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CSA Farms in the Cannon River Region, Minnesota ~ |
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Big Woods Farm
Laurie and David Hougen-Eitzman
10752 Nerstrand Blvd
Nerstrand, MN 55053
(507) 334-3335
bigwoodsfarm@ll.net
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I visited Laurie and David on a blustery morning in early May. I had
spoken with Laurie on the phone the week before to get directions to the
farm and so I found myself, just after dawn, sitting hunched over the
steering wheel holding a scrap of paper in my hand, managing shifting,
navigation and drinking my coffee all at once. I had forgotten how early
the day starts for folks who work the land. Laurie and David own 79 acres
near Big Woods State Park and the little community of Nerstrand, Minnesota.
There is a slight roll to the landscape as I drive through it. Most of
the fields are tilled under, awaiting corn and soybeans, a few cattle
graze. Houses sprinkle the farmlands, a few solitary oak trees, the rusted
out body of a combine. I round a large bend and come upon the Big Woods
Farm--a small patch of green amidst these big empty fields. Mari is waiting
for the bus and waves a friendly greeting at me. David opens the front
door of their family's big old farmhouse and welcomes me in.
We sit in the kitchen and I feel instantly comfortable. This house is
lived and loved in. Theo, three years old, climbs into a chair at the
kitchen table and digs into a bowl of oatmeal. He has been reading a book
with his father on carnivores and their prey and begins to tell me all
about the bugs and slugs he has found in his front yard. Laurie brings
coffee to the table and we begin talking. I am surprised at how easily
our conversation flows and the gentle way I am allowed into this small
world of farming and history.
Laurie used to come out to visit her uncle on this acreage when she was
a little girl. She has family buried in the cemetery not far from the
front door. She and David moved to California where he was doing post-doctoral
work and it was there that they first met organic farmers and heard about
CSA farming. Then, fifteen years ago, when Laurie's uncle was retiring,
the Hougen-Eitzman's decided to move back to their native home and establish
a small organic farm.
Both Laurie and David have a background in natural history and sciences
and are intentional about the way they interact with the land. Self-named
naturalists and environmentalists, both are aware of the way their lives
impact the health of the land. When reminiscing on the incipience of their
CSA project, David had many memories to share with me. He spoke of the
slow and easy way they moved into farming. "First." he said,
"we spent a couple of years developing a style, experimenting with
alternative farming methods, getting to know the character of this farmland,
the soil, the seasons." For two years they sold at farmer's markets,
avoiding the pressure of jumping right into the demands of CSA-style farming.
Then, twelve years ago they embarked on their first season with paying
members, they had twelve. Over the years they have grown and adapted.
Membership each year ebbs and flows depending on in their lives and their
desires for the particular season. David also works at Carleton College
teaching biology lab classes and they have their two small children, Mari
nine, and Theo three. Laurie and David's largest membership was 85 shares,
last year they had 55. As they are planning to begin building a new home
on the property this year, they are unsure how many members they will
take on
Community Supported Agriculture is more than organic farming. Increasingly, the terminology surrounding appropriate agriculture is in flux and definitions are blurred. Beginning in 2002, federal legislation gave the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) the authority to certify and monitor agriculturalists that wish to sell, label, or represent their products as "organic." (To see material on the National Organics Standards, the certification process, and the costs to farmers visit the USDA's National Organics Program site). This co-option of the term organic has upset and harmed many small farms. Many farms, like the Big Woods Farm, have decided not to become certified. This does not mean that they do not follow the standards of the NOP program, in fact the majority of these farms go above and beyond what it required by these standards. The decision to forgo certification usually falls into one of two categories, practicality or philosophical reservations. Logistically, certification is expensive, tedious, a hassle. And for farms that have a small and regular community of support, there is no need to certify; relationships between farmers and consumers in small CSA situations like Big Woods are based on trust and knowledge. Organic Certification becomes useful as a marketing tool when farmers and consumers do not know each other. In this regard, the process and expenses of certification are an unnecessary burden. The second motivation for remaining uncertified in the more problematic and steeped in emotion. Most CSA farms grow more than vegetables; they nurture an intentional way of interacting with the natural world that is sustaining and healthful to both the biotic system and to the human community. Organic in this sense means a lot of things, it means holistic, sustainable, healthful and wholesome, it is a word steeped in spiritual, cultural, and ethical significance. For those farmers who do not get certified on philosophical grounds it is the idea of the careless use of words and the co-option of language to be used as an oppressive political toool that dissuades them. The co-option of worlds like ORGANIC weakens the significance of the word and the value of the ideas underlying them
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It is this holistic definition of organic that the Hougen-Eitzman's seek
to embody at Big Woods Farm. Each growing season they have five acres
under cultivation and ten acres in rotation, growing a polyculture of
alfalfa and sweet clover. This three-year cover crop-veggie rotation aids
in maintaining the fertility of the soil by facilitating nitrogen and
phosphorus replenishment, allowing land to rest, and being conscious of
the reciprocal relationship of plant growth and land rejuvenation. David
and Laurie know this land. They have paid attention throughout the years
and have learned that the best way to control weeds without chemicals
is proper planting dates and the intentional placement of various crops.
