Water saving practices make CSAs stronger and bring people closer to their food
Outside of Fruita, Colorado, the flatlands are speckled with small farms. Most of them are mere fragments of the size that farms once were. Wendy and Nevin Troyers’s farm is a handful of acres off of a country road. Since the turn of the century, Colorado has seen several years of drought, 2022 included. It seems as though the sun and wind are competing to pull the moisture out of the soil and air. The wind blows and rocks the Troyer’s homemade farmstand sign, the handiwork of one of their sons. The sun beats down on a fence lined with blue jeans hung to dry, ranging in size from toddler to full grown. While she tends to their homestead, four children follow, helping her along the way, while two more are working with their father for the summer.
A wiggly new puppy named Pancho weaves between their legs as they make their way around the homestead. They sell eggs along with fresh produce and homemade goods in their farmstand at the end of the driveway. Everything from lettuce and green beans, peas, melons, peppers to patio tomato plants can be found for sale throughout the summer. On the way to the stand, you may be greeted by some eager bottle fed lambs, hoping you have their next meal in hand.
For the first few years of farming, the Troyers sold their produce through this stand and the farmers market. This year, they are trying out a CSA model for the first time. “We had heard about CSA’s and then the Western Colorado Alliance (WCA) put on a CSA 101 class for people who were wanting to learn about it, and I attended,” Wendy said, “It answered a lot of my questions on the practicality of how it works out and we got really excited and decided to try it.”. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. CSA’s are a way for farmers to guarantee that they have clientele for the harvesting months and receive upfront payment to get the supplies they need before the season begins. A community member can either buy a half or full “share” of the farm. Full shareholders receive a box of produce every week and half shareholders receive a box every other week. Each shareholder gets a variety of what's available on the farm at given times throughout the summer. With a CSA subscription, customers typically find that they are exposed to new and varied produce to try. CSA’s typically start around May or June and run through September or October and range in price from $300-$600. “A lot of the benefit is a customer base, so we know we have a place for what we produce. It’s also a lot easier than going to the farmers market every week,” explained Wendy. Buying a share upfront for 3-4 months of produce typically proves to be more cost efficient for the consumer and gives the consumer the freshest produce available. Eating what’s in season is better for the environment, too, because while you’re supporting your local farmer and community, the carbon footprint of food consumption decreases without shipping produce across the country.
Utilizing the CSA model to keep food local isn’t the only way that the Troyer’s farm is benefiting the environment and soil. In recent years, the Troyers have been practicing no till, utilizing cover crops, incorporating livestock, and using drip line irrigation. These regenerative practices have been proven to be better for the environment and the farmer. With the strong winds that sweep across the flatlands, tilling the soil exposes the soil to the air and wind, causing it to dry out and lose its stored carbon. Colorado’s current drought has led many farmers to reconsider water usage and alternative means of keeping moisture in the soil. “No till helps with the moisture retention, it helps the plants to be able to make use of the moisture. It also helps the soil to stay more workable. It's not constantly being tilled up and then packed. The roots are there, they're getting oxygen, they're getting the nutrients, they're not constantly getting disturbed. Now when we dig the dirt you can see the difference, we have lots of earthworms, it's not just powder from being tilled,” said Wendy.
No-till practices are usually paired with cover crops. Cover crops are a multitool for soil heath. They provide a natural means for suppressing soil disease and pests while providing grazing material for livestock and habitat for wildlife and pollinators. Cover crops also suppress unwanted weed growth without the use of herbicides. On top of that, the Troyer’s use drip line irrigation to control their water usage. “We’ve really liked using the drip line because it gets the water to where it needs to be. We can control it,” said Wendy.
These were not all things that the Troyer’s did when they first started on their farming journey. There have been years of trial and error, expansion and successes, but Wendy says that the community of farmers and consumers are able to share in their failures and successes and grow from each other. “There's just a lot of benefit in the network of farmers and learning from other farmers. When you go to the farmers market, you get to know other producers and customers and it all is such a learning experience. And it's just fun to learn,” said Wendy.
The Troyer’s have learned these drought combating techniques through other farmers in their community and through community education events. Techniques they once knew from farming in the midwest have been replaced by regenerative methods and practices. As summers get hotter, these water saving methods will become even more important to protect their land and crops for the next generation.
Wendy hopes to pass these lessons on to her children who are growing up on the land. Their oldest sons work with the lambs, younger siblings collect eggs, bake goods for the farmstand and assist with other farming chores when needed. “The biggest thing is teaching them the value of hard work, teaching them the value of what they are working for and what they receive,” explained Wendy, “They have a better appreciation of the blessings they receive when they work for it and we're teaching them not to be scared of trying new things, not to be scared of failure.”