USDA and the Family Farm

In late December 2009 I discovered that the USDA was giving grants to farms for a high tunnel. What is a high tunnel? This is from my application:

“Farming in a high tunnel will increase our yield of warm weather crops allowing us to bring to the local market organic produce that is normally not available from local farmers. The High Tunnel will also extend the growing season by about 2 weeks in the spring and 2 weeks in the fall. The High Tunnel is an unheated greenhouse that uses the sun for heat and natural breezes for cooling. In the process of producing fresh vegetables and fruit to take to market, our goals are to (1) reduce water usage, (2) reduce nutrient loading to ground and/or surface water, and (3) improve soil tilth and soil quality related to improved productivity.”

Yesterday I talked to a person at the Mt. Vernon office of the USDA. They have finally come up with a price per square foot of $2.97 for new farmers (farming less than 10 years which includes us). Our proposal is for a high tunnel of 20’ wide and 96’ feet long. This would cover about 90% of our costs to construct one. The USDA uses a ranking system of points to determine who gets a grant. What I discovered yesterday was farms with additional “critical” needs get more points. I think they are using the “gift” of a high tunnel as the carrot to get farmers to correct other problems.

We have three USDA critical needs (problems): (1) water runoff problems from the 60 acres above us that has been clear-cut to build view homes; (2) lack of pollinators; and (3) noxious weed problems, specifically Canada thistle.

When we have a heavy rainfall of ½ inch or more within a 24 hour period the water that appears becomes extreme. We end up with a pond by our garden and a fast moving stream through our garden into the blueberry area. Their idea is to help (design and fund?) us create a swell that is planted in native grasses and shrubs that will slow down this water movement and allow the water to enter the water table without moving through our property.
Our second problem, as is a concern throughout the world, is a declining population of pollinators. We normally rely on the native bumblebee for most of our pollinating. Some years we have millions of them swarming through our property. To a lesser extent is the honeybee. I don’t know of any beekeepers within two miles of our farm but this spring we have been visited by them early, covering our plum and apricot trees. I have not noticed many bumblebees this spring and that concerns us. The USDA wants us to create a native bee habitat, probably as part of the plantings for water control.

The third major problem we have is a noxious weed known as Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense. The root system in this plant is extensive, going down to 3.5 feet. In our garden it comes up out of the hard pan and I have had no luck digging it out. Being an organic farmer does not allow me to use the strong chemicals that could be used to kill it so we have to come up with another solution. I explained to the USDA person how we are controlling Tansy ragwort by introducing a moth that lays eggs on the plants, with a caterpillar hatching that eats the plant. We have controlled over 90% of the Tansy on our property. Is there a bug that can kill the thistle? I have heard there is one.