The Farm

Areas of regular seasonal pooling of water, including ponds and marshland

Sitting at the edge of our largest pond, you witness a distinct ecosystem filled with trees, cattails, and moss. Freshwater is an essential habitat for resident and migratory birds, waterfowl, turtles, and amphibians on an island surrounded by salt water. While the wetlands occupy space where we cannot grow food or graze animals, they provide critical ecosystem services, including reducing flood and storm damage.

Last Stop For Water Filtration

Ocean Hour Farm features multiple drainage areas, wetlands and ponds onsite. Allowing these areas to remain as wetlands naturally filters runoff from the farm and surrounding area before it ends up in our coastal waters, including the Lower East Passage of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor. This filtration support improves water quality year-round.

Water Quality Testing

Ecosystems Manager Brad Cheever tests seven locations monthly to monitor water quality. This baseline data helps us understand our surrounding environment and whether changes in land management have an impact.

Alkalinity is the water’s ability to withstand changes in pH and measures the total concentration of bases in pond water. The ideal alkalinity measurement should be around 100 ppm, but readings from 50 to 200 ppm are acceptable. 

Dissolved oxygen can be a pond’s most important water quality factor, representing its ability to support aquatic life. Generally, a range from 5 to 8 is ideal; under 1 is unsurvivable.

Nitrogen must be in balance for the growth of plants and animals in aquatic ecosystems. Ponds surrounded by managed landscapes generally have excessive nutrients, which can lead to eutrophic conditions that deplete oxygen, affecting water clarity, smell and loss of aquatic life.

Read more about water quality requirements from the US EPA.

Native habitat restoration and rewilding

Walking into our ledge woodlands, you see rocky outcroppings, wooded plants, and trees. Overall, plant biodiversity is low, and we will restore native habitats for plants and wildlife by rewilding the area and allowing it to evolve naturally. This less disturbed farm area preserves water quality by encouraging groundwater to infiltrate the soil while sequestering carbon, protecting the soil, and increasing plant and fungal biodiversity. Management of this area is minimal, focusing on regenerative disturbance via light grazing, mowing, pruning, and other natural elements.

Retaining Runoff

In the early 1900s, portions of the rocky terrain on the property were blown out, with the help of TNT, to create what is locally known as Suprise Valley.  This created a bowl-like effect, and we estimate that the water catchment area of the village area is roughly 65 acres, much larger than the farm itself. During storm events, large amounts of water run into our property and pond, eventually Brenton Cove. This essentially creates a mini watershed, putting us in a unique position to monitor water quality. We are gathering baseline data, and over the decades to come, we will gain an understanding of how regenerative agriculture supports ocean health.

Top of the Woodlands

The view from the highest point on the farm allows us to study the water flow into Narragansett Bay.

Mixed-use wet area with perennial plantings for water quality protection and wildlife habitat

Sitting in what once was a muddy field, our habitat buffer, made up of native grasses, milkweeds, and coneflowers, follows an area of the landscape that slowly lowers in elevation. When it rains, water naturally collects and flows here. The concentration of native plants combined with woodchips along contours slows water flow. These features encourage filtration into the ground before reaching the pond at the end of the slope.

Working with Nature

Formerly an open grassy pasture with large amounts of drainage, this area was commonly ignored by our sheep that didn’t want wet hooves. Therefore, our staff needed to mow the muddy grass, often resulting in a stuck tractor and low morale. Rather than attempt to change the water flow location, which is considered highly difficult on the scale of permanence, we change the land use. Instead of a pasture, the habitat buffer is a filtration zone and carbon sponge, fulfilling other vital goals of Ocean Hour Farm.

Transformation

Intensive work to transform this land unit started in January 2022 with the installation of a fence to ensure our herd could be kept away from the young plants. We laid out cardboard in March and covered it with wood chips to create a block light. Starting in April, we began planting and continued through November 2023.

People Care

Before converting the pasture to a habitat buffer, runoff would flow into the road during large storms, which could create black ice on the street in the winter. With the conversion to a habitat buffer, this risk has dramatically reduced, and we’ve seen two winters without overflow in this area of the road just beyond the pond.

