Emerald Isle Organic Farm is located in central Indiana in northern Hamilton
County on 281st Street
approximately 3/4 mile east of US Highway 31. We are approximately 30 miles
north of Indianapolis
and 20 miles south of Kokomo. This small farm is operated primarily by myself,
Rich Molini.
Emerald Isle is a diversified small farm with field crops and livestock.
Our main products are organic beef, organic chicken, and organic eggs.
We grow all their feed (hay, pasture, and grain supplement)on the farm.
The
farm is essentially a closed system with only occassional
purchased inputs of some seed for certain crops which are
generally difficult to grow or harvest and an occassional
mineral block. The manure from the animals is applied to the
pasture directly by them ("the preferred method") or
spread by us on the crop fields. We make extensive use of
covers and legumes to aid in soil fertility and weed
suppression. Of course, and unfortunately, we are still on a
power grid and have long range plans to someday convert the
solar energy (that we use so extensively for crop, covercrop,
and pasture production) to meet our other total power needs.
We have a small orchard and large garden for supplying some
of our food needs. We purchase organic and local products to
supplement our total food needs.
We grow and purchase organic foods because we know it is important to eat foods
that are nutritionally complete.
Ecological organic practices encourage the growth of a myriad of soil biota which cycle
nutrients that become part of the
food we eat. Conventional agriculture only supplements specific growth
nutrients and their food products
reflect the lack of substances essential for real nutritional quality. In
addition to the lack of essentials,
conventionally raised food contains a plethora of unnecessary and damaging
synthetic chemicals ranging from
pesticides to growth hormones to antibiotics. For example,you can calculate your own pesticide
intake.
This should be enlightening to those of you who eat food.