my organic experience

These past two weeks have been really unbelievable.  I’ve been volunteering on Calvert’s Gift Farm in Hereford, MD.  Calvert’s Gift is a 4-acre organic farm owned and operated by a Jack and Becky Gurley.  At first I was shocked to find out how small it was—four acres of land is a pretty average amount for a standard residential plot in Hereford.  It’s
roughly the amount that I grew up mowing.  I never met
anyone when I lived in Hereford that would have
considered that this very normal amount of land could be turned into an farm that conveyed a very comfortable standard of living onto its
owners.  It’s inconceivable when put in the context of prevailing
agricultural business models with farms of 10,000 acres.

The Gurleys’ farm showcases many of the absurdities of modern agriculture.  To name a few:

• It is typical to grow commodity crops (corn, wheat, soy) across vast tracts of land.  However, this type of agriculture encourages pests and depletes soil and therefore requires inputs of pesticides and fertilizers.  These are expensive and not organic, meaning that farmers get squeezed on both ends—increased costs and decreased revenue.  Jack, on the other hand, plants a wide variety of crops and rotates them intensely.  As a result, he has few problems with pests and his topsoil is very rich without any fertilizer.  He sells his crops for more money since they are certified organic and his input costs are much lower.
  


• In order to grow commodity crops across vast tracts of land, it is necessary to purchase expensive equipment.  It is then necessary to service this equipment.  A large piece of farm equipment can cost $100,000 or more and due to its heavy use will need regular maintenance.  Farmers typically borrow to purchase these machines, then spend entire careers paying off the debt.  They also spend countless hours every day maintaining them, as well as money on fuel, oil, and parts.  Jack, on the other hand, doesn’t need to do this.  His four acres is mostly worked by hand although he does have one (relatively) small tractor.  This eliminates a whole category of expenses and leaves him with much more time every day to focus on revenue-generating activities.


• When “traditional” farmers grow non-commodity crops today, they typically use low-cost, often migrant, labor to perform all manual tasks.  However, most farmers have a hard time finding qualified, legal, willing workers in the US.  They also tend to dislike managing these employees, not necessarily due to any fault of the employees, but because farmers tend not to have the temperament to be managers.  Jack sometimes takes on an employee here and there, but the vast majority of the labor is his and Becky’s.  The people that help out are frequently friends, neighbors, and volunteers and Becky especially enjoys the company.
  

My two weeks has been a real lesson in how good management can turn disadvantages into advantages.  The only thing that separates Jack from many less successful but equally hard-working farmers is a willingness to think rationally about business decisions and try new things.  Apparently most farmers today are just too risk-averse to try something new, and honestly, it’s hard to blame them.  If your family’s livelihood depended on every harvest it would be difficult to take very many risks either.

Working with Jack and Becky Gurley has been an experience that I’ll never forget.  I like the knowledge that I got about growing plants and running a farm, I’m fascinated by the things that I learned about the farming community and how the business of an agricultural operation runs.  But most of all, I’m really grateful to get to know them personally.  They are hard-working in a way that I’ve never come into contact with in my adult life.  They are principled in the way that they run their business.  They are much more giving members of their local community than are many others who have more time and energy on their hands.  They’re great parents.  I consider it a privilege to have spent so much time with them.

A closing note: apparently a lot of people like to volunteer on organic farms.  I was recently pointed to this organization.  If you’re interested, it’s worth a look.