Organic Farming Practices

At Snowdrift Farms, we believe in growing the highest quality food using natural and sustainable methods. Snowdrift Farms practices certified organic farming, and believe this to be a holistic way to interact with the land.

“Organic farming is agriculture that makes healthy food, healthy soils, healthy plants and healthy environments a priority along with crop productivity. Organic farmers use biological fertilizer inputs and management practices such as cover cropping and crop rotation to improve soil quality and build soil organic matter. By increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil, as nature does on a forest floor, organic farmers enhance the soil’s ability to absorb water, reducing the impacts of droughts and flooding. Improving soil organic matter also helps it to absorb and store carbon and other nutrients needed to grow healthy crops which, in turn, are better able to resist insects and diseases.” –Organic Farming Research Foundation

We maintain Organic Certification with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), a third party certifying agency. As an organic farm, we must follow a set of standards defined by the US Department of Agriculture, and we go through an annual inspection and maintain detailed records. The word ‘organic’ is actually a legal term, and may only be used by farmers who are certified as such. We believe that organic certification helps assure that we make good decisions about our farming practices, and gives our customers an assurance of quality in our products. We embrace the intent of the organic rules, and strive to go beyond the minimum standards. Being organic, we never use chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and never use genetically modified seed. We do not want to support the chemical status quo that has dominated the American landscape and food system for the past 50 years.

In substituting labor and intensive management for chemicals, our prices more accurately reflect the true price of growing food. Unlike many commodity crops, our vegetables are not supported by government subsidies.

Local Produce is the Best!

We know that local food is fresher and tastes better. We also believe that as a community we should work towards a future of more local food availability. It increases our resiliency in the face of crisis, and decreases our dependence on a fossil fuel driven national food system. We feel our local community will be healthier and stronger if it can feed itself. We encourage all our customers to consider the value of locally sourced food.

While we produce seasonally and do not grow during the long winter, we do grow many vegetables that can be preserved and stored. We urge people to learn how to preserve the fall vegetable bounty from us and other area farms, so as to enjoy fresh, frozen, and canned local produce throughout the winter, as we do here at the farm.

Members of the Community

As a strictly local farm, we offer many things to our community. Not only are we dedicated to healthy food production for our inhabitants, we are always available to school groups and interested parties who would like to learn more about our organic and intensive growing practices. We donate our time to give tours and talks to these groups and value the opportunity to educate our friends and neighbors. We have a work-share program for those who want to learn from a whole season of farming with us. We donate extra produce to the Teton Valley Food Pantry.

We plan to keep our farmland open and undeveloped, preserving water and land resources for wildlife, and providing open space in a valley that is increasingly subdivided. Farmland and open space contribute to the overall well being of our community. We invite you to become part of our farm.