ROXBURY FARM
ROXBURY FARM [email protected]
May 2015 - spring
www.roxburyfarm.com
Letter from a farmer The CSA delivery season will begin soon; the first harvest is just about one month away. But, the funny thing is, CSA isn’t really about vegetables (or fruit or meat). The products farmers produce are the medium, the physical illustration of the relationship between the customer and the farmer. The Roxbury Farm CSA began as a way for customers to support a farm in a way that allowed the farm to be sustainable for future generations. The founding members wanted to develop a new way to relate to the way their food was produced and distributed. By developing a dialogue with the farmer the members would know who grew their food, how the food was grown, how the farm crew was treated and remunerated for their work, how the livestock was cared for, how the soil and land were kept healthy; in short customers would learn the true cost of their food. Customers and farmers together could create a new, more just and sustainable food system that is not driven by profit or greed. A system that benefits everyone involved. For the last 24 years as a CSA farm, we have done our best to keep this dialogue open between the farm and you, our CSA customers. Keeping you informed of our farming practices, successes, struggles, and failures, asking for your feedback, letting you know about our budget so you can judge for yourself if our share price is fair; all of these are important for us to make sure we are meeting our goal of a mutually beneficial relationship. This relationship has brought the farm through some really difficult challenges. Together we secured a piece of land not only for Roxbury Farm but for the generations of farmers who follow us. We were able to purchase more protected land after the initial purchase in 2000 and the farm has grown to 375 acres. We did the opposite of subdivision and brought parcels of land back into one contiguous piece along the Kinderhook Creek. We were able to stay on the farm instead of figuring out where to sell our produce or spending long days at green markets in NYC. Staying on the farm gave us the time to develop systems and to become better growers and land stewards. We have doubled the organic matter in our soil over the last 15 years. The quality of the vegetables and meat we produce has improved each year. At the same time the systems we developed maintain our costs of production at a reasonable level, keeping the share cost affordable. For people in our community who don’t have access to the funds to purchase a share, other CSA members pay extra to create a financial aid fund. Produce left at the end of distribution is donated to local food pantries, community kitchens, and shelters. Each year through our partnership Roxbury Farm CSA donated about $100,000 worth of produce to food pantries. These are examples of what can happen when customers and farmers work together.
Irrigating land before planting sweet potatoes & winter squash.
The piglets exploring the woods on their first day out of winter housing.
2 Our new challenge is to ensure that this farm business continues to be successful for the next generation of farmers. These 375 acres of land need more than just one family to manage it properly. So, what do we need to do to support more families on this land now and into the future? This is the true test of sustainability of Roxbury Farm. As in the past, we need your help to figure out how to meet this challenge. What are your needs, are they same as they were the 5, 10, 20 years ago when you first signed up for your CSA share? How can the farm meet those needs? What other ways can we connect to customers besides the traditional CSA relationship without losing the dialogue and connection we have with all of you? This will be a recurring theme this season; we look forward to hearing what you think and to our continued dialogue. And we look forward to providing all of you with the delicious, high quality produce and meats you expect from us again this year. See you in June! ~Jody
2015 Deliveries begin: Capital District: Tuesday, June 9 Westchester: Wednesday, June 10 NYC Sites: Thursday, June 11 Kinderhook: Friday, June 12 You can add extra shares to your vegetable share at any time - just let us know at 518-758-8558 or [email protected] Fruit Shares; Winter Shares; Beef, Lamb and/or Chicken Shares (Pork sold out.) Shares still available at almost all sites spread the word and tell your friends, neighbors & co-workers! Capital District (Tuesdays): Schenectady, Glenville, Eileen Street, South Main Street, & Delmar (Troy site is full) Westchester (Wednesdays): Katonah, Mt. Kisco, Pleasantville, White Plains & Armonk NYC (Thursdays): Harlem, 86th Street, Columbia University & The Renaissance Kinderhook (Fridays): At the farm
The last few days have kept the entire crew busy in Lindenwald, our front field named after the house of President Martin Van Buren. After the biodegradable ‘plastic’ is laid down, we shred mulch between the rows and transplant vegetable plants into the plastic. Then we put hoops over the bed and cover the plants with row cover to keep them warm. It’s a lot of work, but allows us to have tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini much earlier in the season. The onions also get biodegradable plastic and straw mulch to keep the weeds down, but they don’t need the extra protection of row cover.