Perennial flowering grassland and forgeable shrubs managed with domesticated animals

Walking through the pasture, our largest land unit, you realize we aren’t just growing food but building soil. Our flock of sheep, cows and chickens, with our guardian llama, manage the perennial pasture as they fertilize, eat pests, and disturb plant roots.

Types of Pasture at Ocean Hour Farm

The perennial pasture comprises three distinct sub-units created to work with the features of the land.

Disturbed Roots, Deeper Soil

Our flock builds soil by participating in what we fondly call the poop loop. They eat grass, poop as they walk, creating natural, well-distributed fertilizer for the grass, which in turn grows more grass for them to eat. The animals also create disturbance, enabling the grasses to grow deeper roots, improving water filtration and carbon sequestration. The animals are strategically rotated through tightly managed sections to ensure they do not over-graze or over-fertilize an area and deplete the pasture system.

Fibershed

The secondary role of our sheep is the creation of wool. With a consciously managed flock, this natural fiber can be a climate-smart textile. Most of our flock are Lincoln Longwools, which grow fibrous wool, often called strongwool. We want to explore how strongwool can replace nylon and other fossil fuel-based materials when combined with softer wools to reduce microplastics and create compostable products.

Collecting Data

We are collecting data on grass recovery rates to understand flock capacity, animal health to understand parasite issues in a warming climate, and avian and insect biodiversity levels. We are also working with The Soil Inventory Project to benchmark carbon sequestration levels.

Food-producing trees integrated into rows of perennials and annual crops

Walking into the alley cropping area, you see piles of woodchips, small mounds and strips of soil, and tiny chestnut trees. But if you close your eyes, you can feel the cool shade of a mature chestnut tree, with the sun poking through the leaves to allow for perennials like asparagus to grow seasonally. When you open your eyes, you look to the left and see our small, refurbished greenhouse. Inside, our team is making soil blocks for seedlings to be planted in the three land units that comprise the 10 acres below.

Microplastics are a major concern for everything from soil health to ocean health. That’s why we’re exploring ways to reduce our reliance on single-use plastic.

Soil blocking is an old-fashioned way of starting seeds that ditches plastic, but it is also better for the plant. The block allows the seed to establish more robust root systems, making transplanting easier.

Work With Time  

The critical component of design in the alley cropping land unit is time. The chestnut trees are an investment in a future product, but in the meantime, we can still use the land to grow other perennial crops and annuals, including amaranth, sunflowers, and bee balm. We will use a combination of alfalfa and clover for areas we can not tend to due to staff capacity.

Chestnut Trees in New England

In the late 1800s, more than a quarter of the trees on the East Coast were American chestnuts. The tree was a critical food source for wildlife and livestock. Chestnut wood is straight-grained, easy to work with, lightweight and rot-resistant.

First spotted in 1904, chestnut blight became one of the largest ecological disasters of the 20th century. By the 1940s, it had almost completely wiped out the trees.

Read more from eco RI news

Edible perennial polyculture production

Imagine walking into a garden teeming with life. Walking along the curved, wood chip-covered paths, you realize every plant is edible. Better yet, each plant supports the other plants around it—onions protect fruit trees from deer, and nasturtiums distract insects from eating prized vegetables. 

A food forest, sometimes called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. Food forests are three-dimensional designs, with life growing in all directions—up, down, and out. We also utilize time. For now, our young food forest hosts many sun-loving annuals, and as our fruit trees grow, the shade will allow shade-seeking perennials to thrive.

Think Spatially

Generally, in a temperate climate, we recognize nine layers of a food forest:

1. Overstory (tall, leafy trees, such as a hickory nut tree)
2. Understory (shorter, often fruit-bearing trees, such as an apple tree)
3. Shrub layer (food producing busy such as a blueberry bush)
4. Herbaceous layer (culinary and medicinal herbs such as celery)
5. Groundcover layer (shade-tolerant plants that densely cover, such as strawberries)
6. Mycelial layer (interwoven matrix of fine fungal threads that connect plants and produce mushrooms)
7. Root layer (edible roots that grow into the ground, such as horseradish)
8. Vine layer (climbing plants that can utilize vertical space, such as a grapevine)
9. Aquatic layer (plants that grow in or at the water edge, such as. watercress)

Using these layers, we can fit many more plants in an area without causing failure due to competition and instead resulting in abundance due to mutualism and emergent benefits.

