
into the circle of the Summer Conference. Please
send the persons name, address, telephone number,
email address and the workshop topic by December
31, 2006 to Adrienne Shelton, Red Gate Farm, PO
Box 300, Buckland, MA 01338.
Likewise, if you have topics youd like to see debat-
ed at the Summer Conference during the Saturday
evening slot slated for discussion and the always
eye-opening exchange of ideas, please contact Jack
Kittredge at the above address or call him at 978-
355-2853.
Summer Conference a Success
(continued from page 1)
Kids learn about carding wool at 2006 NOFA Summer Childrens Conference
The auditorium was full for the debate on the National Animal Identifcation System.
photo byJonathan von Ransom
Stephanie Kelleher trying to eat pie delicately as per rules
Logo/Theme Contest

Each year the NOFA Summer Conference Commit-
tee solicits logo designs and theme ideas from the
general public for next years Summer Conference.
Send your logo/theme ideas (designed in color and/
or black and white please) by October 14, 2006 to:
Julie Rawson, 411 Sheldon Road, Barre, MA 01005
or send email to Julie@nofamass.org. Questions?
Call 978-355-2853. Summer Conference Committee
members will select the winner of the logo/theme
contest on October 15, 2006. The winner will re-
ceive $150.
Special thanks go to the NOFA Summer
Conferences Work Exchange crew, whose hard
work and assistance in so many aspects of the
four-day event were greatly appreciated by all
involved. This frst-time offering in creative
fnancing was a wonderful success, thanks to
everyones dedication to helping those in need!
NOFA Videos
0601 Climate Change, Ag & Energy Vern Grubinger
0602 My Weedless Garden Lee Reich
0603 Keynote Talk Sr. Miriam MacGillis
0604 Farm Pond Aquaculture Craig Hollingsworth
0605 Drip Irrigation for Gardens Lee Reich
0605 Growing Fall Brassicas Nancy Hanson
0607 National Animal Identifcation Debate
0608 Cover Cropping David Fisher
0609 Organic Veggie Farm Systems Ryan Voiland
0610 Vegetable & Flower Diseases Bess Dicklow
$15 each
Please send me the circled videos. I enclose $15 for
each in the form of a check to NOFA Video Project
New from the 2006 NOFA Summer Conference:
for a full list of the 146 videos available, visit
www.nofa.org/conference/video/index.php
The kids in the rabbit workshop couldnt wait to get their turn
handling and petting the furry creatures.
The sack race at the Country Fair is always a popular one, but especially so with this group
of kids from the Gardening the Community Program in Springfled.
Much fn was had Fricay night when the
band started up after the keynote speech.
photo by Jack Kittredfge
Maya Zelkin of West Marlboro, VT and
Maya Zelkin Pottery
lacking a corpse. Blinded by dazzling sales fgures,
they failed to see that the robustly healthy grassroots
organic movement is thriving with values intact at
the local level everywhere, right under their noses.
The NOAP meeting series was convened by a
committee led by Michael Sligh of the Rural
Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) from
North Carolina; Elizabeth Henderson of NOFA-NY
and Liana Hoodes from the National Campaign
for Sustainable Agriculture Organic Committee
with some fnancial backing from Farm Aid. The
widely diverse participants included board members
from all seven NOFA state chapters and MOFGA
in Maine, dairy representatives, Co-op grocers
offcials, nutritionists; economists, organic farmers
and gardeners, social justice and food sovereignty
advocates, political activists, consumers and even
a sociologist looking to document the phenomenal
persistence of the organic movement.
The Thursday afternoon agenda covered: What is
Working Well in Organic?, What Are the Current
Problems?, an overview of the Farm Bill and other
federal proposals, and strengthening farmer and
consumer voices. The Friday morning session
covered how to address the changing organic
marketplace, developing a National Organic
Action Plan and the next steps and time-line for
discussions as well as a summary of the meeting
with participant feedback. As a counter to corporate
domination in one session, for example, participants
evolved a defnition of the success and growth of
organic that should be defned not only by national
sales fgures and the number of acres, which are in
the province of the bigger industry, but also by the
increase in the number of farms and farmers.
As the frst of a series, the organizers were also
concerned with developing a meeting structure
and process that allowed for the free exchange of
ideas while maintaining momentum in developing
the integral concepts. After raising their hands,
participants were placed in a queue and called
upon by Elizabeth when it came their turn to
comment on the matters at hand, or to respond
to previous comments. This approach helped to
keep the participants from getting sidetracked by
mini debates, while allowing everyones ideas to
be expressed thoroughly. With his mild southern
drawl Michael smoothly kept the meeting on track
and on time while Liana provided insight into
legislative matters and recorded the meetings
pertinent points on a fip pad and posted the pages
on the meeting room walls. Feedback at the end of
the meeting positively underscored the successful
implementation of the approach.
In a meaningful contribution to the project, the
NOFA Summer Conference organizers hosted the
gathering for free as part of their pre conference
proceedings at Hampshire College. The NOFA
Interstate Council also facilitated the gathering. The
results of this and the future meetings around the
country will be compiled and forged into an Action
Plan with plenty of additional opportunity for
grassroots input throughout the process.
Grassroots Organics Alive at NOAP
(continued from page 1)
The conferees at the National Organic Action Plan meeting felt their time was well spent.
photo by Jonathan von Ranson
Terry Gips of Minneapolis, three-workshop presenter, in the using-chopsticks
event of the pie-eating contest
photo by Jonathan von Ranson
Unidentifed young people checking the program book
The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued
the Western World
by Larry Zuckerman
published by North Point Press, 1998
320 pages with index and bibliography
$14.00 US
$22.95 CAN
reviewed by Jack Kittredge
This enlightening book traces the poor tubers
long, slow struggle to rise in the esteem of
Europeans and cast off its image as at worst
poisonous, at best homely and undeserving.
Yet, as Zuckerman makes abundantly clear, the
potato has changed western daily existence in
fundamental ways.
He starts with the origin of the potato as a crop
in the Andean Bolivian altiplano at least 7000
years ago. The Spanish frst encountered spuds
in the 1530s, but didnt bring them to Europe
until the 1570s. They were so blinded by their
avarice for gold and silver they failed to ask the
obvious question: How can a large and complex
civilization, perched on mountain slopes where
arable land is scarce and lacking draft animals
or metal tools, support itself? The answer, of
course, is this remarkable plant which supplies
all vital human nutrients except calcium and
vitamins A and D (all of which can be supplied
by milk or other dairy products), and with a
yield surpassing corn, wheat, rice or soy so that
one acre of potatoes can supply more than ten
people with their annual energy and protein
needs.
