How We Farm
Our Farm’s Mission
To deliver organically grown vegetables to our local community, while minimizing the impact on the environment, maintaining a sustainable business, and paying our employees a fair wage.
Farmer Mike started One Acre Farm in 2006 because he wanted to create a community where people can feel an association with the farm, farmers, crops and vegetables they serve their family. If you're a member of the farm community, or even if you are not, you are welcome to stop by and check it out, just reach out to us to set up a time.
What’s In A Name?
Despite its name, One Acre Farm sits on 34 acres in Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve, though it did originate on a much smaller plot in 2006, when farmer Mike was just starting out — truly farming on just one acre before expanding to the current much larger operation.
We Follow Regenerative and Sustainable Farming Practices
Though we aren’t certified organic, we use all organic growing principles while growing your veggies. Being certified organic is an expensive, long, bureaucratic process, so while we don’t have organic certification, we do follow all of the same growing principles as any certified organic farm does. Being organic is about making sure the vegetables you eat are free of chemicals you don’t want to consume, but also about ensuring a sustainable environment for the rest of the ecosystem we touch, from the animals, insects, water, land, etc.
Rest assured, we do all of those things by:
Building Healthy Soil
We do this by composting to build soil and planting cover crops when the fields are not in use. This captures and nutrients and stores them in the soil for the next growing season.
Using Organic Inputs
We use organic seeds and don't utilize synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, instead opting for organic fertilizers derived from naturally sourced materials.
Saving Water
We conserve water through our use of drip irrigation, which adds water directly to the soil to minimize runoff, evaporation, and overwatering.
We Follow Fair Labor Practices
At One Acre Farm we believe health insurance and a fair wage are rights, not privileges.
All too often farm employees are underpaid and under-supported. In 2019, Farmer Mike raised the farm's CSA prices by 15% in order to raise all employees' wages by 15%. Although as an agricultural operation we are not required to pay Montgomery County's minimum wage, we believe paying a fair wage is essential, especially for those who grow our community's food.
In 2022, recognizing a need for basic health insurance, we increased the cost per share by $50 to fully fund a yearly stipend for our employees’ healthcare costs. With the success of these additions, in 2023 it became evident that we need to do even more to ensure our workforce is paid closer to a living wage, so we committed to regular annual pay increases. We truly believe that happy and healthy employees will yield happy and healthy crops!
