Last weekend I joined my dad in Connecticut for the annual North Eastern Organic Farming Association farm tour. This year the tour was conveniently located in Fairfield County making it a very quick trip on Metro-North. The tour included three organic farms: Holbrook Farm in Bethel, New Pond Farm in Redding and The Hickories in Ridgefield. All three of these farms are extremely diversified for various reasons. Holbrook due to being confined to such a small space (13 acres) and the need to plant companion crops to ward off disease since this is one of the most strictly self-enforced organic farms around. New Pond Farm is larger (122 acres) and grows and raises something of a menagerie of crops and creatures because it is primarily an educational facility for children- to begin with, they have twelve different breeds of cows. The Hickories is another story altogether because they are one of the largest CSA Farms in Fairfield County. 
Maybe because it was the first farm on the tour, but Holbrook Farm was the most informative. John and Lynn Holbrook spared no detail in describing how they have been running their farm for upwards of twenty-five years. When they began the farm they had young children and wanted to make things sustainable after having left higher paying jobs in the pharmaceutical industry and they began to reuse and recycle anything they could find. The greenhouses are built with the bleachers from the local high school and the chicken coop from an older dilapidated neighboring farm.
The Holbrooks come from Quaker stock in Indiana and have a lot of faith in the earth. One gets the feeling part of their organic method comes from their belief in prayer and its ability to save a crop more than a pesticide. Holbrook raises money for Dafur believing in some kind of farmers’ karma. He is also interested in helping newer immigrant farmers to grow the crops from home that they are so fond of. Working with Mexican and Guatemalan farmers he has started growing Okra, different varieties of peppers and other hot spices. And despite his strong Christian faith the only prostelyzing done on the farm tour was to advocate farming. Holbrook told everyone to “tear up your front yards, fill them with plants…just not corn!” He warned everyone that the Midwest won’t be able to fill our bellies with soy and maize forever.
As mentioned New Pond Farm is mainly educational, but they do produce a fair amount of food and a lot of this is used in the Plough to Plate Program at New Milford Hospital which provides fresh local food to patients. They provided us with lunch , including some of their own produce and cheese. And the cheese, particularly the cheddar was surprisingly good, it was mild and creamy with a fruity sharpness. This cheese has a very interesting back-story since the milk comes from very different breeds of cow and some of the cows are even mutts.
New Pond Farm runs a summer camp as well, teaching kids from all parts of Fairfield County about farming, history, cooking and nature. The rolling acreage is so beautiful it makes you want to settle in for a while. 
The last farm on the tour, The Hickories, is a layman’s dream. With a very loyal CSA the farm grows what its customers want. The farmers and the CSA members choose crops together at the beginning of the season and work together to create a filling, well balanced CSA box. The farm even teaches its members how to cook some of the rarer crops they provide. In addition we were able to pick our own strawberries, good organic strawberries that are small but packed with flavor and sweetness. (A)
1 Comment
August 3, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hi- I’m the editor of Gleanings, the quarterly publication of CT NOFA. I’m glad you enjoyed the tour! I was wondering if you could contact me–I’d like to use your photos for our newslestter, if you’re amenable to that. We don’t pay, but I’ll be happy to give a bio including a link to your blog. Thanks!