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by Peggy Helmick-Richardson

The knowledge of the good health of the garden relieves and frees and comforts the eater…A significant part of the pleasure of eating is in one’s accurate consciousness of the lives and the world from which food comes. The pleasure of eating, then, may be the best available standard of our health. And this pleasure, I think, is pretty fully available to the urban consumer who will make the necessary effort. –from "The Pleasures of Eating" by farmer, poet and essayist Wendell Berry

Want healthier and better-tasting food? Intrigued by the growing interest in eating locally-grown food? Want to contribute to the "greening" of the globe? Is putting a little time and effort into achieving these goals a possibility?

Kim Martin and Laurie Bostic of Heath feel so strongly about accomplishing these ideals that they are making a personal and financial commitment to see this dream come to fruition. Their Barking Cat Farm was incorporated in late 2004 and since then, these two women have plowed through the challenges of starting a small farm to create a flourishing enterprise. Now they are sharing this dream with others in their community.

How it all began

A few years earlier, both Kim and Laurie were engineers with companies that had quickly grown from small start-up businesses to thriving endeavors. The two had worked in the high-tech field since the mid-1980s. With both a BS and MS in electrical engineering, Kim was senior director of engineering with Efficient Networks in Dallas. Laurie, who has a BS in electrical engineering and an MS in computer science, served as principal consultant for International Network Services. As a result of these corporate successes, both women were offered and accepted the opportunity to retire early.

It didn’t take long for these two newly-retired go-getters to decide that an idle life was not for them. But working for someone else again was not an option. "I would rather make my own stupid decisions," Kim laughs. So the two began brainstorming business ideas, incorporating their experiences and personal interests.

In addition to volunteering for Reading for Adults, a literacy program, Kim had recently earned her Rockwall County Master Gardener certification. Laurie serves on the board of directors for Shared Housing Center, an organization that assists the homeless—primarily women and children—in getting back on their feet. She also aids SHC computer class instructors and maintains the computers during the classes.

Taking their professional experience under consideration, Kim and Laurie originally contemplated opening a business management consulting company or possibly buying a franchise. These were dismissed, Laurie explains, because "Regardless of what you are doing, it is pretty hard to see what a difference your day makes when you are sitting in front of a computer every day."

So when a friend suggested to Kim that she consider tapping into her interest in gardening, this Heath farmer recoiled. "Why would I want to ruin a perfectly good hobby?!" was her initial response. But once that seed had been planted, it took root and flourished.

"Why wouldn’t I want to do something that I loved," Kim explains, "but we knew you wouldn’t make a lot of money doing row crop farming."

"And we didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing," Laurie adds.

So the two began to do research into viable agricultural options. By the fall of 2004, Kim and Laurie came to a decision. "The Texas Department of Agriculture was trying to encourage the growth of commercially cut flowers, things that didn’t ship well that could sell in the local markets," Kim explains. "That started us down the path."

A ground-breaking beginning

Their original goal was to establish their small commercial flower farm on the back of their one-acre homestead in Heath and sell exclusively to the wholesale market. Although determined to be exclusively organic, they opted not to bother with certification because they felt that dealing with the USDA process required more time and labor than they were willing to give. "It doesn’t seem to matter to our customers and we have so many other important things to do right now that it is not on our radar," Laurie comments. "It is important that we grow these things organically, not that they are certified."

The reason they opted to propagate the more delicate specimens that cannot be shipped was an issue of competition. "You don’t want to start a big flower farm and grow roses and carnations." Laurie points out. "You are not going to be able to beat the prices of those being shipped in. We wanted to focus on quality and local business."

In order to grow and sell cut flowers wholesale, their new business needed a Texas Floral Nursery License from the Texas Department of Agriculture. An additional license was required to sell their flowers at other locations such as farmer’s markets—one for each site. Laurie comments, "You have to have a license to grow the flowers and to sell the flowers, but you don’t have to have a license to sell food from the plants."

In January and February of 2005, Barking Cat Farm’s 4,000 square feet of raised beds were put in by Jeff Francis of Texas Lawn and Landscape. The two laugh about how this one job with him not only led to others—such as the installation of their irrigation system--but also grew into a respected friendship. "He has saved us on several occasions," Laurie grins as she recounts how Jeff recently rescued them when their tractor was mired up to the axles on her mother’s Hunt County property.

