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CSA #30


Dear CSA-ers,

This week’s preassembled bag will contain Cucumbers, Green Beans, Spring Mix, Kale, Pest Basil Portion, and a Mix of Peppers. For those of you placing custom orders, you may do so between now and Tuesday evening on the website at: http://magneyfarm.locallygrown.net/market

This week brought cool, dry weather, but also our annual USDA Organic inspection, which occurred this past Friday. In order to maintain our status as a Certified Organic farm, we undergo a yearly inspection which includes an on-farm inspection by a third-party agency, and a tremendous amount of record review. Likewise, preparing for our Organic inspection occupied much of our time this week. We organized our receipts, input labels, seed labels, feed labels, planting maps, and did a lot of in-general tidying of the farm. The amount of documentation required for USDA Organic Certification can be truly stressful on-top of operating the farm itself. Nevertheless, the inspection went very well, and we are grateful to the systems we put in place for organization this year.

It seems appropriate to touch briefly on what “USDA Organic Certification” means this week. Fundamentally, USDA Organic is a standard for agricultural production maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture. Some of the conditions of this standard include forbidding the use of synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Additionally, the standard has conditions which aim to increase animal welfare, food safety, and the environmental sustainability of agricultural practices on farms bearing this label. There are people that ignorantly believe that “USDA Organic” is a meaningless label, but this could not be further from the truth. USDA Organic is meticulously defined and there are many practices common in conventional agriculture that we do not use in compliance with the standard. We sought out USDA Organic Certification because it is aligned with the way that we want to grow vegetables and raise animals. Though the standard is not a substitute for a sound environmental ethic, we hope it conveys some confidence to customers, that have not yet gotten to know us as the individuals behind the farm.

This week, we would like to highlight our eggs, a venture we have been working to expand since we first started listing eggs earlier this year. Our organically raised eggs are delicious and have been immensely popular to the point that it was quite competitive to get eggs when we were only producing 5 dozen a week. Since then, we have added more chickens, all of which travel about the back pasture, protected from predators in the safety of their mobile “chicken tractors.” Different heritage breeds result in eggs that range from hues of brown to olive, and sky blue. We feel these “Easter Eggs” make for a fun and beautiful carton. The chickens receive plenty of organic feed and fresh water daily, and often get fresh vegetable scraps from the other side of the farm. This diet makes for eggs that are rich in flavor and nutrition with dark yolks and strong shells. Over the next few weeks, the amount of eggs listed will be increasing as our current rotation of layers reaches maturity. We hope that this allows many of you who have been wanting eggs the opportunity to receive them.

As always, we want to thank you for your support of our farm. Ultimately it is you, our community and customers who empower us to grow the farm. We are grateful for the opportunity you have given us to bring the benefits of Organic agriculture to Western Kentucky.

Sincerely,
The Magney Legacy Ridge Farm Team