These days it seems like plastic is in everything: our oceans, our landfills, our food, and our farms. Modern society is addicted to the convenience and disposability of plastic. We all know we need to find more sustainable alternatives, but on a farm it’s just plain hard. 

Some plastics have become so ingrained in our idea of profitable small farms that it is difficult to imagine growing without them. Thankfully, folks like Urbavore Farm are paving the way for a more plastic-free agro-ecosystem. I caught up with Brooke Salvaggio and Dan Heryer to dig into their low-plastic production. Every farm’s situation is unique, but with conjoined efforts we can all work to reduce plastic for healthier soil, healthier plants, healthier people, and less pollution. Also see the May 2021 GFM article “Strategies for reducing plastic use on farms.”

 

Urbavore Farm in Kansas City, Missouri. All images courtesy of Urbavore. 

 

A dirty little plastic secret

When Brooke and Dan of Urbavore Farm first caught the farming bug, they started off as interns at a non-profit in Kansas City, Missouri. “The farm was covered in tunnels, the field production was covered in plastic mulch, and the market tables were a cornucopia of plastic with just about every greens mix and micro mix you could imagine,” Brooke recalled. 

 

 

Many are surprised to discover how much plastic is used on market farms, both big and small. I certainly was. But as farmers, we know there are many tradeoffs and nuances to the materials we choose to use (or not to use) on our fields. Brooke and Dan clearly remember the farm manager telling them “plastic is an organic farmer’s dirty little secret.” From that day forward, the couple decided “it won’t be our dirty little secret!” 

They dove into farming with a (mostly) plastic-free mission from the get-go. No tunnels, no plastic mulch, no drip irrigation (or any irrigation for that matter), no plastic bags, no clamshells, none of it. 

Without casting judgement or blame, I’m sure we all would like to figure out ways to reduce our plastic use. Urbavore Farm offers some insightful solutions that they have put into practice for the past 10 years on their 13.5-acre urban farmstead in Kansas City.

 

Toxins in plastic 

As convenient as it is, the more we live with plastic, the more we learn about the major problems with plastic. But even as someone fairly well-versed in the realm of BPAs, endocrine disrupters, estrogen mimickers, and “forever” chemicals, I was surprised to find that there are even more toxins in plastic than I thought. 

 

At market we provide our customers with shopping baskets. They fill up their basket without using a single plastic bag and bring their haul to the register. After ringing up their goodies, they are given the choice of paper bags, used plastic bags, or reusable organic cotton bags at the low cost of $1 each. Most folks bring their own bags, but those who don’t happily opt for the cotton bag. We profit 20 cents every time we sell a cotton bag.

 

Most people understand how plastics are harmful to the planet (they strangle turtles and pollute beaches), but I think it is less understood how plastics affect our health. There are hundreds of chemicals in plastic known to be carcinogenic or hazardous to human health. BPA just happens to be the most well-known one. Chemicals from plastic can also leach into food and disrupt hormonal and reproductive systems. To make matters worse, micro-plastic particles can bind to chemicals and become carriers of concentrated toxins.

The present and future of plastic is grim. As ecological farmers, it is an interesting dilemma we face: we are working so hard to grow nutrient-rich, chemical-free food from living soils, then often distributing it to customers in toxic-laden plastic.

 

Changing bagging behavior

While many states have caught onto to the BYOB (bring your own bag) movement for shopping bags, plastic produce bags remain ubiquitous at just about every farmstand or market. Bioplastics have become more common, but of course they are directly linked to the industrial GM monoculture that provides their feedstocks. Not only do bioplastics contribute to more mass-scale soil degradation, but they are also loaded with carcinogens like glyphosate.

 

Running hogs on our production fields, coupled with cover cropping, reduces weed pressure. This animal-powered system helps us avoid plastic mulch.

 

Washed, bagged greens are the ultimate grab-and-go product for many market growers, including myself. I typically go for the gusseted re-closable bags from ULINE (product #S-10711) in hopes that people will reuse the bag from their greens mix. I reuse the bags countless times in my own kitchen. But this doesn’t help the plastic toxin scenario at all. 

