FARM FACTS

We are in a transition period from conventionally grown produce to growing produce with organic inputs.  We have always grown using very conservative insecticide applications. Organic produce will be marked.

Why Buy Locally Grown Produce?

As Jane always says, “You can either grow to eat or grow to ship.” Studies show that the typical item of food on an American dinner plate travels some three thousand miles to get there.  In other words the food was grown or raised to meet shipping and shelf life requirements…fresh, ripe and flavorful were not top priorities! Increasing fuel prices, the increased level of carbon dioxide emissions from semi-trailer trucks as compared to lighter farm trucks, not to mention the inflation of food prices that this creates, are all good reasons to buy locally produced foods.  But, the best reason is the taste factor.  The taste of something picked from the garden in the morning and served on your plate for dinner that night is nothing like that of the same product shipped across the country and then placed in a vegetable bin at the grocery store to sit for up to several weeks!
 
Most often, buying locally means that you are getting the varieties of produce that grow  best in the conditions for your area.  The German Johnson Tomato is an example of an heirloom variety that is a proven producer in our soil conditions, but is seldom seen outside of Alamance County.  It is a local favorite that sells at our Vegetable Barn at a ratio of about 10 to 1 over other varieties.  It is grown in our fields and left to ripen on the vines.  The tomato is picked, gently washed and sold in our Vegetable Barn and then served on your dinner plate within hours of picking. The flavor is sweet, fresh and delicious!  But, the German Johnson is not a good “keeper.”  It is not a variety that a farmer would grow to be shipped to California. The quality of the tomato would suffer from being picked green, packed in crates, handled roughly and shipped several thousand miles in a truck through many different weather conditions. Where’s that delicious sweet taste?…Lost, somewhere along the way.  Better to enjoy the fresh taste of our locally grown favorite than to eat an inferior product shipped from thousands of miles or even continents away!    
 
The decision to eat locally is also an act of conservation. The logo on the Iseley Farms caps we wear reminds us that not only are we “Happily Growing Your Vegetables,” we are “Also Growing Your Clean Air and Water.”   Supporting the local farmer keeps the rolling green pastures and fields in our landscape…or as has been said …”Eat to Protect Your View!”
 
Being able to connect with the source of your food creates a trust relationship that can ease our minds about how the food we eat is grown and how animals are treated.  While none of this information can be obtained from grocery store labels, it can easily be discerned in a conversation with the local farmer. Eating locally grown products allows us to “put a face” on the foods we eat.