Since a spade was the only tool necessary
for potato culture, and since it yielded a huge
amount of food on small scraps of thin soil,
it became a boon to land-hungry peasants
frst in Spain, then in Italy, Austria, Belgium,
Holland, France, Switzerland, England,
Germany, Poland and Ireland. But it continued
to be seen as the food of the poor, below the
status of the more noble grains.
Book Reviews
The Irish were the frst Europeans to accept the
potato as more than sustenance raised in the
workers cottage garden. (Reportedly Sir Walter
Raleigh brought it in the 1590s to his estate in
county Cork.) There, partly because it suited the
soil and climate, it gradually was accorded the
status of a feld crop. All classes accepted it as
an enjoyable food. But the social transformation
that it made among the poor was more striking.
Previously, the Irish survived the winter on
buried butter and oat porridge. If the oat harvest
was thin, life was diffcult. With another food
- potatoes - in the larder, life was more secure.
This led to stronger, healthier adults. They,
in turn, bore more surviving children. The 4
million Irish of 1780 became 8 million in 1841.
Zuckerman traces the development of the
potato in England, France, and America,
telling entertaining stories and coming up with
interesting facts from each culture. But his
retelling of the Irish potato famine of 1845
to 1849 is the most vivid. There had been
occasional localized potato harvest failures
in previous years, but they were limited to
single years. The next year, the harvest was
robust again. In 1845 the plague was not
limited to the Emerald Isle. It reached England,
Belgium, France, Germany and Poland. In those
countries they had alternate crops to fall back
on. Its effect in Ireland where for 40% of the
population the potato was the sole food crop --
was by far the worst.
By mid-October 1845 the infection had spread
throughout the island, and something like 40%
of the harvest failed. But, following the pattern
of previous years, families slaughtered their
pigs, gaining extra nutrients and decreasing the
competition for spuds (the pigs normally ate a
third of them). But then the blight returned with
a vengeance in 1846, killing an unbelievable
90% of the crop. By late autumn and into 1847
deaths soared from starvation and disease.
Emigration jumped in 1847, and the blight
receded, but the harvest was still low because
so little land had been planted. In 1848 the crop
failed as badly as in 1846, and then cholera
invaded.
Perhaps even more signifcant than the death
of so many was the collapse of the Irish social
structure. The potato had been capital, wages,
subsistence, rent, and social currency. With its
collapse came social upheaval. Tenants with
no food nor any means to pay their rent were
hit hardest. Next, smallholders who raised
cattle or grain for sale had to choose between
eating the crop and getting evicted, or selling it,
paying the rent, and then starving. Servants and
laborers lost their jobs as the employing class
laid them off for lack of income from rents and
sales. Public works were pitifully lacking. Food
prices soared as people sold what little they had
to buy food. Finally, when people had eaten
what food and livestock they had, sold their
belongings, and come to the end of their ropes,
they left their cottages to seek work in the
cities or emigrate. Once off the land, landlords
frequently destroyed their dwellings to prevent
their return. Travelers in 1850 report passing
over miles of Irish country without meeting a
single person, or animal, either.
Today, world potato production runs to almost
300 million tons, coming close to wheat, corn,
and rice in importance. If you would like to
know more about this fascinating tuber, I highly
recommend paging through Zuckermans The
Potato.
Many Hands Organic Farm
Julie Rawson, Jack & Dan Kittredge
411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005 (978) 355-2853
www.mhof.net, farm@mhof.net
Organic & Free-range
Poultry & Pork
CSA shares available
Organic Garlic Seed and Braids
Certifed Organic
by Baystate Organic Certifers
The Omnivores Dilemma, A Natural History
of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, 2006
ISBN 1-59420-082-3
450 pages, with index and bibliography
$26.95 US
$38.00 CAN
reviewed by Dave Petrovick
For the vast bulk of NOFA devotees, this witty
piece is much like preaching to the choir.
What to have for dinner?, Michael Pollan
asks himself. There is no question for the
congregation of natural, organic and locally
based eaters, but alas even I found this treatise
on the journey of four meals to be thoroughly
documented and critically investigated. Ive
personally been in industrial production
agriculture and in certifed organic agriculture
both and found Pollans accounts to be accurate
and surprisingly unbiased. Pollan was certainly
corrupted early on in his investigation, but he
kept a critical eye peeled for his reader.
Pollan dissects the origin, paths, costs and
benefts of four meals; frst a fast food break of
chicken McNuggets and Big Macs bought at the
drive-through and consumed in 10 minutes at
60 m.p.h. Pollan discovers the truly gargantuan
industrial complex of unsustainable and
supremely wasteful systems that supplies the
vast majority of food to industrial eaters via
astounding quantities of corn (fed to confned
cattle and chickens) and oceans of petroleum.
Pollan, disillusioned, trots off to his local
Whole Foods market for organic ingredients
for a home prepared meal, which he rightly
ascertains to be much more like conventional/
industrial food than he originally anticipated
(though he concedes it is a step in the right
direction).
Next, Pollan spends a week at Joel Salatins
Polyface Farm to fnd out why Salatin wont
ship him a pastured broiler via FEDEX to
Berkeley, California. The close connections of
all of Salatins pastured animals to the wider
natural world show how the sum is greater
than the parts involved, not lop-sided the other
way in industrial agriculture. Pasture is the
centerpiece of Salatins operation. Beef cattle
graze natures bounty in the form of grass and
his broilers and layers follow up the cattle to
forage for grubs and tender fresh blades of grass
and clover. Pollan discovers the beauty of this
system in the food that is produced. Eggs with
bright orange yolks that jump at you from
the pan, chicken that both tastes like chicken
and yet nothing like hes ever had before. Pigs
turn the winter cattle paddocks into black gold
compost for the return of nutrients into the
pastures. All the pieces of this puzzle burgeon
with vitality and demonstrate an elegant
symbiosis. Pollan then participates in the
processing of Polyfaces broilers. While Pollan
found this to be unpleasant at times, he quickly
discovered the value of this link of the natural
food chain.
In Pollans ceaseless pursuit for a deeper
connection to his food, he summons up the
time, skills and chutzpa to hunt and gather for
an entirely natural meal of feral pig, wild
mushrooms, home-grown garden vegetables
and locally foraged fruit. This large feat, he
discerns by meals end, was a necessarily
cooperative effort, not easily brought to fruition
entirely by his own knowledge, effort and skills.
This is a ftting conclusion that boldly illustrates
the connections with each other and our food;
a suitable reconciliation of the omnivores
dilemma.

