Amid the Chard: Cultivating the Diverse Landscapes and Practices of a New England Organic Farm

Urban Farm DB summary

This 2016 book chapter profiles Scenic View Farm in New England, United States, run by owners John and Katie, surveying the farm's history and characteristics relative to other New England farms and describing its landscape. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, which farms like Scenic View depend on for stable sales, require growing diverse crops to meet consumer demand; flowers enhanced the farm's appearance and yielded consistent profits in years when other crops merely broke even. Among the challenges organic farms face, the chapter describes a tomato blight outbreak that swept the region, which Scenic View's CSA helped the farm weather while maintaining its organic certification. Access to supplemental income is described as critical to the farm's continuation, and the chapter portrays farmers, including some who feel they cannot eschew pesticides entirely, trying to farm as responsibly as their circumstances allow.