Bob Muth - Williamstown,
New Jersey
Bob Muth grew up on a farm, but he left
New Jersey for a job as an extension agent.
After a few years, in 1990, he returned to
farm full time.
"I hear all this gloom and doom about
farming," he says, "but I like
where I am and I wouldn't change a thing
about how I got here."
Muth grows tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries,
okra, squash, and melons. All the crops are
set as transplants on plastic mulch and raised
with drip irrigation. He sends vegetables
to buyers ranging from "Mom and Pop" groceries
to large food distributors, but to diversify
his marketing, he is transitioning nine acres
of vegetables to certified organic.
Much of that went to 35 families who joined
his community-supported agriculture (CSA)
enterprise, something Muth calls a "howling
success" that he plans to expand to
100 families. (CSA provides weekly produce
to "shareholders" who pay at the
beginning of the season.)
He also sells strawberries and flowers directly
to consumers and continues to market hay
to horse farmers.
"As this area becomes more developed,
marketing is becoming increasingly important.
We are making deliberate steps to get closer
to the final user," he says.
Profitability
Muth Farm provides for the family's current
needs and also generates enough income to
save for retirement. The farm grosses between
$150,000 and $300,000, so net profits vary,
too. Muth, however, has been able to build
his savings gradually. He rents all of his
farmland, a strategy he describes as "one
of my secrets to success."
Environmental Strategies
With about 15 percent clay and a tendency
to crust when worked intensively, the gravelly
sandy loam soil is challenging. Muth designs
long rotations and uses cover crops extensively.
Only about 20 percent of his 80 acres is
in vegetable crops at any one time. He also
adds extra organic matter by spreading the
leaves collected by local municipalities
on some of his fields each autumn.
In a typical rotation, after the vegetable
crop is turned under in the fall, he covers
the ground with up to 6 inches of leaves,
about 20 tons per acre. The following spring,
he works in the decomposing leaves. His soil-building
program has given him fields that now test
as high as 5 percent organic matter, unheard
of for the mineral soils of southern New
Jersey. One benefit is decreased soil and
fertilizer runoff. To keep pesticide use
down, Muth depends heavily on integrated
pest management.
Community, Outreach, Quality of Life
To help with the vegetables, Muth hires
four or five workers from Mexico from April
to November. He rents an apartment for them
year-round, gives them the use of a truck,
and helps out with medical care and food.
Considering them an integral part of his
operation, Muth offers them a lot of responsibility
and plans his plantings with their capabilities
in mind.
A leader in sustainable agriculture in his
area, Muth often speaks at growers' meetings
and hosts farm tours. He serves on his local
agriculture board and the Administrative
Council for the Northeast Region Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
program.
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