Pollan also spends a good deal of time and
thought on the ethics of eating animals.
Highlighting the works of prominent thinkers,
he discovers some interesting inconsistencies
in both the realms of vegetarianism and being
omnivorous. Personal values are dissected
and the issues of equality, suffering and
humane treatment are discussed with great
clarity. Whatever your take is on the issue,
Pollan seems to make a strong case that being
omnivorous can lead to a more sustainable
cycle of nutrients and conservative use of
energy. The pleasures of eating are deepened
by knowing.and asking the question
what really is for dinner couldnt be more apt
in these modern industrial times. A truly must
read for all, and pass it along to your industrial
eating neighbors. Salatin for president, as Allan
Nation would have it, then Id have to say
Pollan for VP!!
The Campaign for Caretaker Farm,
Standing on Common Ground
26 page Pamphlet, 27 pictures
reviewed by Dan Kittredge
The pamphlet Campaign for Caretaker
Farm is an educational piece on strategies
for transferring agricultural lands as well as a
request for assistance in the individual case of
Caretaker Farm.
Sam and Elizabeth Smith are denizens
of the frst NOFA certifed organic farm
in Massachusetts, Caretaker Farm. In the
northwest corner of the state they have a 225
member CSA, are the center of a bustling
sustainable community, and have trained over
120 apprentices over the past 36 years. They
are reaching an age at which they do not want
to continue to actively run the farm, want to
keep the land farmed, but also need money for
their retirement. As they have invested most of
their lives, energies and capital in the farm, this
brings a not untypical dilemma.
This pamphlet outlines the creative manner in
which they have begun solving the problem,
as well as asking for assistance in fnishing it.
The strategy that they lay out is as follows.
The development rights to the land have been
sold to the state for roughly $250,000. The
Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, a local
land trust purchased the land of the farm for
$50,000. The new farmers Don Zasada and
Bridget Spann paid roughly $175,000 for the
farm buildings, implements and a 99-year lease
for the use of the land. Equity Trust a non-
proft based in Turners Falls MA, has signed
a promissory note for roughly $240,000 to the
Smiths. This brings the total received by the
Smiths to $720,000, much less than the $1.1
million that the farm is appraised at. That is
their donation.
The $240,000 promissory note signed by
Equity trust, the organization that facilitated the
process is the unfnished piece of the puzzle.
The Pamphlet Campaign for Caretaker Farm,
while being a very attractive and well put
together introduction to the farm, its history and
those involved in it, is at the end a request for
monetary assistance in the process of shifting
prime farming and development land to a
permanent agricultural status.
The pictures are beautiful and show the
community that many of us know evolves at
an organic farm. The format of the pamphlet is
elegant and simple. If you have the available
funds consider making a small tax-deductible
donation to the future of one of the premier
community centered organic farms in the
region. Its address is:
Campaign for Caretaker Farm
C/o Equity Trust
Box 746, Turners Falls, Ma 01376
NOFA Videos
Raising and Slaughtering
Homestead Hogs
with John Stein
0600, 28 minutes - Watch an on-farm butcher in Gill,
Massachusetts kill and clean a pig while discussing
why and how he is performing each step. (Contains
graphic images of livestock slaughter and butchering.)
$15 each
Please send me this video. I enclose $15 in the form of a
check to NOFA Video Project
New addition to our video library:
for a full list of the 146 videos available, visit
www.nofa.org/conference/video/index.php
Its a Long Road to a Tomato: Tales of an
Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for
the (Not So) Simple Life
by Keith Stewart
with Illustrations by Flavia Bacarella;
published by Marlowe & Company, New York,
NY; 2006.
276 pages, $16.95
reviewed by Ron Maribett
When we speak about the farming life, those
of us who are immersed in it, we often have to
make an effort to separate those romanticized
notions about the good life from the steady
rigors of the job itself. Keith Stewart has
successfully concluded such an effort in this
work. With ample wit and wisdom, from the
tale of his dog Kuri wearing a dead rooster
around his neck for fve days to describing in
detail the where-with-all to grow 50,000 garlic
plants-from the history of the plant itself to the
Irrigated potatoes in bloom
last bulb sold in December in A Garlic Affair;
from a discussion of knives and butchery to
the Marriage of Body and Mind, (wherein
