From the time we first started working on farms twenty or so years ago, both Aviva and I have always farmed organically. We were both driven by the desire to work directly with issues of agroecology and social justice on a community level, and small-scale organic vegetable farming offered many ways to engage with our various interests.

Engaging face to face with our customers at the farmer’s market gives them the opportunity to speak directly with us about our growing practices, addressing any concerns, and building relationships of trust. The feedback we’ve received from market customers has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, most of the people who have worked or volunteered on our farm are folks we’ve met at our regular farmer’s markets.

Over the last year or so, we’ve really leaned into no-till as an agroecological strategy on our farm. Through careful experimentation and innovation, we have been able to eliminate all major tillage, and the result has been a dramatic improvement in soil quality, and significant savings of water, time, and fuel. It was a big leap for us making the change to no-till, as it feels counterintuitive to so much of what we learned about agriculture as aspiring farmers, but I would encourage more farmers to adopt and adapt some or all of the methods out there for reducing tillage on their farms.

We’ve known or sensed for a long time that organic farming was important for health and ecology, and that one day the question of planetary sustainability would come to the fore. Well folks, that day has come, and as the climate crisis deepens, it’s more important than ever to tackle the issues at every level, including the kinds of farming we support through our daily purchases. This is our chance to create a future where humanity and all life on the planet can thrive.

Daniel Robleto and Aviva Asher

Nicoya Farm Gainesville, Florida