Farm Ethics

High Mowing is proud to partner with Vitalis Organic Seeds, an established global leader of organic seed production and breeding, to offer superior seed to the organic market. Through this unique relationship, Vitalis has shared high quality lettuce varieties Encino and Lovelock with High Mowing, allowing us to broaden our assortment and establish a dependable and enduring source for organic...

In Vermont and across the country, climate change poses increasing challenges for farmers: flood and drought, unpredictable weather, increased pest pressure and new strains of diseases. At the same time, the agricultural sector is a leading cause of the greenhouse gasses that lead to climate change. It doesn’t have to be, though. Just as the organic movement has offered an...

Inherent in High Mowing’s mission of providing high quality organic seeds is a dedication to building soil health in our production systems. Because our seed is developed in organic conditions with robust soils, the varieties we offer demonstrate characteristics that allow them to thrive in similar organic systems, on farms and in gardens that also recognize the importance of soil...

Waylon (age 2) and Katie harvesting calendula flowers This summer our son will turn 3, and over the past three years we’ve found many ways to engage him here at Good Heart Farmstead through our daily farm tasks. By doing so, we spend quality time with our son, avoid the expense of child care, and give him the opportunity...

Bees pollinating holy basil If you’re like us, you’re worried about pollinators—we need them for production of about 35% of global crops by volume and over 85% of the world’s flowering plants, and many pollinator species are in decline or at risk of extinction. Four species of bumble bees native to America are in rapid decline; the rusty-patched bumble bee...

Inspired by the free and open source software movement that has provided alternatives to proprietary software, the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) was created to "free the seed"--to make sure that the genes in at least some seeds can never be locked away from use by intellectual property rights. In other words, Open Source varieties and any varieties bred from...

The world is changing, and our seeds and breeding need to change with it. What does the healthy agriculture of tomorrow look like? How will our climate and habits change? These things need to be weighed so that we know how to direct our organic breeding work. Here are some of the ways we are meeting the needs of current...

This article is part of Growing Partners, our new series focusing on the farmers, gardeners, seed growers, breeders, vendors and non-profits we work with that are demonstrating leadership in environmental and social stewardship. We’re so invigorated by their trail-blazing work, we want to share it with the world–and hopefully inspire the real food leaders of tomorrow to follow in their...

Each year High Mowing donates thousands of seed packets to schools, non-profits and community groups across the country--and this year was no exception, with a whopping 143,657 packets donated to over 600 different recipients! But where did they all go? What did those seeds become? Here are a few ways our donated seeds had powerful and far-reaching impacts this year...

Matt Dillon (left) examines a wheat trial with Seed Matters' first Graduate Fellow, Brook Brouwer at the High Mowing Trials field. Brook is researching low-input grain crops for organic systems at Washington State University Seed Matters is an initiative created by the Clif Bar Family Foundation to improve the viability and availability of organic seeds. Their goal is to ensure...