he extols the many virtues of farm life a la
Whitman and Frost), Keith Stewart walks with
us on a real-life journey through the heart and
soul of organic farming today.
Here is a book from which a beginning farmer
can draw not only inspiration, but volumes
of practical knowledge and methods as well.
Yet at the same time it is a book that us old
hands can fnd virtue, honesty and validation
through, for our years of walking a narrow,
often unpopular path to synergy between people
and the nature of life itself. And it is a book
so carefully written and artistically illustrated
that, I believe, anyone who picks it up will be
drawn into its beauty and truth. There are farm
maps and pick lists, harvest and sales schedules,
budgets, insights on how to select, train, and
maintain workers each summer, and a soul
searching essay on the eve of the U.S. invasion
of Iraq.
In this series of essays written over 8 years
Stewart has taken on the USDA, milk pricing,
the decline of the family farm, the joys
and rigors of trucking to the Union Square
Greenmarket in Manhatttan, and a trove
of other topics important to farmers and
consumers alike. The diversity of thought and
opinion coupled with facts and fgures makes
for an outstanding read, in whatever order you
choose. Where else could you fnd a discussion
of chickens in which you go from the role of the
rooster in maintaining the fock to a suggestion
that Martha Stewarts Araucana Colors line of
towels was named after them? (Well, Martha,
do tellinquiring mindsyou know, want to
know).
What I like most about the book is that, from its
substance, style and tone, I get to know how it
feels for a particular person to make a choice of
a life of purpose, without being talked down to.
There is no holier than thou here, just a bunch
of well told tales about a not so simple life,
some hard truths, and the beauty that radiates
among them in our troubled world. When he
says of the barn swallows, Every year, toward
the end of April, the barn swallows return. It
gladdens my heart to see them, my heart
gladdens right along with his.
Freshly dug potatoes
Wild potato diversity is obvious in this collection from the Andes
Connecticut
CT NOFA Offce: P O Box 164, Stevenson, CT
06491, phone (203) 888-5146, FAX (203) 888-
9280, Email: ctnofa@ctnofa.org, website: www.
ctnofa.org
President: James Roby , P.O Box 191, 1667
Orchard Road, Berlin, CT 06037, 860-828-
5548, 860-881-8031 (C), jroby7088@sbcglobal.
net
Vice President: Dr, Kimberly A. Stoner, 498
Oak Ave. #27, Cheshire, CT 06410-3021, (203)
271-1732 (home), 203-974-8480 (w), Email:
kastoner@juno.com (h), kimberly.stoner@
po.state.ct.us (w)
Treasurer: Ron Capozzi, 69R Meetinghouse
Hill Rd., Durham, CT 06422-2808, (860) 349-
1417, ronsraspberries@hotmail.com
Secretary: Chris Killheffer, 97 Linden Street,
New Haven, CT 06511-2424, 203-787-0072,
Christopher.killheffer@yale.edu
Farmers Pledge and Guide Coordinator: Lynn
Caley, 593 Old Post Rd, Tolland, CT 06084,
860-872-1755, momocaley@yahoo.com
Newsletter Editor: Erica Myers-Russo, 9
Stetson Road, Griswold, CT 06351-8931.
Erica@emrusso.com, 860-237-0085
Conference Coordinator and OLC Guide
Editor: Jennifer Brown , 267A Spruce Dr.,
Great Barrington, MA 01230, 203-725-7502,
jennifer@ctnofa.org
Executive Coordinator: Bill Duesing, Box 164,
Stevenson, CT 06491, 203-888-5146, 203 888-
9280 (fax), bduesing@cs.com
Offce Manager: Janet Cunningham, 53 Pines
Bridge Road
Oxford, CT 06478-1414, 203-605-1750 (c),
janet@ctnofa.org
Massachusetts
President: Frank Albani Jr., 17 Vinal Avenue,
Plymouth, MA 02360, (508) 224-3088, email:
plymouthrockmusic@msn.com
Vice President: Sharon Gensler, 87b Bullard
Pasture Rd. Wendell, MA 01379, (978) 544-
6347, email: wildbrowse@yahoo.com
Secretary: Leslie Chaison, 204 Bardwells Ferry
Rd., Conway, MA 01379, (413) 369-4020,
email: lesliechaison@hotmail.com
Treasurer and Executive Director: Julie
Rawson, 411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005
(978) 355-2853, Fax: (978) 355-4046, Email:
Julie@nofamass.org
Administrative Coordinator: Kathleen Geary,
411 Sheldon Rd, Barre, MA 01005 (Mondays
& Thursdays, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm), email: info@
nofamass.org
Webmaster: David Pontius: 68 Elm Street,
Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 (413) 625-0118;
Email: webmaster@nofamass.org
Baystate Organic Certifers Administrator: Don
Franczyk, 683 River St., Winchendon, MA
01475, (978) 297- 4171, Email: dfranczyk@
starpower.net
Extension Educator: Ed Stockman, 131 Summit
St. Plainfeld, MA 01070, (413) 634- 5024,
stockman@bcn.net
Newsletter Editor: Jonathan von Ranson, 6
Lockes Village Rd., Wendell, MA 01379, (978)
544-3758, Email: Commonfarm@crocker.com
Website: www.nofamass.org Email: nofa@
nofamass.org
NOFA Contact People
New Hampshire
Vice President: Dennis Eaton, Acworth Village
