Lexington’s Community Farm~What’s Next?

By Heather Aveson  |  CSA. Slow Food. Locavore. Sustainability. These are all words that have become part of our vernacular in the last several years. Add to that Community Farm. It’s a phrase we’ve gotten very familiar with here in Lexington. But, put away any preconceived notions of what it means.

Although each community farm is unique in many ways, they share common concerns–the first of which is economic sustainability. It’s a concern that’s recognized by town government, local growers and the group that advocated preserving the farm, the Lexington Farm Coalition, better known as LexFarm. Although open to all ideas about how a Community Farm might be structured in Lexington, Selectman Peter Kelley is clear about one thing, “There are no tax dollars to be expended for farm operations.”

Jim Wilson, owner and head farmer at Wilson Farm has been in the business of farming since he was knee high to a pea pod. He knows the vagaries of both farming and business, “In the discussion of farm sustainability one thing that’s often overlooked is the issue of economic sustainability. Unless a farm has the financial means to stand on its own, it isn’t going to last. It’s artificial. I know a lot of guys who are very good farmers and terrible businessmen. And that’s a recipe for disaster.” LexFarm understands those concerns and has developed a business plan to address them. “You can’t have a successful community farm if you don’t have a successful and sustainable farm. It has no integrity if it’s not actually sustainable economically,” says Janet Kern, President of the Lexington Farm Coalition.

Farming is a front-end loaded enterprise. Machinery, seed and materials must be bought, and an experienced farmer hired before you even break ground. Whoever operates Lexington’s community farm will be under immediate pressure to build an operation that can stand on it’s own. But with so many other community farms in the area there are lessons to be learned.

THE BUSA FAMILY FARM

The Busa family is one of Lexington’s oldest farming families. The 12 acres along Lowell Street has been farmed by generations of Busas since the early 1900s. Through out the years family members worked together and some set off on their own. The land was divided among the members and shares passed from generation to generation. By the early 2000s the family made the difficult decision to sell the land. Dennis Busa remembers that time, “It was too small to support three families. When my mother died we knew we had to sell it.” Developers were interested, but the town of Lexington had the first right of refusal. In the spring of 2009 a Special Town Meeting approved purchasing the land with CPA funds. “We were resigned to the fact that it would be wanted for soccer fields and maybe some other use. We made no demands,” says Busa.

When the town bought the land the general consensus was that the land would be used for additional playing fields with a portion set aside for affordable housing through LexHab. Selectman Peter Kelley says, “ I’d never heard of a community farm when we bought the Busa Land. None of us had ever heard of it.” Creating playing fields depended largely on acquiring “the donut hole”. This small piece of land within the Busa property had been sold privately to the Goldinger family, an abutter. Negotiations between the town and the Goldingers had been moving along. Selectman Kelley explains, “The Goldinger property was essential to recreational fields. In the early stages of negotiations their desire was to protect themselves and their neighbors on Farm Rd. from increased traffic and noise. They wanted a buffer.”

Then, two things happened that derailed any plan for recreational playing fields. A group of citizens got together and formed the Lexington Farm Coalition and in February 2011 the Goldingers sent a letter to the Busa Farm Land Use Proposal Committee (BLUPC) that basically killed any chance of siting playing fields on the land.

“After watching this process for the past many months, and the good work that your committee has done, we agree with the committee’s early assessment as to the overwhelming support from the community to maintain a farm, especially from the local neighborhood. It is a uniquely-shaped property, and most of the other proposals have struggled to put in place a workable design that would not unduly interfere with the neighborhood…Although we never wanted to be an impediment to a good design put forth by the community, we have always been clear that we had no interest in selling more than a small sliver of the property to make a design work. Currently, given the clear community support for a farm, it is very unlikely that we would be willing to sell any portion of the land.”