 

We grow a lot of strawberries at Urbavore. All our berries are packaged in fiber cartons as opposed to plastic clamshells. At first, we ran into storage issues- the berries were drying out without the added protection of plastic packaging. We solved othe issue by simply covering our stacks of berries (harvested into fiber cartons packed into bulb crates) with large wetted table cloths, creating humidity and preventing exposure to the open air of the walk-in cooler. With this system, the berries stay in perfect condition for over a week.

 

On the other hand, Urbavore has opted to extremely limit their selection of bagged greens and instead offer greens in bulk and encourage customers to bring their refillable bag. With their recent shift away from markets toward 100 percent CSA, they can ask CSA members to return clean greens bags for reuse. They hope eventually to make a collective investment in reusable greens packaging for a small extra fee. 

Brooke recalls that they used to go through “boxes and boxes of brand new plastic bags every month due to the demand for a ‘clean’ and ‘convenient’ shopping experience.” They finally put their foot down and stopped offering the plastic bags altogether. Their customers admired their decision and started taking more initiative to bring their own bags. If people forget, Urbavore keeps a stock of gently used paper and plastic bags on hand. 

 

The use of silage tarps has been instrumental in reducing our weed pressure. We use them to create stale seed beds- prepped fields are tarped for multiple weeks before planting, during that time weeds germinate and die in the absence of light. We also use them once beds come out of production to quickly zap crop residue and weeds so that we can replant the beds with production crops or cover crops in our no-till system. This intentional usage of reusable plastic helps us to avoid single-use plastics. We have been using the same tarps for over six years.

 

They accept gently used plastic and paper bags from the community, so there is never a shortage of bags to reuse. Urbavore also offers very affordable organic cotton bags for sale at market. Products like cherry tomatoes and strawberries are easily shifted to fiber carton pints and quarts rather than clamshells. 

In terms of customer education, I’ve found that customers are so used to storing produce in plastic bags that they don’t know another way. Fortunately, reusable cotton, muslin, and woven fabric produce bags are growing in popularity. For a simple solution, I also encourage using silicon bags, beeswax wraps, restaurant-style food bins, mason jars, or Tupperware-type containers. 

While reused plastics don’t eliminate the toxin problem, at least they lessen the environmental impact of single-use plastics and help shift consumer behavior. For Urbavore, it’s the little steps that count. 

 

Growing without tunnels

From the very beginning, Brooke and Dan have been committed to farming completely outdoors in the elements. They have managed to avoid building any high tunnels or greenhouses at Urbavore. They only have one 12-by-50-foot caterpillar tunnel that is used as a heated propagation house for transplants and seedling sales. 

 

We run 230 chickens on pasture and about 25 hogs per season. We purchase our livestock grain in paper feed sacks as opposed to one ton plastic totes. We use the paper feed sacks as sheet mulch in perennial plantings such as blueberries and asparagus. The feed bags are laid out and covered with leaf mulch. That’s a lot of feed, and a lot of plastic totes saved!

 

Market farming without high tunnels is definitely what sets Urbavore apart from the rest. In fact, I think they are the only farm among the 30 plus I’ve visited around the U.S. that grows without greenhouses. As many of us know, greenhouse tunnels use hundreds of square feet of thick plastic that needs to be replaced every few years. “I completely understand the usefulness and necessity of tunnels,” Brooke told me, emphasizing that they don’t judge other growers for using them. “If anything, we judge ourselves for being such extremist freaks.” 

Brooke and Dan know that this stringent dedication to their morals makes their lives as farmers harder in many ways. “It feels right for us to grow in this way, and to set an example for others,” Brooke said. Their goal is to demonstrate that a barebones approach to regenerative farming is possible and profitable, even without what Brooke calls “all the bells and whistles.”

 

We use copious amounts of organic mulches to reduce weed pressure and more important still – to hold in moisture! We don’t irrigate at Urbavore (another way we avoid plastic). Exposed soil is simply not an option. We use lots of straw mulch and leaf mulch. These organic mulches enhance soil biology, and help to improve our heavy clay fields (which were stripped of topsoil back in the 60’s). Our urban land is not ideal for crop farming, and organic mulches play a critical role in our success.

