Running a farm is a year-round business for us. Your early, up front membership purchase helps us greatly now… to buy seeds, plants and supplies, pay for fuel for the greenhouses and tractors, hire staff to work in the greenhouses and get our fields prepped and planted. Your preseason payment is essential to our farm’s viability; it is how a CSA membership works, and we thank you!

You will have access to the best, farm fresh produce every week throughout the growing season. Wholesome, healthy food – harvested daily, from our fields, for you and your family. Grocery store produce can travel miles and sit on the shelves for weeks before it reaches your plate; ours is direct from the fields, picked at peak ripeness. This makes a HUGE difference in quality, taste and nutritional value.

We take pride in being an essential part of our community and our customers’ lives. We love seeing our members’ families grow up in the fields and making memories. Parents share with us that their kids are eating more fruits and vegetables because of the connections they’ve made to that food from harvesting it themselves in the pick your own fields and from visiting the farm every week to pick up their food.

Each season, we employ several students who have an interest in pursuing a career in agriculture. When you join our farm, you are giving young people an opportunity to learn about farming and helping to shape the next generation of farmers. Similar to an apprenticeship, our employees learn everything from growing crops to operating tractors to business planning. The average age of today’s American farmer is close to 60 years old. As farmers get older and farms across the country are being sold to non-farmers, educating and training the next generation of farmers is of vital importance. It’s rewarding to be a part of this process and watch our employees move on to their own successful careers in agriculture.

In addition to our daily farm work, off the farm Farmer Jen serves several important roles… such as President of the Atlantic County Board of Agriculture and a delegate to NJ Agricultural Conventions, where she helps shape legislative polices. Jen is also a previous VP of the NJ Vegetable Growers Assn. and participated in the NJ Agricultural Leadership Program. Walking Bird Farm proudly hosts events from local legislative appreciation lunches to educational working groups in partnership with Rutgers and others to promote the future of farming in the Garden State. During the winter, in between crop planning, we attend winter conferences, trade shows and educational sessions, give presentations and continue learning from other farmers and industry leaders.

We use a combination of organic practices AND Integrated Pest Management (IPM) backed by science and research for safety and efficacy, which allows us to reduce spraying and avoid crop loss, while keeping costs down and protecting beneficial insects. What is IPM? We regularly scout our fields to identify issues and use environmentally sensitive approaches like biological controls to manage specific pests, and cover crops and crop rotations to break up pest and disease cycles. For the weeds, we use tractors, mulches, hand pulling/hoeing and where appropriate, use a selective spray to do the job that is safest for other organisms, soil, air and water quality. We are dedicated to growing your food and being open and honest about how and why we do it.

Together, we are creating a community that reflects our values to improve our overall well being.

BAKED GOODS (AND MORE): Hammerbacher Kitchen; CHEESE: Misty Meadow Sheep Dairy • Fulper Farms; MEATS: Sicklers Farm • Griggstown Farm • Pasture 13 • Piney Pastures Ranch; FRUIT AND CORN: Pastore Orchards • Nichols Orchards; EGGS: Cycle Farm • Working Dog Farm; MUSHROOMS: Faith Flower Farm; HONEY (AND MORE): Mill Creek Apiary • Pine Barrens Post • Bee Cool; JAMS AND PRESERVES: Coddiwomple Canning • Peppers Country Kitchen; SAISONS (AND MORE): The Seed Brewery; WORKSHOPS: The Barn Workshop; Artists, Musicians And More!