-Kim and Jim Goldinger

Source: February 2011 letter to the Busa Land Use Proposal Committee

Peter Kelley gives credit to the Lexington Farm Coalition for making the difference. “LexFarm got legs very quickly thanks to Janet [Kern] and the group. The Goldingers supported their effort. In my assessment it wasn’t worth pursuing recreational fields any longer.” That left the community farm and affordable housing proposals on the table.

When the letter arrived the BLUC was putting the finishing touches on their Final Report with recommendations. In the report presented to the Selectman on March 14, 2011 the group unanimously supported a Community Farm with some set aside for affordable housing to be built by LexHab.

The Busa Land Use Proposal Committee is enthusiastic about its support for a community farm. We believe this is an exciting and unique opportunity for the Town of Lexington to embrace both its past and its future, and to respond to the desires of a currently underserved population. The majority also support affordable housing on this site, in a modest, integrated way, if it is compatible with the farm operation. Two members also support an athletic field, under appropriate conditions.

Our recommendation is based on this site, its distinct soils, its existing infrastructure, its ecological context, an overwhelming demand for farming in Lexington, and the desire of the members of the BLUPC to see this land benefit the residents of Lexington.

Source: Section 6.7 Final Statement from theFinal Report of the Busa Land Use Proposal Committee.

A year later, in March 2012 the Selectman accepted their recommendations. Lexington will have a community farm. Dennis Busa says it best, “I’m glad LexFarm stayed with it, they deserve a lot of credit. But there’s a long way to go.”

As an advocate for the preservation of the farm, LexFarm had accomplished their goal. A significant portion of the land would remain a farm. LexFarm president, Janet Kern feels good about that. “I have accomplished my goal. But as president of LexFarm Coalition I have committed to seeing it through to its best use. I’ll be thrilled if LexFarm gets approval to farm the land, but I’ll also be relieved and happy to see an organization that has experience that can make good use of this land come in.”

Wait a minute. What is she talking about “whoever is operating the farm”? After all their hard work to preserve the land isn’t LexFarm the obvious group to run the farm? That may be the common assumption, but there’s actually no guarantee LexFarm will run the farm.

A LONG ROW TO HOE

Because the town owns and will be leasing the land, a Request for Proposal process is mandated. No decision can be made on an operator until that process is completed. The town, through the Town Manager’s office, has to create the RFP, submit it to the Selectman for input, finalize it, put it out for bid and then make a decision based on the strength of each proposal.

Dennis Busa says it best, “There’s a long way to go.”

STRUCTURING A COMMUNITY FARM

There are a number of community farms in towns around Lexington. Each farm has it’s own goals and organizational structure. Gaining Ground in Concord donates all it’s produce food pantries and relies completely on private support and fundraising. Others have farm stands, sell at local farmers markets or offer CSAs and support educational programs. Lexington is sandwiched between two towns with organizational structures that are very different from each other, and from Lexington’s situation. Waltham Community Fields leases land from private groups and is run independent of the city. The Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester is owned by the town and run by a town appointed board. Both are examples of increasingly successful community farms.

WALTHAM FIELDS COMMUNITY FARM

The Waltham Fields Community Farm (WFCF) began farming fields owned by the University of Massachusetts on Beaver Street near Bentley University in 1995. Two years later they added a CSA program and began educational offerings shortly after that. Executive Director Claire Kozower says the group set out with a very clear mission, “We were growing food to donate for hunger relief. We started out using all volunteers, but quickly realized that it takes a professional staff. We started the CSA to generate revenue to hire a farmer.” Over the years, Waltham Fields has expanded their acreage by leasing other fields. None of the land is city owned. They negotiate leases directly with the landowners and have no city oversight.

Their fields now produce about $26,000/acre. On 11 acres that’s close to $300,000 a year. Twenty percent of what they grow is committed to support hunger relief, which includes a low-income voucher program, donations to food pantries and a Farm to School program. The remaining 80% of the crop goes to the CSA program and a small retail operation. These help support the farm operation, salaries for the Farmer, Assistant Growers, Education and Outreach Coordinators as well as administrative costs.

