The Farmers

Tom Murtha and Tricia Borneman have been farming together for seven years. We have one young daughter, Dakota. We have worked on organic farms in Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and have been involved in all matters of diverse vegetable production and marketing. We returned to Bucks County where Tricia grew up because we are committed to preserving and encouraging the rich agricultural heritage of this region.

Our Vision

We strive to be good stewards of the land by maintaining and enhancing soil, water and air quality through sustainable farming practices. We encourage and support a small farm ecosystem of diverse plants, birds and pollinators. Our crops are grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified organisms. We use compost, cover crops, mulching and crop rotation to encourage healthy soil and plants and to build long term fertility. We believe a healthy body is inseparable from a healthy soil. In order to be a healthy economically viable farm, it is important to have both a diversity of crops, and a diversity of markets. Our goal is to always provide the highest quality product to all our customers. Through the CSA experience we hope to encourage a sense of place by reconnecting people with the land that sustains them. We also strive to provide opportunities for farm members to connect with other members of our community through monthly potlucks, a children’s garden, work opportunities, and a fall farm festival.

Why Buy Local?

Food grown locally is not the same as food transported over long distances. Food travels on average 1300 miles before reaching the consumer. The retail cost of conventionally grown food at the store does not reflect the true cost to the environment of growing, packaging and shipping that food. As a CSA member, your share is harvested the same day that you pick it up at the farm. You will see and taste the difference.

We are losing farms at an alarming rate. Nationally 4.3 million acres of farmland were lost to development and urban sprawl between 1982 and 1992, nearly 50 acres an hour. Locally, there is a rich agricultural heritage in this area that must be preserved. In Bucks County in 1945 there were 4,063 farms on 267,000 acres. In 1997 there were only 739 farms on 83, 534 acres.

Sacred Geography: Know your bioregion. Engage in its Future. What do we want our children’s local landscape to be? The decisions we make today can permanently alter the future for our children.