Sustainable Landscapes

Who we are

• Goodwill at Homefields Farm is a Community Supported Agriculture program operated by Goodwill Keystone Area

• Homefields, a non-profit all volunteer organization, is the owner of the 8.7 acre farm in Millersville

Homefields

• Homefields is dedicated to creating new life options for persons with developmental disabilities

• The board volunteers raise funds to support both the vocational and residential programs on the farm property

How it all Works

    Residential Mission: To create financially secure, long-term homes in safe, family-like settings where there is respect for the individual in a holistic sense, and fun and creativity are revered as basic human needs.

       

Vocational Mission: To provide agricultural facilities for individuals who prosper with supported employment; to nurture integration through community interaction; and to cultivate a spirit of volunteerism within our community.

Goodwill Keystone Area

• Goodwill’s mission is to support persons with disabilities and other barriers to independence in achieving their fullest potential as workers and as members of the community

• At the farm, Goodwill provides horticultural job opportunities for people with disabilities in Lancaster County

Farming Program

• 2000 - first growing season – 28 shareholders

• 2008 – 160 shareholders

• 2009 – tenth anniversary season!

Farming Opportunities

• Over 100 trainees have participated in paid work

• 5 - 6 per day, five days/week through the growing season

• Proud of their work and success of the farm

• Enhanced quality of life

Shareholders

• Families come to the farm each week

• Pick-up freshly harvested, organically-grown foods

• Love the farm experience and supporting the mission

Homefields Farm

• 13.7 acres owned and leased

• 5 acres of vegetable production

• 2 green houses• Equipment barn

– packing pavilion– Refrigeration– office

Sustainable Farming

• Cover crops• Crop rotation• Fallow fields• Compost• Drip irrigation• Crop diversity• Native fruits

Cover Crops

• Extensive use of cover crops– Daikon forage radish

• reduces compaction• bio drilling

– Buckwheat• weed suppression• beneficial insect host

Cover Crops

• Rye/Hairy Vetch combination– Biomass– Farm-made nitrogen

• Sorghum/Sudan Grass– Weed smothering

• Winter cover crops prevent erosion and increase organic matter

Crop Rotation

• Interrupts the buildup of pests and soil born diseases

Fallow Fields

• At least one field out of production each year

• Seeded to soil improving cover crops for a year and a half

Compost

• We make our own and purchase additional

• Test soil annually• Remineralize

– Farming is an extractive process

– If nutrients aren’t in the soil, they are not in the vegetables

                                                                             

Drip Irrigation• Minimize water use

• Direct water to the crop….

• Not the weeds

                                                                             

Crop Diversity

• 45 different crops• Over 300 varieties

Native Fruits

• Pawpaw & Persimmon• Well adapted to our

region• Not trying to make

water run uphill

Pawpaw

• North America’s largest native fruit

• Custardy, banana-vanilla flavor

• Highly nutritious• Disease and pest

free

Persimmon

• Beautiful orange fruit

• Size of ping-pong ball

• Native east of the Mississippi

• Very soft when ripe

• Like liquid apricot

Thank You