Erin Worrall

This author has written 19 articles

Boulder County Farmers Market: At the Market: Nourish skin with products made from locally grown herbs

You’ve heard of farm-to-table. Now, let us introduce you to farm-to-skin.

Colorado Aromatics is a natural skincare company that creates its products from herbs they farm themselves. As the owner and founder of Colorado Aromatics, Cindy Jones plays equal parts scientist and farmer. After obtaining her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, she spent years doing cancer research, medical writing and teaching classes. But after a while, she began to crave a career that offered more balance as she raised her children.

She and her husband, George, purchased a farm in Longmont and set off on an entirely new venture: founding their own herb farm and creating a skincare company that honors nature. As a biochemist, Cindy knew the research behind the beneficial properties of herbs and how to use the principles of chemistry to bring them to their fullest potential. She traded her lab coat for overalls as she began Colorado Aromatics, which is home to an entire catalog of herbs that includes fields of lavender, lemon balm, parsley and some tulsi she is experimenting with.

While these herbs are grown to support Colorado Aromatics, Cindy sees the ecosystem her farm creates as equally important as its final products. Colorado Aromatic’s farm is Certified Naturally Grown, a grassroots and peer-led certification process awarded to farms and producers whose farms operate in harmony with nature. Last summer, they cataloged 87 wildlife species on their property, including insects, birds and mammals that seek refuge at their farm. “Farms are more than just food,” Cindy noted.

Because of this, Colorado Aromatics pushes the envelope on what “natural skincare” can truly be. Cindy harvests, dries, distills and extracts her herbs on the farm before taking them to her processing facility to turn them into their signature moisturizers, face mists and other beauty products.

Just like you might choose to feed yourself healthy, locally grown foods, Colorado Aromatics allows you to treat your largest organ — the skin — with the same attention to detail. Plus, since all products are grown and made in Colorado, their body care line caters to our local climate (yup, we mean dry skin) and the active lifestyle many Coloradans are accustomed to.

Read the full article at Daily Camera.

This page will be updated regularly. If you are a CNG farmer who is presenting at a Farm Conference, please let us know so that we can add you!

Carolina Farms Stewardship Association (CFSA) Sustainable Agriculture Conference

November 11-12

Who was there?
  • Michael Torbett, Terra Vita Farm (Castle Hayne, NC) – CNG Microgreens for Retail and Wholesale
  • Elliot Seldner, Fair Share Farm (Pfafftown, NC) – Hiring, Retaining, and Managing Employees
  • Zachary Rierson, Rierson Farms & Piedmont Fresh (Thomasville, NC) – Utilizing Technology to Ensure Sales and Convenience
  • Erin Worrall, CNG Staff & The Cedar Chest Farm (Blacksburg, VA) – tradeshow

Future Harvest

January 18-20

Who will be there?
  • Tope Fajingbesi, Dodo Farms (Brookeville, MD) – Friday Keynote panel
  • Tresor Thomas, My Mustard Seed LLC (St. Leonard, MD) – Fall in Love With Microgreens
  • Janet Aardema & Dan Gagnon, Broadfork Farm (Moseley, VA) – Four Season Carrot Production
  • Janet Aardema, Broadfork Farm (Moseley, VA) – Farmers as Endurance Athletes: Stretch and Strengthen to Stay In the Game 
  • Bryan Alexander, Good Dog Farm (Upperco, MD) – Experienced Farmer Chat host
  • Toby Hagerott, Against the Grain Farm (New Castle, DE) – tradeshow
  • Tom Farquhar, Sandy Spring Gardens (Ashton, MD) – tradeshow
  • Tom Baker, Tommy Peppers (Sparks Glencoe, MD)- tradeshow

Virginia Association of Biological Farming VABF/SOFP Summit

January 19-21

Who will be there?
  • Erin Worrall, CNG Staff & The Cedar Chest Farm (Blacksburg, VA) – tradeshow, Building a Brand: Marketing Skills for Farmers, From Home to Market Gardening
  • Robert White, Crickhollow Farm (Palmyra, VA) – Raising Broiler Chickens Panel
  • Emilie Tweardy, Shirefolk Farm (Palmyra, VA) – Raising Broiler Chickens Panel, Silvopasture: Thinking Through The Design Process
  • Logan Tweardy, Shirefolk Farm (Palmyra, VA) – Raising Broiler Chickens Panel
  • Chelsea Belle Graves, Bee’s Wing Farm (Bluemont, VA) – Blossoming Possibilities: A Flower Panel
  • Joseph Martinez, Rockbridge Cider Vinegar (Lexington, VA) – The Homestead Apple Orchard

