Our Agribusiness Ethos

Regenerative - Organic - Sustainable

We live in web of life; an ecosystem that is connected. Life is connected. The life-force of this universe, our creator and protector connects us all and wants us to live in peace and harmony, and respect for the rights of all things our creator chose to put on Earth. These principles should guide every individual, group, community, society or country in what they do and how they do it. If they did, humanity would not have the devastating pollution-driven climate change we see on Earth today. If they did, humanity would not see the suffering and conflict we see on Earth today.

When humanity ceases to think it is the center of life on Earth (and, for some, in the universe) and has dominion to destroy and harm as it pleases, we shall see the balance return to our relationships with each other and all things in the planet we inhabit.

How we use the natural resources we were gifted by our creator to live and grow our food has immence impact on all these issues. Good Tree Farm was established to be an agribusiness that joins the small ranks of environmentally and ethically responsible businesses that show humanity a better way.

Soil: Good Tree Farm's first critical natural resource are our soils.  

Our soils are light soils that are very suited to producing vegetables and field fruits (such as tomatoes, eggplants, strawberries and watermelon).   Though very well suited to the type of crops we are cultivating, we are constantly working to increase the fertility levels and organic matter content of our soils. We use compost, nitrogen-fixing cover crops,  and other organic soil amendments accepted by the National Organic Program (NOP) to raise the fertility of our soils.  Gradually, we hope to move completely away from soil tillage and practice permaculture and no-till farming 100% of the time.

Good Tree Farm believes that the soil is one of the most important natural resources a farming enterprise has.  This one factor can have the greatest impact on the quality and quantity of the food produced on a farm.  We strive to create a "living" soil.  By this we mean that a healthy soil that is cultivated according to organic principles of soil stewardship will be full of micro flora and micro fauna.

Compost is a very important part of organic, sustainable agriculture. It is critical to increasing organic matter in soils and, therefore, also increasing nutritional profile and water holding capacity of soils. Those are very important for the health and wellness of living soils. We compost horse manure and plant residue for a minimum of 6 months then sift it and add it to our main production areas.

Micro-flora of a soil refers to the bacterial and fungal populations that live and thrive in the "living" soil.  These micro-organisms are very negatively affected by modern conventional agricultural practices that employ the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and other industrially synthesized chemical soil amendments.  Their loss negatively impacts the taste and health benefits of the plants we eat. We use nitrogen fixing crops and bacteria as well as soil mycorrhizal fungi to improve the nutritional profile of our soils.

Micro-fauna of a soil refers to the populations of very small insects and single celled organisms found in the "living" soil. These organisms are also negatively impacted by the practices of modern conventional agriculture.  Loss of the soil's micro fauna also negatively impacts the taste and health benefits of the plants we eat.

Water: Good Tree Farm's second critical natural resource is water.  

Supply:
Having access to water year-round is critical for our farm. Soon after purchasing the farm, we drilled two 120' wells which guarantee year-round supply of water, even in the driest of summer months.

Drainage:
Our farm is divided almost in half by our stream, which is where rain and snow drain to when they occur.  We have installed erosion prevention measures like underground tile-drains, and surface run-off prevention buffer zones to prevent soil erosion into the stream.  Coupled with the fact that are soils are clean of pollutants and we do not use pesticides or chemicals of any sort, we are maintaining a stream environment that keeps the stream water clean and protects habitat for all sorts of beneficial insects.

Crop Protection:

Growing crops such that no harm comes to people and planet is not only possible, but it is essential given the extremely high environmental pollution costs from industrial agricultural conventions we see today.

Weed Control:

Every plant has a purpose in the web of life, our ecosystem. Thus, we try to live in ‘balance’ with all plants. Plant species that can compete with our crops for food, water and sunlight are harmful plants - i.e. weeds.

We suppress weeds in our crop cultivation areas by one of these strategies; blocking sunlight, mechanical cultivation, and out-competing them with nitrogen-fixing crops. We realize the importance of not leaving soil bare to prevent erosion and promote soil health via beneficial micro-organisms.

In areas where we do not grow crops, there are no ‘weeds’, just plants growing where they should be growing. What we do try to remove completely, however, are invasive species that cause more damage than good and should not be left to multiply.

Insect Control:

Every insect has a purpose in the web of life, our ecosystem. Thus, we try to live in ‘balance’ with all insects. Insects species that can damage our crops are harmful insects - i.e. pests.

Beneficial insects help us control harmful insects by preying on them. There are also bacteria and fungi that prey on insects to survive. These are all used at Good Tree Farm.

In the end, we use the tools of the web of life to keep the balance in our production areas in favor of our crops.

Disease Control:

Crop diseases are caused by bacteria or fungi. There are bacterial and fungal species that live off plants, and others that benefit and help plant growth. We use crop management measures that reduce the impact of disease causing bacteria and fungi, but we cannot prevent them entirely without constantly sanitizing a large volume of soil - which is impractical and unachievable. We also encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria (like nitrogen fixing bacteria) and fungi (like mycorrhizal fugi) in our soil. If the balance of beneficial:harmful bacteria or fungi in an area of production starts to tip in favor of harmful species, the area is left fallow and not cropped to allow the natural cycles to return that balance.