Produce Application
M&M Robertson Farms, LLC
Owner: Mik & Maggie RobertsonFarm Address:
614 Canoe Ripple Road
Sligo, PA 16255
Clarion County
United States
daytime phone: (814) 358-2882
evening phone: (814) 358-2882
Web site: http://www.gardensfromearth.com
Application Date: 2006-04-04
Applicant Details
| Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: | We are a small operation and sell at our local Farmers' Market and direct from the farm when customers call ahead. Our farm is listed with Local Harvest, New Farm, AgMap and the CSA locator on the Robyn Van En Center web site. We were Certified Organic from 2001 to 2005, and found that an outside certification is useful in marketing our products and building trust with our customers. The federal program is too cumbersome and for our operation; Certified Naturally Grown is a much better fit for us. |
| 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: | Pennyslvania Certified Organic, 2001 Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, 2002 to 2005 |
| Have you ever been denied certification? | no |
| How did you hear about Certified Naturally Grown? | Other small, local farmers. |
General Farm Information
| Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM: | |
| Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: | 60.0 |
| Number of above acreage that you own: | 60.0 |
| Number of above acreage that you lease: | 0.0 |
| Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? | no |
| General Listed Acreage Breakdown | |
| Veg Crops: | 3.0 |
| Fruit Crops: | 0.2 |
| Hay: | 55.0 |
| Grains/Beans: | 0.0 |
| Sugarbush: | 0.0 |
| Other Acreage: | 35.0 |
| 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: | nuts: chestnuts, black walnuts, hickory nuts |
| 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: | For vegetable production 4-foot wide rows are tilled while sod strips are maintained between crop rows for soil erosion, weed control and beneficial habitat. |
| Do you use Cover Crops? | yes |
| If yes, please list: | oats-pea-vetch mix for cover and soil building, winter rye for cover |
| Do you use Compost? | no |
| Do you use Manure? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (local dairy, horse farm, etc.): | All manure was produced on-farm by llamas and goats. Manure use will be phased out as we no longer have animals. Will be starting a composting program. |
| 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 tons/acre |
| What time of year do you apply the manure? | fall |
| 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. | Prior to planting we are applying Bio Farm Garden Top Dress Organic (compost, fish, soft rock phosphate, aragonite, calcium sulfate, dextrose, humates, seaweed, trace minerals) from Lancaster Ag Products. Every two weeks applying Bio Farm Seed Gro, a liquid fish fertilizer (fish, seaweed, good bacteria pack, natural minerals), also from Lancaster Ag Products. Both products are approved for organic production. |
| 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 have problems with ragweed, grasses and broadleaf plants. We use pre-planting tilling, hand cultivation, mulch, mowing and the "weed-eater" for weed control. |
| 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. | Primary pests are squash stink-bugs, cucumber beetles and Japanese beetles. We use hand-picking primarily, with companion planting, beneficial habitat and encouragement of birds as secondary measures. |
| 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 have very little problem with disease. We rotate our crops on a 3-year basis, grow a wide variety of crops and avoid growing problem-varieties. |
| Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: | We use water from our farm pond and from our 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? | 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. | Most of our property has woodland or brush/tree line surrounding it, minimum 25' wide. One field directly borders a neighbors' hay field, but is on the prevailing downwind side. We have a good relationship with these neighbors, and they have no plans to spray their bordering hay field. |
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: | |
