Written by Mary Hathaway, OFRF’s Research & Education Program Manager
Up on a ridge in rural Maine is Kennebec Valley Farm, a 22-acre historic farm. Owner Jennifer Barrientos was able to purchase the farm three years ago to become steward of the property, which is a mix of woodland and pastureland. Jennifer grows on just about one acre, including greenhouses. She is certified organic and uses no-till and biodynamic methods to grow her produce. You’ll also find chickens and alpacas on her pastureland, and she makes good use of their manure in her soil fertility regimen.
Jennifer had a long journey to get to her current farm. She grew up in Hawaii, where she helped grow food and care for chickens, goats, and rabbits on her family’s farm. Many years later, after moving back to the mainland and working as a teacher for more than 25 years, Jennifer began working on organic and biodynamic farms on both the West and East Coasts. Now, settled in at Kennebec Valley Farm, Jennifer grows food for her community, offering seasonal produce at their farm store, through a CSA and local farmers markets.
Rebecca Champagne, OFRF’s Conservation Scientist, visited Kennebec Valley Farm in October to see Jennifer’s operation and chat about her involvement in the FLT program. They chatted about why Jennifer decided to apply for the program, why she chose the specific research question, and discussed how the trial was going. Jennifer is in the beginning phases of being in no-till production, and after visiting some long-term no-till farms in Maine, she knew she wanted to investigate what would create the healthiest soil at her farm. She is interested in finding the right balance in practices financially, labor-wise, and what will build soil health and microbial activity.
Comparing farm-made compost and commercial fertilizer
In her transition to a no-till system, Jennifer has begun to incorporate Dutch white clover as a cover crop to add fertility to her beds and suppress other weeds. As she’s developing and stabilizing her permanent bed system, Jennifer wanted to make use of more cover crops and farm-generated inputs to feed her soil. However, as a market farmer, Jennifer did not want her change in amendments to decrease her yields. Jennifer decided it was a good idea to compare her farm-made compost with the commercially available fertilizer that she had used in previous seasons.