Annual food production and medicinal plants

At first glance, you’re in a ‘normal garden’ with lettuce, tomatoes, and radishes in rows before your feet. But your eyes start to focus on small details. Is there wool in the soil? Why are the lettuce heads staggered instead of in a straight line–and how many marigolds do they plan to eat?

Start Small, Then Expand

The biointensive agriculture land unit may look conventional, as it is laid out in a more linear pattern and features many of the foods you find at the local farmers market. However, this area trials techniques that allow us to grow as much food as possible in the smallest space possible. We also try different concepts for keeping pests away, including companion planting and excess farm products. These techniques are based on traditional ecological knowledge.

People Care

2023 marked our first full growing season with 3,500 pounds of vegetables and herbs produced. As a philanthropic organization, we do not want to compete with local farms. Therefore, all produce is consumed by staff, donated to food banks, or used to return nutrients to the soil through composting.

Fluffy Soil

The 850 square feet of biointensive agriculture is designed to allow roots to grow down instead of outwardly. The soil is double-dug, meaning we dug six feet down and added compost. Additionally, the soil is always covered. In the growing season, with vegetables and companion plants, in the off-season, straw is used to prevent compaction. These methods allow us to put plants closer together without competition.

2023 Fall Harvest

The heart of the farm

As you walk along the driveway to the long barn, the road gently turns, and you walk past the heart of our farm–our compost piles. Microbes are central to all life on Earth. In healthy soil, one teaspoon contains around 1 billion individual microscopic cells and 10,000 different species. Our compost piles enable us to cycle our waste streams, regenerate our soil and grow healthier food. Better yet, we don’t send organic waste to landfills, reducing methane emissions, and we apply compost to the soil so it can store more carbon.

Why Compost?

Composting is central to regenerative agriculture. It allows us to build soil and grow healthier food in a smaller space. By making our compost onsite, we avoid bringing in amendments from offsite, reducing our costs and footprint.

What is Compost?

Composting is the process of breaking down organic materials into an amendment that can enrich soil and plants. When done aerobically (with oxygen), food waste breaks down without releasing methane, as in a landfill.

Composting for the Ocean

Our farm is dedicated to ocean health; compost is critical to this mission. The benefits are twofold. First, by not sending food scraps and farm waste to landfills, we avoid the creation of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that warms the ocean. Methane is the result of when organic matter (food scraps, leaves, poop) decomposes without oxygen. Second, when compost is added to soil, it allows the soil to absorb more water, reducing runoff and sequestering more carbon.

Bridging human and ecological communities through systems education

Driving down the willow-lined driveway towards our historic stone buildings feels like you’re taking a step back in time, but our education program, the heart of what we do, prepares visitors to care for the regenerative food and fiber systems of the future.

Our educational programs use the entire landscape as a living classroom, from the sheep pasture to the soil lab. Depending on the day, our education team can be found making compost lasagna with students, creating recyclable plant puppets with summer campers in the Food Forest, or designing research studies with local farmers in the office. This diverse programming shares a commitment to the care of our local communities—both human and ecological—and to highlight their interconnectedness.

Education is Our Mission

Education is at the core of Ocean Hour Farm’s mission to build the next generation of land stewards for ocean health. We engage local youth, farmers, and community leaders in programming to strengthen connections to the land and inspire human-designed systems that compose with rather than impose upon earth systems.

Youth Education

We partner with local schools and existing summer programs to expand students’ experiential education opportunities. From compost to watersheds, whole systems design to climate resiliency, we offer year-round education opportunities that are fun and engaging for the students and campers who visit. We build students’ ecoliteracy and encourage care for the land and ecosystems they inhabit.

Farmer & Land Steward Engagement

Ocean Hour Farm’s main product is knowledge! To ensure our trials and programs are valuable, we need to deeply understand the challenges and opportunities across our regional food and fibershed. To do so, we design educational and research programs that are directly informed by our network of farmers and regional land stewards. We promote collaborative economic and land stewardship models that will improve the livelihood of land and sea farmers as well as the health of our environment. Each year, we partner with community organizations and leaders to conduct research, host trainings and convene to solve pressing issues impacting the hubs of our communities–farmers!