Arkansas Grown

January 25-27

Who will be there?
  • Kyle Manning, Fat Rabbit Farms (Hot Springs, AR) – tradeshow
  • Cory Babb, Firelight Farm LLC (Searcy, AR) – tradeshow

Western Colorado Soil Health, Food & Farm Forum

January 26-27

Who will be there?
  • Keegan Athey, CNG Staff & Down Valley Flowers (Montrose, CO) – tradeshow
  • Kasey Weingarten, Early Morning Orchard (Palisade, CO) – local food sponsor & tradeshow
  • Stephanie Matlock, Cobblestone Farm (Hotchkiss, CO) – tradeshow
  • Sequoia Van Manen, Root Rock Farm (Eckert, CO) – tradeshow

NOFA-VT Winter Conference

February 17-18

Who will be there?
  • Jen Mercer, Black Dog Bees & Maple Trees (NH) – tradeshow

A small family farm in the Happy Valley community of Caldwell County produces fruit and vegetables on a little more than one acre of land.

Mike and Sara Hedge cultivated their interest in farming while living in Florida.

“We started off growing microgreens in our apartment in South Florida,” Sara said. “And tried to launch a little farm business, indoor operation and then quickly felt unsatisfied. Because I don’t particularly find enjoyment in just eating microgreens. I want a varied diet.”

During the first six months, while they got the farm started, the Hedges lived out of a campervan. They later moved into a duplex at the Patterson School Foundation. Last year, they purchased a house in Happy Valley, Mike said.

Eventually, the couple began leasing space at the Ripshin Goat Dairy, Mike said, where the couple has another roughly half-acre plot of crops, a greenhouse, two walk-in coolers for storing freshly picked crops and a work area for cleaning and packing produce.

“When we started farming over at Patterson, we started with hard red clay,” Mike said. “There’s lots of nutrients in red clay but it has to be softened up to use it. We added organic OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) listed compost and we added earthworms. We actually went out and bought earthworms and put them in there.”

As Mike walked between each of the 50-foot-long beds, he pointed out the various crops. Mike would occasionally stop to pick a leftover tomato or strawberry to eat. Mike said they don’t spray chemicals, such as pesticides or herbicides, on their plants.

“It’s a philosophical choice we have made for the integrity of our farm,” Sara said. “It’s caused a lot of heartache sometimes when things get eaten up, but I don’t want to sacrifice my health.”

The Farmers’ Almanac defines microgreens as, “a variety of vegetables and herbs that are harvested at the first or during the early leafing stage.”

In 2020, the Hedges left Florida in search of land. The couple settled in North Carolina. They began leasing and farming a half-acre plot of land at the Patterson School Foundation along N.C. Highway 268 in Caldwell County.

As a form of pest control, the Hedges release beneficial insects into the soil, which attract natural predators, such as wasps. The wasps, Mike said, will also eat harmful insects.

The Hedge Family Farm is a certified naturally grown farm, meaning everything used to grow crops is organic. Instead of using chemical fertilizers, the Hedges turn harvest leftovers into compost and use other natural resources such as alfalfa meal and minerals.

“The Certified Naturally Grown (organization) is like a peer review inspection system,” Mike said. “That allows me to go and inspect another farm. And then, every year my farm gets inspected by somebody in the Certified Naturally Grown network.”

The Hedges have roughly 100 beds. The majority are covered by plastic caterpillar tunnels. The space between each bed is just wide enough to walk through. Sara said this is a key way to utilize their limited space.

Almost every bed has a different fruit or vegetable growing in it. The Hedges’ produce varies from garden staples such as salad greens, carrots, onions and tomatoes to exotic and native crops such as pawpaws, passion fruit and Hawaiian ginger. Mike said each year they try to grow something new.

Most of the tomato and strawberry plants were barren because the harvest season is nearing an end. The Hedges use a high rotation gardening method.

