NOFA Notes Summer 2016

Summer 2016 Enid’s Thoughts .................2 Welcome New Staff ............3 Farmer Veteran .................4 Hemp OpEd .......................7 Ask Callie ........................ 12 Policy Update .................. 13 Ice Cream Recipe .............. 14 Grain Growing ................. 17 The Quarterly Newsletter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont For the Love of Soil By Jack Lazor, Butterworks Farm never farmed on We celebrate forty years on our farm this any scale before. summer. Four decades of Earth stewardship I remember that has taught us many lessons, some easy my first concepts and obvious—others more difficult and of soil fertility involved. Originally, we bought our farm management because we wanted to be self sufficient were quite homesteaders producing everything we limited and needed to sustain ourselves. We soon found rather simplistic. out that we needed some income to provide Having grown for the other necessities required by the up with a Jack Lazor. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar modern world. This meant off farm jobs father who used and some kitchen stove top milk processing 5-10-10 and manure on his garden, it all of the milk from our two family cows. We huge herds of bison had roamed north seemed like a depleted bank account to me. to south and where wheat crops with the began selling a variety of homemade dairy How was I going to get enough nitrogen, products to our friends and neighbors highest protein levels were produced. It phosphorous and potassium to meet the was also where rainfall and evaporation/ in 1979. All of a sudden, we were real needs of my crops when all that I had were farmers. transpiration were balanced equally. Soil a bunch of cow manure paddies scattered pH’s were in the 6.5 to 7.0 range. Albrecht We began cutting hay and growing wheat throughout our pasture? We wanted to explained that when one travelled eastward and barley in 1977. It was also right about be using organic practices, but were pretty from this area, rainfall began to exceed this time that I became acquainted with clueless on how to make it happen. evaporation and soils became more acid. Fred Franklin, a self proclaimed soils guru Fred Franklin recommended that I begin The reverse happened when one went and soil fertility expert. Fred encouraged subscribing to Acres USA and that I get westward. Evaporation increased as rainfall me to do some soil testing and much to our myself a copy of the Albrecht Papers which declined and soils became much more surprise, our soils were somewhat balanced I did. Acres was full of stories about larger alkaline. Albrecht conducted thousands and stocked up with essential minerals scale farmers who were successfully using of soil tests in this high fertility region all left over from natural practices and no chemicals on their and determined that these soils had cation the dairy farmer farms. I began to learn about the wonders (plus charged elements) balances that were who had used the of soils by reading the essays of William all pretty similar. A typical negatively land until the year Albrecht. Albrecht was an agronomist and charged soil colloid (particle) was usually before we bought soil scientist at the University of Missouri “saturated” with 65 to 70% calcium, 15 to it. Our first crops from the 1920’s to the late 1950’s. He 20% magnesium, 5% potassium and much were adequate and noticed that the most abundant highly smaller amounts of sodium and hydrogen. satisfactory, espe- nutritious crops came primarily from the He also explained that the soil’s acidity or cially for a couple of prairies that stretched from the panhandle pH depended on how much hydrogen was beginners who had of Texas to the Dakotas. This is where the present on the soil colloid. Soil, continued on page 3 NOFA VERMONT PO Box 697, 14 Pleasant St. Richmond, VT 05477 NOFA: 802-434-4122 VOF: 802-434-3821 [email protected] www.nofavt.org Summer Thoughts from Enid BOARD OF DIRECTORS If you were to ask 5 of your friends we are perceived as a farmer-based Mimi Arnstein if they are NOFA members, the org, our issues are much bigger than Sona Desai most common response might be, farmers – we work on water quality, Seth Gardner “I thought I had to be a farmer to climate change, healthy food – those Debra Heleba be a member.” NOFA-VT staff issues speak to everyone, and for Annette Higby consistently poll people, and we hear our campaigns to be successful, we Andrew Knafel a similar refrain. The desire to make need to build an organization where David Marchant sure non-farmers felt included in our everyone feels as if they belong. Steve Paddock organization instigated the change of Lynn Ellen Schimoler our name from the Natural Organic So… this is our work. Can