Long crop rotations are the cornerstone organic practice for soil health and weed suppression. Our farmers use a systematic approach to rotate crop varieties and locations from one year to the next. A field that is in rye one year, will have a whole year in a cover crop like red clover, before being planted with spring wheat or another annual crop. And such a field will not see rye again for six years.

The soil is allowed to have recovery time from the nutrient demands of each crop, and weeds and pests are never given the same conditions or timing two years in a row.

Cover crops are medicinal to the land.

They are called a “cover” because they protect the soil from being exposed to the natural elements. They provide armor from heavy rain fall, and establish living roots in the ground, which holds the soil in place, so that we don’t lose it to erosion.

They also prevent the desiccation of soil microbial communities, resulting from soil that is left exposed.

Because our cash crops, like wheat, are grasses, our cover crops are often brassicas or legumes, like red clover.

By alternating the family of plant in the field, we not only provide biodiversity, but these legumes take free nitrogen out of the atmosphere and fix it in the soil for our next nitrogen hungry cash crop.

This way our farmers don’t have to rely on inputs like synthetic NPK fertilizers, that leech into our waterways and cause algae blooms and dead zones in our natural bodies of water.

Tillage refers to any method of physically disturbing the soil. On a farm, this is typically done with a plow or a series of discs, where you are cutting through the soil and turning it over.

In an organic farming system that can’t use synthetic herbicides to kill weeds or perennial plants, some amount of tillage is always necessary. However, the costs must be recognized and managed.

Excessive tillage can damage the delicate microbial ecosystem below ground, and the physical structure it creates.

ROC farmers are asked to document every time they use a tillage implement, and to plan for opportunities in their rotation to no-till plant, or to use shallow discs.

Both organic and synthetic fertilizer application is the primary source for nutrient water pollution and the creation of dead zones in our natural bodies of water.

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are manufactured in an incredibly energy intensive, steam generated process.

Because we mill regional grains from the North East, much of our farmers’ land is hilly and at risk of contributing to this run off and soil erosion.

Strip planting on slopes prevents this soil loss, as well as managing vegetative perimeter barriers around the fields, to have plants and plant roots to absorb excess water.

All of their other practices mentioned above help to create healthy soil with good aggregation. This allows their land to have greater water infiltration and water holding capacity. Otherwise excess rainfall on bare, unhealthy soil would puddle or pond on the surface, and roll to the nearest stream, taking loose soil and fertilizer with it.