Solstice Farm dedicated to certified organic produce
(Courtesy photo) Solstice Farms hopes to get more Boundary Couty residents involved with the CSA program, which provides consumers with a fresh vegetable basket like this one every week during the summer months.
(Courtesy photo) “Tomatoes are probably my biggest moneymaker,” Mitch Kivkin said.
While most commercial farms located in and around Boundary County use conventional farming methods to grow crops, there are a handful of local, family-run operations committed to growing food organically. Solstice Farms, located in the Crossport area, is one such farm.
Mitch Rivkin, who runs Solstice Farms with help from his wife Colleen Mooney and their sons, Malachi and Thomas, says that market farming has been his primary income for about 15 years now.
“The first couple times I tried, I wasn’t making it,” Rivkin says. “Now I eek out a living...you never get rich doing what I do,” he adds with a smile.
Rivkin says that he struggled for years to turn a profit at the Bonners Ferry farmer’s market before moving down to the bigger market in Sandpoint. While Solstice Farms usually sets up a booth at the Bonners market during the spring months to sell vegetable, flower and herb starts, Rivkin says that the bulk of his profits each summer come from the Sandpoint market.
“Bonners is too much of an agricultural community,” he explains. “If you don’t have it in your garden, your neighbor or your brother-in-law probably does.”
One way that Rivkin hopes to increase his business within the county is through the CSA program, which stands for “community supported agriculture.”
Also known as “prescription farming”, the program is a great way to connect consumers with local farmers. Solstice Farms charges 600 dollars to enroll in this program, which guarantees the consumer 20 weeks of fresh produce. All he or she has to do is drop by the farm every Friday afternoon to pick up a variety basket full of whatever herbs and vegetables are in season. “Sometimes they get a bonus week or two,” Rivkin says. “It’s nice for us because it’s guaranteed, and it’s nice for them because I’m pretty generous. It’s a way better deal than buying the stuff retail at market.”
Referring to the CSA program, Rivkin says, “Most peope who have done it, they come back to us...we tend to have people coming back year after year.”
And it’s no surprise that customers are satisfied with the quality of their produce. Solstice Farms is all about vegetables. Although the family raises livestock some years, Rivkin says, their primary focus is growing delicious, nutritious vegetables.
“We grow pretty much every vegetable you can think of,” Rivkin says. “Asparagus, artichokes, beets, beans carrots, cucumbers and cauliflower...right through eggplant, fennel, every kind of squash, peppers, lots of tomatoes.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg — they grow that too, as there is plenty of room for lettuce in the 30 x 72 foot greenhouse that is just a stone’s throw from the main house. Rivkin also has a few additional, smaller greenhouses on the property that he will begin filling with crops in the coming months.
For Rivkin and his family, being certified organic is important, but ask any of them and they will tell you that it is definitely not the easiest way to grow food.
“Mostly it’s just a lot of work,” Rivkin says. “I have a lot of respect for my neighbors who have a thousand acres of grain in the valley bottom...that’s great. But the only way you’re gonna make it on a little tiny place like this is to do something really labor intensive.”
For more information on Solstice Farms and the CSA program, visit their Facebook page or give them a call: 208-267-7580. n