Your Farmer, Henry

“I became a farmer,” Henry states, “because it was the only thing that made sense. I feed my family and other families without hurting the environment; I grow delicious and healthy food for people, and my kids know that when it’s hot, you sweat and when it rains, you get wet.”

From the Earth,

for the Earth

—

After many years living in other cultures (Israel, Japan, Nepal, and Japan again), Henry realized that what was important was a simple, honest living that respects the earth and contributes to the health and well-being of others, “be they humans or rabbits, earthworms or soil microbes, oak trees or algae.”

Henry made the decision to make farming his life’s work while still in Japan. That’s where he met his wife, Hiroko, where they were married, and where, in 1990, their first child was born.

When they came back to the U.S. they lived for a year in New York State where they apprenticed with John Gorzynski, who grows vegetables for New York City’s flagship Green Market in Union Square.

Henry was uncertain as to where his farming future would be. Then one day, on a trip to visit the family back in Congerville, Henry had an epiphany. He stuck a shovel into the earth, just as he had been doing in New York, and turned it over. For a long moment, he stared at the incredibly rich, black, loamy earth. That was it. He knew that this was where he had to be; this was the land he would farm.

And that’s what Henry has been doing since 1993, building the soil, planting hundreds of kinds of vegetables, and enriching the lives of every person who eats them.

Along the way he has spoken at many farming conferences, and won many awards, including the R.J. Vollmer Sustainable Agriculture Award and the prestigious USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Patrick Madden Award.

A good farmer is a person who raises Good Food.

I define Good Food as food that tastes good, is good for you, and is raised in a manner that is good for the environment, and that is what I strive to do every day.”

  • Tastes GOOD!

    I define Good Food as food that tastes good, is good for you, and is raised in a manner that is good for the environment, and that is what I try to do. These three “goods” are all linked and interrelated.

    Only highly nutritious produce tastes delicious. The nutrients in vegetables are what give them flavor. In turn, highly nutritious food can only come from a healthy soil and healthy environmenr.

  • GOOD for you!

    To grow delicious, nutritious food, I have to work with nature to protect the environment and ecology of my soil, my fields, my farm—and in the process leave this piece of land as healthy and productive as it was before I started farming it. By protecting and sustaining my farm, I am also doing my part in protecting and sustaining the larger environment surrounding the farm.

    I do not pollute the air or the water with toxic agri-chemicals. I conserve energy and resources. I combat rather than contribute to global climate change by improving my soil. For example, my crops pull CO2 out of the atmosphere and sequester carbon in the soil in the form of stored organic matter.

  • GOOD for the Earth, and all living things!

    Birds can build nests and raise their young on my farm because it is a clean environment with a vibrant ecosystem that starts with healthy soil and then encompasses healthy plants, insects, animals, and people.

    I couldn’t do any of this without you, my CSA members and farmers market customers. I can only farm the way that I do because people like you eat what I grow.

    So, join my CSA or shop at my stand at the Evanston Market, and help make our world a better place. Thank you!