May 2015 - spring
www.roxburyfarm.com
Letter from a farmer The CSA delivery season will begin soon; the first harvest is just about one month away. But, the funny thing is, CSA isn’t really about vegetables (or fruit or meat). The products farmers produce are the medium, the physical illustration of the relationship between the customer and the farmer. The Roxbury Farm CSA began as a way for customers to support a farm in a way that allowed the farm to be sustainable for future generations. The founding members wanted to develop a new way to relate to the way their food was produced and distributed. By developing a dialogue with the farmer the members would know who grew their food, how the food was grown, how the farm crew was treated and remunerated for their work, how the livestock was cared for, how the soil and land were kept healthy; in short customers would learn the true cost of their food. Customers and farmers together could create a new, more just and sustainable food system that is not driven by profit or greed. A system that benefits everyone involved. For the last 24 years as a CSA farm, we have done our best to keep this dialogue open between the farm and you, our CSA customers. Keeping you informed of our farming practices, successes, struggles, and failures, asking for your feedback, letting you know about our budget so you can judge for yourself if our share price is fair; all of these are important for us to make sure we are meeting our goal of a mutually beneficial relationship. This relationship has brought the farm through some really difficult challenges. Together we secured a piece of land not only for Roxbury Farm but for the generations of farmers who follow us. We were able to purchase more protected land after the initial purchase in 2000 and the farm has grown to 375 acres. We did the opposite of subdivision and brought parcels of land back into one contiguous piece along the Kinderhook Creek. We were able to stay on the farm instead of figuring out where to sell our produce or spending long days at green markets in NYC. Staying on the farm gave us the time to develop systems and to become better growers and land stewards. We have doubled the organic matter in our soil over the last 15 years. The quality of the vegetables and meat we produce has improved each year. At the same time the systems we developed maintain our costs of production at a reasonable level, keeping the share cost affordable. For people in our community who don’t have access to the funds to purchase a share, other CSA members pay extra to create a financial aid fund. Produce left at the end of distribution is donated to local food pantries, community kitchens, and shelters. Each year through our partnership Roxbury Farm CSA donated about $100,000 worth of produce to food pantries. These are examples of what can happen when customers and farmers work together.
Irrigating land before planting sweet potatoes & winter squash.
The piglets exploring the woods on their first day out of winter housing.
2 Our new challenge is to ensure that this farm business continues to be successful for the next generation of farmers. These 375 acres of land need more than just one family to manage it properly. So, what do we need to do to support more families on this land now and into the future? This is the true test of sustainability of Roxbury Farm. As in the past, we need your help to figure out how to meet this challenge. What are your needs, are they same as they were the 5, 10, 20 years ago when you first signed up for your CSA share? How can the farm meet those needs? What other ways can we connect to customers besides the traditional CSA relationship without losing the dialogue and connection we have with all of you? This will be a recurring theme this season; we look forward to hearing what you think and to our continued dialogue. And we look forward to providing all of you with the delicious, high quality produce and meats you expect from us again this year. See you in June! ~Jody
2015 Deliveries begin: Capital District: Tuesday, June 9 Westchester: Wednesday, June 10 NYC Sites: Thursday, June 11 Kinderhook: Friday, June 12 You can add extra shares to your vegetable share at any time - just let us know at 518-758-8558 or [email protected] Fruit Shares; Winter Shares; Beef, Lamb and/or Chicken Shares (Pork sold out.) Shares still available at almost all sites spread the word and tell your friends, neighbors & co-workers! Capital District (Tuesdays): Schenectady, Glenville, Eileen Street, South Main Street, & Delmar (Troy site is full) Westchester (Wednesdays): Katonah, Mt. Kisco, Pleasantville, White Plains & Armonk NYC (Thursdays): Harlem, 86th Street, Columbia University & The Renaissance Kinderhook (Fridays): At the farm
The last few days have kept the entire crew busy in Lindenwald, our front field named after the house of President Martin Van Buren. After the biodegradable ‘plastic’ is laid down, we shred mulch between the rows and transplant vegetable plants into the plastic. Then we put hoops over the bed and cover the plants with row cover to keep them warm. It’s a lot of work, but allows us to have tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini much earlier in the season. The onions also get biodegradable plastic and straw mulch to keep the weeds down, but they don’t need the extra protection of row cover.
