HOOK

52 HOOK ew York State joined the movement in 2013, when the Hudson Valley Farm Hub was established to spread re- genera3ve organic methods and to show how exis3ng large farms could be revamped to be perpetu- ally viable and profitable without synthe3c spraying. As one farmer, Kenneth Keavy of Green Earth Organic quips, "Why do we have to call our farm stand carrots 'organic carrots', whilst carrots grown with chemi- cals get to be called 'carrots'." There should be two categories: carrots and chemical carrots. No wonder we are warned to thoroughly wash big-box produce before ea3ng. "I remember an old growth apple orchard with outragely delicious apples in a field where I grew up on a farm. Yes, there were a few bruised fallen to the ground or with a worm, but few, and those were a gi$s back to the animals and the soil. Even in bucolic environments I always ask about any spraying, chemical usage especally at farm stands and farmers markets, as I know the taste and health benefits make a big difference". This brings up an obvious ques3on—since regenera3ve or- ganic farming is essen3ally the rediscovery of tradi3onal ways to grow food—where is the community and the individual in all this? Here in the Hudson Valley, many of us remember our grandparents' backyard gardens full of vegetables and flowers. Food then was grown simply, without sprays, and gathered fresh, in peak season. It was delicious. And like gardens tended by those 10,000 years ago who first stopped chasing a$er wild game and invented agriculture so small tribes could establish homes and work together as communi3es, individual peoples' labor (and a cat or two to keep mice away from stores of grain), made these revolu3onary gardens successful. I myself remember weeding by hand the rows of lettuce and carrots in our backyard garden in Hud- Back in the mid-20th Century, spraying pesticides on food alarmed aware communities with its connection to bodily health. They advocated growing unsprayed "organic" vegetables, but worn-out soil would produce vegetables and grain only by using increasing quantities of chemical fertilizers. It was clear protecting only the plants wasn't enough. Both the growing plants and the soil itself should be chemical free. It was the Rodale farm family in Pennsylvania who experi- mented and documented which practices actually repaired and improved a farm's soil, without using sprays and powders. By 1980, they had the answer—"regenerative organic" farming where the environment is regenerated season after season using nature itself to support the growth of healthy and nutritious food. California jumped on the Rodale science and from their UC Davis Agricultural College, and the example of new suc- cessful and profitable ROC (Regenerative Organic Certified) farms, led others across the country and even the world, to adopt this proven sustainable farm practice. N ith Spring around the corner in the new year 2026, an eye to growing grass-roots, life giving foods in unaltered soil is gaining favor, and an economic boost. Here's to planning the non- GMO seeds of your choice to plant in the new year –growing food the right way, without chemicals and sprays the substainable way. W GROWING YOUR OWN FOOD IS LIKE PRINTING YOUR OWN MONEY. Ron Finley

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