The USDA’s organic program has its problems, but for now it is the gold standard for
food grown without chemicals. Mt. Folly Farm’s crops have been certified since 2014,
and part of the certification process is an annual inspection, during which the inspector
pulls a sample of organic production, in this case the farm’s organic corn.
In December, I received by email the results of this test and am sharing the PDF with
you So you can get a better sense of the pesticides, fungicides and
herbicides on which the industrial ag world depends.
For three pages, the Mt Folly organic corn shows “N.D.”, which means non-detectable,
and our practices and records show we haven’t used these ag chemicals on our
certified organic crops in years.
Now, we are going deeper, improving the nutritional quality of the food we grow. Our soil
is alive, and this vitality leads to more nutritious food. (The USDA organic program, in a
cave-in to industry, does not require food to be grown in soil, leading to certified organic
hydroponics for leafy greens and tomatoes and berries grown in sterile mediums like
coconut husks. European certifiers do not allow this.)
I wrote about healthy soil and its causal relationship to more nutritious food in a blog for
World Soil Day 2024. You can read this and other writing at www.mtfollyfarm.com.
Already available at The Mercantile on Main, 1 South Main, Winchester, KY., are hemp
products, whiskey, beef and pork. Because the beeves and pigs are raised on pasture,
the meat has more minerals and a better ratio of fats. We plan to expand distribution of
all four offerings in the first quarter of 2025.
Right now, on the farm we are “pigging,” which means our gilts (now first time mothers)
are having baby pigs. The first 6 baby pigs were an easy birth, the next set was 100%
breached, and the third set hasn’t been born yet. So that was our holiday!
As always, come stay at the homestead, with lower winter rates until spring break in
April. We’d love to see you, and know you’ll have a fine time.
