We came, we saw, we tomatoed at Walking Bird Farm for the 6th Annual NOFA NJ FesTomato! A celebration of local farms and Jersey’s most notable crop, this year’s event featured a vendor marketplace with 20 local farms and community partners, a tomato tasting featuring 20+ tomato varieties, live music from 6-piece band Tony & The Trees, local BBQ, tomato sandwiches, farm tours, and so much more.
Smith Poultry Farm, Hammerbacher Kitchen, The Seed Beer, SeaTox Lemonade & Elixirs, and Chef James Conroy were on hand to keep the crowd of 350+ attendees well-fed with good drinks in hand. Tomatoes were sourced from Rancocas Creek Farm in Southampton, Jeff’s Organic Produce in Cream Ridge, Martenette Farms in Hillsborough, Fairgrown Farm in Hopewell, The Potato Homestead in Woodbine, and, of course, Walking Bird Farm in Egg Harbor City, our host for the event. The tomato tasting was free and offered to all attendees with the option to purchase tomatoes in the later portion of the event.
Drawing a mixed crowd of farmers, gardeners, families, foodies, and existing Walking Bird Farm customers, the event is designed to promote local farms and food systems while highlighting the tomato during its peak season. Several participating vendors reported record-breaking sales for their farms. “We did the best we ever did,” said Melanie G., Co-Owner of Fluffy Farms in Egg Harbor City. “As a small farm, NOFA has been a lifeline, enabling us to achieve viability beyond our wildest dreams.” Alongside technical support services, community education/engagement, and market access support, NOFA NJ hosts dozens of on-farm events aimed at promoting NJ farms and food businesses and increasing local purchasing; these events help to support the viability of local farms and grow communities together around food, farming, and stewardship of natural resources.
Walking Bird Farm, is a family farm growing 40 acres of diversified vegetables, fruit, flowers, and herbs, offering a CSA program and a public farm market on-site with U-Pick options and products from a variety of farm partners. Owners Jen and Ryan Lamonaca are in their 15th season on the farm, which has a long history of community engagement and innovation. Ryan’s uncle is former NJ Secretary of Agriculture Art Brown, who is revered for establishing the Jersey Fresh Marketing Program as well as the state’s Farmland Preservation Program during his tenure from 1982-2001. Then named B&B Farms, Brown helped trial and develop a variety of ethnic crops to provide culturally-meaningful foods to complement the diversity found throughout New Jersey communities.
Around 2PM, Owner Ryan Lamonaca led attendees on a walking tour of the farm, explaining their growing practices which focus utilize organic methods alongside IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to produce quality product while reducing (and eliminating) the need to spray their crop, which can be costly and can be done using inputs approved for organic production. While they were once Certified Organic, Walking Bird Farm opted to not renew their certification but still adheres to organic production principles. The cost of certification, the challenge in sourcing seed and necessary inputs, and the difficulty in record-keeping and administration are some of the challenges being addressed by TOPP, the USDA Transition to Organic Partnerships Program. TOPP is providing funding for paid mentors, technical assistance, education and community events to support farmers with transitioning to Certified Organic production. NOFA NJ is the NJ lead for the TOPP program and is currently hosting a variety of TOPP-focused workshops, farm tours, and farmer outreach engagements (visit the NOFA NJ Calendar to see more events).
With this year’s excessive heat and drought conditions, Walking Bird has had to irrigate more than usual and is taking steps to build farm resilience by participating in the Climate-Smart Farming & Marketing Program with NOFA NJ (led by Pasa Sustainable Ag). The program will support farmers with implementing conservation practices and other activities to protect soil and provide ecosystem services while improving the viability of the farm. Practices supported by the program include cover-cropping, reduced tillage, planting buffer strips, contour farming, and more.
Around 2PM, Owner Ryan Lamonaca led attendees on a walking tour of the farm, explaining their growing practices which focus utilize organic methods alongside IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to produce quality product while reducing (and eliminating) the need to spray their crop, which can be costly and can be done using inputs approved for organic production. While they were once Certified Organic, Walking Bird Farm opted to not renew their certification but still adheres to organic production principles. The cost of certification, the challenge in sourcing seed and necessary inputs, and the difficulty in record-keeping and administration are some of the challenges being addressed by TOPP, the USDA Transition to Organic Partnerships Program. TOPP is providing funding for paid mentors, technical assistance, education and community events to support farmers with transitioning to Certified Organic production. NOFA NJ is the NJ lead for the TOPP program and is currently hosting a variety of TOPP-focused workshops, farm tours, and farmer outreach engagements (visit the NOFA NJ Calendar to see more events).
With this year’s excessive heat and drought conditions, Walking Bird has had to irrigate more than usual and is taking steps to build farm resilience by participating in the Climate-Smart Farming & Marketing Program with NOFA NJ (led by Pasa Sustainable Ag). The program will support farmers with implementing conservation practices and other activities to protect soil and provide ecosystem services while improving the viability of the farm. Practices supported by the program include cover-cropping, reduced tillage, planting buffer strips, contour farming, and more.
Event summary provided by Devin Cornia, NOFA NJ Executive Director
This workshop was made possible via the USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) in partnership with Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO). Partnering organizations in six regions connect farmers with local mentors and provide education and technical assistance on agronomy, certification, extension, conservation planning, business development, regulations, and marketing. Interested in becoming a Mentor, Mentee, or a project partner through TOPP? Learn more about how you can participate Here.