 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
Discover New Tools for Your Farm at Small Equipment Field Day Waterford, VA – Farmers cultivating small and mid-sized plots on their own or with just a few helpers can get an up-close view of “smart” equipment designed for single operators and intensive growing conditions at a field day set for Oct. 17 in Waterford, Va. The equipment, ranging from a tuber planter to a bed shaper, has helped farmers Zach Lester and Georgia O’Neal manage up to 7 acres of vegetables, herbs and flowers grown intensively for direct markets. Lester intentionally chose equipment that would complement his crops and conditions. Previously, when he managed a small organic farm in The Plains, Lester had grown frustrated with the unwieldy size of the equipment available. After Lester and his wife, O’Neal, moved to their Tree and Leaf Farm in Waterford in 2001, they chose well-designed equipment to match their goals. Today, he, his wife and a full-time manager effectively manage a wide variety of produce thanks to having the right tools. “Basically, two or three of us are tending 7 acres, and it’s all intensive,” Lester says, referring to a layout that packs as much as 42 inches of crop in each row. Among their crops: beans, eggplant, squash, tomatoes, peppers and broccoli – as well as high-value crops such as edamame beans, specialty carrots and shallots – sold at two popular farmers markets and as part of a community supported agriculture enterprise. “These nice little implements helped me as a market grower design my system.” The small equipment field day is sponsored by Future Harvest-CASA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting profitable and sustainable food and farming systems in the Chesapeake Bay region. Lester can operate his walk-behind tractor by himself, or sit on his riding tractor with his manager riding on a transplanter hooked to the back. His root digger doubles as a tuber lifter, a unique design that mechanizes the harvest of their many root crops – carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, potatoes, onions and garlic. They grow many of those root crops in season-extending high tunnels throughout the winter. Visitors to the field day will see many implements in action, such as the root digger and a 28-inch bed shaper that also lays plastic. Lester will show how his tractor takes many attachments, including a rotary plow, flail mower, and 35-inch Tortella spader. The equipment, most of it designed in Italy for European farms, many of which are small and intensively managed, comes courtesy of a local import company, BDI. Company owner Bill Reiss will be on hand to discuss such specialty equipment as a practical, 1-acre orchard sprayer that he designed. Lester recommends good planning to assess farm equipment needs. “It takes time to think about what you’re going to do. Each year, I complement what I have, so I’m pretty much there with all the tools I need.” The field day will run from 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17. To register or for more information, contact fhcasa@verizon.net or (410) 549-7878. Directions: From Leesburg, VA, take Rt 7 west ~ 2 miles. Turn right at Route 9 West exit. Follow Route 9 ~1/4 mile. Turn right at light to Clarkes Gap Road. Travel 3 miles into the village of Waterford, where the road turns into High Street. At the fork, bear left onto Water Street. Travel 100 yards, turn right through a black double-rail gate and follow the signs through the pasture. 
Future Harvest-CASA
|
 |
 |