History

The CMF operates two farms following the Natural Agriculture method taught by the Japanese organization Shumei. The basic idea behind Natural Agriculture is to grow vegetables as much as possible the way they would grow in the nature. This means that no agricultural chemicals of any sort can be used. It also means that no manure or other soil additives used in organic farming are permitted. Only compost made from local leaves and grass can be added to the soil. This imitates the process in which soil is enhanced in the forest floor with leaves dropping each fall and slowly adding organic matter to the soil. The earth's forests and grasslands have flourished for thousands of years without man's intervention We can learn from the natural processes that have ruled these natural environments and grow the best food ever tasted by imitating these natural processes on our farms.

We run a 0.5 acre Natural Agriculture farm in the Village of Hunter, at which we focus on growing a variety of greens. We also run a 4.5 acre Natural Agriculture farm in the middle of our Sugar Maples Center for Arts and Education campus. Our 4.5 acre Sugar Maples farm includes a beautiful new Visitors Center along with a 3,000 square foot greenhouse and about 4,500 square feet of unheated hoop house space. We also work closely with the third grade class of the local school and organize a series of educational visits each year to our Sugar Maples farm.

Farm Market

Our Farm Market is the outlet for our Natural Agriculture farm. We serve thousands of customers per year there, and at this point our farm cannot keep up with demand for our extraordinary Natural Agriculture vegetables. To address this problem we have been working to expand the size of our farm and to expand our annual harvest. To supplement what we can grow at our farm, and to continue to provide healthful foods for our customers on a yearround basis, we also sell organic vegetables grown by other farms in our region, and made available to us by regional organic food distributors. We also offer a wide variety of locally produced foods such as cheeses, maple syrup, honey, jellies and jams, and more. Our market also carries a wide variety of organic prepared foods. We have a café where customers can eat delicious, freshly prepared Natural Agriculture and Organic meals.