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Organic farmer needs your help
Farmer Elizabeth Henderson operates Peacework Organic Farm, on Welcher Road near Newark. She is renting 20 acres of land from neighbor Doug Kraai of Crowfield Farm, has built a greenhouse and is ready for spring. She has a partner, Greg Palmer, who was an apprentice eight years ago at Rose Valley Farms in North Rose. Henderson, 56, started organic farming in Massachusetts and spent many years helping at Rose Valley. Now, she's ready to get to work in Arcadia. In November, she was a keynote speaker at an International Scientific Conference in Argentina. Attendees at the conference represented more than 100 countries. Community-supported agriculture is a cooperative agreement joining consumers (people who eat) with an organic farm. Henderson explained: "The eaters become active sharers in the farm and receive a supply of food grown with environmentally sound practices, by farmers they know and trust." The members share in the risks of farming - if the season is good, the shares are abundant. During a poor seaosn, the shares are smaller. Membership is open to anyone who lives within a 30-minute drive of the Peacework Farm. Henderson expects families to bring along children, and there will be a playground for this purpose. The crops - too numerous to mention all - include asparagus, snow peas, spinach and lettuce, cabbage, cilantro, dill and oregano, basil and Bok Choi. All kinds of chard, mustard greens, kohlrabi, varieties of peppers, eggplant and berries. Turnips and rutabagas, shallots and leeks...
Henderson has written Sharing the Harvest: A Guide to Community Supported Agriculture (Chelsea Green, 1999). Henderson was college-trained to teach Russian literature, an authority on Slavic languages, and has taught at Boston University. But she finds happiness outside the classroom, getting her hands dirty as she plows, plants and cultivates. She was widowed at a young age. Her grown son lives in California. Regarding traditional farming, Hernderson says there are more than 900 farms in Wayne County. Half of them do not have a "next generation" famrmer preparing to take over the operation. If you are interested in the farm and the list of crops, call Henderson at 331-9029. She resides at 2218 Welcher Road. E-mail: ehendrsn@redsuspenders.com Copyright © 1999 |
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Wanted: 160 families to help with harvest and share
food from Peacework Organic Farm.
Henderson and Palmer are active with the
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) which certifies the organic
management at Peacework.