Emerald Isle Organic Farm

Emerald Isle Organic Farm is a small family farm dedicated to responsible sustainable
food and feed production. We define ourselves as responsible because we respect
everyone and everything downstream and downwind of our farm. In short, that means
the entire earth's ecosystem. We utilize family management and labor that originates
on our farm. We do not send checks to some global agribusiness corporate giant (GAG) to
tell us how to operate our farm because we do not use any synthetic pesticides,
antibiotics, hormones, genetically modified organisms, or chemical fertilizers.
in the production of food and fiber. We do not accept any state or federal
subsidies, therefore, they also have little influence in the management
of Emerald Isle. The folks we are interested in influencing the
farm are you, the consumers of food. We strive to put
a face and name on our product by making a connection
with the folks who buy our meat and other products.

The name "Emerald Isle" was chosen because the farm is
truly a green island in a vast sea of brown up here in northern
Hamilton County, Indiana. Also, the name has an "ole McDonald ring" when
when you use the EIO Farm acronym. It wasn't intentional, but it is coincidental.
Seriously, however, since we do not use any chemical fertilizers or herbicides we
must use natural methods for soil fertility. This involves the extensive utilization
of cover crops ( to secure the soil in place) and other legume crops (plants which
fix nitrogen, a primary plant nutrient, from the greatest nitrogen source of all the atmosphere)
to keep biological processes active in the soil year round. So after harvest, we always continue to enhance
soil biological activity by planting covers and legumes. Therefore, when the surrounding agribusiness farms
are brown and barren from October to May ( that's 7 full months), our farm is still green and growing. An added
benefit to everyone is the plants use carbon dioxide to grow biomass and thereby sequester carbon in the plant
tissues. That's right, if we promote and support more farms that practice sustainable organic production rather than conventional high synthetic input agribusiness, we would experience a reduction in total greenhouse
gas accumulation as only one of the many ecological benefits.

Emerald Isle is just one of a number of farms in Indiana working with a strong environmental and ecological ethic to
supply healthy food for making healthy people. We have strong and growing networks for farmers interested in joining
this burgeoning food movement. Our entire farm is verified as ecological by HomeGrown Indiana.
This means the farm and our records are inspected periodically and we are required to follow accepted
standards. We were formerly certified organic, but have opted out of that system when it was usurped by the USDA.
As mentioned above, our farmers are also very dedicated to forging strong bonds with
the people who consume our products because you are the folks who make it all possible through your concern and
support for farmers who care about good food and our precious earth.