REEDSVILLE - While there are many farms across Schuylkill County, few are sustainable operations.
Michael and Emily Scheidel own a sustainable farm in Reedsville called Little Peace Farm where they grow "chemical free, honest food."
The topic of sustainability is gaining traction, especially with Penn State Schuylkill implementing an Envision, Plan, Implement, Change, Sustain program that will be taking place over the next year to turn the campus into "a living laboratory for sustainability." The program will teach students "the simultaneous pursuit of human health and happiness, environmental quality and economic well-being for current and future generations."
The campus effort is coming after it was recently awarded a $52,000 grant for the project.
The first time the Scheidel family "sold vegetables out of the back of a Subaru" was in 2007, and although they've had much success, they still consider themselves somewhat novice farmers.
Michael Scheidel said Tuesday that he and his family are full-time farmers, making 100 percent of their living on the farm. They also home school eight children.
"This is not a hobby," he said. "This is not a part-time gig. We eat and feed our children everything that's in here. We eat every single thing that we grow."
He also said one of the only other farms in the county that farms as they do is Potter's Farm in Pine Grove.
To be a sustainable farm, he said that a family has to be able to sustain itself financially, and for them, it means they have to trust the community to support them, such as with CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture.
"It doesn't matter about organic or conventional, you can't make a living if you're not going to farm," he said. "It has to be a viable operation. After that, the ecological aspect comes into play."
According to the Little Peace Farm website, members of a CSA commit to a farmer by purchasing shares or subscriptions early in the season in exchange for a season of fresh, locally grown produce and farm products.
Members share the risk of farming, including crop damage or loss due to wildlife, pests or weather events, and often know their farmer and make a connection with them by volunteering their time or by participating in farm events or pot luck dinners.
With the CSA program, the Scheidel family said they sell directly to their consumers and basically know everyone on a first-name basis.
It gives the members a chance to know exactly where their produce is coming from.
"We are very transparent," Michael Scheidel said. "If anyone has any questions about how we grow, I'll answer them. They ought to know before they stick something in their mouth. We do a lot of educating and are always learning ourselves."
Emily Scheidel said she believes the main difference between farms like theirs and others in the area are that there are not a lot of farms that rely on the conventional farming methods.
"Using organic methods is what makes a huge difference in the product and the whole end result," she said.
According to their website, Little Peace Farm is dedicated to growing healthy produce without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers.
Although they are not certified organic, they grow using organic and natural methods.
Little Peace Farm does not purchase any chemically treated seed - which is often an industry standard - grows using organic seed, purchases seed from reputable and well-established suppliers, practices good crop rotations, promotes beneficial insect presence, does most of their work by hand, uses less fossil fuel and grows all of their own transplants from seed in their nursery so they know the origin of the seed and plants.
Since they do not use pesticides to protect their crops, such as some types of salad mixes that are prone to bugs, Little Peace Farm covers its crops with row cover.
"That takes a long time and lots of man power," Emily Scheidel said. "That will protect them from the environment and give them this safe little haven."
There is also lots of "looking out in the field," turning leaves over and looking for pests.
"A healthy transplant is the first line of defense," Michael Scheidel said.
He said that if there is one that is weak before it's planted in the field, it will end up effecting the others.
One other method is "squishing," where they go out into the fields to squish some of the larva on the bottom of the plants.
They also do this when harvesting beans, since there are often Mexican bean beetles.
"One hundred percent of what we grow, we sell," Michael Scheidel said. "We don't go to auctions and resell it. We only sell what we grow. We're by no means tenured veterans, we're just learning as we go as well."
Both said that some other farmers are buying crops such as corn and shipping it up from Georgia, so it can be sold during certain parts of the year.
"As far as what can be grown locally, we'll have it as early as possible," Michael Scheidel said.
In addition to the vegetables, they also raise animals such as chickens, calves and goats and give them a lot of fresh air.
"They're inside today, but we really believe they deserve a good, happy life and are only in here when they need to be," Emily Scheidel said.
Starting this summer, Little Peace Farm will be having roundtable discussions on any type of homesteading and farmsteading.
Emily Scheidel said there will be classes where anyone with a hobby or experience with something that they have at home, whether its farming, canning or cheese-making, can come and teach others their skills.
No other information was available at this time, but it will be starting sometime in June and running through October.
For more information about Little Peace Farm, visit www.littlepeacefarm.com.