The WFCF education program began in response to a specific request. “The education program definitely evolved. It started because a Cambridge summer camp approached us in 1998. They saw it as a way to connect their urban campers to the land and the food they ate. We still work with them.” Education programs have become very successful. Claire adds, “We now run three seasons of educational programming. Including programs through the Waltham Recreation Dept.”

Waltham Fields began as a volunteer program, Claire says, “There are lots of models starting out, you have to adapt to changes. Because our goal is to produce food – we can’t be volunteer dependent. Our volunteers are now really part of the education program.” She points out that when you are volunteer-dependent you have to engage people on their level. In 2011 more than 750 volunteers gave approximately 3,000 hours to the farm.

WRIGHT LOCKE FARM CONSERVANCY

On the other side of Lexington, just up Whipple Hill from the Busa farmland is the Wright Locke Farm Conservancy (WLFC) in Winchester. The town of Winchester purchased the 20-acre farm in 2007. Before that, it had been farmed for more than 300 years and was the last working farm in town. Most people know Wright Locke Farm as the place to take the kids to pick raspberries on warm summer days. And those raspberry bushes played a key role in keeping the young Community Farm afloat.

 

The family was negotiating with a developer who planned a dense, large-scale housing development on the site. Since the family had received an Agricultural Tax Deferment the town claimed their first right of refusal and bought the land. In order to fund the purchase Winchester voters overwhelmingly backed a tax override. According to WLFC President, Jim Whitehead, the override only covered interest payments. The town planned to sell off part of the site to recoup the purchase costs.

“Very few people knew any more about the farm than the raspberries,” says Whitehead, “People who got to know more about the farm became passionate about keeping some part of it a farm.”

The battle cry became, SAVE THE RASPBERRIES.

In early 2008 a Master Plan Task Force was created to study the idea and the town was soliciting proposals for the sale or development of a portion of the land. In the meantime a small group of volunteers cared for the raspberries and brought in between $17,000 and $18,000 in sales the first year.

The Task Force came back with a recommendation that a conservancy be created to oversee any farming operation. The Task Force wanted to make sure all of Winchester was represented. They created an eleven-member board with no more than two members from any one precinct. Three members would come from the Selectmen, four from the Town Moderator and one each from the Council on Aging, Historical Society, Finance Committee and Conservation Commission.

As the first President, Jim Whitehead wasn’t sure to expect, “This kind of miracle happened. In spite of the fact that the board came from such a diverse group – it works really well.”

The group has made tremendous progress in just three years. They have doubled the income from raspberries by expanding their other crops. They decided early on not to go the CSA route after meeting with representatives of the Trustees of Reservations who run Appleton Farm in Ipswich. “They looked at the acreage and said we’d never get enough shares to make it profitable,” says Whitehead. Instead, they’ve opened a farm stand and sell their produce at local farmers markets.

But their growing pains were similar to those felt by Waltham Fields. “We began to learn very quickly that there is a big difference between gardening and farming. We didn’t know what we were doing.” They started a vibrant fundraising program and added the education program to boost their bottom line. They now support a full time professional farmer and two other paid farm hands. This is the first year they have offered education programs. It’s been a huge success. They ran a sold-out pilot program in April, a sold-out K -2 program is running now and spots for the Grades 3 – 5 program that’s coming up are filling up fast. They hired a Lead Instructor and two college students to run the program. The program is not only paying for itself, it’s making money.

Because the conservancy is appointed by the town to oversee the farm operation, they have been spared the RFP process. But they do have to negotiate a lease. Last year the town signed a 30- year lease agreement with the Conservancy for 7.6 acres at Wright-Locke Farm. The only financial benefit the farm receives under the lease agreement is the payment of their utility bills for the next five years. Jim Whitehead elaborates, “There’s no specific lease amount, but if we generate a profit we have to reimburse the town for the utilities and then pay some negotiated lease amount.” Turning a profit might be a problem just about any farm would welcome. The remaining acreage, approximately 4.5 acres has been set aside for sale or development.

