Evolutionary Organics is small farm, located at 283 Springtown Road, in New Paltz, New York. Working on a CSA model, the farm allows contributors to partake in each season’s harvest. The farm operates year-round on 20 acres of land and produces herbs, vegetables, and raised eggs that are USDA certified organic. Much of the produce is given to CSA investors, while many other “value-added” products are sold at the GrowNYC farmer’s market in Brooklyn. These products range from jams and salsa, to frozen pureè that is used in many organic-based restaurants throughout New York City.

Founder, Kira Kinney, a native to the Hudson Valley, started the farm in 2003. Kinney began work on just a few acres of land with a vision of creating a community-based farm that leaves as little impact on the environment as possible. Kinney is a strong advocate for organic farming, claiming that the unseen dangers of pesticides and hormones can have lasting impacts on the delicate, natural landscape of the Hudson Valley. Kinney says that such chemicals contaminate local water resources and produce an array of health problems for the people that consume non-organic products. In order to remain certified as an organic farm, Kinney utilizes genetically manipulated farming methods. Most of these methods were self-taught, she says, on a trial-and-error basis: “What most people do not realize is that genetic manipulation of agriculture is not a new thing – humans have been selectively breeding both plants and animals for centuries – while nothing here is engineered in a lab, we take special notice of certain plants that are naturally resistant to insects and fluctuating pH levels within the soil. We then use the seeds from those plants for the next harvest. After several generations, we can create a family of plants that are the ‘best of the best’ with natural proficiencies for the soil and surrounding environment. It’s like giving evolution by means of natural selection just a little nudge forward.”

As a result, Kinney has grown many varieties of plants that are able to mature without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Much of organic farming requires special attention to the individual plants, choosing which ones are strongest when re-seeding, and a long-term plan for soil use. After recently introducing free-range chickens to the farm, many parasitic insects have been removed from the soil as part of the chickens’ diet. The manure of the chickens is then used to naturally fertilize the soil. The chickens that are used are raised from eggs in an incubator. While many other farms buy chicks that have that have already hatched from major livestock producers, Kinney prefers to raise her own from eggs in order to ensure that they have not been exposed to any hormones, industrial genetic engineering, and were laid by chickens that have also been freed of such practices. Again, the process of organic farming, for both plants and livestock, is a long-term process that considers future generations of the plants and animals. An organic, free-range chicken will beget chicks that embody the same benefits as the original generation. Evolutionary Organics is a model farm to learn more about the benefits of going organic!