Row by Row Farm

Row by Row Farm is a certified organic vegetable farm founded by Dakota and Mira Miller. They met while studying agriculture on a small farm in central Israel and dreamed of owning their own organic farm together. After working on other farms for several years they decided it was finally time and in 2016 settled into 140 acres of prime vegetable cropland in Hurley, NY.

The Millers' aim is to care for the environment and its biological diversity while growing nutrient-rich food. To do that, they have to rebuild what was once a multi-generation vegetable farm. The farmland has been under organic practices since 2014 and certified organic since 2017. The Millers say that they are proud to inherit the task of continuing to nurture the land back to a healthy and productive state. "We do not take the opportunity of stewarding our sliver of the historic Hurley Flats lightly and are dedicated to continuing our agricultural journey with a sense of permanence and long term growth. " they say.

For the Millers, growing organically means building an environment that decreases pest and disease pressure in order to limit the need for any pesticides, even organic pesticides. They do this with crop rotation and soil-building cover crops. Their long-term cover crop plan helps build the fertility of the soil with each passing growing season. The farm has also invested in tillage equipment that is less aggressive so they can reduce the impact of vegetable production on the soil structure. For example, they use a no-till grain drill to plant the cover crops, minimizing tillage and soil disturbance. Over the long term, the farmers plan to continually improve by exploring methods for working the soil in the least intrusive ways possible.