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12 CONNECTICUT GREEN GUIDE • FALL 2016 www.CTGreenGuide.com Sustainable farming all upside for Sub Edge S traddling the Farmington-Avon border is an ap- proximately 300-acre farm that's been in active use since colonial names. Rodger Phillips and his wife Isabelle Phillips, who leased farm from the two towns in 2013, are the latest generation. They've given their farm an old name, Sub Edge, which was last used by the farm around the 1920s, and they've brought a new focus on sustainable practices. The experienced green thumbs, who have four chil- dren (ages 8-16), began farming in Connecticut around 2005. After leasing Sub Edge, the Phillips quickly put a sustainable strategy into action. In just several years, Sub Edge received its organic certification from New York-based NOFA-NY Organic LLC, and also worked with the U.S. Department of Agri- culture to craft a conservation management plan. The plan includes strategies like cover cropping and crop rotation, which preserve and improve soil, and the use of a drip-irrigation system to limit water use and prevent erosion. The Phillips' also created a quarter-acre pollinator habitat on the farm to help bees. The farm also composts on site to create organic fertilizer. Though such efforts take time, they've helped Sub Edge build a loyal following for its Community Supported Agriculture program. More than 100 shareholders visit each week to pick up the latest produce, from lettuce and heirloom tomatoes to snap peas and radishes. With the help of four full-time employees and two seasonal workers the Phillips can grows approximately 100,00 pounds of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs annually. They also have grass-fed cattle, heritage breed pigs, pasture-raised chickens and other animals. Sub Edge sells the eggs and meat at its farm store, which is open Saturdays. Sub Edge Farm PROJECT ELEMENTS: Facility-wide; water; material management; civic Improvements; innovation START DATE: Jan. 2015 COMPLETION DATE: Dec. 2015 Rodger and Isabelle Phillips with their children, Oliver, 8, Penelope, 11, and Remi, 16. Not pictured is Daphne, 14. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED CATEGORY: Business GreenCircle Sustainability Awards 2016