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This morning around 10 AM, I walked to the Saturday morning Farmer's Market; a parking lot featuring a few stands selling produce, plants, breads, and novelty items such as goat milk soap. The first stand hung a sign above their produce advertising "Livengood's Family Farm, Lancaster, PA, Organically Grown Produce" in bold letters. I interviewed one of three brothers who happened to be running one of two stands active that day. A brief history of the farm goes something like this:

The father of the brothers was raised on the original 12 acre (8 additional acres are rented now) farm growing a variety of vegetables and selling them on the traditional road-side stand. As the three brothers grew older, the father increased the variety. About 16 years ago, more road-side stands started appearing in the area, prompting the father to sell his produce from an additional stand in Reading Market. Today, the family runs various stands at different farmer's markets in the area on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The farm's main focus is retail, although some whole-sale dealing is done with a couple restaurants. The oldest of the three brothers plans to take over the farm after their father retires. He has already expanded the farm to include a grass-fed beef herd, renting another 50-60 acres of land.

When asked how important organic is to the farm, I was given an anecdote about why the farm became organic. Before the birth of the second brother, a baby girl was born, but died a few days later. The family believes it was because of cold medicine given to the mother before the birth. After that, the father began using organic methods on the farm. Mr. Livengood states that organic is about “being responsible” and becoming a good “steward” for the land and for the people.

What this farm means by being organic is by following a certain style of farming. The manures used are always composted and, while some sprays are used, they are organically classified by federal institutions. An example would be a spray made of ground up seashells that would make climbing the plants harder for insects. The institution that regulates the Livengood Farm is PCO or Pennsylvania Certified Organic. Organic doesn’t just relate to farming methods, but, for Livengood, it means the building of relationships between consumers and producers. People are acknowledging where their food comes from, they understand more intimately about what they are purchasing. Although Livengood admits to having some conventional products at the stand, he relates that all foods not grown on their farm, even the conventionally grown produce, are bought from neighboring farms, not from an entirely different country. Products not from the family farm are sold for the benefit of business and the happiness of customers.

The Livengood Family Farm presents an example of an organic farm that partakes in some conventional methods in order to stay in business. It presents the idea of the farm as a full-time job that needs to follow at least some capitalistic approaches to business to stay in business. However, Livengood sums up the basic attitude of the farm; “What you see is what you got.”