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18 Organic Farms Changing the World
Organic food company work daily to solve the puzzle of sustainable agriculture while providing their local communities and markets with fresh nutritional foods.
Organic foods have no chemical additives or pesticides.
They are also free from flavor enhancers, sweeteners, and preservatives.
In most cases, organic and minimally processed foods are more nutritious than their mainstream process alternatives. They generally have more beta-carotene, polyphenols, antioxidants (to fight cancer), flavonoids (to fight heart disease), fatty acids, and minerals.
When it comes to sustainability, natural and organic food company have many questions to answer:
- How do they reduce their carbon emissions?
- How do they conserve water and slow the rapid depletion of groundwater?
- How do they save plants from pests and vermin on a large scale without using pesticides and chemicals?
- How do they farm while nourishing the land and not eroding topsoil?
- How do they provide economic sustainability and social sustainability, such as fair wages and healthy working environments, to employees?
Each of the farms listed below have found a way to answer these questions as they take control of their food products.
How Farms Prioritize Education
Many organic farms prioritize outreach, community engagement, and education.
Farms host community events or hold classes for adults as well as children to learn anything from gardening to cooking. Many farms seek to empower individuals to grow their own food and plant their own gardens. Organic food company also offer free resources such as their favorite recipes for cooking with natural foods ingredients.
Farmsharing and Community-Supported Agriculture
Many local farms use community supported agriculture (CSA) programs or farmshares to connect with local community members.
Members support the farm upfront and are rewarded with the best organic or meat cuts. This allows farmers to plan ahead with their seasonal demand and minimize potential risk and waste. If you’re interested in a CSA or farmshare, you can use LocalHarvest to find one local to you.
The Top Organic Farm Companies
1) Florida Organic Growers
Florida Organic Growers is a non-profit organization and action group that educates, certifies, and provides outreach for organic farms at the local level to develop organic, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture. Florida Organic Growers is the largest certifier on US eastern seaboard.
Their Specialty
- Education and certification, including farmers workshops
Their Projects
- Incentivize health in low-income communities by building community gardens and supporting farmers markets
- Socially sustainable development, with respect to wages and the well-being of individual farmers
Where to Find Them
Farmers markets throughout Florida
2) Cedar Circle Farm
Cedar Circle Farm and Education Center operates in Vermont. It is a certified organic produce farm with a social mission to develop communities and promote regenerative agriculture. Cedar Circle Farm holds classes for children and adults, as well as community events.
Their Specialty
- Seasonal fruit, vegetables, and flowers
Their Projects
- CSA
- Online vegetarian recipes
- Greenhouses where community members purchase plants to grow in their own garden
- Grassroots efforts on GMO labeling, including recently hosting environmentalist and ecologist Dr. Vandana Shiva
Where to Find Them
Purchase directly from their farmstand or find them at farmers’ markets.
3) Highwood Crossing
Highwood Crossing in Alberta, Canada is the bread baker’s dream. This organic food companies focus on organic grains, oats, and cold pressed oils. Their sustainable, natural and organic farming methods include crop rotation and “green-manure,” allowing for a small carbon footprint and healthy soil.
Their Specialty
- Organic whole grains, oats, flours, and cold-pressed oils
Their Projects
- Highwood Crossing has a strong belief in philanthropy and giving back that supports slow foods and local health
- Organic baking mixes for quick, mess-free and healthy breads
Where to Find Them
Shop Online for shipping throughout Canada.
4) Stonyfield Organic
Stonyfield Organic’s active-culture yogurt was originally developed as a way to raise money from a non-profit organic farming school in New Hampshire. Stonyfield sources their yogurt from pasture-raised cows on family farms. They practice socially and ecologically responsible sourcing.
Their Specialty
- Dairy produced without toxic pesticides, artificial hormones, antibiotics, or GMOs
Their Projects
- Stonyfield’s organic baby food line helps promote good health from the very start of life
- Emphasis on the importance of healthy soil for carbon sequestering
Where to Find Them
Sold in supermarkets, natural food stores, and on college campuses across the country
5) Denison Farm
Denison Farm is a certified organic produce farm in New York whose focus is to support the food companies and local community with their fresh organic foods. They participate in farmsharing with carefully selected produce boxes.