“Every bed changes throughout the year, three or four times,” Mike said. “(Also) Where I had tomatoes last year, I’m going to plant something totally different this year like cucumbers.”

This year’s harvest yielded roughly 150 pounds of potatoes and 150-200 pounds of tomatoes each week, Mike said. During peak strawberry season, the Hedges would bring around 100 pints of strawberries to the Hickory Farmers Market and sell out within the first hour.

Every Monday, the couple harvests crops for restaurant customers. On Fridays, they harvest for the Hickory Farmers Market.

In preparation for the next year, the rows get covered in silage tarps as the Hedges finish using the beds. This allows the leftover plants and leaves to be eaten by worms, which adds nutrients back into the soil. When the Hedges are ready to plant again the next year, the tarps are removed to reveal a healthy bed with minimal weeds, Mike said.

The couple first started selling their produce at the Hickory Downtown Farmers Market in September of 2020. The farm has a stand at the farmers market nearly every Saturday. The Hedges started selling to restaurants earlier this year.

Sara said the farm sells to about 10 restaurants that change their menus seasonally. One of the restaurants is the Happy Valley Filling Station, which is about a mile away from the farm.

Sara said the farm sold $90,000 worth of produce last year. They plan to exceed that amount this year, she added. Mike said about 60% of the produce is sold to individuals at the market and 40% is wholesale purchases.

Some of their most popular items at market are fingerling potatoes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, onions and carrots. The fingerling potatoes sell for $4 per pound. The onions are $3 per pound. Carrots are $5 per bunch. The cherry tomatoes and strawberries sell for $5 per pint.

Read the article at Hickory Daily Record.

CNG Farm School is the home of our educational offerings, created to help you become a better farmer. Taught by experienced farmers and agricultural technicians, these courses are curated each year based on trending topics among sustainable growers. Register today!

Winter 2023/24 Lineup

Our November-December series will focus on the business of farming — equipping you with practical tools to support, grow, and streamline your farm enterprise.

Orientation to Scaling Up for Wholesale Production – November 13

Farmers market competition getting you down? Interested in mechanizing or focusing on just a few crops? Wholesale production can be a great option for many farms, but requires consideration in some key areas. This FREE orientation will help you decide if wholesale’s right for you and what you need to get started.

Practical Marketing for Busy Farmers – November 27

Cranking out the produce, but struggling to sell all the bounty? Social media have you scratching your head? Join CNG Marketing Coordinator and farmer Erin Worrall as she takes you through how to build your brand and develop efficient, effective marketing strategies.

Recordkeeping Like A Pro – December 4

The backbone of every business, good records help us apply all the things we learn each season to make our future seasons even better. Master recordkeeper and successful farmer, Kat Johnson, will share her myriad strategies, systems, and tools for in-the-moment notetaking, number crunching, and enterprise tracking.

Data-Driven Decision Making – December 11

Often the trickiest part of any recordkeeping system isn’t the taking of the records, but the doing something with the records. In this unique course, we’ll help you take your records and turn them into action. Should you invest in that new tractor or a second employee? How long will that fancy new prophouse take to pay for itself? Bring your questions and we’ll have fun with data!

Our February series will shift focus back to foundational principals of crop management, helping you develop strategies for a more productive and sustainable farm operation.

Producing Your Own Fertility Inputs — February 5

Inflation hasn’t skipped the organic fertilizer world and farmers are looking for ways to reduce those rising input costs. Close your farm system a little bit more and make your own inputs. Through the techniques of Korean Natural Farming, JADAM, and other methods, farmers can learn to use locally available resources to create inputs that nourish their crops.

Maximizing Yield with Interplanting — February 12

Farmers recognize the indigenous wisdom of the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash, but interplanting techniques need not be limited to these three crops. Grow basil under your tomatoes or lettuce with your radishes. More yield per square foot and happier plants to boot. Pairing the right crops together is important, but planting timing is even more crucial. Dig into these details and more in this unique, practical class.

Leveling Up On-Farm Compost — February 19

Is composting an art or a science? It’s both! Learn how to develop an effective composting system for your scale and get the tricks of the trade from compost pros. Compost can be a farm’s most valuable resource—ensure you’re making the best compost you can, as efficiently as possible.

