Jim was looking for alternative methods of ways to combat soil disease, a serious problem for strawberry crops. (On conventional farms, the traditional method of managing soil disease is to use soil fumigants such as methyl bromide.) Jim was reading old farm books about rotation crops that might have an effect on soil disease.

Serendipitously, one of Jim’s neighbors was soil disease specialist with an interest in this issue at a university during a time when most university agriculture departments had little interest in finding alternatives to methyl bromide. He gave Jim specific references and suggestions. In 1988, they did an experiment using broccoli and cauliflower instead of methyl bromide, and that was the beginning of formal inquiry into the use of the broccoli family to suppress soil disease.

• Local Food System Assessment for Northern Virginia
  
• Charting Growth: Sustainable Food Indicators
• Community Food Enterprise: Local Success in a Global Marketplace
• Sysco’s Journey from Supply Chain to Value Chain: 2008-2009 Final Report
• Innovative Models: Small Grower and Retailer Collaborations, Parts A and B - from the Grower's and Buyer's Perspective

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