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Three Years to Organic: Hearty Roots' First Harvest in Red Hook

Episode 75: Three Years to Organic: Hearty Roots' First Harvest in Red Hook

Three years after buying Red Hook farmland, Hearty Roots Farm brings in its first certified organic harvest, a milestone for the town's farmland preservation push.

Show notes

In 2023, Ben and Lindsey Shute of Hearty Roots Farm bought 97 acres of farmland on Route 9 in Red Hook. Because the land had been farmed conventionally, they had to wait three years before anything they grew there could be certified organic. That wait ended this month with a harvest of kabocha squash. Publisher Walter Mullin talks with Daily Catch senior reporter Claire Greenberger, who was in the field for it. They cover the USDA's three-year transition rule and how the town bought the Cookingham East property. They also talk about how the land was split between protected farmland, public trails and affordable housing through RUPCO. Claire explains why local farmers and Scenic Hudson think a critical mass of farms matters. She also covers what the Shutes did with those three years and what's next: garlic, a pollinator meadow, better irrigation and crop rotation with their Clermont farm.

Produced by Emily Sachar, Walter Mullin, Matty Rosenberg, and Jennifer Hammoud at the Radio Free Rhinecilff studio

Hosts


Guests

Claire Greenberger

Claire Greenberger

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