Clone of Easton Marsch

Lushof

Hi, my name is Easton Marsch and I grow organic grapes and blueberries for Nature & More in western South-Africa, near the town of Saron. Our farm is called Lushof and I'm the farm manager.

I live here together with my wife and my two children. As a little boy I already dreamt of being a farmer, but in the days of apartheid that was unthinkable for someone with my skin colour. My father was a truck driver at Lushof then and my mother helped packing tomatoes. As a toddler I used to play with the children of the white owner, that was normal. But when we got older, the apartheid system separated us. Because farming wasn't allowed, I went to study commerce, and developed myself. Only when my father died, did I meet my former playmate again. We had a good conversation and I told him agriculture had always been my passion. He then decided to give me a chance and appointed me as a farm manager at Lushof. So I came to follow my vocation. I love working with the soil and hope everyone will enjoy our healthy and tasty fruits. I think soil is just a blessing for us. We must treat it with compassion and look after the earth. Because if we look after the earth, she will look after us. She has been doing so for generations!"

Video of the previous farm manager:

Interview

N&M: Why and when did you go organic?

We felt that there was a need for Organically grown fruit. It was also a good opportunity to stand out from the rest of the producers around us. The farms has now been Organically certified for the past 6 years.

N&M: How has the relationship evolved over time?
"I soon realized that they knew pretty well what to do, but could not explain to me why. I kept asking and eventually found out and understood the reasons. They had to have faith in me. Now after 6 years, they can come to me and I can teach them not only what to do, but also why to do something in a particular manner."

N&M: Has this experience changed your management style?
"Yes, in previous times, workers were just told to “do this”. I make it a point to explain what we are going to do and especially why it has to be done that way, so that people can learn the reasons behind each task and understand the bigger picture. My challenge today is to educate, educate, educate. Ultimately, this helps our people to develop and do a better quality job."

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soil

The soil quality in Lushof varies strongly, from clay to rocky old river beds. Warren has a great love for his soil. With mulch, a lot of compost and green cover plants he protects and feeds the soil. Large area's of his land used to be bare and rocky, but have now been transformed to fruit bearing terrains. In the grape orchard he applies twenty cubic metres of compost per hectare per year. Easton loves to demonstrate the quality of his soil: "Do you see these little white root tips? And these fungi? And these earth worms? This soil is full of life. As I wipe away the earth, right away you see the rocks that are hidden underneath it. This land was all rock. Now it's fertile, thanks to the compost. The earth worms and the fungi and the rest of the soil biodiversity turn the compost and mulch into a wonderful soil."

biodiversity

Easton: "I love to work in nature and see animals come back to the farm. Even snakes. I use to be scared of snakes, but I have grown in my thinking. I realise they come to the farm for food. They attack rats and frogs, not people. If they feel the vibration in the ground of people approaching, they hide. There are also many guinea fowl and wild cats on the farm. And life near the soil is important too, like snails. Some farmers consider snails a plague, but they're not. We have enough green cover plants here for them to eat, so they stay away from the grapes. They are welcome to live here. You should always give these things a bit of time, and look at it with great attention. If you see a bird in the orchard, you may think it's eating your harvest, while in fact he's eating your weeds or harmful insects."

Lushof protects native trees and plants, like the Camel Thorn tree, the Hoodia cactus and Quiver Trees. Easton has a programme to increase the number of these species by planting seeds and saplings. Invasive species are cut down. In cultivation, Easton makes good use of green cover and green manure, that feed and protect the soil. He uses a mix of grain and lupine for this. Easton: "Conventional growers often bare the ground, calling it "clean". But a green cover has so many advantages! In the first place, it suppresses weeds, which also reduces plagues and disease. The roots of the grain improve soil structure and the lupine roots bring nitrogen into the soil, so you need less manure. It also prevents erosion and wash-out. And when the grain grows, birds feed on it. The prefer grain, so they stay away from the fruit."

individual

Conventional grapes belong to the "dirty dozen" of fruits with contain most pesticide residues. Every year 20.000 to 340.000 farmworkers die of pesticide poisoning and 1 to 5 million farmworkers get sick from it. In organic cultivation no chemical-synthetic pesticides are used and significantly less pesticide residues are found on organic products in the store. Research indicates (Fantke & Jolliet, 2016) that this also has a health effect for consumers. These organic grapes are pesticde free! Generally speaking, grapes are rich in fibre. Fibres are important for a proper intestinal function and contribute to satiety and thus in maintaining a healthy weight.

society

Easton: "I'm grateful for the possibility to live my dream. It doesn't feel like going to work, I love what I do. I have learned a lot in this work and am still learning. Education is very important here. Our employees have a lack of it. That's why we are going to do a major education programme with the University of Florida. Trainers will be sent here, to inform my people about improving the soil. We also have a youth programme, to introduce young people to farming. They get a little garden to grow their own crops, so they learn to appreciate the meaning of food production."

"In the past, black people were only allowed to be security guard or cleaner. That has changed now. A major feat of empowerment is that the employees now have a 26% share in the company. The previous and current owner supported this completely. The employees however need to learn a lot about commerce and business, because they have no experience whatsoever in this field. The women often have the benefit of more education and make great strides forward."

"We pay our people 15% higher than the minimum wage. It's hard to live of a minimum wage. Me and my family go to the same stores as our workers, and we notice when the prices have gone up. Then you also understand why the minimum wage cannot suffice. We have a yearly 10% increase and at the end of the season they get a bonus. If someone gets hurt, we take them to a private hospital. We realise that our workers are of utmost importance. Without them we're nowhere. People create your success. Every year we get more people who wish to work here!"

climate

The climate in this area is perfect for grape growing, so relatively few inputs are needed. Lushof produces its own organic compost, which benefits the climate. Good composting reduces emissions of methane, and increase the carbon sequestration in the soil. The fact that organic farming uses no pesticides and fertilizer also spares the climate. See the energy section for info on fossil fuel use. Easton: "Unfortunately we have no wind mills or solar panels here. It didn't get off the ground yet. We use quite a bit of diesel for the tractors. But we also do much work by hand, much more than in conventional farms. For spraying (chalk and other natural, permitted substances) we bought a better machine, so we have to drive less. Apart from that we also use energy in the storage process. A good thing is that all transport is done by ship, never by airplane."

water

Lushof has its own water source. Irrigation is a necessity in this dry climate. Drip irrigation is therefore used. Easton: "This is the best water saving technique. It's good for the plants and the production too. The water here is very clean; we see more and more life coming back to the lake and streams. There are frogs and reeds are growing back. I have even heard the fish eagle lately, which comes to the river to hunt. He has been away for years, but now he's back. That means there's fish in the river."

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