The intricacies and nuances of negotiating a lease with the town aren’t lost on Lexington Town Manager Carl Valente. In his last position he dealt with a community farm that drained town resources. He approaches the current process with trepidation. “Will we give preference to Lexington groups? Do we want to limit it to non-profits or will we open it up to everyone? What restrictions will there be? Will we require educational programs? What will the lease terms be?” Valente wants to see these questions answered before putting out the Request for Proposal.

THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL MOVES FORWARD IN LEXINGTON

Although the business model and relationship to the community for each farm is different, taking a look at how other farms have structured themselves, evolved and learned to support themselves can have an impact on how Lexington goes forward in the process.

The Town Manager’s office is currently working on a draft proposal that will be presented to the Selectman’s Meeting at their July 30 meeting. Valente will be looking to the Selectmen for guidance on policy questions.

Selectman Peter Kelley says there’s no general consensus on the board as to what the farm should look like, but he is clear on several administrative and financial issues, “There would have to be a citizen’s committee that would review the lease every 3 – 5 years. And there would have to be benchmarks that are met for an option to renew.” He’s already said there are no tax dollars to be expended for farm operations, but he’s keeping an open mind in setting policy. “I’m going to be more of a listener. I don’t think you want to be restrictive in any way that would limit people’s imaginations. I think we might want some education and part of the harvest might go to the food pantry.”

The LexFarm group is working hard to be ready when the Request for Proposal goes out. “We’re looking at what the farm needs, what resources are available. There’s still opportunity to engage with us and say, ‘This is our community farm. This is what we’d like to see.’ We’ll have to know all that before we put together our proposal. We don’t want to put together a concept; we want to put together a proposal that we feel confident in. That’s also going to determine our success,” says Kern.

Neither Kelley nor Kern has the sense that there are many other groups out there interested in operating the farm. But whoever comes in will have to put forth a solid business plan that addresses the immediate financial needs of a community farm. Jim Whitehead has this advice for any group starting out. “I would suggest they should do nothing but raise money for the first year. We had the benefit to ride the raspberries for the first few years. Farming is very front end loaded.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

There is a clear consensus that a basic measure of a community farm’s success is financial independence.

LexFarm has done their homework and put together a detailed business plan that could include low interest loans, certainly fundraising and a CSA. “It’s the CSA that provides income to operate the farm and pay the farmer. When we ran our business model it showed that in a few years you might be able to take some of that money and start supporting education programs. But most of the money that supports education, public events and everything else does have to come from engaging the community through fundraising and volunteering.”

Dennis Busa has already introduced the CSA model in his business and sees the benefits going forward. “It’s going to have to be self supporting, whether it’s CSA or some other means. We’re doing between 175-200 CSA shares and that’s less than a third of our business.” He points out that CSAs can have extra benefits. Busa Farm offers a 50% discount if you pick it yourself and a 10% discount if shares are paid for up front.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

A draft RFP will be presented to the Selectmen for input and review at their July 30 meeting. At the same meeting the Selectman will continue discussions on land delineation and housing units presented by LexHab. It’s not clear if the RFP for the farm operation can go forward until it’s determined how many acres will be set aside for housing and where they’ll be sited.

Town Manager Carl Valente hopes to have the RFP ready to go out in mid-September, but he says, “It’s more important to do it right than do it quickly.”

For now the land is continues to be farmed by Dennis Busa who holds the lease until April 2013. LexFarm has a calendar in mind to get up and running right after that, if they are given the lease. “The hope would be to have our new Lexington Community Farm up and running during Lexington’s 300th celebration,” says Kern. The timing is getting tight. Dennis Busa has left the door open to extend his lease on the land until a decision is made and to partner with the new operator as their lead farmer.

Janet Kern and LexFarm appreciate the need for the open process. “A community farm is equal parts community and farm. You can’t have one without the other.” Kern says, “Look at Wright Locke Farm. They’re an example of a farm that has gone through a similar situation. They’ve been able to take the next step because they’ve been supported by the town.