about iron ox farm
history
Iron Ox Farm was established on the North Shore of MA in 2017. The farm began as a small one acre plot in west Gloucester overlooking the beautiful Essex Salt Marsh. In 2018, the farm moved to Topsfield with an opportunity to scale up and grow on two acres. In 2021, Iron Ox moved to our forever home in Hamilton, on the former site of Green Meadows Farm, by securing a 99-year lease with Essex County Greenbelt.
Greenbelt of Essex County is working hard to develop projects that connect farmers with land in Essex County—a challenging task that helps protect and preserve farm land that would otherwise be developed. The preservation of Green Meadows Farm as an open space is one of the first projects that Greenbelt is embarking on with a farm like Iron Ox. Together we will work to conserve the land, protect the watershed, and provide access to trails for public use. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for first generation farmers like us—to secure long term access to farm land within our community. We have big plans ahead!
mission
Our farming mission is to enrich the environment around us through a focus on building soil health and providing equitable access to food and open spaces. Our farming practices are dedicated to 100% organic first and foremost. All of the produce grown on our farm is certified organic through Baystate Organics and the USDA. Organic certification is a rigorous and thorough process that ensures that our produce is grown with integrity.
Through our organic certification we are held to a high standard to grow food that is safe for our customers and the land we farm. The organic standard means that every step of the growing process is certified organic from seed to fertilizer:
We do not use herbicides and use no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides.
We employ techniques like exclusion, timing of planting, selection of variety, trap crops, and balanced soil fertility to minimize damage from pests and disease.
We maintain soil health practices that focus on building soil organic matter through practices like cover cropping, mulching, and no till.
We work closely with soil scientists through American Farmland Trust and the NRCS to understand the composition of our soil and how to incorporate more soil health practices into our crop rotation.
We grow over 40 different vegetables, wheat, corn, flowers, blueberries, and a multitude of cover crops to ensure diversity for pollinators and native wildlife. With the expansive space we are able to rotate vegetable crops with grains and cover crops. We do this to rest fields from high intensity vegetable farming and deposit biomass and nutrients into the soil through long term cover crops with living roots.
We work hard to maintain records of all activities on the farm from planting records to harvest yields to ensure that our growing practices are traceable and transparent. We want our community to feel confident that we are honest about the produce we sell and that we are committed to protecting the land we farm.
our model
We grow a diverse mix of veggies on six acres using all organic practices. Our new farm space has provided us the opportunity to stop growing intensively and build a new crop rotation that includes multiple-year cover crops and animals on pasture. We use a myriad of cover crops (rye, vetch, peas, radish, clover, wheat, sorghum, sudangrass and buckwheat) to build organic matter and protect our soils from erosion.
Through a sublease of ten of our acres to Lillooet Farm of Boxford, rotational sheep grazing has become part of our overall crop rotation plan. Chickens, pigs and turkeys will be added to the rotation in future seasons. The inclusion of animals in our rotation increases organic matter in our soil, reduces our fertilizer needs, and reduces the need for tillage.
We believe that through a thoughtful and well-balanced plan we can maintain and restore the essential nature of our farmland. We also believe that this thoughtful plan leads to food grown with more nutritional value…we long for the days when we can quantify how much healthier our carrots are than the ones at the grocery store. For now, we are committed to and excited to tell our story and be super transparent about every detail of our growing practices. We want our community to see how much we care about the land and the people it feeds. We strive to grow high quality nutritious food for the long haul in order to feed our community now and 50 years from now.
We distribute our produce in a number of ways. We have a Summer CSA whose shareholders each receive a weekly share of veggies for twenty weeks in the summertime, a Fall CSA that runs for eight weeks, and a PYO Flowers CSA that runs for ten weeks starting in July. We also sell our summer produce at our seasonal farm stand in South Hamilton, and wholesale to many local restaurants and food businesses.
Iron Ox Farm is a young, creative and passionate team of farmers. We are endlessly committed to what we do and how it affects those around us and the future of our planet. We work, read and plan so we can grow nutrient dense and delicious vegetables that will feed our community. We love veggies and food so please feel free to reach out and ask questions or come visit sometime soon!
our crew
Our Partners
Iron Ox Farm shares space and effort with some pretty incredible folks. From seedlings to sit-down dinners; fresh grains to fine wines; pasture-raised meats to pollinators; fresh baked goods to food access. All of our partners, both on and off the farm, do some pretty amazing things:
Nourishing the North Shore works to ensure equal access to healthy, local food to all members of the North Shore Communities in a manner that builds community, fosters connection, and promotes dignity and self-reliance.
Solid Ground Gardens is a small scale plant nursery providing healthy vegetable, herb, and flower starts grown using organic and low-impact practices.
Here and There Grain Project is a community oriented agriculture project with a vision. They are a peri-urban farm, a seed cleaning facility, and a mill for locally grown staple crops (primarily grains).
Hilltop Farm sells high-quality products made by their own hands and animals on their family farm. Current offerings include small-batch soaps and balms, and raw honey.
Lillooet Farm aims to bring community together around sustainably-raised, hand-crafted, small batch products, including lamb, wool and sheep’s milk cheese.
Helen’s Bottle Shop and Sandpiper Bakery are our partners in creating Little Gem dinners at Iron Ox Farm.
