Produce Application
Wild Hare Farm
Owner: Leah CookFarm Address:
9836 Allison Rd.
Cedar Grove, NC 27231
Orange County
United States
Mailing Address:
9836 Allison Rd
Cedar Grove, NC 27231
United States
daytime phone: 919 452 8987
evening phone: 919 452 8987
Web site: http://www.wildharefarm.us
Application Date: 2010-02-05
Applicant Details
| Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: | I am looking for an alternative to the NOP. Additionally, I want an alternative that has merit and integrity - i think the NOP has lost both. I sell at the wonderful Carrboro Farmers' Market and I think the Certified Naturally Grown will be a wonderful way to distinguish our farm from the crowd! |
| 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? | Growing for Market and word of mouth |
General Farm Information
| Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM: | |
| Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: | 2 |
| Number of above acreage that you own: | 30 |
| 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: | |
| Hay: | |
| Grains/Beans: | |
| Sugarbush: | |
| Other Acreage: | |
| 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: | hoophouse crops like lettuce, tomatoes and early season flowers. |
| 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: | florists |
Farmland Management and Practices
| Primary Tillage System: | We have a 25 hp kubota tractor and a 4 ft rototiller. We till as minimally as possible. Typical order of operations would be mow cover crop, disc, bed, apply amendments and till once or twice. |
| Do you use Cover Crops? | yes |
| If yes, please list: | Fall/winter - crimson clover, oats, winter rye, hairy vetch. We use grains and legumes in combination. Summer - soybeans, cowpeas, millet and sudangrass. |
| Do you use Compost? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (on farm, purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.): | We are using worm castings for our soil mix - to start transplants. Investigating purchased complete compost for future use. |
| 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". | 10-20% worm castings to bag of soil mix 3 cu ft |
| Do you use Manure? | 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. | For example this year our soil test reflected that we needed lime. We purchased the recommended amount of dolomitic limestone and applied it. For nitrogen, we use feather meal. It is purchased from a chicken processing plant. This year we are purchasing feather meal from nature safe. I also use potassium sulfate purchased from a local fertilizer dealer. |
| 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. | Henbit and chickweed are early season weed issues. We use a tine weeder to help keep the beds clean and we use a set of sweeps to keep the pathways clean. In the summer - crabgrass is the issue. Same tools as above for mechanical control. All seasons, main weed control is stirrup hoes and wheel hoes. |
| 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. | Insect issues are not too bad we do not use anything for insect control as we have honeybees and do not want to jeopardize the population. |
| 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. | Our main defense against disease issue is crop rotation. We do use companion - bacillus subtillus as a transplant drench for pythium. |
| Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: | well |
| 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? | yes |
| If yes, please list types: | Some of my hybrid pepper seeds are treated with a fungicide, also some tomato seeds. |
| Please note reason for purchasing treated seed: | Availability and price |
| I understand that the use of chemically treated seeds is not allowed under organic and Certified Naturally Grown guidelines. I will not label, or in any way lead consumers to believe produce grown from treated seeds are Certified Naturally Grown. | |
| 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") | I purchase soil mix that is bagged without the wetting agent or the starter charge of nitrogen. If the starts need additional fertilizer I use liquid fish from fertrell. I use companion as a drench to help combat pythium. Our starter house is 16 by 36 and gas fired. |
| Do you purchase any transplants from outside sources? | yes |
| From which sources do you buy transplants? | Strawberry plugs are purchased from Aarons Creek Farm in VA. I can investigate purchasing certified organic plugs for the 2011 season. |
| 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). | I do not think the strawberry plugs are grown to accordance to CNG standards. I purchase plugs for this crop because they are certified disease free. In general, we are too hot and humid in NC to reliably produce clean transplants. |
| 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. | We are well off the gravel road, approximately 1,200 yards. Our neighbor to the north is a farmer as well. He is formerly certified organic. Although he no longer has a certification, he still follows the methods. He produces vegetables and flowers. He grows in the field as well as in hoophouses. Also, we are protected on that side with a buffer of woods that is approximately 100 yards deep or more. The area to our east is heavily wooded and not used in any commercial manner. We are protected to the south with a thick stand of woods at least 200 yards between us and our one neighbor. Our farm is approximately 1/4 mile from the main highway. Our driveway is wooded on both sides and then opens up to the main growing fields. We have a secluded feel and are surrounded by woods. |
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 are a small farm located in northern orange county. our selling season is february though october. we kick the season off with lettuce, radishes, turnips etc.. from our unheated hoophouses. we really value the one on one connection with our customers that farmers market gives us. |
