Nick's Organic Farm: A Unique Asset to Montgomery County and Beyond

The organic farm on the school site along Brickyard Road in Potomac has been farmed organically by Nick Maravell of Nick’s Organic Farm, since 1980. It is an invaluable asset to the entire community for many reasons:

• Modeling successful urban agriculture: Nick’s Organic Farm (NOF) in Potomac provides a successful model for small-scale urban-fringe agriculture, the kind that’s on the forefront of agriculture worldwide. Producing food closer to urban centers makes sense as fuel and transportation costs rise. It promotes healthy eating and local economic development—as noted by the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” campaign. Consumers also enjoy better oversight of their food if they know the location and methods of production. Given the success of this long-established farm and its close proximity to the population center of Washington, DC—less than 15 miles from the White House!—this site provides a visible and convenient location for agricultural educational for local school kids and adults, as well as politicians, policy makers and researchers at all levels.
• Creating local business and jobs: NOF contributes to the local economy by selling food to consumers, as well as organic seed and feed to other farmers, who in turn sell their products locally, creating even more economic activity and jobs. Losing the farm could have a domino effect on Maryland organic farms by increasing costs and forcing purchases and jobs out of state.
• Developing organic soil for more than 30 years: The soil at NOF along Brickyard Road is especially rich in microorganisms and organic matter because it has been organically tended for decades, providing an ideal research and education tool. It takes years to establish an organic farm, not only because the soil must be free of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers for at least three years, but also because the soil needs time to develop the organic matter and rich variety of microorganisms that make it healthy. Through methods such as crop rotation, cover crops, green manure and composting, organic farmers are able to build soil rather than deplete it.
• Producing GMO-free seed: The 20-acre plot along Brickyard Road is unusually isolated from any other farms, which can cause GMO-pollen contamination of organic crops (not allowed under organic standards). This is especially significant because NOF grows seed that is used by other organic farmers. This site also exemplifies the significance of small plots on the urban fringe, which can be more easily used for GMO-free production.
• Providing Ecosystem Services:
• Preserving biodiversity and purity in the seed supply: NOF is preserving the biodiversity and purity of our seed supply by producing organic heirloom seeds adapted to the local climate and weather. We need genetic diversity in our seed stock to maintain a strong seed supply. Some of the corn grown at NOF on Brickyard Road is believed to stem from the Chesapeake region’s Native American corn, while NOF also produces heirloom food-grade soybean seed.
• Safeguarding wildlife habitat: A broad range of birds, insects and other wildlife thrive on organic farms. Hedgerows and required buffer zones promote a wide range of species.
• Reducing greenhouse gases: Organic farmland has been shown to store carbon due to increased organic matter and microorganisms in the soil, reducing greenhouse gases.
• Improving water quality: Organic farmland helps to improve water quality by minimizing soil erosion, reducing run-off, and filtering water through soil untreated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

A Brief History of Nick's Organic Farm and Local Food In Montgomery County

For the past thirty years, Nick's Organic Farm (NOF) has been a pioneer in the organic, sustainable and local agricultural movement. NOF helped start many organizations such as Maryland Organic Food and Farming Association, the Maryland Small Farm Cooperative, Future Harvest-Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, and these organizations continue to advance the ideals of an ecologically sensitive and regional food system.

Working through these and other organizations, NOF has been actively creating a space on the state and national scene for small local farms to begin, develop and flourish. Starting in 1990 NOF worked for passage of Maryland's law and regulations establishing the nation's first State administered organic certification program, later copied by other states. Later NOF entered the policy debate for Federal organic legislation, notably working with the Montgomery County representative who crossed party lines on the House floor to pass the final bill by an historic one vote margin. Then for over a decade, NOF was closely involved with forming the USDA organic regulations, which became final in 2002. Just recently, USDA Sec. Vilsack appointed Nick Maravell as one of four farmers serving on the fifteen member National Organic Standards Board tasked with making detailed recommendations on the farming and food manufacturing materials and practices allowed in organic production.

In the early 1980's NOF's on-farm experiments conducted with University of Maryland, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service led to efforts to bring more scientific organic research to all farmers. NOF's on-farm research continues today, and at many other farms in the region. National recognition for more organic research came slowly, and NOF and other farmers and researchers at the Organic Farming Research Foundation issued the National Organic Research Agenda in 2007. Now over $25 million a year of federally funded organic research is conducted annually--significant, but still a fraction of the non-organic research budget.

NOF has helped start several small farm and organic cooperatives to improve marketing. NOF's model of adding value on the farm and selling directly to the final user, either a consumer or another farm, exemplifies the current USDA initiative "Know Your Food, Know Your Farmer." To safeguard the marketing interests of small and organic farmers, NOF testified twice in the last Congress on food safety. Fearing small and organic farms would be collateral damage to costly and burdensome control measures designed for the very largest food manufactures, NOF worked with a coalition of small and sustainable farm advocates over a two year period to develop affordable food safety procedures. Opposed by large agricultural interests, the final legislation was guided to a difficult last minute passage with the watchful assistance of the Montgomery County representative working with the Congressional leadership.

By forming lasting organizations, by creating clear state and national organic standards, by advancing research to assist production, and by joining farmers together to improve their marketing, the seed planted on this 20 acre parcel in Potomac over thirty years ago has blossomed, and new seedlings have spread all over the Chesapeake region. The momentum is only getting stronger every day--witness the proliferation of farmers' markets, CSAs (community supported agriculture) and demand and growth in local and organic sales. While we take these trends for granted in Montgomery County, three decades ago they were unimaginable.