Zero Waste Farming w/ Ela Family Farms

Farm Tour and Interview with Ela Family Farms, Hotchkiss, CO.

We grow over 55 varieties of organic tree fruits—cherries, peaches, pears, apples, plums, plus organic grapes and multiple varieties of organic heirloom tomatoes.
Our pride and delight is letting the fruit ripen in the field, so the fruits we bring to you are notably juicy, complex, and richly flavorful.

Our business is built on flavor, environmental stewardship, quality, local food we can all believe in, and building relationships.
Today, we are a 4TH generation, certified organic family farm. The land has been conserved in perpetuity and will remain agricultural, open green space.

We sell only what we grow—from fresh fruit to artisanal organic jams, jellies, fruit butters, sauces, dried fruits, and cider.

1 WE ARE A ZERO FOOD-WASTE BUSINESS
We have developed an educated clientele at farmers markets (you!) which buys not only market-grade firsts but also buys the canning-grade imperfect fruit. Any fruit damaged further than that we use in our own commercial kitchen and even those scraps go to a pig farmer up the road. Nothing we harvest is wasted.
2 WE USE VERY MINIMAL OFF-FARM INPUTS
Our use of off-farm inputs (to nourish the trees) is minimal. We grow cover crops in between the tree rows which adds nutrients to the soil, helps create stability for complex soil ecosystems, and improves water retention in the soil
3 WE USE SOLAR POWER
We supply about 80% of our electricity from our own PV solar panels – the maximum our local utility will allow us to install. And our commercial kitchen’s heat is largely supplied by hot-water solar panels mounted on its roof
4 WE CONSERVE WATER
Our irrigation system is the most water-conserving possible (entirely drip and micro-sprinkler) while also being almost entirely gravity-powered
5 WE ARE AT OR CLOSE TO CARBON-NEUTRAL
A leading climate researcher has used our farm as a case study and found us to be at or very close to carbon-neutral
6 WE ARE COMMUNITY-ORIENTED
We are very involved in community development from local-scale mentoring to serving on state and national boards pertaining to organics, research, and health