We decided how we'd farm before anyone told us to.
In 1988, a year before Crown Point Ecology Center existed, the Sisters who owned this land made one rule before anything else was decided: no synthetic chemicals, ever. USDA Certified Organic status followed in 1994. Everything below is what that decision looks like in practice, more than three decades later.
Why we farm this way.
Crown Point doesn't farm this way because organic is trendy. The decision predates the word "regenerative" entering common use and predates Crown Point Ecology Center's own founding by a year. It came from a specific, deliberate choice: land this good deserved to be cared for rather than depleted — and food grown on it should be safe for the people eating it, many of whom can't afford to take chances with what's on their plate.
That means every practice below serves more than one goal at once: healthier soil, safer food, a stronger local food system, and land that's still productive for whoever farms it next.
What it actually looks like on the ground.
What certified organic, regenerative farming looks like on Crown Point's fields, grouped by what each practice is really doing.
Soil-Building
Crop rotation, cover cropping, mulching, and composting form the foundation of soil fertility — the same practices taught directly to trainees in Crown Point's Regenerative Farmer Training Program.
Low-Till Systems
Hands-on low-till growing methods reduce soil disturbance, protecting the microbial life and structure that healthy soil depends on.
Soil Testing & Fertility Planning
Soil testing and fertility planning guide what each field needs season to season, rather than applying the same inputs everywhere by default.
Organic Pest & Disease Management
No synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides — pest and disease pressure is managed through organic-approved methods only, consistent with USDA Certified Organic standards.
Seed Saving & Plant Breeding Basics
Trainees and farm staff work directly with seed saving and basic plant breeding as part of building a more self-sufficient, resilient growing operation season over season.
Diversified Production
Row crops, perennials, high tunnels, and fruit cultivation all coexist on the same acreage — closer to how a small, resilient farm actually needs to operate than a single-crop model. Diversification is itself a form of risk management: a bad season for one crop doesn't mean a bad season for the whole farm.
Why this matters, beyond Crown Point's own fields.
USDA organic standards prohibit synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers outright — not as a marketing claim, but as a legal certification requirement Crown Point has met continuously since 1994. Nationally, agricultural runoff from synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use is one of the leading contributors to water quality impairment in U.S. rivers and streams, per EPA assessments. Every field farmed this way at Crown Point is one less source of that runoff into the Cuyahoga River watershed — a direct, if small, form of environmental stewardship layered on top of everything the farm produces.
Certified organic, continuously, for three decades.
A certification, not a slogan
Crown Point's organic certification predates most certified farms in Ohio. USDA Certified Organic status has been maintained without interruption since 1994 — an audited standard, renewed year after year, not a label the farm applied to itself.
What actually feeds the soil
No synthetic fertilizers or pesticides — instead, high-nutrient compost, mulch, and natural amendments build fertility over time. Less mechanized farming reduces the farm's footprint and protects the soil life that everything else depends on.
What we grow.
A sample of what's in rotation across Crown Point's fields in a given season.
Where it goes.
Farming methods matter because of what they make possible downstream.
CSA Families
Fed weekly through the growing season
Donated Since 1997
To the Akron-Canton Foodbank
Vulnerable Voices Families
Farming 5 of their own certified organic acres
Trainees per Season
Learning these exact methods hands-on
Want to learn these methods yourself?
Crown Point's Regenerative Farmer Training Program teaches every practice on this page, hands-on, for pay.
Come see it, don't just read about it.
The best way to understand how Crown Point farms is to walk the fields.