Farming Software – Organic Farmer 4.0

Maintaining organic certification requires keeping complete, extensive and detailed records about all aspects of farm work, and requires keeping copies of receipts for all purchases of seeds, fertilizers, etc. Even market gardeners that do not seek organic certification must maintain extensive records to be compliant with food safety laws as codified in the FSMA. As I am an intrinsically disorganized person, I have created a relational database to facilitate keeping and maintaining the required records. The database is now on its third iteration of improvement. The beauty of the database is that it runs in the cloud on Airtable, which allows access by smartphone from the field, as well as via web browser from a laptop or desktop computer.

Annual recertification of an organic farm requires an inspection that typically takes two to three hours, with most of this time devoted to auditing farm records. During High & Dry Farm’s most recent certification inspection, Airtable allowed me to power through the audit, which was completed within one hour, with no significant issues reported.

We am now making this database system, Organic Farmer 4.0, available to farmers completely without charge. Sign up for a free Airtable account here. Once you have signed up, download a copy of the Organic Farmer 4.0 database to your Airtable account here. Detailed instructions for use of Organic Farmer 4.0 can be found here.

Persephone 2023

Persephone: By Wolfgang Sauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Fans of Greek mythology know Persephone as the Queen of the underworld, the dead, and of Spring. Farmers understand the Persephone period to be the days when the period from sunrise to sunset is less than ten hours, causing vegetables to struggle to grow. (And farmers to struggle with seasonal depressive disorder).

Sadly, at our latitude, the Persephone period has begun. We will count the days until Februrary 8, when we emerge from Persephone and our veg commence to thrive.

High Tunnel Progress

After some thought we decided to build our new high tunnel with 4′ hoop spacing, instead of 5′, for added strength, so the planned dimensions are now 30′ x 96′. A big unexpected roadblock is that we cannot perform site leveling or post installation until an archaeologist assesses the site, and NRCS has no idea when the archaeologist can visit, as they employ only one to cover the whole state. WTF?

The hoophouse kit arrived on June 5. 7000 lbs of steel. Today we are in the middle of assembling 25 hoops with trusses. The hoops weigh about 200 lbs each, so muscling them around in 85 degree heat ain’t a lot of fun. We are a little more than half done.

  • Updated progress report
  • Grant contract signed -Done
  • Rototill site – Done
  • Fed approval of contract – Done
  • Set position of 4 corner posts and check for square – Done
  • Order high tunnel kit from Oregon Valley Greenhouse – Done
  • Site visit by archeologist and NCRS Cultural Resources approval – Sept.5 Done
  • Preassemble bow assemblies – Done.
  • Rent stump grinder to remove 3 stumps – Done
  • Roughly level site (1.5% grade allowed) and sculp drainage channels along sides – Done
  • Set 4 corner posts – Done
  • Set side posts – Done
  • Mount bows – Done
  • Install diagonal bracing on sides – Done
  • Install three longitudinal purlins – Done
  • Construct endwall frame – Done
  • Mount endwall door frames – Done
  • Attach baseboards and hip boards – Done
  • Attach wigglewire channel – Done
  • Mount poly skin – Done
  • Install side roll-up devices – Done
  • Install perimeter landscape fabric – Done
  • Job Complete Oct. 20

Funded!

Our USDA EQIP high tunnel grant application didn’t get funded initially, but then USDA found some loose change behind their sofa cushions and belatedly awarded the grant to us. Follow us as we race to get our 30’x95′ veg cathedral completed soon enuf for a Fall crop.

Here is a list of some project milestones:

  • Grant contract signed -Done
  • Rototill site – Done
  • Fed approval of contract – Pending
  • Set position of 4 corner posts and check for square
  • Order high tunnel kit from Oregon Valley Greenhouse
  • Site visit by archeologist and NCRS Cultural Resources approval.
  • Preassemble bow assemblies.
  • Rent stump grinder to remove 3 stumps
  • Roughly level site (max 5% incline allowed) and sculp drainage channels along sides
  • Set 4 corner posts
  • Install perimeter landscape fabric
  • Set side posts
  • Mount bows
  • Install diagonal bracing on sides
  • Construct endwall frame
  • Cover endwalls with polycarbonate
  • Attach baseboards and hip boards
  • Attach wigglewire channel
  • Mount poly skin
  • Install side roll-up devices

Infrastructure

Making progress. The site has been leveled and forms put into place to pour a concrete foundation. Our trusty farm truck has hauled big loads of construction materials. The base and 4 walls for the walk-in cooler have been constructed and await assembling on the concrete foundation when it is complete.

Dry Farming

This was our first experiment in dry (non-irrigated) farming. And what a test it was! This was one of the driest summers in recorded history, with a total of 0.7″ inch of rain-fall July through September. Yet a single 100′ row produced 150 lbs of winter squash! The key, I expect, was that we had one of the wettest Junes in history, creating a reserve of soil moisture that lasted all summer.

WSDA Grant Awarded to High & Dry Farm

Our request to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, for a Local Food System Infrastructure Grant in the amount of $26,416.00 was awarded in full. This will allow us to upgrade our vegetable wash station and install a walk-in cooler for food storage.