News and Events
Crop Farm Tours
October 13, 2009
In the beginning half of the Chesapeake Semester's Voyage 3—Natural Resource Use and Natural Resource Management in the Chesapeake—students will visit with different members of the Chesapeake who use its resources to make a living. In the first week, students will visit with grain, vegetable and dairy farmers. In the second week students will meet traditional waterman and their communities as well as progressive aquaculture entrepreneurs offering alternatives to wild-caught seafood. In the second half of this voyage students will examine development pressures on the Bay's resources as well as policymakers who attempt to manage resource use and mitigate resource pressure.
The students' first stop was in Cordova, MD at the home and farm of the Hutchison Brothers. Their they met with Bobby Hutchison, one of three brothers operating the family farm that grows corn, wheat, barley and soy over 3,600 acres of owned and leased land.
Click to enlarge photos by Mike Hardesty '05.
Bobby Hutchison of Cordova, MD, has grown up farming is whole life. The family farm was started by his parents and is now run by himself, his two brothers, and two of their sons. An active community member, Bobby and his family progressively manages the farm, combining a conservation ethic while implementing the most up-to-date farming technologies to maximize profits.
Bobby tours the students around his farm illustrating the variety of machines it takes to run a farm the size of the Hutchison Brothers Farm. While many machines are necessary, most are also cost prohibitive, forcing Bobby to wait until used machines are available on the market. Even though state and federal laws require certain farming practices, they might not be significantly implemented until farmers have the right machines.
The students observe how the grain is stored and dried. Drying capability is a significant advantage for the Hutchison Brothers Farm as it gives them greater control over the sale of their grain.
As a farmer who makes every effort to conserve his soil's health so that he may pass on his land to his children and grandchildren, Bobby feels the farming community has been disproportionally singled out as a source of pollution for the Bay. He says each of us, farmer and non-farmers alike, plays an equal role in the Bay's degradation and each of us should take equal effort in preserving it.
The second stop for the students was Davon Crest Farms of Hurlock, MD. They met with David and Sharon Lankford who produce niche market high quality vegetables primarily for direct sale to restaurants, some as far away as New York City. They also run a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) Program that allows community members to buy vegetables with an upfront flat rate at the beginning of the season.
David Lankford and his wife have been at Hurlock, MD for fewer than 5 years. They have established strong customer loyalty through their consistent production of high quality vegetables, which are sometimes grown per order for individual chefs. Their distribution covers primarily Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, although they do ship their products around the U.S. per demand.
Lettuce. The majority of their crops are grown in greenhouses, which allow them to control climate and grow vegetables all year round. Although greenhouses offer an advantage in controlling production they also can be a liability: David and Sharon are currently repairing significant damage to the property after a windstorm that lasted less than a minute.
Banana Peppers. David explains that running this farm is a lot of hard work and it is not always profitable. In fact, without David's off-the-farm income in the beginning stages it is unlikely that they would have been able to continue.
Okra. David makes more money on selling the flowers than on selling the more commonly eaten pod.
Tomatoes. Daven Crest Farms is not certified organic, although a lot of their production does comply. David states that their focus is the high quality production of the best tasting vegetables. He explains that "great tasting" is not a criteria in being certified "organic."