So here's a big question . . . where are you, in your personal relationship with the climate crisis? I think we've all been confronted with the questions, "What am I doing, to harm or help this situation? Is it enough? What can I do better?"
As farmers, these questions hit very close to home, as we strive to take care of our land, navigate extreme weather, replenish our soil, and make responsible choices from seed to plate.
For you as a consumer, we thought it would be useful to lay out some of the ways we are mitigating climate change, and how you contribute to those efforts when you support us.
Today, we're covering 4 tangible ways your food dollars work towards climate repair at Rock Steady.
#1: Our Regenerative Farming Practices
A century of monocrop farming (acres and acres of one thing), pesticide use and extractive growing practices have depleted our soils and harmed our planet immeasurably.
But Rock Steady is part of a movement of farms who slow down and begin to repair this harm, by practicing regenerative agriculture to rebuild the health of soil, sequester carbon, and build resiliency on our land.
For example, cover cropping is when we plant crops like winter rye and peas (not used for crop yield) to increase soil fertility, bio-diversity and nutrients. We use organic growing practices - which means a lot of different things- but just two examples are that we have spent $22,000 in locally made organic compost over the last four years to increase the resiliency and fertility of our soil, as well as rarely use sprays, even if thy are organic. We also grow perennials (plants which come back year after year), which help build soil structure with their large and deep root systems, building organic matter and sequestering carbon.
There is always more to do on this front. Currently, we're researching low till practices, which is an approach to farming which limits disruption to the soil, preserving and nurturing the bio-diversity living in it. We are looking forward to trialling some of these methods this coming season!
#2: Low food miles
Did you know that on average, the produce you buy from a grocery store chain will have traveled 1500 miles from the farm to your plate, often passing through multiple intermediary distributors?
In contrast, our food goes directly from farm to consumer, either locally or just a couple hours north to NYC, which means you're looking at a maximum of ~100 food miles. Woot!
While food miles don't represent the full picture of climate considerations in food, they are an important piece to be aware of, along with production practices mentioned above.
#3 Sustainably grown flowers
In addition to growing food for our community, we have a small-scale flower operation as well. Flowers invite pollinators to our farm, and are an important piece of our sustainable growing practices. And they bring so much beauty to our lives!
But did you know that over 80% of flowers sold in the US are imported from overseas? They are often transported thousands of miles, packaged in plastic and requiring refrigeration. Additionally, before they are harvested, conventional flowers are often grown with intense irrigation systems and heavy pesticide use. (Not to mention deeply harmful labor practices.)
Our flowers are grown using organic practices, transported in water and re-useable buckets, and only travel a maximum of 100 miles.
#4 Sourcing animal products responsibly
Did you know that we offer "full diet" CSA options, where members can choose to add on eggs, meat, cheese, fruit and yogurt? We source everything from neighboring farms who are also committed to stewarding their land responsibly.
We want to particularly shout out Chaseholm Farm, who provides our meat, cheese and yogurt shares. You've probably heard that animal factory farming is one of the most harmful industries for our planet (and the animals). Chaseholm is doing the opposite, practicing regenerative farming and farmscape ecology, with respect for the land, the animals and the farmers.
All of these choices take extra time, attention and cost to execute. (Meanwhile, all of the harmful conventional farming practices that got us into this mess were driven by profit.)
As a consumer, when you support farms like ours, you help re-create a food system that recognizes the true cost of food, grown with reverence for our land and each other.
THANK YOU for reading and for being a part of the Rock Steady community. Please don't be a stranger - make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter (below!), follow us on Insta (@rocksteadyfarm), or send us a note and let us know how this landed for you. If there's a topic you'd like to hear more about, let us know that too!
Cheers,
Maggie Cheney, Vegetable Farmer & Co-Owner
p.s. If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll consider becoming a member of our CSA and/or supporting our Food Access Fund to support low-income community members upstate and in NYC.
