When Caring for Environment, Individual Actions Matter

I guess you could say I was complacent.  Lulled into a false sense of security.  Off guard.  Whatever you want to say about my lack of vigilance, suffice to say, I paid a price.  On July 22, 2015, despite warning signs I purchased and posted beside the highway that borders my farm, NCDOT workers sprayed herbicide chemicals along the highway guardrails and on plants and trees that border those eight acres.  By the time browned foliage and dropping leaves announced plant death, the damage was done.  

In NC, such signs do not legally protect organic farmland

Admittedly, Heart & Sole Gardens is not a formally certified organic farm, but since we generate less than $5000 per year in sales and adhere to strict "organic" guidelines, we can legally claim to use the "O" word when it comes to produce.  Also, the spray administered by DOT did not penetrate cultivated fields, nor did it kill any of the plants in the bee buffer area, although that space, designated to attract and provide forage for farm honeybees and other important pollinators, was only a few feet from the targeted spray field.   

Sprayed area is only a few feet from bee buffer

After taking a few deep breaths, I spoke with a DOT official who arranged to send a supervisor to inspect the affected area and meet with me.  As soon as the young man exited his vehicle, he apologized for the "mistake" and promised no future herbicides would be sprayed at the farm.  We walked the length of the guardrail and I noticed one of my signs was lying in deep grass, a few feet from where the stakes that used to hold it still stood.  Another sign was visible, but turned at an angle, due to a broken stake.  The third sign, posted beside the driveway into the farm, was sturdy and clearly visible.  The supervisor concluded the workers who administered the chemicals did not see any postings until they reached the last sign.  With additional apologies and a pledge to return to the farm later in the week to post a large warning sign, the supervisor left.  

Farm sign beside entrance did not protect plants

Upon further investigation, I learned North Carolina has no policy concerning chemical spraying and organic farms.  One official told me spraying is a last resort, after grass mowing or shrub trimming methods are not feasible, but that did not seem to be the case at Heart & Sole Gardens.  From this experience, I learned, when it comes to protecting farmland, we should be vigilant and take proactive measures to protect valuable resources that provide chemical free food for our families.  

Crooked sign stands among sprayed plants

Perhaps individual actions are not effective against such devastating environmental blows like Duke Energy's coal ash waste spill into the Dan River, EPA workers' release of toxic wastewater from the Gold King mine in Colorado or any of the other numerous disasters caused by negligent human actions, but it is important for every citizen to attempt to protect our natural resources.  When it comes to our state's agriculture, we should work to make sure farmers receive the support they need in order to safely deliver fresh food to our tables and we should implore NC government officials to enact laws that will allow organic farms and state-maintained byways to peacefully coexist. 

Oh, about those DOT signs that will protect vegetation from chemical sprays?  The ones the nice young DOT supervisor promised to post?  As we enter December, several months later, no signs are posted at Heart & Sole Gardens.