Apprenticeships & Workforce Development  

We strongly believe in the power of learning through doing. We offer diverse paid internships and apprenticeships year-round to give high school and college-aged youth a holistic introduction to regenerative farming and environmental education. In the future, we will offer Permaculture Design Courses for youth and adults to further develop systems thinking and design skills in our community.

Meet our honeybees

Long before you reach our apiary, you can hear the buzzing. Upon first sight, you notice the hives are laid out in a staggered circular shape rather than a straight line, which helps bees avoid mistakenly going to the wrong hive and spreading disease. The simple wooden boxes and idyllic viewscape obscure the complexity of the colonies, but make no mistake; there is an entire world inside each box.

Beeyard

Our on-site apiary is in the ledge woodlands, having been moved here from pasture after losing hives to flooding. Bees have long been part of the farm’s production. The six hives produce an average of 250 pounds of honey each year.

Education Program

The beeyard is also been an enormous asset to our educational program. Our staff shares lessons on bee behavior, proper care, and their essential role in our ecosystems. Each student got to look at the observation bee frame and taste our honey.

Home to our egg layers and chick brooders and deep litter compost

As you approach the hennery, the most significant features are what you don’t see or smell. There’s no pine dust emanating from the building, no smell of chicken poop, just tall grass and the occasional squash plant still growing from our first season’s temporary garden.

The beautiful building, with a steam-bent cedar shingle roof, copper gutters and downspouts, features 6 outdoor and 6 indoor chicken pens. In the future, these pens will connect to a silvopasture–where we will integrate trees and grazing on the same land.

Deep Litter Compost

Please, don’t tell our flock, but the deep litter compost is actually the star of the show!

One of the first changes made at the farm was to replace pine shavings with waste steam wood chips for bedding. The chicken’s high nitrogen poop, combined with their love for scratching at the ground, breaks down the wood chips producing beautiful, nutrient-rich compost. Rather than daily stall cleanings, the woodchips can break down over the course of a year. More wood chips are added as needed, and after approximately a year, once the compost is fully broken down, we harvest and apply it to the soil.

Wood chips create excellent bedding, even for young chicks.

The Poop Loop

Reducing our footprint, considering inputs, like food, that we need to bring into the farm and outputs, like trash, that need to leave the farm, is an important data point we continue to evaluate. The end goal is to feed our animals with minimal outside sources and have no waste that needs to leave the farm. This goal may be a long way out, but we continue to strive for balance.

The first step in the poop loop is feeding the flock scraps from the garden; anything edible by a chicken gets sorted into a special compost bin for the hennery. By ensuring this ‘waste’ can be eaten, it’s still a high-value product that the chickens then poop out onto the deep litter compost. This ‘waste’ gets applied to the soil, growing the food scraps the chickens will eventually eat. The poop loop is complete!

Thanks to Brock Dolman, Co-Founder and Program Director of OAEC, for sharing the poop loop term with the world!

Heritage Breeds

Our eclectic collection of chickens comes from a combination of livestock inherited from the previous farm and research on heritage breed birds that we anticipate will adapt to our future vision of rotational grazing and silvopasture dwelling. To read more about these breeds and many more, visit The Livestock Conservancy.

Home to our livestock, vermicompost and an education outpost

Walking along the gravel road to the long barn, a red-tailed hawk vocalizes overhead, screaming kee-eeeee-arr, kee-eeeee-arr. Nyx, our guardian llama, lifts her head as you round the bend; she never misses a visitor. As the large wood barn comes into view, you can hear students giggling in delight as they reach into our vermicompost bin.

Stacking Functions

The long barn is our most versatile building on site. Staff workstations look over the animal pens, with a large, long worm bin between them. Up in the loft, hay sits next to wool, and just before the exit, a soil lab enables staff to study our soil one day and teach students about living soil the next.

Livestock in the Barn

In the cold of winter and the dark of night, the barn provides shelter for our flock.