 

Without tunnels, Urbavore stays competitive by growing a unique smorgasbord of products, including an abundance of storage crops (sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, and an array of winter roots like watermelon radishes) as well as their artisan pastured pork. They’ve chosen to focus their spring efforts on asparagus and early strawberries to take the pressure off having early tunnel veggies.

Perhaps a shift in crop selection is the most accessible and simple approach to reducing plastic. Economically, it helped Brooke and Dan build their farm with zero debt. Instead of greenhouses, they’ve invested in a 10 kW solar array, large walk-in coolers made from shipping containers, and other sustainable infrastructure. 

 

Feed bags covered in leaf mulch are used under perennial crops like blueberries. 

 

Store produce with less plastic

Alas, there is no magic bullet for this one. Lidded rigid plastic totes remain the best option for produce storage in a walk-in cooler. While they reduce bag use, they are also still, ugh, plastic! Brooke says their best bet is being gentle to reduce wear and tear on the totes. 

 

Leaf mulch is used in the bed and straw mulch is used in the pathways to suppress weeds and conserve moisture.

 

On the berry side of things, they have created a nice system of berry cartons in stackable bulb crates covered with moist table cloths to prevent dehydration. Their berries stay in perfect condition for over a week in the cooler using this method. 

 

Silage tarps- lesser of two evils?

For a no-till farm like Urbavore, using tarps to prep fields for three to six weeks prior to planting has really changed the game in regard to weed pressure. Although they’ve extensively used heavy organic mulches like straw and leaves, their weed pressure was still difficult to control with tools and hand-weeding alone. Fortunately, they have found a sweet spot with tarps and rotational animal power that has rendered some of their fields virtually weed-free. 

They continue to use heavy organic mulches and rotational animals (poultry and hogs) to build organic matter and conserve moisture in their un-irrigated fields. They also strategically use tarps to hold in moisture before planting if they are anticipating a dry spell. 

 

We are attempting to intercrop more and more to increase photosynthesis, as well as production value per bed. More than that, we find that the additional crops smother weeds, and shade the soil for moisture retention. This is very important for a farm that doesn’t irrigate or use plastic mulch to control weeds.

 

The poultry is especially useful for strawberry production, where plastic mulch is most commonly used. The chickens scratch and weed for a few weeks, then their manure-filled straw is pulled from the hen houses and applied to the field. Brooke and Dan proceed to mow down the berry plants and mulch the paths to prepare for next season. 

On the hog side of things, pigs have become a crucial part of Urbavore’s weed management strategy. A rotational hog-till system helps them flip fields, reduce perennial weeds, and nurture the soil. The certified organic feed bags are custom packed from their supplier in 100 percent paper sacks. These sacks are then reused as sheet mulch in perennial plantings like blueberries and asparagus. Feed bags are laid out and then covered with leaf mulch. With about 25 hogs and 230 pastured chickens, a lot of plastic totes are saved in the process (and a lot of weeds suppressed).

But, like everything in life, there are tradeoffs to each decision. In the blog post “The Problem with Silage Tarps,” Jesse Frost of No-Till Growers brought up an important point about micro-plastic buildup and toxins such as phthalates entering the soil ecosystem and being absorbed by crops. Some studies have found that they can alter the soil microbiome, however we don’t yet fully understand how this happens or if it is reversible. 

Compared to the issues with single-season plastic mulch, tarps are at least reusable and very durable. They also help reduce or eliminate tillage, which is overall a net positive. Urbavore has used their tarps for over six years and have yet to throw one away. Brooke jokes that she may change her mind once she has to send one to the landfill. Until then, silage tarps are folded and stored very carefully to get the maximum life out of them. 

The path forward into a plastic-free future remains unclear until truly ecological alternatives are available. But we’re all doing the best we can. Urbavore is certainly an inspiration in their diligent avoidance of single-use plastics. Every step counts. 

 

Logan Hailey is a farmer, writer, and co-owner of Ramblin Farmers, LLC, a mobile freelance farmhand service. She travels to farms and forests around the country in her off-grid school bus tiny home with her partner and three dogs. As they ramble and farm, they’re searching for a place to put down roots and start a farm of their own. Keep up with their adventures at ramblinfarmers.com.