Dean Henry breaks ground for CU organic farm in Freeville

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Susan Henry at CU's Freeville Organic Farm site, May 2. Charles Harrington/University Photography

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

Driving a tractor and pulling a plow, Susan Henry, Cornell's dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, broke ground May 2 for the university's new 30-acre organic vegetable research tract in nearby Freeville. It will be New York's largest organic research parcel.

"Until now the only organic farming facility at Cornell has been the Dilmun Hill Student Farm, of which only five acres are dedicated to research," said Henry, at the dedication. "Now the Freeville Organic Farm will allow us to gain a better scientific understanding of organic farming systems and it will help provide solutions to the challenges faced by the state's organic farmers."

About 30 acres of a dairy farm was purchased last year adjacent to Cornell's Homer C. Thompson Vegetable Research farm in Freeville for the organic farm. The farm will be a new collaboration between statewide organic producers and Cornell faculty, staff and students. "The farm will yield many exciting discoveries and will benefit the organic producers and consumers in New York," Henry said.

Laurie Drinkwater, Cornell associate professor of horticulture, will serve as the farm's faculty committee coordinator. Steve McKay, the manager of the Thompson farm, will conduct the daily operations. A farm management committee, composed of growers and Cornell faculty, will develop procedures, infrastructure, crop rotation schedules and the research focus.

Organic farming is a fast-growing segment of U.S. agriculture. Certified organic cropland more than doubled during the 1990s, and the industry soared to $5.5 billion in sales in 1998 from $1 billion in 1990, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are more than 200 certified organic farms in New York.

Assembling an organic farm is not easy, and it could be about three years before the Freeville Organic Farm becomes certified. An annual requirement, certification occurs after the farm shows that no synthetic herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers have been used for the previous three years.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements for organic farming are very stringent, and many conventional farmers simply lack the knowledge to convert their farms for organic purposes," said H. Christian Wien, Cornell professor of horticulture and chairman of the department. "Our research on issues such as organic farm management, crop rotation sequence, soil organism activities, nutrient recycling and pest management will help these farmers tap the more lucrative organic market."

About 100 people attended the farm's grand opening May 2. Elizabeth Henderson, of the Peacework Organic Farm in Newark, N.Y., expressed appreciation for the new facility. "We [as growers] have waited for this moment for a long time," she said.

Henderson explained that the organic growers look forward to collaborations with Cornell: "Our work as farmers might have been easier with some researchers working alongside us, investigating the questions that we unearth every day, such as why do flea beetles plague our early season brassicas and eggplants, how can we reduce the pressure on our cucurbits from cucumber beetles and squash bugs, and the more difficult ones like, what are the optimal rotations for maximal yield and crop quality?

"We have a vision for Cornell," Henderson concluded. "Cornell could become a leading force in making New York state a model of community food security and grassroots democracy."