Pestering Parasites

Like many flocks in humid climates, our sheep have battled barber’s pole worm (Haemonchus contortus). To understand the health of our flock and individual sheep’s ability to handle parasite loads, our team tracks the parasite’s fecal egg count in sheep manure. We compare this to the sheep’s health with the FAMACHA protocol to understand if treatment is needed.

Weather Station

Understanding our microclimate is a vital part of our research. As we trial different regenerative farming techniques, knowing precise information about our location’s temperature, rainfall, and wind will help farmers adapt our knowledge to their climate.

Sheep Shearing

Most of our flock are Lincoln Longwools, which produce wool with long, strong threads. Our sheep get sheared twice a year, and we are exploring how to contribute to the local fibershed and use this compostable material to replace plastic in different applications.

Perennial flowering grassland

Our pollinator meadow is a vibrant combination of local grasses and flowering plants. It is a vital habit for bees, butterflies, moths, and other insects, supporting these declining but critical populations. When we support pollinators by giving them food to eat and habitat with native meadow plants, we support surrounding ecosystems.

The pollinator meadow is located near our biointensive agriculture land unit and food forest, as the increased presence of pollinators will benefit the food we grow.

Start Small, Then Expand

Turning a patch of manicured grass into a meadow requires composing with nature rather than imposing upon it. The first step in our planning process is to place a summer cover crop that will protect the soil, provide decompaction, build biomass, and fix nitrogen while providing pollination.

2024 is the first year of cultivating the meadow.

Phase 1 Summer Covercrop

• Soil Buster Radishes for decompaction
• Buckwheat for pollination and biomass
• Crimson Clover for short-term nitrogen fixation and biomass
• Berseem Clover for longer-term nitrogen fixation and biomass
• Grain Oats for biomass
• Japanese Millet for biomass

Site Preparation

We use mechanical decompaction with our BCS two-wheel tractor to create narrow strips across the planting area on the keyline to create water-spreading catchment areas and break through any hardpan soil to allow air and water to penetrate deeper into the soil bed. We use broad forks in areas where BCS cannot be used and rough up the surface of the remaining areas with a rake. We then immediately seed and straw lightly.

Sun Direction, Solar Hours, and Wind Direction

Toggle between seasons to see how these elements change.
In farming, weather is much more than just the temperature outside or the amount of precipitation. All the pieces — and how they come together — are carefully considered.

Sun Direction

First, the sun’s direction impacts how much light the land receives, vital for photosynthesis. Understanding the direction provides insight into the amount of sunlight across seasons.

Solar Hours

Solar hours represent the amount of sunlight the land receives over time. As the planet rotates, solar hours change, with fewer in the winter and more in the summer. Understanding solar hours allows a farm to be more efficient in planting or plotting in areas with high or low exposure.

Wind Direction

Wind patterns are also crucial to understanding the whole system. Wind direction is a powerful factor, impacting evaporation, microclimates, and plant health. When designed thoughtfully, wind can be channeled to cool the farm, redirected to prevent wildfires, or obstructed to allow for plant growth. For our location in Newport, RI, the prevailing winds are southwesterly in the summer and northwesterly in winter. The windier part of the year lasts from late fall to early spring, with January being the windiest month on average.

Rain, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature

Water quality is a direct reflection of the health of the farm, biosphere, and planet. Examining whole systems requires considering how our water quality impacts others downstream. Ideally, a farm acts as a buffer, cleaning and purifying water before it trickles elsewhere, but a farm can also act as a polluter if there are excess nutrients and hard surfaces.  

For best plant growth, soil should not be too wet or too dry; on average, a moisture content ranging between 20% and 60% is best for most crops. Monitoring soil temperature, usually higher than air temperature, is especially important for seed germination. The optimal range for this is between 68 and 88 Fahrenheit.

Tracking and interpreting rainfall data across months creates smarter water management.

As weather becomes more unpredictable and intense events become more common, tracking and adjusting strategies are more important. 

Precipitation is the primary source of water for the farm. Understanding precipitation in our exact location enables us to share accurate data as we trial different regenerative practices. Additionally, we can track trends over time that allow for better planning, preparation, and efficient water management.