By timing their planting to fall before problem weeds germinate and mulching
long-lived crops they avoid being overrun by weeds. Some years they have
encountered problems. There have been springs so wet that David and Laurie
have not been able to plant or transplant, they have had to wait patiently
though hail storms and fierce winds. But they have seen the benefits of
farming with the land and continue to lay out garden plans each winter
and plant each spring. In their brochure, the Hougen-Eitzman's describe
their growing practices this way:
"At Big Woods Farm, we grow produce under the premise
that we should feed the soil, which will then feed the plants. A healthy
soil grows healthy food and sustains a myriad of life. We use a variety
of cover crops, organic mulches and compost. We do not use herbicides,
synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, or genetically-modified organisms.”
In addition to growing vegetable for their family and for their CSA, Laurie
and David are growing biodiversity on their farm. They have multiple projects
underway that maintain and restore ecological integrity to the ecosystem.
Laurie remembers being a child and visiting her uncle's farm. She recalls
a great sadness at knowing this land was once prairie and big woods, destroyed
a hundred and fifty years ago by conventional farming. "I am hopeful
though," she smiles, "because there are people in this watershed
restoring bits of this land. You can see some farmers who are doing rotational
grazing and others who graze right to the creek. You can see the interplay
between industrial and sustainable." Laurie and David are some of
those people working to restore and renew. They plant diverse perennial
borders between garden beds and use native shrubs for windbreaks. These
areas not only aid in the prevention of soil erosion but also provide
habitat for birds. Of habitat restoration at Big Woods Farm, David said:
"A healthy farm is home to a wide diversity of plants
and animals. We are restoring portions of our 79 acres to reflect the
original prairie, oak savannah, and forest habitats. In fact, our farm
is named after the 'Big Woods,' a maple-basswood forest that covered much
of this region before European settlement. We have a small prairie planting
and woods restoration. Members who support the farm will also be supporting
our efforts to restore and revitalize this once-diverse landscape."
The benefits to the land are undeniable. But I was also interested in
discovering the benefits to human communities that come from CSA farming.
I asked Laurie to describe the benefits to Big Woods shareholders as she
saw them. Laurie has thought about this often. She admits that CSA arrangements
demand much more from the consumer than is ever asked of them if they
shop at the grocery store or even the local food stand. Members must either
drive to the farm to pick up their weekly share or go to an arranged drop-off
site near Minneapolis. "People in this world are so busy," David
remarked as we walked across a field of alfalfa. "It means a lot
that they come out here and spend a Saturday afternoon at the farm."
Also, members are often overwhelmed with an abundance of produce, some
of which they may be unfamiliar with. But the gifts of this kind of farming
make the trouble worth it. Members come to know the family that grows
their food. They can be sure they are getting the freshest, most nourishing
vegetables possible and that they are supporting real people and sustainable
farming practices. The money they spend stays in the community and prices
reflect costs. Members can participate in the work of cultivation by spending
a day in the field. They can attend various festivals that the Hougen-Eitzman's
have planned. Each season Big Woods Farm hosts a planting day, a garlic
festival, and the big squash and pumpkin harvest party in September.
Shareholders get good food each week but they also get connection. They
get body-mind-spirit connection to a piece of land and a community. These
things are rare and precious. CSA farms are more than business relationships
between producers and consumers, it is a commitment to a way of life and
a set of values that cherish wholeness, health and sustainability. Last
year, when a bad drought threatened the Big Woods Farm, shareholders donated
money for irrigation equipment without being asked by David and Laurie.
This is community.
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Early Season Produce arugula, bok choi, |
Mid Season Produce green beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe. carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, mixed greens, herbs (esp. basil), okra, onions, peppers, new potatoes, scallions, summer squash, tomatoes, watermelons |
Late Season Produce beets, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage and bok choi, eggplant, garlic, greens, herbs, kale, kohl rabi, lettuce, onions, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, spinach, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, winter squash |
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|Valley Creek Community Farm CSA
Hawks View Farm (Farm to Market)
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