Down on the Farm

By SARAH J. DANIEL Special to the Palisadian-Post At first glance, Winner Circle Farm looks like any other orchard, with its symmetrical lines of fruit bearing trees, save for the countless chickens brazenly strutting around the circular driveway, seemingly uninhibited by anyone or anything. In fact, about 100 chickens roam so freely around Doug and Leslie Miller’s 5-acre spread of land in Palmdale that their friendly visits to surrounding neighbors have become routine. For the Miller family, vendors at the Palisades Farmers Market since its inception, organic farming isn’t just about using naturally derived pest management or draping tinsel-like mylar tape on trees to deter birds from eating the fruit. It’s a way of life that rests on the pillar that nature shouldn’t be manipulated, but rather observed and its rewards reaped. Boasting a modest crop that includes Fuji apples, cherries, Asian pears, greengage plums, nectarines, grapes, garlic, pumpkins and 19 different varieties of peaches, the Millers also sell eggs laid by the aforementioned truly free-range chickens. ‘They’ll never go in a stew pot,’ Leslie Miller says of the free-feathered birds. ‘They’ll die here, they’re my friends.’ It’s this natural approach to farming that resonates with consumers who, in the face of corporate greed and mistrust, are turning to local farmers markets more often, where vendors feel like family and offer an alternative to monolithic grocery chains. Doug and Leslie, both 48, say farming has always been in their blood. Both grew up in the San Fernando Valley with big, backyard gardens: Leslie’s grandparents had orange groves next door and Doug’s grandparents had come from a farm. While dating, they used to hold contests of who could grow the best vegetables. ‘It was competitive gardening,’ jokes Leslie. Then when they had children, they wanted to grow the freshest vegetables for them. Ten years ago, they bought an orchard. ‘It was a hobby that got out of hand,’ Leslie says of the expanding farm. They have now maxed out their property and are looking into purchasing more land. ‘I’m like their family farmer,’ Leslie says of the throngs of young families, Ugg-booted teens, cyclists, celebrities, joggers and long-time residents who have made the Sunday morning trip to the Palisades market a weekend ritual. But as the health revolution continues to plow across North America with no signs of slowing, the demand for organic foods has gone mainstream, with sales of organic products growing in more than 20 percent over the last decade, according to the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Web site. This has forced many long time organic farmers to become certified or face losing profits to their competitors who display the coveted United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic seal. Jennifer McColm, manager of the California Certified Organic Markets Inc. says that of the eight markets she oversees (including the Palisades market), approximately 40 percent of vendors are certified and an equal number are pesticide-free farmers like the Millers. ‘People are becoming a lot more aware of what they’re putting in their bodies,’ says McColm, who admits she is no longer accepting vendor applicants who aren’t certified, and encourages her current group of non-certified vendors to start the process. Doug and Leslie began the certification process more than a year and a half ago. According to Leslie, it involves a lot of ‘jumping through hoops,’ endless paperwork, time and having tests performed on their land, and will take a total of three years to complete. For small farms like Winner Circle, becoming certified organic also means higher expenses; the cost of using organic fertilizers is significantly higher than the conventional variety. The difference’$50 per acre for the latter versus $600 per acre for organic herbicides’ Miller says would be taxing on farmers who didn’t have an additional income like their family does (Leslie teaches special needs children and her husband is a cabinetmaker). The Miller children, Casey, 25 and Miranda, 23, also help on the farm and at the markets. Organic standards and certification were pioneered by the CCOF in the mid-1970s. As the market for organic products grew, so did the number of organic certification agencies. Subsequently Congress passed the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA) in 1990 to establish consistency and this spawned the USDA to later create the National Organic Standards (NOS). Under these guidelines, uncertified farms like Winner Circle can sell goods at farmers markets and to retailers, advertising their items as ‘organic’ or ‘organically grown,’ and are not required to become certified unless their gross agricultural income from organic sales is more than $5,000 annually. Although they currently have no definite plans to sell to retail outlets, with certification the Millers would also be able to sell their produce for use as organic ingredients. Despite these perks, competition and profit weren’t the motivation behind Doug and Leslie’s decision to become certified. Leslie says they’re doing it for their customers, because they wanted to make them ‘feel more comfortable.’ Even though, she adds, ‘there are some people who will only buy organic, who buy from me because they know me and trust me.’ Leslie chats with her regular customers and seems to effortlessly remember he names of their children and spouses. She even recalled that a customer’s 4-year-old son was born the year the Palisades market opened. ‘I get Christmas cards, Hanukkah cards, even school pictures of their children ‘I’ve established some real friendships,’ she says. And with familiarity comes perks; Leslie gave jars of her homemade jams and jellies as holiday gifts this year and sells bird-pecked fruit at reduced prices to regulars like Palisadian Pete Donohue who uses his windfall to make homemade pies. Before growing peaches, Leslie got to the point that she didn’t even care for them in stores, because they didn’t have any taste. ‘I had no idea there were so many really awesome varieties of peaches,’ says Leslie, who has through trial and error now grown peaches sold at six farmers markets that her neighbor, the avocado farmer, calls ‘the real thing.’