Cooks Valley Farm opened in 1705 in Wrentham, MA and continues to be run by the Cook family. It is now owned and operated by Warren Cook, his wife Marilyn, and their son Nate. The farm first began as an apple orchard. Although the farm has always produced crops, the Cook family also intermittently worked in the postal service. Marilyn also grew up on a farm in the area, and the Cook family continues to cultivate crops on both properties. When I visited this farm, I was stunned by the differences between this large farm and the other two smaller farms that I have previously visited. This entry will consist of pointing out the changes in practices that I observed on Cooks Valley Farm; I attribute most of these changes to the size of the farm.
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The first big, and frankly obvious, difference was the size of Cooks Valley Farm. There is an old barn, which now acts as a large farm stand. There is plenty of room and space for produce to be sold. When their crops produce fewer products than expected, they are even able to purchase produce from other farms in the area and sell them at their stand. Unlike the two smaller farms I saw, the farm stand was a very important source of income and main attraction of the farm. When I was taken on a tour of the farm, there is a vast amount of land- so much so that it is necessary to drive to some parts of it. It took about ten minutes to drive between the different plots of land. The farm is spread out for multiple reasons. The main reason being that Marilyn’s family’s farm is not right next to the Cook’s family’s farm, but as a married couple they have portions of both family’s land. In addition, the land is spread out because the Cook’s land has been divvied up over the years between family members. However, a positive consequence of this division is that most of the Cook family has remained in the area and continued to do some farming.
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The size of the farm has also resulted in some changes of farming practices compared to the other farms that I’ve visited. There is a lot more work to be done on a farm of this size, and, in a way, a lot less control. Unlike smaller farms, it would be difficult for the family to walk around the entire farm every day and treat each plant individually. Therefore, the Cook family has hired some help; however, they have had trouble finding good, motivated labor. This has forced a lot more responsibility onto the three family members. Also, given the heat of the 2010 summer on the East Coast, Warren told me that they haven’t been able to plant the fall crops yet because they have been so preoccupied by trying to keep the current crops alive and hydrated.
The size of the farm also means that they have more conventional growing practices, which includes an integrated pest management system (IPM). This system mostly consists of nets and traps.However, they do also spray pesticides when necessary. Pesticides are sprayed when the insect population has reached a quota. Hopefully, this means that they only spray every so often, but when the populations get out of control, they do have to spray several times a week.
On a personal note, I felt a little uncomfortable with this frequency of pesticide use. As much as I want to support family farms, I felt that there were other local farms out there that use pesticides more stringently. However, after talking to Four Town Farm about their pesticide practices, an entry to come, I began to learn about responsible spraying. Hopefully Cooks Valley Farm uses pesticides as informed and hesitantly as Four Town Farm does, and I am going to try and follow up on this matter.
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Another difference between Cooks Valley Farm and the other farms I visited is crop diversity. Since the farm is so large, they grow a variety of different fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs. Previously, the family raised a range of goods such as apples, dairy cows, and vegetables. Today, Cooks Valley Farm grows about five acres of fruit trees and thirty acres of vegetables. They also have a green house for certain plants and herbs. Some of the products that they offer are apricots, apples, onions, potatoes, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, and of course many more.
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When talking to the Cook family, it is clear how much they care about their farm. All three of them enjoy working on the farm, and Nate looks forward to continuing the family tradition. Marilyn said that she loves that everything is always changing and new. There is also something very special about their land and how it has changed both in size and in purpose over the generations. And as many stories go, the history of Cooks Valley Farm is not flawless, and has had to make adjustments to their practices that have not necessarily occurred in smaller or newer farms. It will be interesting to continue visiting farms of varying sizes because I am interested in seeing if the changes that have occurred on the large Cooks Valley Farm are consistent with practices performed on other large farms in the area.
Interesting, Angelica!! I really enjoy reading your blogs! I don't want bugs in my corn either...!
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