Stable water quality over time is not a guarantee, and changes reflected in water management strategies and external factors make monitoring and adaptations important.

BUILDING SOIL

The goal of regenerative farming is to build soil. We want to improve soil function through nutrient cycling and supporting biodiversity. Parent soil is the foundational material from which your soil develops. It is determined by the area’s geology, specifically the rock, sediment, and deposits. Organisms in the soil, like fungi, break down rock and release minerals for plants to absorb. Those plants then become a food source for larger organisms.

The Importance of Balanced Soil

Abnormally high biomass, created from too much crop residue, unbalances the delicate system of cycling these nutrients. Balanced soil is essential for a healthy ecosystem and can be achieved by balancing plant growth, testing soils, and adjusting inputs to ensure nutrients are balanced. Soil balance should be examined through the lens of “good” or “not good” rather than high or low figures.

TRACKING & TESTING SOIL

Ocean Hour Farm tracks soil health through three factors: food web, compaction, and organic matter.

Food Web

The food web consists of an interconnected network of organisms in the ecosystem, both above and below ground. The interactions within a food web cycle nutrients and maintain soil health. Managed properly, it creates biodiversity and allows for an ecosystem to flourish. Primary producers like crops and plants generate energy through photosynthesis, supplying organic matter through the soil to the microorganisms below. The primary consumers, like insects or livestock, consume and decompose those nutrients.

2022 Initial Overall Foodweb Status

High bacteria, low fungi, low F:B ratio, very few occurrences of protozoa & beneficial nematodes, no anaerobic bacteria. Below is a more detailed breakdown by testing site. 

2023 Initial Overall Foodweb Status

High bacteria, low fungi, low F:B ratio, very few occurrences of protozoa & beneficial nematodes, no anaerobic bacteria. Below is a more detailed breakdown by testing site.

Compaction

Compaction occurs when soil particles are pressed together. It occurs naturally from things like rainfall but can also result from heavy machinery, over-tilling, and livestock trampling the ground. When compaction occurs, the soil becomes too dense, making supporting growth and soil health difficult.

Organic Matter

Organic matter refers to all plant and animal material — alive or decomposing — in the soil. This includes microorganisms, decaying plants and animals, fungi, and bacteria. Organic matter is essential to regenerative farming because it enhances soil health and the entire ecosystem.

On-site Water Systems

Protecting and improving water quality is an essential component of our mission. We started by testing onsite ponds and streams for more than 100 chemicals to get a baseline understanding of onsite waterways. As we continue adding agricultural uses to the land, we monitor water quality with monthly testing. We selected seven testing sites on the eastern parcel based on where we have the most consistent water, drainage direction, proximity to bodies of water, waterlines, underground pipes, and catchments. 

Water quality is essential to any farm as it hydrates crops and livestock. Plants are incredibly absorbent; consumers want plants that have been soaking up clean, healthy water, not water loaded with chemicals and waste. The decisions we and our neighbors make directly impact Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay.

As the map notes, our farm has a historic pipe created to reduce on-site flooding. Like many surrounding properties, this ‘solution’ is no longer considered a best practice in stormwater management as it quickly floods water into the bay instead of sinking it into the soil. We test at multiple spots along this pipe, as it immediately connects to Newport Harbor. 

Why is drainage important?

A watershed is nature’s drainage system. Rainfall and snowmelt are channeled through streams, rivers, and occasionally human-made features to larger bodies of water like lakes, bays, and oceans. They represent the natural drainage system for a region and demonstrate the importance of understanding whole systems; what happens upstream affects everything downstream.

As water flows through the watershed, it picks up particles from the land, including toxic chemicals, plastics, and waste. But the story doesn’t have to be a negative one. Water can also get cleaner as it moves through a watershed. Healthy soils and plants can act as a filtration system. Thoughtful landscaping or additions of rain gardens collect and filter water before they’re returned to larger bodies.

Narragansett Bay

Ocean Hour Farms is part of the Narragansett Bay Watershed, which is fed by the Blackstone, Taunton, and Pawtuxet Rivers. What happens upstream, for example, in Providence, can be felt in Newport Harbor. Similarly, actions taken in Newport impact the ocean.

