We’re USDA Certified Organic!

We couldn’t be more excited to share that New Leaf Farm is officially USDA Certified Organic! Read below an except from Notes from the Field — the weekly CSA journal written by Farm Director, Matt Simon — describing the process:

“Although the farm has always grown our produce using organic methods, there is a lengthy and involved process on the road to becoming officially certified as organic. Before I started working in agriculture, I was under the impression that there were hundreds of small certified organic farms dotting the landscape throughout Texas. Needless to say, I was shocked when I learned the actual number: 43 at last count. Texas is not an anomaly in this way, but there are certainly other states (Vermont, Maine, Wisconsin) that have a far deeper tradition of certified organic, family scale farms.

I'm lucky to have learned the ropes of the certification process from the farm that I previously worked at, Green Gate Farms. I already had a relationship with our certifying agency, Nature's International. But this was my first time taking the process from start to finish. It was a process that I began at the start of this year, and it has taken 11 long months (certainly exacerbated by Covid) to get where we are today. Which, I'm proud to say, is among only a handful of local, certified organic, Central Texas farms!

Being certified is more than just the privilege of using the usda seal and being able to charge slightly more for your product at the farmer's market. There are a set of practices involved in maintaining and regenerating the soil- namely cover cropping, crop rotation, and compost application- that all play into our organic systems plan. By adhering to this set of principles, we are able to produce food in a thriving ecosystem, increasing biodiversity above and within our soil.”