That first summer was one of success as well as hard-learned lessons. Barking Cat Farm’s floral crop was 90 percent of their production and included French-style tulips, zinnias, sunflowers, gomphrena, scabiosa, and cosmos. Along with one bed of lettuce, they also grew basil and rosemary. But, the wholesale flower market response was one of disinterest. Not to be discouraged, the two women started selling the flowers directly to the public. The lettuce and herbs were sold to area restaurants. Laurie shakes her head in dismay as she recalls all 300 heads of their lettuce coming ready for harvest at the same time.

The second year, the crop percentages changed to 60 percent flowers and 40 percent food crops. Primary flowers that year were tulips, lilies, and celosia. In addition to their primary crop of lettuce and lettuce mixes, other vegetables included hybrid and heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, carrots, salad turnips, several varieties of sweet peppers, chili peppers, soybeans and herbs such as French tarragon, cinnamon basil, lemon basil, Greek oregano, sage, lavender, and garlic. Barking Cat Farm was now a pre-order retail business.

And the potential for growth really blossomed when Laurie’s mother offered them the use of her 40 acres of land in West Tawakoni in Hunt County. Although 16 acres of this property was wooded, four acres were pastureland with rich, fertile soil—ideal for a small farming venture.

"By August of 2006, we realized that pre-order was going to kill us," Laurie sighs. "We were getting run down and had no time to think about how to expand onto the main farm because we spent so much time with customer orders. So we had a meeting and said we need to change the business."

Meeting growing demands

Although they were finding it difficult to keep up with a pre-designated timetable, Kim and Laurie recognized that the demand for fresh, locally-grown food was strong.

So the two women began to explore the concept of transforming their small farm into a CSA—community supported agriculture—enterprise. Once they decided that this growing agricultural concept would work well for them, it took them two weeks to switch Barking Cat Farms from a custom order endeavor to a CSA.

"There is not a single definition on what CSA means and how they operate," Laurie emphasizes. "It is a general term for how people can pre-subscribe and interact with the farm." She goes on to explain that CSAs started in Europe and came to small New England farms in the 1980s. Currently she only knows of two other CSAs operating in this area of North Texas.

"We decided to be careful, so we started out with five people in the beginning eight-week term, charging $10 a week paid up front for eight weeks," Laurie notes. "We still have some of the original five people and they are our biggest supporters." They also sold vegetables and herbs to several restaurants in Rockwall and Dallas.

Chef Ted Grieb, owner of Zanata and Square Market in Rockwall, first learned of Barking Cat Farm two years ago from another Dallas chef. "I like that they are local as well as the quality of their produce. We try to use as much local ingredients as possible," he points out. "Whatever they are growing at that time of the year is what we use." In addition to their herbs, another Barking Cat Farm favorite for him is the wild arugula.

Sharon Hage, owner and chef of York Street in Dallas, has been a regular customer of Barking Cat Farm for over a year. Specializing in "market inspired cuisine" and serving local and/or organic items, she explains, "Buying local has always been an integral part of our food philosophy. The closer food is to the source, the fresher, and usually better tasting, it is." She cites Kim and Laurie’s integrity, product variety, and willingness to experiment as primary reasons for choosing their produce.

In meeting the needs of their CSA and restaurant clients, Barking Cat Farm’s 2007 yield showed a reversal in emphasis, with 80 percent of their crops being food and 20 percent flowers. Kim and Laurie also decided to add more CSA clients.

Word of Barking Cat Farm’s quality and unique options spread and soon every available CSA slot was taken and a waiting list was created. For these members, the bonuses are many. In addition to buying fresher, better tasting and longer lasting locally grown produce, they are assured that Barking Cat Farms utilizes only organic growing practices.

Each CSA participant buys a $10 weekly share—a box containing those foods ready for harvest that week. Laurie points out, "They don’t know what is coming and they count on us for variety." She also states that the retail value of these shares generally average around $12-13, with $14-15 value boxes often delivered around holidays.

As an additional benefit, Kim and Laurie have teamed up with a very select group of local producers to offer additional products to their clients. "We have met each and every one of these growers and know that they share the same beliefs we do when it comes to producing healthy food in a responsible manner," Laurie emphasizes. These local growers are Akin Farm in Terrell, owned by Wendy and Michie Akin; Bee Charmer Janet Rowe who offers Rockwall and Collin County produced honey; and Moon Dance Farm in Rockwall County and JC’s Organic Meadows in Hunt Count provide local natural eggs from free-range hens; and Blackland Coffee Company sells organic and fair trade coffee roasted fresh in Royce City.

