We have developed an educated clientele at farmers markets (you!) which buys not only market-grade firsts but also buys the canning-grade imperfect fruit. Any fruit damaged further than that we use in our own commercial kitchen and even those scraps go to a pig farmer up the road. Nothing we harvest is wasted.

Our use of off-farm inputs (to nourish the trees) is minimal. We grow cover crops in between the tree rows which adds nutrients to the soil, helps create stability for complex soil ecosystems, and improves water retention in the soil.

We supply about 80% of our electricity from our own PV solar panels – the maximum our local utility will allow us to install. And our commercial kitchen’s heat is largely supplied by hot-water solar panels mounted on its roof.

Our irrigation system is the most water-conserving possible (entirely drip and micro-sprinkler) while also being almost entirely gravity-powered.

A leading climate researcher has used our farm as a case study and found us to be at or very close to carbon-neutral.

We are very involved in community development from local-scale mentoring to serving on state and national boards pertaining to organics, research, and health.