Educational Tours at Maryland Organic Farm

G A M B R I L L S, Md., Oct. 12 -- It’s only when you wander around the other side of the barns on the former Naval Academy dairy farm that it becomes clear what the project is all about: hundreds of acres of rye, soybeans and hay growing pesticide-free, and about a half-dozen farm animals being raised without hormones.

Horizon Organic Farm, which opens to the public this weekend, has made a monument to pesticide-free eating, drinking, working and purchasing.

One of the gleaming white buildings on the dairy farm is now an educational center, teaching visitors about bovine life, crop rotation and milk’s journey from cow to carton.

Another is a store selling organic foods, shirts made of organic cotton, soaps, stationery, tourist gifts and recycled products.

A year after the Colorado-based company leased the farm from the Navy, Horizon Organic Farm is scheduled to open Saturday with a discovery barn, store, picnic pavilion and children’s party room — all completed in a $2 million renovation. Tours, crafts, storytelling and pumpkin-picking are among the opening weekend’s festivities.

Farm tour guides have scheduled tours for thousands of school children and adults to teach them about organic growing and the benefits of organic living.

Natural Food For Thought

“There’s very little opportunity for people to bump into organic agriculture except in a package in a store,” said Paul Repetto, Horizon co-founder and senior vice president. “But this is a place for them to bump into it in the real world.”

The 875-acre farm is an unusual attraction for Anne Arundel County, and Horizon owners hope it will be a boost for the organic farming industry and their company. With organic foods comprising an estimated 1 percent of total groceries, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there is a need to teach about organic farming and room for the industry to grow, Repetto said.

“We’ve planned it to be a teaching facility and to help build our brand,” he said. “We are the leading organic dairy company in this country. We believe it’s our responsibility to help people get back in touch with where their food comes from.”