By Clare Boland, Communications & Outreach Fellow, and OFRF employees
Three Springs Farm is a licensed natural farm situated in jap Oklahoma within the Ozark Hills. Farmers Mike Appel and Emily Oakley domesticate over forty totally different crops and greater than 150 particular person varieties on three acres of land. Their aim is to take care of a household operation that demonstrates the financial viability of small-scale farming.
Initially, Three Springs offered nearly all of their produce at farmers’ markets, however because the pandemic, they’ve transitioned into being majority Group Supported Agriculture (CSA). As a substitute of giving prospects a pre-packed field like a conventional CSA, they provide a free selection mannequin, permitting prospects to choose what veggies they wish to obtain at their weekly pick-up in Tulsa. CSA members additionally obtain a publication containing recipes, photographs, and tales from the farm. “It’s non-traditional, however we nonetheless have that group assist,” says Mike. Along with their CSA, in addition they promote wholesale to a restaurant and a Meals is Medication Program.
For Mike and Emily, farming organically was their intention from the beginning. Each studied agriculture in school, and afterward gained expertise working at natural farms like Full Stomach Farm in California. After Emily completed her graduate diploma on the College of California-Davis, they relocated to Oklahoma, the place Emily was raised, to start out a farm of their very own.
However discovering a everlasting residence for his or her farm took a bit longer than that they had hoped. They checked out greater than 100 properties over the course of three years. Throughout this time, they farmed on leased land, however had been unable to change into licensed due to soil amendments used on the land previous to their lease. Finally, they discovered land in Jap Oklahoma, about an hour east of Tulsa, the place they’ve been farming for the previous 22 years.
“Oklahoma is admittedly troublesome as a result of there’s not a whole lot of good soil,” Mike explains. “The most effective land tends to be river valleys, however they’re liable to flooding. Or, there is likely to be actually nice land however no water. The most effective land we noticed was south of Tulsa, however it was too costly for us. We had been on the eleventh hour once we simply sort of stumbled upon our place.”
Why Natural
The land they bought hadn’t been farmed earlier than, in order that they didn’t must undergo the three-year natural transition interval to acquire natural certification. “It’s why we do what we do,” Michael mentioned when requested concerning the choice to be licensed natural. “There was by no means a query of doing something apart from that… We truly don’t want it for advertising functions.”
Regardless of that, Mike says their CSA prospects are nonetheless within the natural label – what it means and the integrity behind it. He additionally thinks the bashing of huge organics doesn’t do so much to assist the label total. “While you’re doing that persistently, the buyer doesn’t perceive and goes to equate organics as one thing that’s fraudulent. That’s a fear. It needs to be much more delicate and balanced. There are a whole lot of us on the market doing it proper. There’s a whole lot of concern, and I feel we’re driving a really fantastic line of dropping client assist if we don’t make integrity and strict requirements the precedence.”
Along with being USDA-certified natural, Three Springs Farm can also be licensed by means of the Actual Natural Mission. Emily served on the Nationwide Natural Requirements Board from 2016-2021 and advocated in opposition to the inclusion of hydroponic greens underneath the USDA label. The USDA’s choice to incorporate hydroponics was what led to the founding of the Actual Natural Mission, the place Emily at present serves on the requirements board. The Actual Natural Mission label goes past the USDA natural label, differentiating natural meals produced in live performance with wholesome soils and pasture, and providing prospects better transparency.
Mike’s prime the explanation why folks ought to select natural each time attainable begin with the apparent. “You don’t need poisons in your meals. That to me is key. We don’t wish to eat meals grown with chemical compounds and we don’t need different folks to both.
“Additionally, farmworkers shouldn’t be working in fields which have nasty chemical compounds. Now we have an extended approach to go to make sure folks have good working situations, however not less than we will guarantee folks aren’t being uncovered to unhealthy chemical compounds after they’re rising our meals.”
Then there are the bigger environmental impacts. “Residing close to a creek and seeing the life that’s there’s unbelievable. Whereas it’s resilient, it’s additionally very susceptible to our influences. It’s essential to verify your meals selections don’t impair that. Once we purchase natural, we predict past ourselves. Our selections have large impacts in different components of the world. Simply attempt to make the perfect selections you possibly can with what you’ve gotten in entrance of you.”
Cowl Cropping for Scale and Local weather Extremes
Though Mike and Emily personal round 100 acres, they solely maintain three to 4 acres in manufacturing because it’s simply the 2 of them and their daughter. The vast majority of their land is in conservation for wildlife habitat and native ecosystem restoration. Figuring out the precise schedule for his or her cowl cropping has helped not solely to construct biomass, but in addition to handle their farm with minimal employees.
”Something that was spring crops will get became a summer season cowl crop. After which any land that isn’t gonna be utilized in any respect that 12 months can also be in summer season cowl crop. We finish our season on Labor Day to get our winter cowl crop planted. So we spend most of September, and slightly little bit of October, cleansing up fields and simply promoting to the restaurant and the Meals is Medication program.” The aim, Mike says, is to get your entire farm into cowl crop by mid-fall. “Over time, we’ve found out maintain the farm as two folks; not rising year-round is a technique to try this.”
Although, local weather irregularities have prompted them to adapt their plans season to season. “ Our falls have been so much drier, so we’re not in a position to plant till we get a rain, and people rains haven’t been coming till October. So we’ve modified our winter cowl crop slightly bit due to that, including extra winter-hardy [varieties].”
Along with fall droughts, they’ve additionally been experiencing heavy rains within the spring. This previous 12 months was “the wettest spring we’ve ever had, which is saying so much for this area as a result of now we have fairly moist springs. We get fairly extreme storms. It’s often a deluge. And this spring was the worst in our 20 years of farming. We simply couldn’t get again into the sphere. And there have been a whole lot of illness issues in our potatoes and onions due to it.”
Together with the adjustments they’ve made to their cowl crop combine, Mike and Emily are additionally experimenting with decreased tillage to fight local weather extremes. This 12 months, as an alternative of rototilling their summer season crop previous to winter planting, they tried discing it in as an alternative. “We’re actually comfortable the best way that turned out. The soil is so much much less abused once we don’t rototill.” Within the coming 12 months, they’re hoping to experiment with interseeding, planting cowl crops alongside money crops, to fight soil erosion and construct resilience for rain occasions.
Studying By means of On-Farm Analysis
Mike and Emily have additionally developed an excellent relationship with Oklahoma State College. “We’ve completed some varietal trials with them, which helped us determine what works,” says Mike. “What’s been attention-grabbing is to see the extension brokers change into extra excited about cowl cropping. They’re nonetheless very typical, however they’ve change into extra after seeing what cowl crops have completed for us—the truth that we’re natural, our crops are wholesome, and our yields are good—with out having to place down chemical fertilizers.”
“We’re a bit distant from the college, so it makes it more durable to collaborate, however we’ve instructed them to name us each time they do selection trials. Now we have a number of concepts and have trialed a bunch of various crops.”
His greatest recommendation for brand new farmers? Perseverance.
“There are occasions I’ve undoubtedly needed to simply throw within the towel. However in the long run, issues work out. You speak to folks, determine the issues. Every year it will get higher, however you’ll nonetheless have setbacks, just like the climate for us this 12 months. Know that whereas nothing is static, every year you’ll be capable to construct in your expertise.”
