Sustainable Farming at Ironwood Farm

This is the second of two posts on the sustainable features and systems here at Ironwood Farm. You can read the first on Sustainable Housing here. Although “farming” may not be something many of us ever do, I do feel an understanding of alternative food systems is critical. Also the system and techniques Chris shares could apply to anyone wanting to grow or raise even a small portion of their food.

Me: To begin, how many acres does your property sit on, and how much is or can be cultivated?

Chris: It’s 9.8 acres. There is probably an acre of more that is under buildings, road, parking or storage. There is approximately .50-.75 an acre left wild for habitat. They rest is or will be all cultivated; most of it in pasture now and the rest in garden beds.

Me: How would you describe your farming technique?

Chris: Chaos? I sort of fall towards doing a no-till method. I try to build the soil in a natural way, keeping that diversity of soil organisms high and undisturbed. It’s also less labor-intensive. When starting with depleted soils, I till deep, blending a lot of organic matter into it for the first year. After that, it’s just shallow tilling or no-tilling. Part of what makes the rotation of gardens and lifestock possible is being able to reconfigure and move fences and structures. We have eight or nine structures that are in constant motion that serve as hay barns, milk barns, animal shade and a butcher shop. That doesn’t include chicken tractors or movable fencing.

Me: You are not certified organic, correct? Can you tell me why and how you feel about organic certification in general?

Chris: No, I’m not. I think it’s a worthwhile thing to do. It’s difficult in terms of paper work and jumping through hoops. I feel the label has been watered down over the last number of years by big agri-business wanting to sell organic but not wanting to go through the expense of doing it well. I may certify but don’t feel it’s a priority. I believe in having my customers inspecting my product and my practices.

Me: I’m a huge fan of permaculture. What are your thoughts on the method?

Chris: I’m a huge fan, too. I got interested in permaculture as a teen, after we purchased this farm. I started fish culture in greenhouses and an outdoor duck yard with a pond and annual and perennial plants, starting a small permaculture hobby as a teen. There seem to be more people who like to talk about it or teach it, but haven’t practiced it; the practical applicability is unknown in some cases. There are examples of functioning permaculture communities or farms, but it’s hard to make it work, especially if you’re looking at marketing and sales. One of the problems – especially if you’re trying to mix a large variety of animals in – is your base knowledge needs to be huge; you need to know about all those animals and plants to be able to meet those specific needs.

Me: How big is your greenhouse? Can you tell me its purpose and features?

Chris: The green house is 24 feet by 70 feet. It’s basic purpose is to produce protein through fish, rabbits and eventually quail and to grow produce year-round. It’s set up as an bio- intensive garden; the idea is to utilize as much space as possible while taking very good care of the soil. It’s mostly for us but also to for the possibility of sales. It’s set up as passively as possible: air movement through extensive ventilation (no mechanical fans or heaters of any kind); the aquaculture systems help store and produce heat for the greenhouse; as well as composting to produce heat and carbon dioxide for the plants. It’s set up to catch rainwater with an 1,800 gallon cistern underneath for rainwater storage, which is used to irrigate the greenhouse.

Me: What types of practices do you use to feed the soil or prepare a new bed?

Chris: We bring in horse manure from neighbors, which is composted or in some cases applied directly to beds. If its applied directly, it’s tilled in and typically seeded with a cover crop to allow the nutrient cycling to take place. We bring in compost from a local organic compost supplier; that is either tilled in or top-dressed, as needed. We make our own compost as well, but we’re not making enough right now to keep up with the current increase in gardens. Also, as needed, we run small amounts of vinegar through the soil to increase the acidic levels and release more nutrients, with the added benefit of cleaning the irrigation lines.

Me: Talk to me about irrigation: Where does your outside water come from and how is it used in the fields, greenhouse and garden beds?

Chris: The bulk of our irrigation comes from surface water diverted from the Rio Grande. We also have three wells, two of which are on solar pumps that provide water for the homes, animals and gardens (the third is a domestic well on an AC, grid-tied pump used only on an emergency basis). And again, there is the catchment tank in the greenhouse. Some of the yard around the driveways are laid out in swales so that they effectively catch runoff from rain. They are graded differently so that they all run one to another and into an overflow pit. The fields are flood-irrigated, the small-paddocks are spray-irrigated at times and most of the gardens are watered with drip irrigation.