Both women readily point out that another advantage to working with these other area local producers is found in the support they provide each other. Kim and Laurie even share information about these other facilities on their Barking Cat Farm web site. They also note that they are always open to working with and supporting other organic food producers in the area.

Kim and Laurie also express gratitude for the amount of assistance they have received from the Rockwall County Texas AgriLife Extension Service. County Extension Agent Todd Williams has provided enthusiastic encouragement for Barking Cat Farm since its inception. "I have consulted with them on crop ideas, marketing, packaging, continued education and research, and linking them up with other institutions that could help them as well," he notes. Adding that he knows of no other CSA in Rockwall County, Todd sees Laurie and Kim’s providing organic produce along with their emphasis on local business as some of their greatest assets for the community.

"We can’t say enough good things about the Extension Service," Laurie emphasizes. "They have had a key role in supporting us. Todd Williams has been a tremendous help and [office manager] Shelly Spearman helped a lot with our marketing."

"And Janie Squier (recently retired Rockwall AgriLIfe Agent in Family and Consumer Sciences) tested recipes for us and is one of our charter CSA members," Kim adds.

Having participated in a similar co-op venture in Nacogdoches, Texas, before coming to Rockwall seven years ago, Janie encouraged Kim and Laurie to develop their CSA business. Because of Kim’s Master Gardener certification and related activities, Janie already knew the two women before they started Barking Cat Farm and felt confident they had the skills needed to succeed. For her, the greatest draw to being in their CSA is "being able to buy my produce from people I know and knowing they are growing it organically." An added bonus for her is Kim and Laurie’s forays into experimenting with more exotic crops such as salad turnips and she enjoys helping them hunt down recipes for these. She admits that the basics, such as potatoes, onions, okra and tomatoes are still her favorites.

Rockwall’s First United Methodist Church associate pastor The Rev. Valerie Englert also joined the Barking Cat Farm CSA in 2006, having been a loyal customer before the CSA was started. "I wanted local organic produce from growers that I trusted," she explains. "And it is not the same old stuff you see in the grocery store!" Topping her list of favorites received are Tuscan kale, Bright Lights Swiss chard, and Flying Saucer squash. "Kim and Laurie are dedicated to growing quality local produce and I hope they inspire many more to do it because I think it is a necessary wave of the future."

Vaunie Stewart, a holistic health counselor certified through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in Manhattan who also teaches continuing education classes through the Rockwall ISD, is another Barking Cat Farms charter CSA member. Her reason for participating in their program? "Freshness and quality of food is on the top of my priority list," she declares. "And when you have people doing such things, you want to support them." Another advantage for her is " It does make you try things you normally wouldn’t purchase." Her favorites are chard, spring mixes and the herbs.

As word spreads as to the quality of their produce and demand rises, Kim and Laurie are cultivating more land for crops. Last year, they started preparation on the West Tawakoni property that Laurie’s mother offered. Miss Eva, as Kim calls her explaining, "that’s my southern upbringing," has been another strong supporter of Barking Cat Farm. "Without her faith and support of us, we sure wouldn’t be where we are today," Kim declares. "Not to mention, she regularly keeps us well fed."

Currently, they have put in a pond and had some of the land regraded to correct drainage problems on the West Tawakoni farm. They have now started installing an irrigation system. Last year, Kim and Laurie planted peas on this land and are planning to grow other crops there this year.

Kim and Laurie are also excited as well as relieved to have recently hired Jessica Boerner of Poetry on a part-time basis to help them with farming chores.

Recognizing that the demand for locally-grown and organic produce is growing larger than their farm can provide, Kim and Laurie suggest that those wanting quality food should plant home gardens if possible and encourage other small and local farmers to consider adopting this method of cultivation.

They also warn that produce shoppers need to exercise diligence when purchasing food from unfamiliar sources. They advise asking sellers how the food and flowers were grown. Kim and Laurie also point out that "conventionally" grown indicates that it is not organic and that buyers should be wary when the seller cannot tell you how, where, or by whom the produce is grown.

And how did Kim and Laurie come to name their farm Barking Cat? Kim laughs, "In 2004, we were trying to figure out what to name it. It needed to be a good name that people would remember, but we couldn’t think of anything. Then the cat walked by. He is part Siamese and he gave us one of those Siamese barking meows. A light bulb went off in our heads and we both immediately said, ‘Barking Cat!’"

Laurie nods, "It is just as likely for a cat to bark as it is for two engineers to go into farming."