Produce & Flowers

Ames Orchard & Nursery

Owner: Dagen and Guy Ames

Address:
18292 Wildlife Road
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Washington County

daytime phone: (479) 935-6795
evening phone: (479) 200-3333
Web site: http://amesorchardandnursery.com

Application Date: 2013-02-24

Applicant Details

Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: *
I want to be able to sell my fruit to the local health food store, Ozark Natural Foods.
Are you currently third party Certified for your produce operation by any other organization (Organic, Biodynamic, etc)? *
no
Have you ever been certified in the past? *
no
Have you ever been denied certification? *
no
How did you hear about Certified Naturally Grown? *
From Alice Varon at Southern SAWG meeting.
How did you learn to farm, and for how long have you been farming for market? What has prepared you to farm successfully according to CNG standards? *
Guy has a BA from Texas A&M, Commerce; MS in horticulture (fruit crops and pest control in fruit crops) from University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Started Ames Orchard & Nursery in 1983.

General Farm Information

Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM:
Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: *
5
Number of above acreage that you own: *
5
Number of above acreage that you lease: *
0
Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? *
no
General Listed Acreage Breakdown
Veg Crops:
0
Fruit Crops:
3
Hay:
0
Grains/Beans:
0
Sugarbush:
0
Other Acreage:
2
Please check all items you grow and will market as Certified Naturally GrownTM *











Please Specify Any Other Items:
Please check all markets you grow for (this will be displayed on your farm profile to help potential buyers find you). *











Please Specify Other Markets:
on-farm sales as in U-pick.

Farmland Management and Practices

Primary Tillage System: *
Small tractor
Do you use Cover Crops? *
yes
If yes, please list: *
Ryegrass and Austrian winter peas are the major ones I use, but I've also used the sorghum-sudangrass hybrid (Sudex) to try and smother bermudagrass.
Do you use Compost? *
yes
If yes, please note general sources (on farm, purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.): *
On farm: spoiled fruit + poultry litter mostly
Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies". *
perhaps a bushel per tree
Do you use Manure? *
yes
If yes, please note general sources (local dairy, horse farm, etc.): *
Our on-farm poultry
Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies". *
perhaps 1/4 bushel/tree
What time of year do you apply the manure? *
only winter; otherwise it's composted
Do you apply any non-composted Manure within 120 days of veg-crop harvesting? *
no
Please list any other brought in fertility sources that you use (specific rock powders, lime, soybean / alfalfa meal, specific purchased pre-mixes, etc)and how often it's used. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s. *
lime, rock phosphate as indicated by soil test
Have any chemical fertilizers been applied to the fields you are seeking Certification for in the last three years (36 months)? *
no
Have any non-acceptable pesticides and/or herbicides been applied to these fields in the last 3 years? *
no
Do you use Professional Soil Testing services? *
yes
Describe your primary weed problems AND methods of control. Do not answer "none". You MUST indicate either actual weed challenges and/or LIKELY challenges, and you must ALSO indicate how you manage (or would manage) them. If you indicate a product, also specify how often it's used. *
Bermudagrass is rampant on my ridgetop and south-facing slopes. However, the acreage I want to certify is on a north-facing slope and is dominated by fescue, which is troublesome but controllable with a combination of wood chip mulch and manual weed control (hoe, hand, scythe).
Describe your primary insect challenges AND methods of control. Do not answer "none". You MUST indicate either actual pest challenges and/or LIKELY challenges, and you must ALSO indicate how you manage (or would manage) them. If you indicate a product, also specify how often it's used. *
Plum curculio, stink bugs, aphids, june beetles, and trunk borers. Surround (kaolin clay works well for almost everything except the trunk borers, which I control with Mycotrol (Beauveria bassiana) and Steinernema carpocapsae beneficial nematodes, both OMRI approved materials. Surround goes on maybe 2-3 times/year or as needed (june beetles). The Mycotrol and nematodes only get applied once.
Describe your primary disease challenges AND methods of control. Do not answer "none". You MUST indicate either actual disease challenges and/or LIKELY challenges, and you must ALSO indicate how you manage (or would manage) them. If you indicate a product, also specify how often it's used. *
Fireblight!! on the pears and summer rots on apples. I use disease-resistant cultivars and prune out infected wood in the dormant season. I use no other controls except to prune rather heavily to allow sun and air penetration into the tree canopy. Also mowing helps keep down the humidity a little.
Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: *
Three sources: Mt. Olive Rural Water, my farm pond, and collected water from roofs.
Are there any known contaminants in the irrigation water? *
no
Are you a maple producer who seeks to certify your sugarbush? *
no

Seeds, Transplants and Buffers

How do you select your seeds? CNG standards call for growers to make a good faith effort to locate organically grown seeds by contacting at least 3 major suppliers. *
N/A
Do you purchase or grow using any Genetically Modified seeds? *
no
Do you use any chemically treated seeds in your operation? *
no
Do you grow your own transplants? *
yes
Do you purchase potting soil, or do you mix your own on the farm? *
N/A
What ingredients does your potting mix contain? If you purchase a mix, please also indicate which product. *
N/A
Are all of your transplants grown according to CNG standards, without synthetic fertilizers or wetting agents? *
yes
If any transplants are not grown according to CNG standards, please list them here. (If they all are, put "N/A".) This produce may not be marketed as Certified Naturally Grown. *
N/A
Do you purchase any transplants from outside sources? *
no
Chemical/Spray Drift and Buffers:
Is there any likelihood of Chemical/Spray drift contamination of your fields? *
no
Do you have an adequate buffer to protect yourself from potential contamination? *
yes
Please describe your buffer. Be as specific as possible. On all sides, how far is it from your crops to the next closest use (road, conventional crop, residential yard)? Be sure to specify what is grown on neighboring land that is in agricultural use. For example: To the north and east, a wooded area of at least 100 yards separates us from the neighbor's corn fields, to the south is a fallow field at least 100 yards deep separating us from the road, and to the west about 60 feet separates our crops from a field where conventional corn and soybeans are grown. *
The old apple orchard where I spot spray round-up is about 100 yards from the acreage I'm trying to certify and where I grow a mix of tree fruits, berries and grapes. There are buildings and woods in between the two sites.

Agreements

Please indicate your agreement with the following statements by checking the boxes.
I will not label, or in any way lead consumers to believe that produce not raised in accord with CNG standards is Certified Naturally GrownTM. *
I understand that I have to complete at least one (and hopefully more) Certification Inspection(s) of another farm in my area each year, and that the inspection will NOT be of the same farmer that inspected me. *
I have reviewed the Certified Naturally Grown certification standards, I understand them, and I will abide by them. I understand that if I have any questions I may contact CNG for clarification. *
You may use this space to tell us anything else you think we should know about your farm:
7/18/22 CNG Staff Edit: Removed Guy's comments about two conventional acres not included under certification; this was accurate when they first became certified, but they transitioned those acres to CNG many years ago.