During his presentation at the 2016 Agrohack Conference, Nate Olive discusses the five ways to Implement Sustainable Food-shed Development for Small Farm Communities.
Nate Olive, Ph.D., is a farmer and consultant who owns and directs the only certified organic farm in the United States Virgin Islands, Ridge to Reef Farm (R2R). The farm is located on 180 acres of the mountainous Northwest quarter of St. Croix. It grows USDA certified organic fruits & vegetables and pasture-raised sheep and pigs.
Products are made available to multiple outlets on the three USVI islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John forty-two weeks a year. Primary markets include the territory’s Farm to School initiative and a 100-member Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA). R2R also serves as a food hub for other sustainable farms in its VI Locally Grown market place. The farm also hosts hundreds of visitors a year in its agri-tourism programs, including farm stays, tours, and on-farm guest chef dinners.
AGROHACK is a premier agriculture innovation summit whose purpose is to propel agriculture as a sustainable source of growth and economic development.