Gardens, 22 Charlestown Road, Acworth, NH
03601, (603) 835-7986, dwe7@sover.net
Vice President: Joan OConnor, PO Box
387, Henniker, NH 03242, (603) 428-3530,
joconnornh@yahoo.com
Treasurer: Paul Mercier, Jr., 39 Cambridge
Drive, Canterbury, NH 03224, (603) 783-0036,
pjm@mercier-group.com
Secretary, Barbara Sullivan, 72 Gilford
Ave., Laconia, NH 03246, (603) 524-1285,
borksullivan@earthlink.net
Program & Membership Coordinator: Elizabeth
Obelenus, NOFA/NH Offce, 4 Park St., Suite
208, Concord, NH 03301, (603) 224-5022,
nofanh@innevi.com
Newsletter: Maria Erb, 91 Old Wilton Rd.,
Mont Vernon, NH 03057, (603) 672-2936,
maria@erbfarm.com
Organic Certifcation: Vickie Smith, NHDA
Bureau of Markets, Caller Box 2042, Concord,
NH 03301 (603) 271-3685, vsmith@agr.state.
nh.us
Website: www.nofanh.org,
New Jersey
President: Donna Drewes, 26 Samuel Dr.,
Flemington, NJ 08822, 908-782-2443,
drewes@tcnj.edu
Vice President: Stephanie Harris, 163
Hopewell-Wertsville Rd., Hopewell, NJ 08525,
(609) 466-0194, r.harris58@verizon.net
Treasurer: William D. Bridgers, c/o Zon
Partners, 5 Vaughn Dr., Suite 104, Princeton,
NJ 08540, (609) 452-1653, billbridgers@
zoncapital.com
Secretary: Emily Brown Rosen, 25
Independence Way, Titusville, NJ 08560, 609-
737-8630
Newsletter Editor: Mikey Azzara, PO Box 886,
Pennington, NJ 08534-0886, (609) 737-6848,
fax: (609) 737-2366, Email: mazzara@nofanj.
org
Executive Director: Karen Anderson, 60 S.
Main St., PO Box 886, Pennington, NJ 08534-
0886, (609) 737-6848, fax: (609) 737-2366,
Email: nofainfo@nofanj.org
Certifcation Administrator: Erich V. Bremer,
c/o NJ Dept. of Agriculture, PO Box 330,
Trenton, NJ 08625, (609) 984-2225 erich.
bremer@ag.state.nj.us
website: www.nofanj.org
New York
President: Scott Chaskey, Quail Hill Farm, PO
Box 1268, Amagansett, NY 11930-1268, H
(631) 725-9228 W (631) 267-8942, schaskey@
peconiclandtrust.org
Vice President: Richard deGraff, Grindstone
Farm, 780 County Rte 28, Pulaski, NY 13142,
(315) 298-4139, gsforganic@aol.com
Secretary: Annette Hogan, 526 State Rte 91,
Tully, NY 13159-3288, 315-696-0231, annette.
hogan@worldnet.att.net
Treasurer: Alton Earnhart, 1408 Clove Valley
Rd., Hopewell Junction, NY12533, (845) 724-
4592, altone@attglobal.net
Executive Director: Sarah Johnston, 591
Lansing Rd., Fultonville, NY 12072-2628,
(518) 922-7937, fax: (518) 922-7646,
sarahjohnston@nofany.org
Offce Manager: Mayra Richter, PO Box 880,
Cobleskill, NY 12043-0880, (607) 652-NOFA,
fax: (607) 652-2290, offce@nofany.org
NOFA-NY Certifed Organic, LLC, 840 Front
Street, Binghamton, NY 13905, (607) 724-
9851, fax: (607) 724-9853, certifedorganic@
nofany.org
Organic Seed Partnership (OSP) Project
Coordinator: Elizabeth Dyck, Crimson Farm,
1124 County Rd 38, Bainbridge, NY 13733-
3360, (607) 895-6913, organicseed@nofany.org
Organic Dairy Transitions Project Co-Project
Manager: Kate Mendenhall, 14 Menlo Pl,
Rochester, NY 14620-2718, (585) 271-1979,
kate.organicdairy@nofany.org
Organic Dairy Transitions Project Co-Project
Manager: Bethany Russell, PO Box 874,
Mexico, NY 13114-0874, (315) 806-1180,
bethany.organicdairy@nofany.org
Organic Dairy Transitions Project Dairy
Technician: Robert Perry, Maple Slope Farm,
5557 NYS 41, Homer, NY 13077, (607) 749-
3884, robert.organicdairy@nofany.org
Newsletter Editor: Aissa ONeil, Betty Acres
Organic Farm, 21529 State Highway 28, Delhi,
NY 13753, (607) 746-9581, newsletter@
nofany.org
website: www.nofany.org
Rhode Island
President: Fritz Vohr, In the Woods Farm, 51
Edwards Lane, Charlestown, RI 02813 (401)
364-0050, fritzvohr1@verizon.net
Secretary: Jeanne Chapman, 25 Yates Ave.,
Coventry, RI 02816 (401) 828-3229, alfalfac@
mindspring.com
Bookkeeper/Membership Coordinator:
Peggy Conti, Brookside Apartments, Apt.
#8, Charlestown, RI 02813, (401) 364-3426,
ConPg8@aol.com
NOFA/RI : 51 Edwards Lane, Charlestown, RI
02813, (401) 364-0050, Fax (401) 364-7557,
nofari@ids.net,
website: www.nofari.org
Vermont
NOFA-VT Offce, P. O. Box 697, Bridge St.,
Richmond, VT 05477 (802) 434-4122, Fax:
(802) 434-4154, website: www.nofavt.org,
info@nofavt.org
Executive Director: Enid Wonnacott, elila@
sover.net
NOFA Financial Manager: Kirsten Novak
Bower, kbower@gmavt.net
Winter Conference & Summer Workshops
Coordinator: Olga Boshart, olga@madriver.com
VOF Administrator & Apprentice Program
Coordinator: Nicole Dehne, nicdehne@hotmail.
com
Bulk Order Coordinator & VOF Certifcation
Assistant: Cheryl Bruce, Cheryl2643@aol.com
Dairy and Livestock Advisor: Willie Gibson,
wgibson@thelifeline.net
Offce Manager: Kim Cleary, info@nofavt.org
Ag Education & VT FEED Coordinator: Abbie
Nelson, abbienelson@adelphia.net
: :| || || | 1 1 h h? ?? ?H H
I Ia a d dc cr ra a t te ed d I Ie er rJ Ja aI I u uo oa a u u
b b a at tu ur ra aI I J Jo od dy y c ca ar re e
| | www.uIeeyoouoau.co
30--

