Produce Application
Wild Orchard Farm
Owner: John BinghamFarm Address:
247 Christian Rd.
Essex, NY 12936
Essex County
United States
daytime phone: 518 963-8966
evening phone: 518 963-8966
Application Date: 2010-02-24
Applicant Details
| Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: | I was Certified Organic for hay, fruits and mushrooms through spring of 2010 but had minimal hay sales. While continuing to follow CO standards, the CNG certification is better suited to this farm at this low volume time, while building soils and managing weeds through no-till cattle grazing. |
| 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? | yes |
| If yes, please note which agencies and dates: | NOFA-NY. Forfeited my NOFA-NY certification in spring of 2010, since my projected gross income in 2010 was below $5000/yr. |
| Have you ever been denied certification? | no |
| How did you hear about Certified Naturally Grown? | Neighboring farmer Marco Turco, Essex County. |
General Farm Information
| Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM: | |
| Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: | 115 |
| Number of above acreage that you own: | 115 |
| Number of above acreage that you lease: | 0 |
| Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? | no |
| General Listed Acreage Breakdown | |
| Veg Crops: | |
| Fruit Crops: | 10 |
| Hay: | 40 |
| Grains/Beans: | |
| Sugarbush: | 20 |
| Other Acreage: | 40 |
| 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: | mushrooms, maple sap (to local syrup producers) |
| 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: | Hay to local dairy and meat farmers. Planned: Local grocery coop, pick your own |
Farmland Management and Practices
| Primary Tillage System: | No-till on some pasture. rotations of contour strips & sod trips every 2-3 years on most hay acres. |
| Do you use Cover Crops? | yes |
| If yes, please list: | Organic oats, organic barley and rye (planned), organic timothy and alfalfa, mixed grasses and clover. |
| Do you use Compost? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (on farm, purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.): | Purchased chicken manure with wood chips. Nitrogen fixing contour strips of alfalfa and timothy between sod strips of mixed grasses. Late (August) harvesting of hay (for grassland birds) to build roots and soil bio-mass. |
| 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". | Chicken compost: one ton per acre bi-annually |
| Do you use Manure? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (local dairy, horse farm, etc.): | Rotational grazing, to restore soils with fresh manure and hoof action. |
| 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". | 25-30 cattle, some rotational grazing. |
| What time of year do you apply the manure? | Growing season in alternate years in orchard. Harvest fruit for market every other 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. | Not at this time, will seek advice of cattle growers who rent pasture. |
| 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. | Wild parsnip & purple loosestrife, golden rod, thistle: Grazing, mowing baling, bush-hogging, occasional disk/harrow cultivating, seeding with grains, legumes & perennials, hand pulling & sything. |
| 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. | None |
| 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. | None |
| Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: | None. Rain, spring-fed pond water for cattle. No irrigation planned. |
| Are there any known contaminants in the irrigation water? | no |
| Are you a maple producer who seeks to certify your sugarbush? | yes |
| Maple sap is considered a wild crop. CNG's Wild Crop Harvesting Standard states that “A wild crop must be harvested in a manner that ensures that such harvesting or gathering will not be destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the wild crop.” Please briefly describe any steps you take to protect and ensure the sustainability of your sugarbush. | Removal of competing trees and saplings using work horses only; minimal cattle shade-time under oldest trees; no plastic; minimal taps. |
| Do you use an organic de-foamer? | yes |
| In rural areas, woods have unfortunately been used as dumping grounds for all manner of garbage, including toxic waste. These dumps can contaminate the sap, and your syrup, if too close to your sugarbush. Will you refrain from tapping any trees that stand within 50 feet of old dumps (or recent ones!) in or near your sugar bush? | yes |
| Over-tapping trees can stunt their growth. Do you (or will you) adhere to the Cornell Sugar Maple Research & Extension Program guidelines which state "trees 10-17 inches in diameter (31-53 inch circumference) should have no more than one tap. A tree 18-24 inches in diameter (57-75 inch circumference) should have no more than two taps. A tree larger than 25 inches in diameter (79-inch circumference) should have no more than three taps." | yes |
| To maximize tree health and sap production, CNG supports Cornell's recommendation that all taps are 5/16" in diameter or smaller. Is this your practice, and if not, would you be willing to transition to 5/16" (or smaller) taps within the next three years? Please elaborate. | Mixed tap sizes now. Will definitely transition to smaller taps. |
| Use this space if there's anything else you'd like to share about your maple operation. | I do no evaporation or sale of syrup. Some of my sap goes to a local certified evaporator operation, while our neighborhood sugar shack is not certified, with sap coming from multiple uncertified bushes. I am encouraging them to certify all sap providers and their own evaporation operation. |
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? | no |
| Do you purchase any transplants from outside sources? | no |
| Chemical/Spray Drift and Buffers: | |
| Is there any likelihood of Chemical/Spray drift contamination of your fields? | yes |
| If yes, please state the source (conventional farm field, golf course, etc.)and any details you can provide (type of pesticide, fertilizer, herbicide used, and/or what used for.) | Railroad line track bed is sprayed with defoliants and RR has received letters from me regarding my certified field and narrow buffer, and their liability for any drift damage. |
| 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. | A pine tree forest strip three to five trees deep, about 50 ft. wide all along the adjoining track for about 1000 ft. |
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: | My farm was last certified organic through spring of 2010, and I intend to keep up the standard for future certification. My primary activities are hay production, wild orchard fruit, wild mushrooms and berries, and maple sap harvesting by hand/buckets; also conventional and/or transitional and/or certified CNG or CO cattle grazing. |
