In Support of Organic Ag
October 1, 2007 
After a decade of working on farms and then for a land conservation organization in Massachusetts, Bruce and Jenny Wooster decided to give farming on their own a try. After renting a dairy farm in Winchester, NH, in 2006, they purchased it and are now growing vegetables and other crops.
Using organic methods to grow their crops, the Woosters are building up a community supported agriculture program (CSA). The 71-acre property, now called Picadilly Farm, has 45 tillable acres, 23 of which are used for vegetables.
Community Supported Agriculture
The Woosters explain how the CSA program works. Members buy a season’s worth of produce in advance, and come to the farm once a week during harvest season to pick their allotment of produce. A weekly newsletter keeps members up-to-date and includes a recipe or two.
Bruce and Jenny are hoping to develop a positive relationship with the community through CSA.
“What we’re really hoping to do is know the people who are buying our food and have them know us,” Bruce says. “Over the course of time, what we’re developing is a community of people who are connected to this farm and enjoying the benefits of knowing face-to-face who’s growing the food.”
CSA also allows Bruce and Jenny to grow a wide variety of produce, including specialty crops like flowers, fennel, and radicchio. “We don’t necessarily have to tailor our grow out to include crops that have the most value in the marketplace,” Bruce says. “We instead get to enjoy the full spectrum of growing.”
Organic Practices
While Picadilly Farm is not organic-certified, organic methods are being used. One such method is growing many crop families. There are about 40 crops on the farm, which are broken up into five crop families. The crop families are rotated so that three seasons pass before a crop family is grown in the same place again.
“By rotating where you plant the crop families, you’re able to stay ahead of some of the disease and pest pressure that you would face if you were always growing the crops in the same place,” Bruce explains.
Cover crops such as oats and red clover add nitrogen and nutrients to the soil. Bruce says cover crops can also save energy. “In the organic world, the feeling is that by relying on those cover crops for fertility instead of synthetic fertilizers you can save some energy, because a lot of those synthetic fertilizers are basically derived from petroleum.”
Disease, Insect, Weed Control
The Woosters also use multiple techniques for disease, insect, and weed control that keep with their desire to grow organically. Equipment that can be pulled behind or placed under tractors is useful when weeds are newly sprouted or no more than a few inches tall. This equipment includes shovels, baskets, and spinning fingers that stir the top 1/2-inch of the soil. These implements are spaced to avoid the crops, so the spacing must be changed as crops grow and mature.
Cover and smother cropping can also be utilized, but at this point Bruce says there has been no need to resort to that. They also do some hand weeding when necessary.
Crop rotation and succession planning are used for disease control. “For instance, instead of only having one planting of summer squash during the course of the season, we have four different plantings,” says Bruce. “As one of them starts to get a little bit tired and we start to see some signs of disease, and by the time it’s becoming a problem, we’ve moved on to the next succession.”
Crop rotation helps in insect control as well, and the Woosters also use some crop protectants that are certified by the National Organic Program. These products are organic-appropriate because they’re target-specific to a particular insect or short-lived in the soil, so there is no chance for residue issues.
A floating row cover also keeps crops protected from pests. “It’s basically a spun polyester fabric which you can buy in different thicknesses and width,” Bruce says. “We can spread that over plants as they’re growing and it’ll be a barrier that will keep insects out, but it lets the light through and lets water in.”
Becoming/Not Becoming Certified
The Woosters have not determined whether to become certified organic. But they don’t have to make that decision just yet. In order to become certified, the property has to see organic practices for three consecutive years. Since the previous owners did not follow organic practices, the farm will not be eligible for certified status until 2009.
“We plan to grow organically using those methods that would be certifiable in the National Organic Program, but whether or not we actually do the certifying depends more on our marketing and who we’re selling the produce to,” Bruce says. “I think having the organic stamp is more important if you’re buying produce from farmers you don’t know. With people coming to the farm to pick up their produce once a week and in contact with us, and reading weekly newsletters, they don’t necessarily need to see that organic stamp because they’re in our field learning and reading about our practices. We can skip that intermediate step of the organic certification,” he adds.
Plans For The Future
Bruce hopes the farm will grow from the current 75 CSA members to 250. He would also like to have 25 to 30 acres of vegetables and incorporate livestock in the mix.
“In the future we’re looking forward to a business and a farm that’s a little bit more mature. We’re looking forward to having a little more stability, more experience growing crops on this soil, and a more consistent and steady share-holder base for the business,” Bruce says. They would also like to add an assistant grower in the future who can give them a little more stability and allow for Jenny, Bruce, and their young daughter Beckley to step back every now and then.
“We feel really fortunate for the opportunity to give it a go. We really believe in what we’re doing; it’s very hard work but it is worthwhile,” Bruce says. “It’s the kind of work I want to be doing.”
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