September 11- September 24: Permaculture
Design Course, Moose Pond Arts + Ecology
of Otisfeld, ME for more info: www.
moosepondarts.com./permaculture.html or info@
moosepondarts.com
Friday, September 15: Tastings Fundraising
Dinner for MOFGA, Camden, ME Yacht Club
for more info: www.mainefare.com or contact
Eric Rector at erector@tilth.com or 207-525-
3104
Saturday, September 16 and Sunday,
September 17: 8th Annual North Quabbin
Garlic and Arts Festival, Forsters Farm, Orange,
MA, for more info: (978) 544-9023, deb@
seedsofsolidarity.org, or www.garlicandarts.org
Monday September 18: On Farm Poultry
Processing workshop, Singing Cedars Farmstead,
Orwell, VT, for more information contact:
Kimberleigh Cleary, NOFAVT, 802-434-4122,
www.nofavt.org
Friday, September 22 Sunday, September 24:
Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, ME for
more info: http://www.mofga.org.
Mon. September 25: Training for Tractors &
their Various Implements,
Jubilee Farm, Huntington Center, VT, for more
information contact: Kimberleigh Cleary, NOFA
VT, 802-434-4122, www.nofavt.org

Tues. September 26: Tractor Maintenance &
Repair Jobs workshop,
Jubilee Farm, Huntington Center, VT, for more
information contact: Kimberleigh Cleary, NOFA
VT, 802-434-4122, www.nofavt.org

