An organic flower farm in Huson, Montana, the County Rail Farm, has received a $250,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This comes as a part of President Joe Biden’s commitment to drive organic farming in rural America. 

The farm, which is located in Montana, grows vegetables and blooms by organic means without using pesticides.

This package is a part of $2 million grants that USDA will gift small-scale farming enterprises in Montana. 

Tracy Porter Finns, the operator of County Rail Farm says the funds will help supply local floral shops with organic rather than imported blooms. Fresh cut flowers in the U.S, most of which are imports, can cost up to $50 per kg. 

Finns’ farm supplies both wholesale and retail markets within the home state while the rest go to Washington and Idaho. For state-bound blooms, the farm uses the services of Western Montana Growers Co-operative to distribute them.

Painstaking Organic Growth Process

Other than easing distribution, this USDA funding has brought excitement to County Rail Farm as it will ease organic farming labour.  Finn says that producing flowers without pesticides is a hard task involving eradicating aphids by hand or by mixed cropping.

Pest control by mixed cropping on the farm includes inter-cropping flowers with spices that repel pests, especially garlic. More so, the farm grows the aphid-prone aragula spice next to flowers, all the more reason to control pests.

Whenever the two methods of taking care of pests fail, the farm operators use allowed pest control alternatives discretely.  One of these is Neem oil, a very effective and non-harmful extract that interferes with insect metabolism. 

With this financial kitty, it will be now easy to cover the costs of organic farming labour and diversify crops.

 

From the Farm to High-end Weddings

On the peripheries of organic farming, County Rail Farms aims to increase bloom supplies to its premium wedding market. The farm normally receives orders from high-end weddings in Montana that hanker after organic home-grown blooms. 

This at a time when a floral bouquet for a U.S. wedding costs between $25 and $44 per 25 stems. 

One of the farm’s impressive bouquets is the “Meadow.” This is an unique design that strews the blooms in patterns on the ground to follow the bridal path. 

Beside the high-class bridal events, the farm also supplies 30 small weddings per year within Montana. This ado puts a lot of incentive on the employees.

In the future, the farm plans to grow more flowers and develop a pick-your-own set up for florists who will usually visit the farm.