From our friends at Rockland Farm Alliance:
Spotlight on a Local Farm and Farmer:
Diana Rivet of Danny's Backyard Organics in Orangeburg
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The first certified organic farm in Rockland County surrounds a house on the corner of Lester Drive and Orangeburg Road. "Danny's Backyard Organics" doesn't look so different from the other houses in the neighborhood. You may notice the small greenhouse through the shrubs. But if you're stopped at the traffic light for a minute, other details emerge: the very large pile of mulch in the driveway, the cold frames in the side yard, a path snaking past a large strawberry patch, several fruit bearing trees and garden beds. And this is just what is visible from the road.
Diana Rivet, know as Danny, is a farmer. She is also a mother of six, an accomplished lawyer, community activist, and, according to an organic farm certification inspector, "a CSA of one."
Her family has lived in this house for 46 years. It is built on land once known for tomato fields. Coincidentally, Danny has a reputation as a proficient heirloom tomato grower. Her customers have included restaurants like Relish, the beloved Sparkill eatery that closed in 2009. After eating there, people would seek her out, wanting to purchase the tomatoes they had enjoyed as part of their meal.
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Arriving at Danny's, you might find her and her husband Paul working in the greenhouse, affectionately named "Geronimo."
"There's a lingo here," Danny explains with a laugh. The cold frames are referred to by the name of the sitting New York State Governor, the compost bin is called the bar-b-que, and the Rivet's first greenhouse, attached to the other side of their home is "The Riviera." That is where we sat and talked, surrounded by tomato seedlings, cucumber plants, and potting tables. "I've been growing things all my life."
Growing up, Danny lived with a family on a dairy farm in upstate NY for several years. "It was during WWII. Everyone had a victory garden. It was very much a time of strong community. There were pianos everywhere – in churches, at community gatherings and such. People were always congregating to sing around a piano. It was a very special time. Farming now is paying back the family that gave me so much when I was young."
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That experience with farming and community shaped the "farm philosophy" she wrote for her organic farm certification application for the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA). She wrote two goals in the application: to accept responsibility for the health of the land so that it produces a bounty that can be shared with all its residents, plant and animal and the larger community of which it is a part," and "to participate in the development of the land as a community so it is a place of wildness and beauty reflecting a whole that is greater than its parts."
When Danny retired from law in 1999, her extensive gardening operations were only one of her many accomplishments. The first woman County Attorney in New York, she also served a stint as the founding Director of Economic Development for Rockland. She was selected twice as president of the Rockland Girl Scouts, was Chair of the United Way and along with Paul represented the Nature Conservancy in acquiring what is now Clausland Mountain Park in Orangetown. About the time she started thinking about organic certification, she was asked to be a vendor at the first-ever Haverstraw Farmer’s Market, helping to establish it and attract other vendors to make it a success.
Danny submitted her application for organic certification with NOFA in 2001. Why did she go for organic certification?
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"To establish organic farming here. Rockland wasn’t on the map. I believe in being credentialed if you go into the field. You are setting an example.” She dropped her certification in 2008 to save paperwork time but renews her farmers pledge yearly to uphold the standard. Organic certification in a suburban community comes with its own set of challenges. For instance, when the town sprays for mosquitoes, Danny needs to cover her soil and plants to protect them from the chemicals that could put her organic status at risk. And even though her farm is a backyard measuring less than an acre, an annual organic farm inspection took close to four hours to complete.
The summer of 2009 was the hardest growing season. That year, tomato blight made headlines when the highly contagious fungus destroyed plants across the Northeast on an unprecedented scale. Danny planted the largest number of plants she ever had– 150. She managed to save 25.
“It was a great learning experience. Painful. Had never had a problem before. It hit so suddenly. I lost more than I should have.”
Danny studied up on biodynamics, a holistic approach to organic farming that emphasizes the interrelationships of soil, plants, and animals. She learned that horsetail, the weed she had been fighting in her yard for years, can be made into a spray to fight blight.
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Walking through the property, with the asparagus poking out of the soil, the kiwi tree and blueberry bushes, you don't notice the sound of the traffic from Orangeburg Road or the Palisades Parkway. It's definitely there, but Danny's Backyard Organics feels like an oasis, with all of the senses absorbed by the variety of life growing throughout her yard. Danny lists out the names of plants as she passes them and then stops to celebrate a blooming Narcissus. “Oh! My first Susy is out!”
The next time you drive through the intersection of Orangeburg and Lester Drive, you certainly won't miss Danny's flowers this time of year. Of the 1000 bulbs she's planted, several hundred are out in front, in brilliant shades of red, white, and blue. Danny's 9-11 memorial garden. Keep an eye out for the greenhouse, and maybe you'll catch Danny farming, too.