Fri. September 29: Root Cellaring workshop,
Enosburg Falls, VT, for more information
contact: Kimberleigh Cleary, NOFAVT, 802-
434-4122, www.nofavt.org
Calendar
Sat. September 30: Natural Dye Workshop,
Peacham, VT, for more information contact:
Kimberleigh Cleary, NOFAVT, 802-434-4122,
www.nofavt.org
Saturday, September 30: Preserving the Harvest
workshop at Many Hands Organic Farm, Barre, MA,
for more info: www.mhof.net, farm@mhof.net or
978-355-2853
Saturday, September 30th - Sunday, October
1st: Harvest Days at the Canterbury Shaker Village,
Canterbury, NH, for more information about
Harvest Days, visit www.shakers.org, or email
info@shakers.org
Saturday, October 28: Workshop on Teaching for
Change, Farming for Proft with Deb Habib and
Ricky Baruc at Seeds of Solidarity Farm, Orange,
MA, for more info: seedpotato@yahoo.com or 781-
894-4358
Sunday, October 29: Garlic workshop at Many
Hands Organic Farm, Barre, MA, for more info:
www.mhof.net, farm@mhof.net or 978-355-2853
Thursday, December 7 Saturday, December 9:
2006 Acres U.S.A. Conference: Reinventing Your
Eco-Farm for more info visit www.acresusa.com or
call 512-892-4400.
January 9, 10, 11, 16 & 17, 2007: 6th annual NOFA
Course in Organic Land Care, Leominster, MA, for
more info: Kathy Litchfeld at (978) 724-0108 or
kathylitch29@yahoo.com or www.organiclandcare.
net
Saturday, January 20, 2007: NOFA/Mass
winter conference, Worcester for more info:
jassyhighmeadow@yahoo.com or 978-928-5646
January 31, Feb. 1, 2, 5 & 6, 2007: 6th annual
NOFA Course in Organic Land Care, New Haven,
CT, for more info: Bill Duesing (203) 888-5146 or
bduesing@cs.com or www.organiclandcare.net
You may join NOFA by joining one of the seven
state chapters. Contact the person listed below
for your state. Dues, which help pay for the
important work of the organization, vary from
chapter to chapter. Unless noted, membership
includes a subscription to The Natural Farmer.
Give a NOFA Membership! Send dues for a
friend or relative to his or her state chapter and
give a membership in one of the most active
grassroots organizations in the state.
Connecticut: Individual $35, Family $50,
Business/Institution $100, Supporting $150,
Student/Senior $25
Contact: CT NOFA, Box 164, Stevenson, CT
06491, (203)- 888-5146, or email: ctnofa@
ctnofa.org or join on the web at www.ctnofa.org
Massachusetts: Individual $30, Family $40.
Supporting $100, Low-Income $20
Contact: Membership, 411 Sheldon Road,
Barre, MA 01005, (978) 355-2853, or email:
info@nofamass.org
New Hampshire: Individual: $30, Student:
$23, Family: $40, Sponsor: $100, Basic $20*
Contact: Elizabeth Obelenus, 4 Park St., Suite
208, Concord, NH 03301, (603) 224-5022,
nofanh@innevi.com
New Jersey: Individual $35, Family/
Organizational $50, Business/Organization
$100, Low Income: $15*
Contact: P O Box 886, Pennington, NJ 08534-
0886,
(609) 737-6848 or join at www.nofanj.org
New York*: Student/Senior/Limited Income
$15, Individual $30, Family/Farm/Nonproft
Organization $40, Business/Patron $100. Add
$10 to above membership rates to include
subscription to The Natural Farmer.
Contact: Mayra Richter, NOFA-NY, P O Box
880, Cobleskill, NY 12043, Voice (607) 652-
6632, Fax: (607) 652-2290, email: offce@
nofany.org www.nofany.org
Rhode Island: Student/Senior: $20, Individual:
$25, Family $35, Business $50
Contact: Membership, NOFA RI, 51 Edwards
Lane, Charlestown, RI 02813 (401) 7557,
fritzvohr1@verizon.net
Vermont: Individual $30, Farm/Family $40,
Business $50, Sponsor $100, Sustainer $250,
Basic $15-25*
Contact: NOFA-VT, PO Box 697, Richmond,
VT 05477, (802) 434-4122, info@nofavt.org
*does not include a subscription to The Natural
Farmer
NOFA
Membership
NOFA
Interstate
Council
* indicates voting representative
* Bill Duesing, Staff, Box 135, Stevenson, CT,
06491, (203) 888-5146, fax, (203) 888- 9280,
bduesing@cs.com
Kimberly A. Stoner, 498 Oak Ave. #27,
Cheshire, CT 06410-3021, (203) 271-1732
(home), Email: kastoner@juno.com
* Mary Blake, Secretary, P O Box 52 Charlton
Depot, MA 01509 (508)-248-5496 email:
blakem_2001@msn.com
* Ron Maribett, 269 Elm St., Kingston, MA
02364, (781) 585-9670, ron_maribett@hotmail.
com
* Barbara Sullivan, 72 Gilford Ave., Laconia,
NH 03246, (603) 524-1285, borksullivan@
earthlink.net
Elizabeth Obelenus, 22 Keyser Road, Meredith.
NH 03253, (603) 279-6146, nofanh@innevi.
com
* Karen Anderson, PO Box 886, Pennington,
NJ 08534, (609) 737-6848, kanderson@nofanj.
org
* Steve Gilman, Ruckytucks Farm, 130
Ruckytucks Road, Stillwater, NY 12170 (518)
583-4613, sgilman@netheaven.com
* Vince Cirasole, Sunshine Farm, 745 Great
Neck Rd, Copiague, NY 11726, (631) 789-
8231, vince@sunshinefarm.biz
Sarah Johnston, 591 Lansing Rd. #A,
Fultonville, NY 12072-2630, (518) 922-7937,
fax: (518) 922-7646, sarahjohnston@nofany.org
Elizabeth Henderson, 2218 Welcher Rd.,
Newark, NY 14513 (315) 331-9029 ehendrsn@
redsuspenders.com
* Fritz Vohr, In the Woods Farm, 51 Edwards
Lane, Charlestown,RI 02813 (401) 364-0050,
fritzvohr1@verizon.net
* Abbie Barber, 1411 Shannock Rd.,
Charlestown, RI 02813-3726 (401) 364-7140
abbie_s_normal@hotmail.com
* Enid Wonnacott, 478 Salvas Rd., Huntington,
VT 05462 (802) 434-4435 elila@sover.net
Kirsten Novak Bower, 65 Wortheim Ln.,
Richmond, VT 05477 (802) 434-5420,
kbower@juno.com
Kay Magilavy, Virtual Rep, 212 18th St., Union
City, NJ 07087, (201) 863-1741
Brian Schroeher, Webmaster, 21 Tamarack
Court, Newtown, PA 18940, (215) 825-2140,
cell (908) 268-7059, Email: webmaster@nofa.
org
Jack Kittredge and Julie Rawson, The Natural
Farmer, NOFA Summer Conference, 411
Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005 (978) 355-2853,
Jack@mhof.net, Julie@mhof.net
Torrey Reade, Treasurer, Credit Card Support,
723 Hammersville-Canton Rd., Salem, NJ
08079, 856-935-3612, neptune@waterw.com
Interstate
Certifcation
Contacts
Nicole Dehne, nicdehne@hotmail.com
Carol King & Lisa Engelbert, 840 Front Street,
Binghamton, NY 13905, (607) 724-9851, fax:
(607)724-9853, certifedorganic@nofany.org
Erich V. Bremer, c/o NJ Dept. of Agriculture,
PO Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625, (609) 984-
2225 erich.bremer@ag.state.nj.us
$
3
.
0
0
F
a
l
l
,

