Return to part 2 of our 2023 catalog series- the future: let's plan(t) it
Nivek Anderson-Brown
Leaf and Bean Farm in Lawrenceville, Virginia Nivek Anderson-Brown and her family realized in 2018 that they no longer wanted to live in the city. They purchased land in Lawrenceville, Virginia and a homestead was born. “We went all in, packed up everything, relocated and started a growing journey. Learning to preserve the harvest became essential, and once you start one project, it will grow. That’s what happened, it went from canning to bread baking, to soap making and it never stopped. My husband had the same growth in his designing of systems, so irrigation turned to rain catchment and soon he found himself building a chicken coop.” Before they knew it, the Brown family’s interests became a lifestyle. “Our gardening journey went zero to 100. We started with buckets and herbs in a kitchen window, and we now have 40’ beds of crops, 12’ fruit trees in the ground and mushrooms; it’s a great addiction to have. I always want to add layers and research and do more every year.” With her seasons of experience, Nivek has garnered wisdom. When it comes to starting a garden, she encourages new growers to focus their energy. “Grow what your family will eat. I wanted to grow everything including things my family had no interest in. Those things would go to waste, well to compost, so it was a waste of time and energy. You must focus on your family’s favorites first.” Nivek’s own favorite crop to cultivate for preservation is tomatoes for their versatility. “Tomatoes are my favorite crop to preserve because there are so many different recipes. We pickle them, make sauces, dry them, can them whole, can them diced, make condiments and even so, it seems like every year I add a new tomato recipe to the mix.” Figuring out a good system for storing the bounty takes time. With the help of her husband, Nivek has decided to make storage its own kind of décor. “I’m fortunate I have a good size pantry, but the husband also put together a shelf system for me in our dining room. We have also converted a kitchen cabinet into a fermentation station. We store things all over, wherever I can put a storage design, I’ve made it a part of our home's décor.” Nivek finds stability in being able to provide nourishment for her family and inspiration to future growers and preservers. “Preserving food can teach us thoughtfulness, patience and attention to detail. Throughout the process you start questioning all the things you used to shop for, all the preservatives and sodium in shelf staples. Now we can take responsibility for what we put in our bodies."
Margarita López-Uribe
Associate Professor of Entomology at Penn State College Margarita López-Uribe, PhD is an Associate Professor of Entomology at Penn State College in University Park, Pennsylvania. Growing up in Colombia, Magarita was always fascinated with biology and had a life-changing moment after discovering an orchid bee on a college field trip to the Amazon. Her childhood fear of insects morphed into a fascination, and she has been studying bees for almost 20 years. Now in the United States, Margarita is involved in research projects studying declines in bee populations worldwide and the environmental and economic consequences of pollination loss in natural and human-dominated ecosystems. “Pollinator decline impacts the reproduction of agricultural crops and the overall yields of crops that are pollination dependent. What we are seeing is that many crops today are pollination limited. The fruit set of these crops are not being maximized due to lack of pollination. From an agricultural perspective this means that when we are trying to optimize production of food per acre, we are unable to meet our yield potential because there simply aren’t enough pollinators in the system.” Historically, Margarita notes that conservation efforts and farming have been seen as separate focuses. Today, she sees the importance of these two perspectives becoming one. “I do think that farmers, now more than ever, should be stewards of the environment. I think an old-fashioned way of thinking about agriculture is that land dedicated to the growth of crops is not dedicated to conservation of ecology. We can see clearly in our modern world that land is limited. We see conflicts erupting over available land. Farming makes up a certain percentage of available land and it is essential that farmers begin to utilize practices that preserve biodiversity.” For farmers, supporting pollinators not only benefits the environment, but it also benefits the farm. She has some advice for farmers looking to capitalize on these environmental services. “There are some simple, more sustainable practices that can really help our ecosystems. One is being very mindful of pesticide applications. This is of course very relevant to bees but can also positively affect other insects that help to manage crop pests through their life cycles. Another is the use of cover crops for soil health. One issue we see with pollinators in agricultural systems is that crops often produce these massive blooming periods where bees have lots of food available, but when the crop bloom period is over, these habitats that may still appear to be teaming with life become food deserts for bees. Incorporating cover crops which provide floral resources for bees between crop blooming periods is incredibly beneficial for sustaining bee populations. There is a lot of really good information out there about incorporating and conserving natural habitats, even within farming operations. These natural habitats within farms are sometimes seen as unnecessary or a waste because they are not technically productive lands, but they provide a lot of biodiversity that offers a lot of ecosystem services