Their Specialty
- Eggs, fruit, and seasonal produce
Their Projects
- CSA, including working shares and those for low-income households
- Online vegetable recipes
Where to Find Them
Check out their markets around New York.
6) Straus Family Creamery
Straus Family Creamery is family-owned and operated in Northern California. They own their own dairy farm and source organic, non-GMO milk from family farms around Northern California. As a family of environmentalists, their mission is to implement organic farming in the most sustainable way.
Their Specialty
- Minimally processed dairy products, including milk, yogurt, and ice cream
Their Projects
- Pasture-raised cattle allowed to forage
- Dairy products formulated without stabilizers or thickeners
- They are powered by a methane digester that converts the methane emissions from cow manure into renewable electricity
- A bottle recycling program
Where to Find Them
Use their store locator and look for them at Northern California farmers markets.
7) Green Sense Farms
Green Sense Farms started in Indiana, and it has now developed a global network of indoor hi-tech vegetable farms. They are motivated by the need for sustainable agriculture and the ability to control conditions with indoor growing. This method uses less energy, reduces carbon emissions, recycles water, and minimizes waste. Their soilless, indoor farm design allows them to remain close to points of distribution rather than on the rural outskirts of town.
Their Specialty
- Lettuces, herbs, and baby greens
Their Projects
- Efficient automated computerized controls that give plants proper light, nutrients, water temperature, and humidity
- Year-round harvesting
- No pesticide use
- Minimizing soil erosion
- Global development without transportation concerns
8) AeroFarms
AeroFarms has its global headquarters in New Jersey. It functions on a technological indoor vertical farming model. The harvests and outputs each year are analyzed to develop better growth, flavor, and sustainability solutions.
Their Specialty
Baby greens, including kale, arugula, pac choi, and other super greens
Their Projects
- Remaining soilless with a substrate made of post-consumer recycled plastic
- A closed water loop allows them to use 95 percent less water than field farming and 40 percent less water than hydroponics
- Light and nutrients that are perfectly engineered to each plant
- Year-round harvests
- Reduced transportation needs with farms built on major distribution channels
Where to Find Them
Look for Dream Greens in stores listed by their store locator.
9) Little Leaf Farms
Little Leaf Farms is a technologically-driven greenhouse in Massachusetts that has designed their farms for maximum sustainability. They prefer to stay local for best organic, only shipping within one day’s drive.
Their Specialty
- Baby lettuce, including baby green leaf, arugula, and red leaf
Their Projects
- A hydroponic farm using all rainwater
- An advanced irrigation system that uses 90 percent less water than field-grown agriculture
- Carbon-capturing system the optimizes plant development
- Some solar energy use
- Decreased transportation waste
- Philanthropy, including giving to food banks
- Not using pesticides
Where to Find Them
Look for them in locations around New England.
10) Seattle Urban Farm Company
Seattle Urban Farm Company wants to help you learn to grow your own food in a city setting. The education is two-fold: SUFCo wants to promote healthy lifestyles and to help increase public awareness, particularly urban awareness, of agricultural issues. Check out their projects page for inspiration.
Their Specialty
- Books that teach you how to grow food in your own backyard
Their Projects
- Accessible forms of agricultural education including books and a weekly podcast about growing crops at home
- Offering services to help you design, install, and maintain local urban gardens
Where to Find Them
You can shop online like grocery stores for their products.
11) Love Is Love Farm
The Love is Love Farm in Georgia is certified organic and dedicated to growing healthy food and forming communities that aid local farmers’ success through collaboration. This farm is an example of the success of landless farmers who are hosted on a larger property, in this case at Gaia Gardens. Their education includes mentorship and leadership development.