2
0
0
6
N
O
F
A

E
d
u
c
a
t
i
o
n

F
u
n
d
4
1
1

S
h
e
l
d
o
n

R
d
.
B
a
r
r
e
,

M
A

0
1
0
0
5
N
o
n
-
P
r
o
f
t

O
r
g
a
n
i
z
a
t
i
o
n
U
.

S
.

P
o
s
t
a
g
e

P
a
i
d
B
a
r
r
e
,

M
A

0
1
0
0
5
P
e
r
m
i
t

N
o
.

2
8
p
h
o
t
o

b
y

J
a
c
k

K
i
t
t
r
e
d
g
e
W
o
o
d

P
r
a
i
r
i
e

F
a
r
m
s

J
i
m

G
e
r
r
i
t
s
e
n

g
r
o
w
s

h
i
s

A
r
o
o
s
t
o
o
k

C
o
u
n
t
y
,

M
a
i
n
e
,

p
o
t
a
t
o
e
s

i
n

r
o
w
s

o
n
e

t
h
o
u
s
a
n
d

f
e
e
t

l
o
n
g
.

E
a
c
h

v
a
r
i
e
t
y

i
s

e
a
s
i
l
y

s
e
e
n

b
y

d
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
s

i
n

l
e
a
f

c
o
l
o
r

a
n
d

s
t
a
g
e

o
f

f
o
w
e
r
i
n
g
.

T
h
i
s

i
s
s
u
e

c
o
n
t
a
i
n
s

n
e
w
s
,

f
e
a
t
u
r
e
s
,

a
n
d

a
r
t
i
c
l
e
s

a
b
o
u
t

o
r
g
a
n
i
c

g
r
o
w
i
n
g

i
n

t
h
e

N
o
r
t
h
e
a
s
t
,
p
l
u
s

a

S
p
e
c
i
a
l

S
u
p
p
l
e
m
e
n
t

o
n
:
O
r
g
a
n
i
c

P
o
t
a
t
o
e
s

Fall 2006 Natural Farmer

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fall 2006 Natural Farmer

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fall, 2006 Vol. 2, No.

70 Publication of the Northeast Organic Farming Association 1077-2294

You might also like