Clay Hill is only certified organic vegetable farm in Seneca County

Kristy Buskirk says it’s an exciting time to receive organic certification for the produce grown at Clay Hill Organic Vegetables and Flowers. In June, she and her husband, Aaron, officially became the only organic vegetable producers in Seneca County. “It’s a really cool time to be doing this,” Kristy said. “There’s a lot of synergy around this right now, which is great.” Although Clay Hill is the only certified farm, Kristy said there are others who grow food naturally but are not certified. And they’re all important to the local foods movement. “I do believe the rural-urban connection is important and can be a way for people to remain connected to their food,” she said. The growth of the Seneca County Farmers Market shows the rise in the natural food market. “It takes many hands to build a movement,” she said. “We’re organic for my health, my family’s health and the health of the environment.” She said there’s a tremendous amount of paperwork involved, but it’s worth the work. “A lot of people will say it’s too much work to get certified, but the records they ask for are things farmers should be keeping, anyway, so they can keep track,” Kristy said. The process is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through its National Organic Program, a regulatory program housed within the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. “There’s a 25-page form to fill out,” she said. “I have to put down everything I put on the land.” The National Organic Program website says the agency is responsible for developing national standards for organically produced products, which assure consumers that products with the USDA organic seal meet consistent, uniform standards. Before land is certified, Clay Hill had to wait three years after any non-organic materials had been used on the land. “You really need to know what materials you can and cannot use,” she said. For her, Kristy said, the process of becoming organic and the records required to maintain certification are worth the effort. “It was a requirement to part of GRO,” she said. “I view that relationship as a way to make a living doing this. Being part of that organization right now is important to us.” GRO – or Great River Organics – is a produce cooperative dedicated to providing organic food as a normal part of people’s lives while helping farmers sustainably grow their operations. Based in Columbus, GRO offers community-supported agriculture shares to its members. The food is grown by farmers in various part of Ohio, mainly 30-something farmers. “It’s a farmer-owned growers co-op,” she said. “We are one of eight members. Collectively, we have a CSA that has about 200 members.” Kristy said Clay Hill became involved with GRO because she previously worked for one the farmers who started it. “I’m very proud that I’ve gone through the process and I can say to our customers that we’re certified,” she said. She said the process helps maintain accountability for standards in growing produce, the property and methods of growing. According to records Kristy keeps as part of her organic certification requirements, Clay Hill has 2.53 acres certified for vegetable production this year. “I estimated that I will grow 8,480 pounds per acre to total 21,454.4 pounds of food,” she said. “I also have .27 acres certified for flower production at 50,000 stems per acre for 13,500 stems harvest over the season.” In the greenhouse, she has grown more than 22,000 plants since spring. The entire farm contains 52 acres, of which 32 is tillable, with 17 acres of woods. The produce area includes two 250-foot long beds and 4,000 square feet of lettuce. In addition, Kristy said, Clay Hill is planning to place 5 acres in a land conservation program. “We want to be good stewards of the land and take care of our watershed,” she said. “We get a contract this fall and we’ll plant native grasses and wildflowers next spring.” Kristy, originally from New Jersey, said she met Aaron in San Francisco in 2003, and the couple has returned to Tiffin to farm on land that has been in the Buskirk family for years. She said they considered other options, but everything they needed was in Seneca County. “We thought about New Jersey, but the price of land there is outrageous,” she said. “Then we realized everything what we were looking for is here.” They acquired land from Aaron’s uncle, Bill Buskirk, a few years ago. “That has proven to be very useful,” she said. “We rely on Bill for a lot of help and lot of equipment. I’m not literally pulling all the weeds by hand.” She said they would like to acquire more equipment for weeding within the rows. Before starting Clay Hill, the Buskirks worked on other produce farms for several years and worked through an organization called WWOOF – World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – where volunteers work on small farms around the world in return for food and accommodations. Kristy described the work as living in a hostel-like atmosphere. “They were people living off the land,” she said. “They would have gardens typically using techniques like permaculture. “We learned about a whole host of different farming techniques,” she said. “We did some time in South America where we worked on farms. That was rugged living, where we hiked down to town to get supplies.” On their own farm now at 2848 N. TR 165, Kristy said they grow “a little bit of everything.” Kristy is a full-time farmer and Aaron works at a job on the railroad in addition to working on the farm part time. And they look forward to the time their 8-month-old daughter, Esmae, can join them often. “We grow all types of vegetables and flowers,” she said. “I really like flowers and would like to get more into that.” On the vegetable side, she said a few of the choices are eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, basil, onions, garlic, summer squash, cucumbers, radishes, bok choy, kale, peas and beets. “I’ve been picking a lot of green beans,” she said. “We’re big into bunched greens,” she said. “That’s everything I pick and bunch with a rubber band.” In most years, there will be sweet potatoes and some other vegetables that didn’t get a chance this year. “Because of the weather, it was so wet we didn’t get cauliflower or brussel sprouts in on time,” she said. In addition to selling through GRO, Clay Hills sells produce directly to consumers at area farm markets, including Seneca County Farmers Market. Remaining Seneca County dates for the year are Sept. 12, Sept. 26 and Oct. 10. As the business grows, Kristy said she plans to grow for wholesale markets, also. “We’re too small now to be doing much wholesale, which includes grocery stores and restaurants in Columbus. “It’s just our second year of that,” she said. “It’s a fledging organization, just like our farm.” After she starts making more money, she said she would like to hire people, which would allow the farm to expand. “I’d like to expand into a few items and probe the wholesale market a bit,” she said. “We just put in eight beds of kale. That’s something I’m going to try to sell wholesale.” In addition, Clay Hill sells produce to Ashlee Decker, owner of Beehive Caf, a downtown Tiffin restaurant that features locally grown food. Although people have been asking, Kristy said a farm stand at Clay Hill isn’t in the plans right now. “We’d like to get another greenhouse up and we’d like to finish our house,” she said. The “house” is a portion of their building on the farm that they are turning into living quarters. But she’s happy to see people are asking about locally grown produce. “This is an urban movement that’s moving to the country,” Kristy said. In rural areas, she said many people have been eating locally forever by putting out their own gardens. So the larger market is in bigger cities, where people don’t have as much of an opportunity to grow their own food. “They’re really excited and they want to eat better,” she said. “The biggest customer is college-educated moms. They’re in the economic bracket where they want to feed their kids better food. “We have a richness here that should be celebrated,” she said.