you, our Ross Thurber Farmers Association to the Northeast NOFA members, help us please? Kate Turcotte Organic Farming Association years We have just launched a summer membership drive—it is a pea-themed STAFF ago. Obviously, a name change is not enough. We need to do a much membership drive, of sorts. On the Enid Wonnacott letter winds this pea vine (illustrated Executive Director better job of communicating why non-farmers—“consumers,” “eaters,” by Kathryn Hansis), and we have Kirsten Bower enclosed a special message that artist Finance Director “co-producers,” whatever the best moniker is—are so important to a Bonnie Acker created for us (similar Erin Buckwalter to the one that board member David Direct Marketing Director successful organic food movement in Vermont. Marchant is holding up on page Nicole Dehne 18). Are there friends, relatives or Certification Director Abbie Nelson (NOFA-VT Food community members who you think Stephanie Eiring Systems Education Director) did a would be interested in receiving a Certification Specialist good job of explaining our role at membership invitation? Please send us Sam Fuller the first Celebrate Your Farmer social their names and addresses and we can Farmer Services Director of the season at Last Resort Farm in mail them a copy, or we can send the Rachel Fussell Monkton on June 19. Abbie spoke packet to you, and you can send them Farmer Education Coordinator to the 75 gathered farm fans and in a personal invitation. Along with Amy Gifford her brief NOFA marketing pitch membership information, that will School Food Programs Coordinator said “Do you want foods containing plug them in to receive information Michael Good GMOs labeled but don’t have time to about our on-farm workshop series Community Food Security advocate for that? Do you want the and pizza socials this summer and fall. Coordinator ability to purchase local, organic foods Erin McGuire in your community but don’t have the There is nothing that I like better Certification Program Assistant ability to organize? Do you want to than sharing the company of NOFA Kim Norman Mercer support equal access to organic foods members and friends at a social, Communications Coordinator for limited-income Vermonters but eating good food, touring the host Maddie Monty don’t know how? We can do this for farm, and appreciating a Vermont Office Manager & Policy Advisor you! This is what we do…” summer. Please take advantage of our Abbie Nelson summer and fall offerings, and invite Food Systems Education Director When Mark Schultz from the Land your friends and neighbors to join Winston Rost Stewardship Project in Minnesota you! I look forward to seeing you Certification Specialist made a presentation to our board and there. Gregg Stevens staff this spring, he counseled that Certification Specialist even though farmers are the principal Becca Weiss audience of NOFA-VT’s work and Office Assistant NOFA Vermont is an organization of farmers, gardeners, & consumers working to promote an economically viable and ecologically sound Vermont food system for the benefit of current and future generations. PAGE 2 NOFA NOTES • SUMMER 2016 Soil, continued from page 1 sudden, we had more ful yogurt loved by all of our customers. disposable income Income from yogurt sales bought us more from selling our yogurt fertility and improved our farm. All in all, in stores statewide. it was a win win situation. We invested heavily in minerals for our land We laid the foundations of our soil and the payback was improvement program back in the 80’s. almost immediate. Since then, we have practiced the power of Clovers and other observation along with resulting manage- legumes increased in ment tweaks. This is the beauty of farming our hayfields along a piece of ground over an extended period with the yields. The of time. We try new things based on health and general well what we notice going on out there. Some being of our tiny herd experiments are successful and become standard operating practices for us while This information was all brand new to of cows increased as others are not. Over the years, we have me and it was the beginning of my quest well. All of a sudden animals were being begun to learn about other aspects of soil to balance the minerals in the soils on bred on time. Milk production increased. health and fertility. Physical properties like our farm. I bought my own soil testing This was such a revelation to me. I very soil structure have improved along with a kit and began using soil testing labs that quickly realized that balanced mineral more diverse soil biology. The three main used the base saturation method of soil inputs do not cost—they actually pay. aspects of soil —the chemical, the physical testing.

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