Produce Application
Wind Dance Farm & Earth Education Center
Owner: Leslie MilbourneFarm Address:
649 Virginia Line Rd
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411
Morgan County
United States
daytime phone: 304 258 4672
Application Date: 2009-03-01
Applicant Details
| Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: | We are a small CSA operating in our 7th year with 15 families. We are also an Earth Education Center providing education programs. We appreciate the opportunity to be recognized as growing food utilizing sustainable and meaningful methods. |
| Are you currently third party Certified for your produce operation by any other organization (Organic, Biodynamic, etc)? | no |
| Have you ever been certified in the past? | no |
| Have you ever been denied certification? | no |
| How did you hear about Certified Naturally Grown? | From another farmer. |
General Farm Information
| Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM: | |
| Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: | 4 |
| Number of above acreage that you own: | 4 |
| Number of above acreage that you lease: | 0 |
| Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? | no |
| General Listed Acreage Breakdown | |
| Veg Crops: | 2 |
| Fruit Crops: | 1 |
| Hay: | 0 |
| Grains/Beans: | 0 |
| Sugarbush: | 1 |
| Other Acreage: | 16 |
| Please check all items you grow and will market as Certified Naturally GrownTM |
Vegetables Herbs Berries Tree Fruits Grapes Grains Beans Hay Flowers Greenhouse Plants Other (please specify below) |
| Please Specify Any Other Items: | |
| Please check all markets you grow for (this will be displayed on your farm profile to help potential buyers find you). |
Farmer's Market Farm Stand Local Restaurants CSA's Coops Health Food Stores Groceries Regional Wholesalers www.LocalHarvest.org Commodities Other (please specify below) |
| Please Specify Other Markets: | |
Farmland Management and Practices
| Primary Tillage System: | Everything is hand down - we use John Jeavons of Ecology Action method of digging and planting. I have training under his workshops. |
| Do you use Cover Crops? | yes |
| If yes, please list: | fava beans, winter wheat, cereal rye |
| Do you use Compost? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (on farm, purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.): | on farm we get manure from the goats and one horse, garden and kitchen wastes, comfrey, field cuttings and grass clippings that we rake and put in compost. |
| Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies". | 1-2 inches deep after digging |
| Do you use Manure? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (local dairy, horse farm, etc.): | Horse farm and two farm goats |
| Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies". | we put the manure in the compost pile and then the compost is added 1-2 inches per 100 square feet, about 6 of our wheelbarrow loads. |
| What time of year do you apply the manure? | it is put in the compost pile and we use the oldest part of the pile and apply it throughout the year |
| Do you apply any non-composted Manure within 120 days of veg-crop harvesting? | no |
| Please list any other brought in fertility sources that you use (specific rock powders, lime, soybean / alfalfa meal, specific purchased pre-mixes, etc)and how often it's used. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s. | sometimes we get lime and rock phosphate, kelp, green sand, but mainly we maintain soil fertility with what we compost and apply. |
| Have any chemical fertilizers been applied to the fields you are seeking Certification for in the last three years (36 months)? | no |
| Have any non-acceptable pesticides and/or herbicides been applied to these fields in the last 3 years? | no |
| Do you use Professional Soil Testing services? | yes |
| Describe your primary weed problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient(s), what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used. | We pull weeds and mulch with straw. The main problems with weeds are in the paths and from seed that may still be in the straw. |
| Describe your primary insect problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s, what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used. | Mainly we pick insects. Our biggest problem is flea beetles on eggplant, which we are still trying to figure out how to control. We make a spray with garlic and pepper. We also have problems with squash bugs on squash - we squash them, but need to find easier ways to manage them. We also cover up crops with row cover. We are still battling weeds and insects and figuring what works best naturally. |
| Describe your primary disease problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s, what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used. | We don't seem to have disease problems. |
| Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: | We use rain run-off for the primary source for watering crops. We have two large tanks - a 2,000 and 3,000 gallon tank in our storage shed that collects the rainwater. If we run out we use our well water which operates on a solar pump, but that is rare. |
| Are there any known contaminants in the irrigation water? | no |
| Are you a maple producer who seeks to certify your sugarbush? | no |
Seeds, Transplants and Buffers
| Do you purchase or grow using any Genetically Modified seeds? | no |
| Do you use any chemically treated seeds in your operation? | no |
| Do you grow your own transplants? | yes |
| Are they grown using Naturally Grown/Organic methods? | yes |
| If they're not grown according to CNG methods, please list them here. This produce may not be sold as Certified Naturally Grown. (If they are, put "N/A") | |
| Do you purchase any transplants from outside sources? | yes |
| From which sources do you buy transplants? | |
| Please list any bought-in transplants not grown according to CNG standards. This produce may not be sold as Certified Naturally Grown (except, in the case of perennials, after twelve months of CNG cultivation). | |
| Chemical/Spray Drift and Buffers: | |
| Is there any likelihood of Chemical/Spray drift contamination of your fields? | no |
| Do you have an adequate buffer to protect yourself from potential contamination? | yes |
| Please describe your buffer. Be as specific as possible. On all sides, how far is it from your crops to the next closest use (road, conventional crop, residential yard)? Be sure to specify what is grown on neighboring land that is in agricultural use. For example: To the north and east, a wooded area of at least 100 yards separates us from the neighbor's corn fields, to the south is a fallow field at least 100 yards deep separating us from the road, and to the west about 60 feet separates our crops from a field where conventional corn and soybeans are grown. | Our farm is secluded in a holler. On the north, south, and east side are wooded hillsides. On the east side is an old uninhabited farmhouse with inactive 10 acres of fields. Our farming location sits approximately 1/4 to 1/5 mile from the road we live on, which is a side county road without much traffic. |
Agreements
| Please indicate your agreement with the following statements by checking the boxes. | |
| I will not label, or in any way lead consumers to believe that produce not raised in accord with CNG standards is Certified Naturally GrownTM. | |
| I understand that I have to complete at least one (and hopefully more) Certification Inspection(s) of another farm in my area each year, and that the inspection will NOT be of the same farmer that inspected me. | |
| I have reviewed the Certified Naturally Grown certification standards, I understand them, and I will abide by them. I understand that if I have any questions I may contact CNG for clarification. | |
| You may use this space to tell us anything else you think we should know about your farm: | We look forward to being recognized as certified naturally grown, as we work hard to grow in the way we do - having the recognized support will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you. Leslie Milbourne & John Devine |
