Farm
“A farmer is “a dispenser of the ‘Mysteries of God.”
Small-scale organic farming in Colorado is demanding. The arid and often unpredictable climate is the first burden, followed by the challenging economics of land, water, and living costs. It is a path only the most passionate take, and a lifestyle few stick with year after year. There is an even smaller segment of those farmers who push the boundaries of nutrient density, flavor, and soil stewardship in a way most would categorize as obsessive. For me, that journey can only be described as sacred.
Steve and Michelle Cockroft (and their seven kids) are the crew behind Croft Family Farm. The family that brings a trailer full of picture-worthy vegetables to the City Park Farmers Market every week.). We've been fortunate to visit their farm several times over the past three years of having Croft at the market. Each visit leaves such a profound impact it inspires lasting change in me, my family, and how we approach meals sourced locally from farmers we know and cherish.
During a recent visit to the farm, we arrived with both Michelle and Steve Cockroft bent over, pulling weeds in succession along with a crew of family members and volunteers who were trading work for veggies. Both Michelle and Steve grew up working on conventional family farms, which helped create an inspiring work ethic. They didn’t consistently farm through their lives, but when their eldest son was diagnosed with autism, they began exploring natural ways to better support him. They quickly learned nutrition played a primary role in supporting their son and their family, so they wasted no time in growing their own food and learning as much as they could about organic and nutrition-focused farming practices. When you talk to Steve about farming, there is an inevitable return to the same two concepts over and over again - “purity,” and “living soil.” I genuinely believe that Steve Cockroft goes to bed at night dreaming about the mysterious life within soil, and he wakes the next morning ruminating over the next step in his quest for perfect tomatoes.
Tomatoes are perhaps the best example of how Croft is connecting their love for agriculture, nutrition, and flavor into practice. That practice has required seven years. Seven years of experimentation, trial, feedback, testing, tasting, and planting. Seven years of finding the perfect soil balance and microclimate. Seven years to arrive where Steve beams with pride as he walks you through rows of perfect vines knowing his tomatoes are as stunning as they are nutritious.
After seven years, Croft has found an equation that includes perfect water (all water on their farm is meticulously filtered), perfect soil inputs (all organic, focused on thriving microorganisms and balance), perfect temperature and humidity, and an enormous amount of energy and effort (each high tunnel takes 80 hours of labor per week to prune, pick, and tend). As we walked back through the rows, Steve noted the different varieties of tomatoes they are currently growing, explaining each one, eating some here and there, and talking in depth about the various flavor profiles he experiences.
Farming for people like this is less of a vocation and more of a calling, or a worldview. It comes with an awareness and reverence for the earth, and for Croft Family Farm, a reflection of the divine. There are paths between all of the vegetables that are for walking, and then there are dedicated rows that are never to be stepped on because compaction inhibits living soil. Food from Croft quite literally comes from holy ground.
During the summer months when the Colorado harvest is at its peak, our family often eats on our back patio under cottonwood trees. Croft tomatoes are often present, and we have the privilege of sharing who they came from and why they are so delicious. Our enjoyment is not just in the tomato itself - the complex flavor, sweetness, acidity, and structure - but in admiration of the folks who dedicate their lives to growing food for the prosperity of others. It is a posture where producers and consumers move beyond a transaction to a mutual admiration, and in that moment we clearly see the farm as a sacred place.
Written by Margo Wanberg. She is the co-founder of the City Park Farmers Market. Born and raised in Denver and CU Boulder alumna, she’s passionate about sustainable living, beekeeping, and gardening. Margo and her husband, Peter, reside in Lafayette, where they enjoy raising their two children, Nora and Oliver.
