Our Story
The History of heron pond farm
In 1998 Heron Pond Farm began on a small two-acre plot of rented land at David Bachelder’s farm. The Farm has been growing and changing ever since, with the goal of becoming a permanent part of the landscape in southern Rockingham County. In 1999, with the very generous help of James and Jocelyn VanBokkelen, we found a more permanent home in South Hampton. Heron Pond Farm came into its current form when Walter and Blanche Syvinski retired from Valley Acres Farm and turned operations over to Greg Balog and Andre Cantelmo. The VanBokkelen's commitment to open space has kept the land available, while the Syvinskis have been valued mentors in New England small farm practices. It takes a village to raise a child so it should come as no surprise that it has taken a mix of all these folks to make Heron Pond Farm what it is today.
How we farm
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Here at Heron Pond Farm, we strive to be biological farmers. Biological farming is the act of maximizing biological activity in the soil. Our commitment to the health of our land and our customers is stronger than ever as a result of sustainable practices we have put in place. We like to say our produce is unconventionally grown. We have developed management plans that keep our air, land, and water in mind as we grow a whole-farm ecosystem. We are one of the largest cover crop growers in the area. here
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We work with the Southeast Land Trust (SELT) to conserve parts of the farm. We are FISMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) and GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) inspected and certified, plus have Water Use and Soil Saving Management Plans.
A few years ago, we implemented a native pollinator protection plan. This plan was developed with help from the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. We will be establishing permanent strips of uncropped land for use by native bees and other pollinators. These permanent strips will also help with reducing erosion.
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We fertilize almost all of our crops with organic, composted chicken manure and just like many organic farms we use biologically based pesticides. We never use GMOs and we don't spray any leafy greens or our berries with anything, certified organic or not. Yes, even certified organic farms use pesticides! We are lucky to have a farm that has many fields far away from one another, which helps with pest control because we can rotate crops out of the range of a particular insect or disease.
The vast majority of our weed control is done with our flame weeder and tractor implements called cultivators. You will not find many organic farms better equipped to control weeds in this way.
We view the use of non-biological pesticides as a tool only to be used where nothing else will work or is practical. We don't like doing it, and don't make these decisions lightly. We have employees and families who live and play on the farm and their safety is paramount. Our farming practices are designed to be sustainable in every sense of the word: environmentally, financially, and mindful of making time for other things in life.
a dedicated partnership
Heron Pond Farm is owned and operated by Greg Balog and Andre Cantelmo. Friends from college in New Jersey where they studied soil science, they have been a team for more than twenty years.