What is Sustainable Agriculture?

We put up a website for our farm almost as soon as we decided we were going to farm - and one of the first things we did was figure out how to communicate what was important to us when it came to how our farm works.

At the time, the buzz-word was "sustainable."  Since that time, we've watched while that term has been co-opted or taken over by some who just want a nice term applied to them so they can enjoy increased sales.  That, in itself, can be pretty frustrating if your own farm took the time to define what it meant to be sustainable and then worked to share that with potential customers.  What made it worse was the revelation that just using the hot "term" was all it took - people were not generally going to look closely at the "manifesto" a farm might write to guide its own operation.

Well, we still use the word "sustainable" to describe our farm simply because it is accurate, not because we're looking to be part of the cool club.

Today, I wanted to share a slightly updated version of what has been on our website for years.  Why updated?  Well, part of the our definition for a sustainable farm is that the farmers LEARN.  If the write-up never changes, there is no evidence of learning.  

But, I will say this - the foundations are the same, the mechanics and the details have changed as we adapt and grow.

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What is Sustainable?

One of the buzz-words in the media was 'sustainability' when the Genuine Faux Farm started doing its thing in 2004/2005.  Of course, media or popular recognition is a two-edged sword. On the plus side, a broader segment of the population was more ready to learn about sustainable practices.  Unfortunately, the concept became prone to corruption as it got misused and abused. We first shared our farm's definitions for a sustainable operation in 2007.  It received editing updates a few times on the website over the years.  Now, I provide the most recent update - which will reside on the farm blog, rather than the old website that will soon be defunct.

1. Food with Integrity

Consumers are easily able to see who raised the food, what methods they used and can confirm that the farmer avoids exploiting resources (labor, environment, etc). In short, there is no "smoke and mirrors" here. We grow using approaches that we believe are best for your well-being, the well-being of our environment, our community, our workers, and our farm. As we learn and gain experience, we have made, and will continue to make, adjustments. We constantly ask ourselves if our choices are the best we can make and we constantly challenge ourselves to improve.

Interaction with the community is important. This is where the 'connection to our food' component of sustainable agriculture comes into the picture. Everyone who eats should be concerned about their connections to the grower and how they do their job. The participation of the public - your participation - encourages responsible farming methods. Why would any of us want to support businesses that willfully mistreat workers, pollute the environment, or sacrifice quality to acquire every last penny possible?  And, why would a farmer want to do things that might make you displeased with their work?

For that matter, why would you want to put anything but the best fuel into your and your family's bodies? You should want food that is fresh, tasty, and healthy. If you know the farmer, you have a better idea as to how it is grown and whether it is being produced in a way that makes you feel that you are doing the best you can to provide excellent food for your table.

2. Sustainable Agriculture operations work to optimize their inputs.

We often look at farming from an input/output standpoint. We believe that an operation that provides many of its own resources is more likely to be sustainable - built for the long haul. For example, if a farm can develop its own composting operation, it can maintain soil fertility without relying on other sources exclusively.

It is equally important that we identify things that would be too much for us to expect from our operation.  After all, there are limits to our resources (money, land, skills, and labor).  A sustainable farm needs to carefully consider what needs to come from the "outside."  And, once those things are identified, effort is made to find the best partners to fulfill that need.  For example, our farm has only fifteen acres to work with, so we cannot expect to grow grain crops to make sufficient feed for our poultry.

We do our best to find sources that match our own farm mission as closely as possible.  And, we prefer to deal with local providers when it is possible.  It is important to us that most of the local dollar you give to us will stay in the community as we use it to pay for inputs that are supplied from off-farm sources.

This also links back to food with integrity.  How we secure the necessary inputs for our growing can impact the transparency of our operation.  If inputs come from the farm, then it is easy to assess its quality - and it is equally easy to trace all the steps that led to the production and use of that input (such as compost). If the farm cannot provide the input on their own, then a sustainable farm does due diligence to check the source.  Because, in the end, we are held responsible for the product we offer - even if a problem arises due to a situation caused by an off-farm source.

We work hard to select inputs, whether they take the form of an action or addition of physical item(s), that are more likely to do good than harm. For example, we believe that reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides will impact long range health and productivity of the land where we grow our food, so we opt not to use these things. We agree with organic practices, so we make ourselves go through the certification process every season.  Not necessarily to achieve access to the label - but more so we hold ourselves accountable for a solid and sustainable farm plan each year.

3. Sustainable Agriculture stands on three legs: Community, Environment and Profitability.

What I like most about this is it makes no bones about the business and social sides of sustainable agriculture. If there is to be a sustainable agriculture system, it has to be attractive to new and existing farmers, otherwise, very few people will fill food production needs. What we want are healthy, prosperous farms with people who love what they do.

For some reason, many people believe that profitability comes at the expense of ideals. And, frankly, if it were a matter of starving or being fed, I might agree. But, when did we decide that having enough wasn't enough? There is a difference between healthy profit and exorbitant growth and income. We believe that we can provide for our food needs AND pay the farmer fair prices AND the farmer can use practices that are environmentally sound.

While this may sound too idealistic to work, we'd like to point out that the Genuine Faux Farm has been running since 2004. We have had our share of challenges and successes. Weather patterns have changed, economic climates are different than they were when we started, and our own perspectives have been altered as we learn and gain experience. We are a living farm. We experience, we learn, we adapt. With every change, we do our best to find the balance that best meets the principles we set for ourselves. In the end, we find that we are still here, striving to do our best to be a positive force in the local and sustainable foods movement.

It can be done. But we cannot do this alone. Sustainable agriculture needs the support of the community to work. Let's make it happen - together.