Testing Water Quality

We monitor on-site water quality by testing seven sites. This allows us to monitor contaminants like heavy metals, landscaping, and agricultural chemicals that can damage soil, affect plant growth, or harm marine life further downstream.

We test water quality as it enters the Farm and right before it exits. This baseline data helps us understand if water is cleaned as it passes through the Farm before it ends up in the ocean.

The practices of other properties and organizations are outside our control, but our ability to offset their actions is not. The effects of runoff can be felt for miles. Open landscapes instead of impervious buildings or concrete, spread and sink water. We continue to refine our landscape to improve the slowing and sinking of creating buffers and filters that will enhance our soil and benefit the bay. 

Every month, we test in-house for:

This information paints a picture of the environment and signals whether we are having an overall beneficial impact on the nearby waterways. Water quality isn’t static, and test results will change over time. The results reflect management strategies and input from surrounding landscapes and demonstrate our ability to benefit water on our farm and beyond.

Ocean Hour Farm has five biodiversity superstars. The presence of these species is an excellent representation of biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. When present in an ecosystem, they balance the food web, demonstrate that a sensitive species can thrive, fulfill diverse niches, regulate pests, contribute to healthy soils, and limit disease.


These five species have roles that create a self-sustaining system that contributes to ecological health and the core practices behind regenerative farming.

THE 5 SUPERSTAR CRITTERS ON OUR FARM

Hoary Bat

The hoary bat, a critically imperiled mammal, is a vital indicator of a thriving ecosystem. As expert insect hunters, they play a crucial role in pest control, targeting mosquitoes and other nocturnal insects when daytime predators are inactive.
Their presence signals a healthy, balanced landscape, as these bats are highly sensitive to habitat loss and depend on low-pesticide environments to thrive. By consuming insects, hoary bats protect plants and trees from harmful pests, while they, in turn, rely on diverse local flora for safe roosting sites. 

Coyote

Coyotes are a keystone species, playing a critical role in maintaining ecological balance. In ecosystems without traditional apex predators, they regulate populations of smaller mammals like voles, rats, and mice, reducing the spread of diseases. By preying on herbivores like rabbits, coyotes also help prevent overgrazing, promoting the growth of native plants and supporting biodiversity.

Coyotes also contribute to the food web by providing resources for scavengers like birds and insects. Their adaptability and presence in diverse habitats symbolize the resilience and interconnectedness of ecosystems, making them an important indicator of ecological health.

Vole

Voles are unsung heroes of the ecosystem, driving soil health through their constant digging and tunneling. This activity not only aerates the soil but also enhances water retention, creating ideal conditions for plant growth. By dispersing seeds and organic matter through their droppings, voles actively contribute to the regeneration of plant life. When they become prey, voles transfer the energy they’ve stored from plants back into the food web, linking soil, vegetation, and predators in a seamless ecological cycle.

Wild Turkey

Wild turkeys play an important role in controlling tick populations, as they consume ticks during their daytime foraging. This natural pest control helps reduce the spread of Lyme disease, benefiting both humans and wildlife, including deer populations. By limiting the prevalence of ticks, turkeys contribute to healthier ecosystems and reduce the risks associated with vector-borne diseases.

Opossum

Opossums are allies in pest control, known for their voracious appetite for ticks. As they forage and groom themselves, opossums consume thousands of ticks annually, significantly reducing tick populations and lowering the risk of Lyme disease for both humans and wildlife. Their role as nature’s clean-up crew extends beyond ticks, as they also scavenge and recycle organic matter, contributing to overall ecosystem health.

The Importance of Biodiversity

Ocean Hour Farm relies on biodiversity to create self-sustaining systems. When protected or fostered, these species demonstrate how nature can often perform essential functions in a safer, cheaper, more effective method than human-made alternatives. Protecting these animals and others within the ecosystem reduces the need for pesticides and monocropping.

Their survival highlights the interdependence of species within an ecosystem and the importance of conserving natural habitats.

The land supports animals by maintaining a biodiverse, pesticide-free, balanced ecosystem, providing food and shelter. The animals support the land as each species contributes vital, often niche, functions such as aeration, disease management, and nutrient cycling, benefiting the land in return.