Nutrient Dense Foods for Consumers, Gardeners, and Farmers from Environmental Leadership Program on Vimeo.

The focus on nutrient dense production has been around quite awhile, but it’s really picked up steam in the past few years.  Each growing season, more farmers and gardeners are beginning to focus on the nutrient quality of their crops; perhaps we are on the verge of a tipping point toward broadscale interest in the relationship between soils, health, and nutrition.  Dan Barber, the influential Chef at Stone Barns in New York, referenced refractometer use as a in his recent interview with the TED Blog:

While we support organic farming, we do so in a thoroughly modern context, employing the most innovative, up to date, and efficient technologies to move food forward. One example is the refractometer—a small, handheld device that measures Brix, the sugar content of a fruit or vegetable.

Looking for more information?  Our Farm&Garden Resource Page has a variety of tip-sheets including one focusing on Growing Nutrient Dense Foods. Here are four links which will provide perspective on the concepts behind Nutrient Density:

• Allan Balliett, a biodynamic growers in West Virginia offers a nice blog entry focusing on refractometer use, posted by Hartke is Online in February 2010.
• Jon Frank from International Ag. Labs and High Brix Gardens shares his answer to What is Brix?
• The Real Food Campaign led by Dan Kittredge is a leader in the Nutrient Density movement in the Northeast and nationally.
• Michael Astera’s blog The New Agriculture provides a more nuanced discussion of the matter; and provides a lengthier introduction.

Since we arrived on our land here on Tucker Road we have been working with the Josephine Porter Institute, who supplies Biodynamic Preps (think of them as a mix of compost tea, homeopathic energetics, and a method for farmers to bring new spiritual energies to our farms) for growers who aren’t currently able to produce their own preps.  Later this month, as our fields continue to warm up for the season, we’ll be applying field sprays of horn manure and equisetum.  These preps are only one part of our fertility plan which aims to bring vibrant life back to our soils here on the farm; if you drive by on Tucker Road and see us with a backpack sprayer we are likely applying a biodynamic prep, compost tea, or fish fertilizer; all of which play a crucial role in reinoculating our land.

Much like Rudolf Steiner who wrote and lectured on a wide array of topics, Robert Karp who is the Executive Director of the Biodynamic Association in the U.S. recently penned a terrific essay examining economic relationships inherent to sustainable agriculture systems, “Toward an Associative Economy in the Sustainable Food and Farming Movement”, link available through the BD association website.

In the spirit of recycling near Earth Day, here is a blog post from the original Brix Bounty Farm Blog  from December 2008 with a few good links regarding Biodynamics:

Biodynamics is a field of agriculture that has developed from an initial series of lectures, Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture, presented by Rudolf Steiner in the summer of 1924.

In 2006 and 2007 I farmed at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Harlemville, NY. While I focused primarily on the 12 acres we had in vegetable production, the farm also had a dairy herd that played a central role in the life and fertility of the farm. Hawthorne Valley has played a leading role in the development of Biodynamic Agriculture in the eastern United States, alongside: the Pfeiffer Center in Spring Valley, NY and the Josephine Porter Insitute (JPI) for Applied Biodynamics in Virginia.

Biodynamics has a national certifying agent, Demeter USA. I’m not aware of any certified biodynamic operations along the Southcoast though there are a few growers who are using practices associated with Biodynamics.

On a slightly different note, I’ve been working on a brief resource list for Know Your Vegetables. One site I’m sure to include is ATTRA (the National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service), they are a great resource for gardeners and farmers of all experience levels; they regularly publish information on a wide array of relevant topics. Back in 1999 they published information on Biodynamic Farming & Compost Preparation.

In the recent years, Biodynamic Agriculture has continued to grow in both interest and practice throughout the States.  I reckon the movement will continue to grow well in the future, thanks in part to the development of a North American Biodynamic Apprenticeship Program.

• Paul Krugman provides a view on the economics of climate change with his article “Building a Green Economy” in today’s New York Times Magazine.  See also our quick 2-pager on Climate Change and Agriculture in the Northeast from last November.
• On the other end of the spectrum, the Boston Globe published an op-ed piece by Elliot Entis on the merits of genetically engineered crops which was titled “Green Thumbs”.  This will surely bring a broad response from readers on the controversial subject.  Thankfully, NOFA-Mass provides good information about organic growers opposition to Genetically Engineered Crops on their website.  No doubt, Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association would offer quite a different view than Entis’s piece published in today’s Globe.

