Henry Laber Open Space Project


In 2020, Ollin Farms began leasing an additional 135-acres of Boulder County Open Space.  We inherited the property in bad shape with irrigation ditches needing repair, large amounts of weed pressure, and soils showing signs of degradation. 

Partnering with Boulder County, NRCS and community volunteers, we have developed a plan to heal the soil and implement conservation practices to bring health and vitality back to this land.  Restoration practices can be expensive and the question arises who should pay for these practices on our Open Space parcels?  The County? The tenant farmers?

We believe in order for more conservation practices to be implemented on public lands, and for more regenerative models to be demonstrated on Open Space agricultural lands, we need a collaborative approach of skill and resource sharing between farmers, citizens, and Boulder County.  This 135-acre property will allow us to eventually expand our food production and also partner with young farmers in an incubator model to manage fields for grazing or alternative crops. 

Boulder County needs more young farmers and the intention of Project 95 is to host a space for training and collaboration. 

This is a new strategy for how our agricultural lands are managed, and in order for it to be successful we need your support, whether it's participating in volunteer planting days or helping fund certain conservation practices.

Phase 1 Funding:  Seed Fund to cover crop 100 acres

Lack of ground cover and high levels of weed seeds are two immediate issues that need to be addressed on the Henry Laber Open Space parcel.  While the County's traditional protocol for dealing with weeds is to spray them, this economical approach isn't an option because of our farm's strict no pesticide/herbicide policy.   The way to address weed pressure using natural farming methods is to out-compete the weeds with another plant.  In this case, because the soil samples show a need to build nutrient and carbon levels, we will plant a cover crop.  A cover crop is a combination of plants grown densley to cover a field that are eventually mowed or grazed in order to return nutrients to the soil.  An aggressive cover crop that can out-compete the weeds has many other benefits: Improves soil structure Harvests solar energy/ sequesters carbon Promotes diverse biological life in the soil Provides nutrients for future crops Provides pollinator forage

Spring Cover Crop Planting Budget: We are asking for community support to cost-share the seed purchase 4/12/20 Update:  The seed funding project is complete, fully funded and the seeds are in the ground!  Big thanks to all those that donated to make this possible.

Upcoming Volunteer Oppurtunities

We will be having multiple volunteer planting days this spring as 10,000 perennial shrubs are planted and mulched on the Peck Open Space property.  To get added to our email list for volunteer work days, please email us at info@ollinfarms.com

Citizen committees are being formed to guide the project's work in 2020.  Committees will begin meeting monthly in March and include:

Pollinator Committee - design and oversight of pollinator plantings
Compost and Fungi Committee - design and oversight of composting trials and mycology lab

Data Collection Committee - design and testing of ecological data collection protocols

If you have previous experience in one of these areas and would like to participate in committee work please email us at info@ollinfarms.com