Their Specialty
- Varied produce that allows the soil to stay healthy and promote a diverse ecology
Their Projects
- CSA
- Soiled-based practices, including continuous crop rotation, annual cover cropping, on-farm composting, conservation tillage
- Plant sales and community events
12) Tendergrass Farms
Tendergrass Farm is a family-owned Certified Organic animal farm in Virginia. They seek to lower the cost of organic meat products and poultry production, allowing these healthy options to be easier and more cost-effective to obtain for a whole family.
Their Specialty
- Certified organic meat and poultry products
Their Projects
- Utilizing the whole animal in a way that reduces waste and cost-incentivizes organic goods
- NAE, Antibiotic-free, and Clean Label
13) Viva Farms
Viva Farms is a non-profit organization and training program in Washington that aims to preserve sustainable farming and create a local food system through community engagement. Using education and classes, they empower farmers who have limited resources to develop strong local businesses.
Their Specialty
- Training and educating people on sustainable agricultural practices and business development
Their Projects
- CSA sourced from farms that they work with, therefore including a variety of organic vegetables and fruit
- Support for local communities by hosting produce sales from local and family-owned farms
Where to Find Them
Check out some of the farms that Viva Farms works with in the Northwest Washington area.
14) Rhapsody Natural Foods
Rhapsody Natural Foods in Vermont is dedicated to producing sustainable, healthy, and delicious plant-based foods. This family-owned business grows large vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and rice paddies. They believe that the first step to decreasing their carbon footprint lies in homesteading, buying locally, and decreasing their dependency on imported food.
Their Specialty Foods
- Fermented foods, soy, and rice products, such as tempeh, miso, mochi, and koji
Their Projects
- Sourced from their own homestead as well as local and regional producers
- Using organic, minimally processed, non-GMO ingredients
Where to Find Them
15) Brown Cow Organics
Brown Cow Organics is a farm in the United Kingdom that cultivates Guernsey and beef cows for organic beef products. This breed of cattle also produces dairy products rich in A2 beta casein protein, which can promote heart health and digestive function.
Their Specialty Foods
- Organic beef and yogurt high in Omega-3s
Their Projects
- Nutrient-rich organic pastures
- No pesticide use
- Solar-powered farm
- On-farm composting
- Vibrant wildlife ecosystem on the farm
- Yogurt packaged in reusable and recyclable plastic of glass jars
Where to Find Them
For those in the U.K., you can order online.
16) Wholesum Harvest
Wholesum Harvest is a family-owned Certified Organic vegetable farm in Arizona and Mexico that consistently works toward sustainable vegetable-growing. They emphasize growing healthier products for their customers without pesticides and using technology to cut down on their carbon footprint.
Their Specialty
- Organic produce, including tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, and bell peppers
Their Projects
- Fair Trade
- Dedicated to caring for its employees and community building, as well as building developments for employees
- Non-GMO
- Water recycling
- Bio-control to deal with pests organically
- Using native plant and heirloom species to foster biodiversity
- Recycled packaging and waste reduction
17) National Family Farm Coalition
The National Family Farm Coalition is a non-profit organization that promotes socially sustainable and social justice on farms, as it empowers family farms to reduce the corporate control of the socially and environmentally harmful big agriculture industry. The NFFC helps to organize and advocate for changes in the United States’ farm and food policy, and to help the economic prospects of America’s small farms and rural communities.
Their Specialty
- Advocacy for family farms, particularly when it comes to fair prices, local jobs, and fresh foods
Their Projects
- Actions regarding:
- The 2018 Farm Bill
- GMOs
- Resource access
- Trade
- Local food
- New farmer initiatives
- Food sovereignty
- The dairy crisis
18) FreshFarm
FreshFarm is a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. that aids sustainable agriculture efforts and provides outreach to help local farmers and food products. They hold farmers’ markets for local farmers to sell directly to the public, as well as educate the public about food and environmental issues.
Their Specialty
- Support for local farmers, including skills training, help with attaining food certification, technology, and business development
Their Projects
- Aim to make fresh, local, sustainable, natural and organic foods available to all income levels with nutrition assistance programs
- Community outreach that teaches gardening, cooking, and the basics of eating well, particularly to children
Where to Find Them
FreshFarm operates farmers’ markets in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
