Living The Dream Farm
The cooler is here and it’s running super efficiently! It’s such a gigantic change from our old cooler, so nice and big. Our electric bill hasn’t gone up, but we’re still in the works to run this cooler from a Solar power Setup once the garden stops running our every waking hour!
Is the project complete?
Yes, and no. Its up and running and working great, but we’ve not got it on a solar setup just yet.
Have you seen any benefits from it?
Yes! Our power bill hasn’t gone up as much as with our old cooler cuz we set this one up to be super efficient, the thickly insulated walls retain the cold air so well.
Do you plan to expand the project?
We’ll be installing a Solar unit as soon as we find the right elements.
What lessons have you learned from working on the project?
Storage units are awesome, co-ops are wonderful to support farmers on their projects like this, and things take time.
How has it impacted your business/product quality/life?
Because this walk-in cooler is so efficient, its made our produce even better quality. The big door and tall interior have eased the strain on our backs from hunching over in the old one, and its so solid there’s much less stress over “is the cooler working?” It’s improved things on the farm in a huge way! Were so grateful for the River Market co-op community helping us make this dream a reality!
Stubborn Oak Farmstead
Is the project complete?
We used the grant funding to purchase seeding equipment this spring, so that part of the project is complete.
Have you seen any benefits from it?
We have seen major benefits from the new equipment! With the seeder, we were able to plant a row of carrots in 30 seconds, a project that used to take hours when seeding by hand. We have about 12 major crop types that need to be direct seeded, and we saw similar increases in productivity with all of them. The equipment allows us to control the spacing between seeds, which means we don’t waste time going through the crop and thinning plants to achieve the correct spacing. That level of precision also means that we will save a lot of money on seeds by not needing to over-buy. Our backs are also grateful since we can seed at a comfortable upright position with no crouching necessary!
Do you plan to expand the project?
We will expand our use of this equipment by experimenting with seeding cover crops. We typically broadcast seed cover crops, which can lead to uneven germination and loss to animals eating the seeds. We will try to see if we can use the seeder to plant the cover crops in evenly spaced rows that are covered by soil. This will lead to better cover crop establishment which helps us with our long-term goals of improving soil health.
What lessons have you learned from working on the project?
This grant gave me the confidence to invest in the seeding equipment. I have been interested in its potential benefits for years, but was worried that it would be too complicated to justify the purchase. I learned that these pieces of equipment are designed with busy farmers in mind, and the instructions try to make it as simple as possible to set up and operate.
What lessons have you learned from working on the project?
This equipment has been a game-changer in terms of how we plant our direct seeded crops. They used to be much more tedious to plant than our transplanted crops, but now that has completely flipped. This grant has helped us to save money, farm more comfortably, and save a lot of time that is better spent working on other projects.