Stuart Farr grew up on a farm outside of London, England. He started ploughing at the age of nine and farmed with his father through to 2002. But it took a career in the software industry and decades of city living for him to realize he wanted to get back to his roots. Re-entering farming in 2015, he grows wheat, rye, clover, sunflowers, buckwheat and black beans, amongst other crops, on 400 acres in Ancram, NY, all certified organic. For Stuart, this return to the land is more than a homecoming, it’s about farming in a way that’s better for us and the planet. His story, once again, reminds us of the incredibly generous work of farming and why we love supporting and celebrating this type of practice.
Beanstory: After a successful career in tech, you could have taken many different paths. What was the impetus to return to the land?
SF: Age, I suppose. I just didn’t want to live in the city any more. I started yearning a bit for the countryside - like where I had lived as a child. Don’t get me wrong, city living was great at the time. But that experience had run its course.
B: But this is clearly not a retirement. Farming is hard. What motivates you to do such demanding work?
SF: This area used to be mostly dairy. Now, it’s mostly Corn and Soy, grown using Round-up and big machinery. I grew up on a conventional farm and I understand the challenges of growing crops with good yields to make ends meet, especially with large chemical and machinery bills. It is difficult to farm organically at scale. But we need to do it. The goal here is to use some new techniques, and re-learn methods that were forgotten with the advent of chemical farming.
B: You give us hope. What are some of the things that you’re doing differently that you think others can learn from?
SF: I’m in my fourth year of growing edible beans without tilling. It takes a lot of experimentation, but I’m seeing how this type of practice supports a healthy ecosystem and produces good yields. Soil is filled with microbes. When you till, you disturb that - you literally tear it apart. What I do is grow rye and crimson clover. The beans are planted into the standing rye/clover crop, then we crimp it with a roller, killing both rye and clover. That crushed bed of rye prevents weeds from growing and eliminates the need for fertilizer; the rye acts as a mulch for the beans. Bean seeds are strong enough to break through the layer of rye/clover mulch. And once that happens, the beans are low maintenance. Plus cleaning the beans is easier because the bean pods aren’t exposed to soil or rocks.
B: This is maybe a strange question, but have you ever thought of just selling the rye versus growing beans? Would that be a better economic proposition for you?
SF: I grow rye and sell it at another slot in the rotation. Rotation and the attendant crop diversity is critical to the system from crop nutrition, weed, pest and disease control perspectives. A diversity of crops also helps by spreading the work-load of field operations and acts as a hedge against weather related crop stresses and failures. Essentially, we are not looking to maximize production on a single year basis, rather to maximize production over the rotation (6 years). Emphasizing soil health using techniques such as minimum/no-till, cover crops, crop diversity and no chemicals means that we are building resilience in the system which provides benefits in the medium-long term. We have been doing this 9 years and are seeing improved characteristics such as improved water infiltration and holding capacity.
B: You’re also doing ‘sap testing.’ Can you talk a bit about that?
SF: I basically do “blood tests” on the bean plants. I get a lab to run reports on the nutrient profile of the beans and then I know if they need to be supported with any other minerals. For instance, are the plants low in zinc? If so, I can apply that.
B: Beyond being organic certified, you’re also part of the “Real Organic” program. Why is that important to you?
SF: Organic labeling has become a bit muddied - because a farm can get certification on paper, but not be organic in their philosophy of growing. For me, it’s about recognizing soil as being foundational to growing plants, and animals. To achieve the “Real Organic” certification, I didn’t have to do anything differently, I was already farming in a way that met the requirements of that extra certification.
B: What’s the outcome you hope to realize from your farming practices?
SF: Good yields of nutrient dense food, grown organically, on a scale that others can do and make a living.
B: What gives you hope for the future?
SF: I see that what I’m doing is working and there are many other farmers and researchers who are all collaborating. So I think we are entering a virtuous circle phase: where there is even more rapid adoption, improvement and refinement of growing nutritious food in sustainable systems.
Thank you Stuart. To learn more about his work and his practices at Hops