There are quite a few points in Entis’s editorial which I take exception to, not the least of which is his claim that, “since genetically engineered crops have been planted, there have been no incidents of harm to man, beast, or the environment.”  Entis is correct in stating that many conventional growers have come to appreciate the technology in genetically engineered crops, which allow them to streamline herbicide applications from 4 or 5 chemicals to 1 chemical (e.g. glycoophosphate, commonly the brand name Roundup).  I was able to observe this on a farm tour through Boulder County Colorado last June, where sugar beet growers were affirming that without roundup ready technology they wouldn’t have planted Sugar Beets.  But before we adopt wide scale application of a technology, I believe it is necessary to consider the impact of our decisions.  Contamination of non-gmo (genetically modified organisms) seed with gmo traits is in my mind a clear example of “harm to man, beast, or the environment”.  Whether its the case of Canadian grower Percy Schmeiser whose Canola crops were contaminated by Roundup Ready Canola, or the current concerns held by the organic table beet or chard seed producers, planting of gmo crops continues to have major implications for our society.  Hopefully we’ll see a well written rebuttal to Entis’s op-ed piece; maybe even a perspective which includes the proper role of soil stewardship in continuing to feed and nourish our globe, as opposed to the strong bias toward technology as the silver bullet of the future.

While Entis states, “genetically engineered crops are now under develop to address this constraint” (fresh water scarcity), organic and biologically minded conventional growers have already been practicing methods of agriculture for decades which works to build soil organic matter, thereby increasing carbon levels in our soils.  As we increase organic matter in our soils, we build the resilience necessary to face the impact of climate change, new rainfall patterns, and the availability of irrigation.  But a stark difference is at the heart of focusing on improving our soils rather than relying on technology… that difference would be who profits from such action.  A reliance on new seed technology fosters long-term dependence on seed companies and their “patented” seeds, while improving our soils builds profits for the farmer.  No doubt, as a vegetable grower I’ll vote for the latter.  Unlike the ballot cast at recent town elections, or with our dollar in the marketplace, this vote will take the form of remineralizing of our soils, sowing cover crops, reinoculating our soils with mycorrhizal fungi (which will help us build glomalin levels in our soils) and beneficial bacteria.  I consider myself lucky, at the farm we get to vote every single day for the future we would like to help manifest; and we invite you to join us.

Springtime is a busy one around the farm… along with the usual farm activities:  seeding in the greenhouse, spreading amendments and field sprays of fish and biodynamic preps, getting the apprentice crew up to speed, we have been enjoying a rather productive couple of weeks engaging with our local community.  Through a dynamic process of sharing and learning we aim to add our threads to an ever stronger network focusing on sustainable agriculture in SE Massachusetts.

Among the long list of the past few week’s hi-lights:

• In Fall River, community gardens are blossoming; we participated in a community workshop on seed selection on April 6th at the Oak Village Apartment community Room.
• See the Farm to Table blog entry about The Friends Academy Garden just North of the farm on Tucker Road.
• Sharing the Harvest at the Dartmouth YMCA is in the process of building a new greenhouse for starting seedlings; last week we joined farmer Dan in assembling the ground posts, bows, and purlins.  This week they’ll be skinning the greenhouse with poly and growing starts in their brand new greenhouse!
• This past Saturday we hosted one of NOFAMass’s Spring Organic Gardening Workshop Day here on the farm… a hearty group of folks braved the strong west wind, rejoiced in the solar heated greenhouse and picked up a few new tips and tools for the 2010 garden season.
  

  Workshop Participants view the Raised Bed, April 11, 2010

A final note, at the end of March, President Obama declared the 31st Cesar Chavez day …  For more info see http://www.chavezfoundation.org/ or the link to a PBS program on the subject – http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/.  Quite a worthy tribute to one of the heroes of the American agricultural labor movement, and good reminder for us to be thankful for the folks who grow our food both here in the USA and the crops which are imported across our borders.

On this Saturday, April 11th, we will be one of 10 locations around the state hosing a hands-on Organic Gardening Workshop in partnership with NOFAMass.  To pre-register of for more information please visit the NofaMass Programs Page.  The workshop will run from 9AM to noon.

Spinach in the GH, March 2010

Enhance Your Farm’s Future:

3^rd Annual One-Day Farm Conference & Resource Fair

Organized by Bristol County Conservation District & SEMAP
Saturday, March 27, 2010, 8:00 am-4:00 pm
Bristol County Agricultural High School, 135 Center St., Dighton MA

We’ll be doing a presentation on soil fertility using organic methods, with a focus on nutrient dense production.  I’m also looking forward to hearing from the folks at New England Biochar who will be demoing the biochar process and presenting an afternoon workshop on Biochar 101.  See our Events page for a listing of other upcoming events in the area, including our spring presentation schedule.