Farm-ily,
What an incredible, momentous day it’s been! You’ll never believe what happened…. It RAINED. Finally! All kidding aside, after weeks of drought the paths began the fields resembled lunar landscapes. If we had any less infrastructure for irrigation, our CSA shares this week would look vastly different. As it is, we are lucky, and our veggies remained vibrant. Still, 2.5 inches of precipitation in 2 days is surely cause for celebration among hot and thirsty farmers.
In non-weather-related news, we also celebrated the renewal of our Farm’s organic certification. Our certifying organization is CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers- but they work with farms nationwide). Today, a site inspector spent hours with Farmer Collin touring the Farm and combing through our records from the last year of operations. Certification is valuable and important because it is so comprehensive!
Most folks associate the USDA organic seal on produce with a fairly simply idea of crops grown without the use of chemical pesticides. This is true, of course, but the layers of care, record keeping, and creative problem-solving go much deeper. There is actually a national list, constantly updated, of allowed and prohibited, synthetic and non-synthetic substances (here’s the link for the complete list if you’re curious). To begin with, no parcel of land can be used to grow certified organic crops unless it has been free of prohibited materials and inputs for the previous three years. For our original certification, we presented three years of records and staff affadavits to verify that our acreage was eligible. Now that we’ve gotten our organic seal, we have to continually monitor every item brought onto the farm property for compliance. This means not just the fertilizers or other inputs, but even lumber for things like fence repairs. No treated 2x4s here!
From start to finish, we keep incredibly detailed records. We count the seeds and transplants that go into the ground and record their origin. Everything we harvest is assigned a lot code that contains both the date and field it came from. Traceability is critical part of maintaining organic compliance, for everything from CSA to wholesale. All of this information, as well as our crop plans, is part of our “Organic System Plan”. Our OSP is a contract between Willowsford Farm and CCOF that lays out how we’ll run our operation for the coming year. Every change to the OSP (and variables like weather, or an increase in CSA membership can certainly require changes) necessitates an update to the plan on file with CCOF. We also provide them with examples of our marketing to be sure we’re using the term “organic” and the USDA seal properly, as well as copies of our CSA tags and wholesale box labels. No detail is too small to matter.
Fortunately, Collin is well-versed in the ins and outs of certification, inspection, and renewal. He may be happier on a tractor than he is at a desk, but he’s still a whiz with a spreadsheet. With him at the helm, we’ve sailed through inspection. We believe strongly in the importance of growing organically and standing behind every last seedling and particle of soil at Willowsford Farm. We’re Certified Organic, for this year and many more to come.
Weekly Meal Plan
- Do you prefer to cook with recipes, or experiment as you go? My husband is a mad scientist in the kitchen, and recently he whipped up a Summer Squash Soup that certainly deserves an encore before the squash harvests wane.
- Ingredients: 4 large summer squash (cut into one inch pieces), 1 large onion (diced), 4 cloves garlic (minced), 1 1/2 cups sour cream, 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock, fresh or dried herbs/seasoning to taste (we used a generous helping of Badia Complete Seasoning and fresh cilantro
- Method: Add all ingredients except sour cream to your slow cooker for 8 hours on low. Stir in sour cream, then blend with an immersion blender.
- Store: Refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for later use.
- Serve: Warm gently on the stovetop and garnish with more fresh herbs, shredded cheese, croutons, sliced jalapeños, lemon or lime... The soup itself is fresh and light, and will mix well with a variety of other flavors!
- I am not mayo fanatic, but it has it's place in a true Southern Tomato Pie. Trust me (or trust Saveur magazine)! To make this a weeknight dinner, use a store bought crust.
- Zucchini season is long, but if you try this Charred Corn & Zucchini Salad, you'll wish it lasted forever
- A Roasted Eggplant with Basil for when it's too hot for breading and parmesan
- Savory fruits can be delicious. Case in point: Roast Chicken with Plums
- An Instagram tutorial for making gorgeous Cucumber Nori
**Pastured Meat Shareholders can expect ground chicken, beef sirloin tip roast, pork chops, and assorted sausage**