Cover Crops for Fertility, Weed Suppression, and More — February 26

There’s so much more to cover cropping than simply organic matter addition. Weed suppression, erosion prevention, nitrogen fixation, salt uptake, forage production, water retention and more can all be possible with the right cover crop mix. We’ll talk cover crop species and mixes, but also jump into the in-field aspect of cover cropping, including seeding methods, rates, and timing.

More information, including speaker announcements and registration information coming in October. Meanwhile, register here.

Interested in sponsoring a Farm School Course? Contact erin@naturallygrown.org

Ed Fraser is a Certified Naturally Grown member farmer. He operates Fraser’s Garlic Farm in Churchville, New York. Since 1993, Fraser’s Garlic Farm has been providing several varieties of high-quality, safe, nutrient rich, naturally-grown garlic to gardeners, farmers’ markets, CSA’s, restaurants and seed companies throughout the U.S.

Hey Garlic Lovers! After a fairly dry spring, we were able to irrigate our garlic which helped greatly to keep it healthy and size up the bulbs. The hay mulch we use kept the moisture in until the rains began in June. We are very proud of this incredibly beautiful crop.

If you have planted some Softneck Garlic, you need to look and see that at least 50% of it has fallen over and is laying on the ground. Then you know that your softneck garlic is ready to harvest. As you can see from the picture, my Inchelium is mature and ready to be dug. I plan to begin harvesting my softneck on Saturday!

Starting around July 4th weekend I start pulling hardneck garlic to check for maturity. I cut a cross section of the garlic – in the picture on the left, the cloves have not begun to separate from the stem, meaning that the garlic is still immature. I will wait another three days and then check again. When I begin to see that air space is visible between the cloves and stem, as in the picture on the right, I know that the garlic should be harvested in the next five days.

We hope that everyone has a bountiful and successful harvest this year!

Be sure to visit www.frasergarlic.com for more tips, or to order your 2024 season garlic!

In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, four farmers have joined forces to provide their communities with locally grown fresh flowers. Their ranks include Susanna Thornton of Thornfield Farm and Amanda Green of Yonderyear Farm, both Certified Naturally Grown farmers with a passion for sustainable flower production. These women lent us a moment of their time during peak growing season to share about the exciting benefits they’ve witnessed in collaborating with likeminded growers.

“The Blue Ridge Flower Exchange was born from the idea that a collective of experienced growers working together can provide high quality, beautiful blooms, sustainably produced, and consistently available to meet the flower needs of our growing designer, florist, and wholesale community.”

Excerpt from the Blue Ridge Flower Exchange website

CNG: First let’s get the flyover! Who is the Blue Ridge Flower Exchange, and how did you come to be?

Amanda: I’m going to let Susanna answer this one – BRFE is her brainchild! BUT I will say she had formal training with Rooted this winter about beginning a regional flower collective on their sales platform. We actually had the chance to meet and for her to invite me to participate in BRFE when she came to Yonderyear do our CNG inspection in March. In-person site inspections really do connect farmers and open up opportunities! 

Susanna: Ashleigh from Petal and Pail mulled over the dream of a collective for almost a year. We farm near each other and we’re always looking for better ways to sell flowers together. I learned about Rooted Farmers from another grower in the Charlottesville area and went to their conference on collectives in the winter of 2022 where it really became clear that pulling growers together to sell together is the way to go! 

CNG: What are some of your favorite things about working together as a partnership?

Amanda: That we can help each other fill in the gaps. We all have design deliverables throughout the season, and it’s really helpful to be able to purchase from one another when we need more of a certain flower or color. It’s also invaluable to have encouragement and troubleshooting right at our fingertips! 

Susanna: Yes, what she said :) 

CNG: In what ways has this collaboration enhanced your own farm businesses?

Amanda: It’s so great to have BRFE working toward the same goal – getting customers excited about local, seasonal flowers! With a group of farmers, we can reach a greater audience and spread the message about our products and why they’re a fresher, healthier, more sustainable choice than flowers shipped internationally. 

Susanna: BRFE has opened doors to the floral industry that I just didn’t have access to and wasn’t prepared to manage on my own. As a group I feel much stronger and more confident that we have enough great product to meet the needs of much bigger buyers. 

CNG: What are your dreams for the future of Blue Ridge Flower Exchange? 

