Sustainability & Conservation

NCOF is located on 27 acres of productive open space preserved forever as conservation land by the townspeople of Natick in April, 2009.
Its stone-free fields have been farmed continuously for over 350 years.

Animal Care: Our animals are fed with non-GMO food, raised humanely, and have daily access to fresh air, sunlight, and organic pastures or yards. We use their manure to feed our land and gardens.

Bicycle Rack: A safe, prominent place to park bikes encourages visitors to pedal over to the Farm.

Certified Organic: NCOF raises all of its vegetable, small fruits, and cut flowers according to strict organic standards. We do not use synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.

Composting: Compost is our most important farm product. We compost all of our vegetable scraps and animal manures to in order to naturally enrich our soil. After 45 years of composting, the fertility of the Farm’s soil is amazing!

Cleaning Products & Paper Goods: We clean our facilities with natural and organic cleaners. We use 100% post-consumer, recycled paper in our offices. We use recycled, recyclable, and/or renewable plates, cutlery, and cups for our events. These are easy things to do at home, too.

Composting Toilet: The Farm’s composting toilet drastically reduces the amount of human waste that the farm sends into the sewer system.

Energy Efficient Lighting: Farm buildings are lit with LEDs and energy-efficient fixtures.

Local Labor: By hiring locally, the Farm increases local employment and skill levels, as well as the buying power of the community. It also reduces commute times, saving gas.

No Till: No till crop management conserves soil, improves soil health, requires less water, and requires less weeding while lengthening the growing season, improving crop yield and producing more nutrient-dense crops. It is a smarter, greener way to farm.

Root Cellar: The Farm’s root cellar takes advantage of the natural temperature of the earth to cool and prolong the storage of our vegetables and flowers.

Solar Greenhouses & Hoophouses: Our greenhouses and hoophouses capture the light and heat of the sun to produce seedlings and salad greens with minimum input of fossil fuels.

Timber: NCOF uses locally-grown and cut timbers whenever possible to construct its buildings.

Walking Trail: The Farm’s walking trail encourages visitors to get outside and commune with nature.

Wood-Fired Evaporator for Sugaring: Locally harvested pine logs provide all the heat necessary to boil our sap into maple syrup.

Wood Stoves: Energy-efficient wood stoves are used to heat our education center, nature center, and workshop.