Me: Let’s talk a bit about animals: How did you first getting into raising animals?

Chris: I got into as a kid. I started getting chickens, fish and quail when I was a teen. My career became fisheries biology and fish culture. I began planning to leave that career about 8-10 years ago and just waited for the opportunity to begin farming and raising animals on a larger scale.

Me: What animals do you currently have here? Are there any animals or produce you wish to add in the future?

Chris: We have cows, goats, pigs, sheep, geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens (for meat and eggs), fish and crawdads, rabbits and bees. We plan to add vermiculture, so some day we’ll have worms, too. I’d also like to raise maggots for fish food. We’ll be adding more perennials, especially shrubs (like ground cherries) and vines. We’d also like to add ponds to provide a place to culture fish, as well as provide good habitat.

Me: Why such a broad diversity?

Chris: We strive to create a poly-culture of animal and plants. The benefit to that is a higher yield of products per unit area. That happens because the animals all feed on slightly different food items; ecological niches if you will. The diversity benefits the system; each organism can benefit the other organisms. Having plants that flowered throughout the year enables us to feed the bees all year. Having chickens and cows together means the chickens root through the cow manure for maggots or undigested food; this breaks up the manure and helps it return to the soil better. Diversity also helps diminish pests, parasites or disease. Same goes for the gardens; a variety of plants support each other and diminish issues.

Me: You have a system in place to rotate animals and crops. Can you easily explain how it works?

Chris: During winter months, the animals are pulled off the main pastures so they don’t over-graze, compact or erode the fields. They’re concentrated on a series of four plots through the winter, with their manure tilled in on a regular basis, as needed. When they’re rotated off those plots, an annual cover crop is planted, allowed to grow to 4-6 inches high and then tilled in. That bed is then ready to be used as a produce garden. Every plot rotates out every two years as garden or summer annual pasture.

Me: There is a lot of discussion on the environmental impact of raising animals for meat, milk or eggs. Can you explain your stance on the topic?

Chris: There is an absolute impact of simply existing, whether you’re a vegetarian living in a 10×10 house or not, there will be an impact. So there is an impact to this farming, but it’s less of an impact. I fairly much believe we’re omnivores, that some people can subsist on a vegetarian diet more effectively than other people, while some people just need more protein. So I believe that animal products are in and will stay a part of our diet for an immense amount of time. One main goal on this farm is to provide people a rare alternative to conventional agriculture. Rather than saying to customers we don’t provide eggs [because it has a higher impact on the environment], we’d rather give them a better choice of eggs. I feel a version of this model is by far more sustainable than the existing model.

Me: What do you feel are the drawbacks of farming on a smaller, sustainable scale? Any other drawbacks to this lifestyle?

Chris: Small farms need to be mindful of how materials are transported to and from the farm, from the standpoint that if you’re hauling small amounts of feed to your farm you’re probably expending more energy than transporting large amounts. And conversely if you’re hauling small quantities of produce, in say a 1966 Ford F-250, you’re expending a great deal of fossil fuels doing so. So the drawback is that if you’re not mindful of these things and make plans to counteract them, you have not necessarily done better for the environment.

It’s also a very narrow way to make a living, if it’s possible at all. The percentages of money people spend on food has change over the decades. We’re now used to spending less of our income on lower quality food. Getting people to spend more money on a higher quality food is difficult.

Me: What are your future plans for the farm?

Chris: The plans are to attempt to make the high-diversity, polyculture, sustainable farming model work financially for this farm. To that end, I hope to have either a continual group of volunteers (long-term, short-term and full-time residents) coming through but also we have to make ourselves as efficient as possible. We need a large amount of organization so that all tasks become quick and efficient. This is essentially to compete with factory farming that has the benefits of mechanization and repetitive tasks.

Me: For someone interested in sustainable farming, what advice do you have to offer?

Chris: Apprentice. Work with other farms. The actual issues that can be stumbling blocks and difficult to address are almost impossible to glean from reading and researching. You have to do it.

If you wish to know more or are interested in learning hands-on through volunteering at Ironwood Farm, contact Chris on his blog.