Amanda: To have focal flower availability for clients in every week of sales from late March- October…we can dream, right? 

Susanna: To be the go-to wholesale outlet for every within a 100 miles – now that’s a dream Amanda!

CNG: How could you see this collaborative model changing farming around the country if others chose to work together as you are?

Amanda: It’s so empowering for small-scale operations. Collectives give us a stronger voice and greater exposure, as I mentioned. If we want to be an alternative to larger farming operations, banding together is a way to offer a local product consistently, (if in keeping with the seasons) and over time amass a loyal following. 

Susanna: Collectives can be a total game-changer for the supply chain. If all the small growers in every region banded together the power in numbers would final be competitive with national and global agribusiness!

The Blue Ridge Flower Exchange consists of Thornfield Farm, Yonderyear Farm, Petal and Pail, and Lark and Sky Farms.
Learn more at www.blueridgeflowerexchange.com/ or follow their journey on Instagram.

You work hard to grow food, care for employees, run you business, and so much more! But when it comes to marketing your products, sometimes navigating social media can feel overwhelming. Between the changing demands of algorithms, trending songs and hashtags, and the burden of taking great photos or videos in the field… we understand that content creation is not for everyone.

Let us help you tell your story with engaging social media content!

We are dedicated to using our social media presence to share the stories of CNG farmers and help you communicate the ideals and importance of your sustainable growing practices. We’ve launched several new content initiatives to provide a variety of post styles and themes to connect with the various audiences our farmers hope to reach. And we want to hear from you!

Let us know what message you hope to see on our social media platforms! By making posts that you can simply share or repost, we hope to help you put down the phone and get back out where you want to be: in the field (or maybe in bed. Naps are great too!).

Recent video features of CNG farmers:

Educational posts you can share with customers:

Just for fun!

Hope to be featured in CNG content?

  1. Tag us @cngfarming on your Instagram and Facebook posts, and use #cngproud and #certifiednaturallygrown hashtags.
  2. Fill out this form to tell us about the exciting things you have to share on your farm!

Certified Naturally Grown joined forces with a broad coalition of farmers and farming organizations from across the country to converge in Washington DC in early March to call for a Farm Bill that prioritizes farmer resilience in the face of climate change. 

The three days of action began with an opening and reception at the stately Luther Place Memorial Church, where an impressive lineup of farmers detailed the challenges they and their communities have faced. Among them was CNG member Temitope (Tope) Fajingbesi, co-owner, with her husband Olaniyi (Niyi) Balogun, of Dodo Farms in Maryland. She spoke of the need for policies that would make farming a more financially sustainable occupation. She expressed gratitude for a land match program run by Montgomery County which connects landowners with farmers, but noted how difficult it has been to find additional land that would allow for their farm’s expansion. 

The headline event was the Rally for Resilience on the second day, featuring compelling speeches and musical performances. Farm Aid arranged for performances by John Cougar Mellencamp, Shirlette Ammons, and Lil Idli from the stage, and a special guest performance via video from Willie Nelson. The rally and music was followed by a spirited march to the Capitol building. On day three, delegations of farmers from dozens of organizations met with their members of Congress.

The events of these three days happened thanks to the strong leadership of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), and Farm Aid. But that was only the beginning; the work continues – and intensifies – to ensure the next Farm Bill will provide meaningful support to ecological farmers, and enable them to build resilience in the face of extreme weather and other impacts of climate change. 

Sign up to Take Action with NSAC and keep up the pressure for a farm bill that invests in ecological farming practices that can make agriculture part of the solution.

And for fun, and more photos, check out some of the news articles written about these events at the links below:

Like the soil beneath us forms the foundation for a healthy growing plant, so do crop management practices determine the success or failings of your farm.

Join a class of peers around the country who share your ambition for a thriving ecological farm.

Led by an accomplished team of seasoned farmers and agricultural technicians, this four-part series will dig into the crucial components of crop management.

Enrollment includes:

  • 2 hours of live instruction each week
  • Custom pre-class assignments to introduce new principles
  • Optional quizzes to test your knowledge
  • Lifelong access to all resources provided, including 8 short films and corresponding notes

Learn more about our instructors and key learning objectives for each session below:

Series sponsored by

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