Summer Farm Tours 2011 kicks off on June 1st

The Bucks County Foodshed Alliance hosts a monthly farm tour and potluck at one of the area’s premier small farms every summer. This summer’s line-up, beginning on June 1st, looks to be a great one.

Each evening begins at 6:30 pm with a potluck dinner that is usually outstanding. I mean, think about it. These farm tours tend to attract people who love local, fresh food. You can be assured that you will eat well. The dinner is followed at 7:30 pm by a tour of the farm.

The series, which runs on the first Wednesday of the month from June to September, opens with a visit to Tussock Sedge Farm, home of Henry and Charlotte Rosenberger. The Rosenbergers, who are ardent conservationists, preserved 284 acres of their 450-acre spread in 2001 and protected an additional 140 acres in 2009. They received the Heritage Conservancy’s Business Leader Conservation Award in 2010.

Tussock Sedge raises fine, 100-percent grass-fed, pasture-finished red angus beef, where the primary focus is “growing exceptional grasses for natural birthing and rotational grazing of cows and calves.” They feed no growth hormones or prophylactic antibiotics to their cattle. Henry and Charlotte are also role models and mentors to new, young Bucks County farmers. Maybe you’ve heard of Blooming Glen Farm, the community supported agriculture farm? That’s on Rosenberger land.

This is a perfect opportunity to learn how Tussock Sedge employs such conservation practices as planting legume cover crops to add nitrogen to the soil; eliminating the use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers; and protecting the soil with field terracing, pipe outlets and riparian fencing along streams. Oh, and how they produce some very fine tasting beef.

Tussock Sedge Farm is at 1239 Souderton Road (Route 113 or West Main Street) just west of the village of Blooming Glen. Look for the Tussock Sedge sign. Click here for directions. Any cancellations due to extremes of weather (thunderstorms, flooding) will be posted on the BCFA website.

There is no charge and no need to register for the event: come to one, two or all, bringing a picnic dish to share and your own beverages, eating equipment and seating. This educational and entertaining event is appropriate for school-aged children who are under an adult’s careful supervision.

Join the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance for three more summer farm evenings:

On July 6 at Purely Farm, where Joanna and Marc Michini raise pastured pork, lamb, chicken and rabbit, and free range eggs. On the same property is Just One Seed run by farmer and former Del Val professor Eve Minson. Eve will show you how to grow exceptional organic vegetables in a surprising small plot of land. The property is at 55 A Municipal Road in Pipersville. For directions, click here.

On August 3, come to Shady Brook Farm in Yardley. Paul and Dave Fleming, the fourth generation to be working this family farm, will give the tour of this landmark, sharing its evolution from wholesaler to retailer, and beyond. See their website for directions.

The final summer farm tour will be on September 7 at Snipes Farm and Education Center, part of the Snipes Family Foundation in Morrisville. The Snipes Farm grows organic vegetables and fruits and raises pastured pork. In addition to running a community supported agriculture farm, the Snipes Farm offers many educational programs. Come find out more about this special family farm, now being run by the 11th generation of Snipes to farm in Lower Bucks County.