for the farm.” Margarita and her team at Penn State are currently working on several research projects that hope to support bees and the sustainable production of honeybees. From studying the simplification of flower structure in domesticated crops and how this stresses the sensory system of our native pollinators, to studying how a specific bee that pollinates squash has adapted so well to our modern systems, her focus has changed from the preservation of endangered bees to understanding how we move forward in the face of climate change. “Climate change is one of the biggest concerns that I have. I think for agriculture, we are already seeing extreme weather events negatively impacting the ways we produce our food. The map of suitable land for agriculture is already changing. Some areas are becoming very dry, some areas are having to mitigate lots of rainfall, and overall, the climate patterns are becoming less predictable which is making agriculture very difficult. For bees specifically, it is still not well understood how climate change is impacting populations. One thing that scientists are starting to understand is that having warmer winters is disrupting populations. Warmer winters translate into bees not shutting down their metabolism to the point where, when they develop into adults in the next season, they have used a lot of their energy over the winter, making for less robust physiologies and less healthy adult bees.” When asked to name one unsung hero of the native pollinator population, Margarita had to give credit to the Common Eastern Bumblebee. “It is a very abundant, very big bee with lots of hair, meaning it carries a lot of pollen. It is an excellent pollinator of many crops, and it is important to note that bumblebees are generalists. For example, there are bees that are squash specialists, blueberry specialists, and others that are adapted to complement specific plants and crops. These bee populations are essential for these crop types which makes them very important, but credit should also be given to bumblebees whose populations end up supporting many different plants in their region.”  
Jonathan Bruderlein
Ottawa Farm Fresh Organics in Gloucester, Ontario Jonathan Bruderlein is the owner and operator of Ottawa Farm Fresh Organics located within the Greenbelt of Ottawa; 12,000 acres of farmland owned by the federal government surrounding the city of Ottawa that is leased to local farmers. This is the second farm that he and his wife Jolianne have operated and this new farm, just 12 minutes from downtown Ottawa, has merged their desire to interact with the excitement and culture of city life while also allowing them to run a profitable farm in a natural oasis. Jonathan and his team grow approximately 30 different types of vegetables, cut flowers, and herbs for a 300 member CSA and source other local products for their farm stand. "It takes a community to feed a community. We realized we didn't have to do it all; that some people are better set up to grow potatoes than we are, so why are we trying to grow potatoes? We offer a full selection of local products at the farm store including veg, fruits, meats, dairy, grains, baked good, cut flowers, eggs, syrup, honey, lacto-ferments, miso, tempeh, tofu, and a smattering of non-local products we just love too much.” When it comes to the business side of veggies, Jonathon runs a tight ship. "We look to grow crops that make at least $125 of gross sales per 100' bed per week of crop. For example, an arugula crop that takes 4 weeks to grow needs to gross at least $500. For any crop that does not meet the criteria of $125 per bed per crop week we ask ourselves why we are growing it and if we can source it from another local organic farm at the quality standards we are looking for.” One practice that has helped bolster all this farm activity is the integration of intentionally planned cover crops. “Cover crops play an integral role in our cropping systems. Our crop rotation is 8 years and includes 4 years of cover crop. The crop rotation is as follows: 2 years of vegetables followed by 1 year of sweet corn under seeded with ryegrass and clover in year 3. Year 4 and year 5 are 2 more years of vegetables followed by 3 years of red clover/alfalfa/grass perennial cover crop. The goal of this rotation is both to improve soil structure using a 3-year perennial cover crop sequence, but also to reduce the weed pressure as I have noticed that annual weeds tend to be the least problematic after a period of perennial pasture.” From this deep dive into the role of cover crops for soil health, weed suppression and crop support, Jonathan has found a way to make a popular but classically unprofitable crop work. "I've had a huge shift in how I think about sweet corn. I used to think of it as an unprofitable vegetable crop which led me to not grow it. But then I ran out of space in my field, and I realized I had to sacrifice 1 year cover crop that is in the 3rd year of my crop rotation. Upon thinking further, I realized I could just grow a crop of sweet corn under seeded to a mix of annual ryegrass, berseem clover, crimson clover, sweet clover and that would be a very profitable cover crop. Plus, the farm store clients love it and I have real trouble finding any other local source of organic corn to sell if I don't grow it myself. It ain't summer till you've got sweet corn.” Jonathan and his team have dreams of making the farm a destination for families to reconnect with nature. Currently in the works are a U-pick berry patch and an onsite food truck. When asked what the most important thing he’s learned from growing crops is, he responded, “Go easy on yourself. Be kind to yourself. Don't listen to the voice in your head when things don't go exactly as planned. Remember to breathe.”