October 30, 2024
Kirsten Tyler and Elias Rosenblatt of Rocky Hill Farm, now in its fourth season, have always used organic practices. They developed an interest in farming toward the end of grad school. In 2019, 2020, and into the COVID-19 pandemic, they did the “homesteady thing,” which quickly evolved into a micro-farm. As an invasive plant scientist and wildlife biologist, they care very deeply about the ecosystem, feeling that humans are part of the landscape, not separate from it. They are invested in providing nutritious food for their community and the next generation.
Both Kirsten and Elias have worked on certified organic farms in the past, providing the opportunity to experience the organic certification process at work and have helpful conversations with the farms’ owners about the requirements. However, when they started their own farm, they felt they didn’t have the capacity to embark on the certification process – despite recognizing that they were already following the practices – so they chose not to try for certification in this early phase of their farming endeavor. This feeling changed when they saw a peer-to-peer mentorship opportunity through the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), and they thought, “ok, this is how we’ll do certification!”
TOPP is a national program supported by funding from the USDA and exists in every state. NOFA-VT coordinates the program in Vermont, matching mentors and mentees. Kirsten worked with James Donegan of Trillium Hill Farm in Hinesburg. The two had met previously and Kirsten says the prior connection was helpful to establish trust in their working relationship. While they weren’t quite sure how to begin once becoming officially paired, they found helpful guidance through the program’s orientation materials. They began getting to know one another over Zoom and formed a list of farming goals. This evolved into a plan that included distinct topics for each meeting. They met consistently over the winter, swapping farm visits throughout the growing season.
Rocky Hill Farm, located in Westford, consists of 0.32 acres of permanent vegetable and herb beds beautifully laid out on the one-acre property, along with a greenhouse and rabbit hutches. Kirsten and Elias grow produce and raise meat rabbits. Their products are primarily sold at their community farmers market and area restaurants. Kirsten is the co-manager of the Westford Farmers Market and explained that it used to be a vibrant weekly market that she helped restart. In an earlier iteration, it was held as a monthly market, though the decision was made this season to transition back to a weekly format.
While the rabbits aren’t currently included in their organic certification due to cost barriers associated with certified organic feed, the rabbits were the “in” needed to connect Kirsten and Elias with restaurants, largely due to support from the Vermont Fresh Network which helps facilitate farmer-to-chef connections. Why rabbits? It works well to raise them on rented land with minimal infrastructure and there is a market for them (Kirsten shared that they could be raising ten times more because chefs would buy them!). The restaurant meat sales have allowed Kirsten and Elias to sell more of their organic produce to restaurants, as well.
The topics that James and Kirsten covered together were far-reaching on a range of organic farming practices and certification requirements. A key part of growing food organically is the health of the soil, so they had several discussions about Kirsten’s soil. She completed a soil test and they had a helpful conversation about the results, allowing her to make informed decisions about actions she’d like to take to improve the health of the soil at Rocky Hill Farm. This also led to shared learning opportunities around crop production, spacing, cover cropping, and compost applications.
A key piece of the certification process is recordkeeping - ensuring that a third party can verify a farm’s organic practices. Kirsten shared that at first, she and Elias were keeping very few records beyond sales and an annual planting plan. James helped elevate their recordkeeping game, sharing his documents as helpful resources. He led them through his entire production plan and harvest-to-sales records from his farmstand and wholesale accounts. While Kirsten didn’t specifically use James’s record templates, having the opportunity to see how he organized his documents gave her ideas and the confidence to make her own.
Lastly, Kirsten found the farm visits invaluable from an operations perspective. She and James were able to walk around her farm together, providing the opportunity for Kirsten to ask specific questions and have a helpful discussion with an experienced organic grower on the spot. Overall, Kirsten found the accountability of being part of a structured program with a mentor extremely helpful to keep her on track toward meeting her certification goals. She was nervous about the actual inspection, but says that the inspector was kind, helpful, and explained everything as they went through the process, resulting in a successful experience that ultimately resulted in being awarded their certification.
James shared that, “Kirsten was highly motivated in the mentoring program, so it made our meetings fun. She had some clear goals, and had topics she wanted to cover for each of our winter Zoom or phone calls. I enjoyed sharing my techniques and answering her questions. Initially, she seemed intimidated by the certification process, but I encouraged her to just get started, and explained that it was a pretty user-friendly process. She earned her certification and seems to have had a successful season!”
What does the future hold for the farm? Kirsten and Elias plan to increase both their vegetable space and rabbit production, eventually moving to a new and larger property.
Join us in congratulating Rocky Hill Farm on their organic certification!
Learn more about organic mentorship and the certification process on our website.