Crossroad Farm is committed to the goal of Sustainable Vegetable Production, “a productive and profitable agriculture that protects natural resources and builds strong communities.” We have been developing and practicing methods of sustainable farming for over 30 years. Our management practices aim at healthy, safe, non-polluting crops.

We take our responsibility as ecologically sound farmers very seriously; farming beyond our immediate short-term need to be profitable, in a continual pursuit to balance our practices against the backdrop of protecting the environment, including water quality, human health, soil productivity and the local community. We focus on replenishing what we take out of the soil and minimizing the impact that replenishment has on the world in which we live.

At Crossroad Farm, we practice minimal or no employment of insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides. Our extensive use of preventative methods reduces the need for pesticides and many of our crops are grown without any sprays. Most of the pesticides we do use are approved for organic production.

So, why are we not Certified Organic you might ask? For a number of reasons, we have chosen not to become Certified Organic. Our commitment to ecologically sound practices such as minimizing sprays is firm. We are also determined to maintain our prices at reasonable, competitive levels. Just because a substance utilized in farming is organic, does not make it safer or healthier, per se, for the consumer, laborer, farmer, or to the ecology of the farm. For example, Copper Sulfate, a certified organic pesticide, is highly toxic and harmful to not only humans and also beneficial soil organisms, such as earthworms and bees, but also the entire balance of diversity in the environment. On the other hand, a synthetic alternative is almost completely nontoxic in all of these aspects, however because it is not naturally-occurring, it is not certifiable. For us, it is essential that we move beyond a label and pursue sustainability in the most holistic way possible. Click on the link to learn more about our farming practices.