Chestnut Charlie’s farms, photos courtesy Chestnut Charlie’s
A BALANCE ACT Being sustainable in agriculture depends on the operation, the operator and the product, not just the definition of “sustainable.” by Anne Brockhoff, photos by Steven Hertzog
Sustainability is one of agriculture’s hottest buzzwords, and for good reason. Producing food impacts the environment, the economy and the community. Yet, there’s no one-size-fits-all definition of the word. Practices that work in the Kaw River Valley might not in western Douglas County, where soil is thinner and rockier. Farmers’ market finances differ from those of the global commodities market. Big, small, conventional, organic, market garden, cattle, crops—they’re all different but can be sustainable in their own ways. “It’s kind of tricky to define, but what’s true in general is that many farmers really focus on what’s sometimes called the ‘triple bottom line,’ ” says Tom Buller, the horticulture Extension agent for K-State Research & Extension—Douglas County. The phrase encompasses environmental, economic and social sustainability. All three are essential, but there are as many ways to balance them as there are farmers.
For Charlie NovoGradac and Deborah Milks, chestnuts are the key. Chestnut Charlie’s Tree Crops has been certified organic since 1998, and its 1,500 chestnut trees are surrounded by a shelterbelt that buffers them from chemical drift and provides food and shelter for wildlife. Planting cover grasses and other organic practices improve soil fertility and otherwise benefit the environment, NovoGradac explains. “Sustainable to us, as farmers, means production can be maintained indefinitely at a certain level” without depleting resources or using potentially harmful or synthetic chemicals, he says. Not that it’s easy. Chestnut trees don’t begin producing until they’re about 12 years old and take 20 years to reach full production. That adds up to years of weeding, pruning, mowing, planting cover crops, irrigating and other maintenance before seeing any return from or claiming depreciation on the investment. NovoGradac could boost his harvest by using conventional methods, but organic farming is what he calls a “bargain of 53
