SPRING VALLEY, Ohio — The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Assoc. (OEFFA) has bestowed its highest honor, the Stewardship Award, upon Doug Seibert and Leslie Garcia of Greene County.

The two received their award as part of OEFFA’s 33rd annual conference, “Sowing the Seeds of Our Food Sovereignty.” The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the sustainable agriculture community.

“We’re honored by the recognition and we believe we represent countless others who believe in sustainable agriculture and organic crops, as we do,” Seibert said.

Seibert and Garcia have farmed organically at Peach Mountain Organics since 1992, growing certified organic mixed vegetables, micro-greens, fresh-cut flowers, mushrooms (log grown shiitake), herbs, hay, gladiola bulbs and greenhouse plants. They began their venture on just seven acres but have expanded to include 43 acres at three locations. They are headquartered on Richland Road in Spring Valley, between Waynesville and Xenia.

“We’re certified on 25 of those acres and we supply two grocery stores and four restaurants with our organic foods,” Seibert said. “I would much rather hit the retail market than target the restaurants.”

Peach Mountain Organics has two farm sites and one half-acre greenhouse located in Spring Valley.

“We sell more retail than wholesale. Restaurants are more interested than what they used to be,” Garcia said. “When we both started organic farming, things were tough and there was a lot of skepticism out there, but it’s much easier to find organic products now than before.”

Seibert studied biology at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio. Garcia studied science and agriculture at Delaware Valley College in Pennsylvania.

“There’s an interesting reaction now between organic fertilizer and conventional agriculture,” Seibert said. “The price of organic fertilizer is rising because there’s a competition for it. People are looking for sources of nitrogen and phosphorous.

“We’re seeing an evolution in conventional farming because as petroleum gets higher and higher, there’s going to be better ways to do this. This evolution will have to occur because we’re going to be pricing things out of the reach of conventional farmers.”

This couple admits to being ambassadors when it comes to organic farming. The two have helped organize group seed and potato orders for other farmers and grown organic bedding plants for other growers, hosted farm tours, presented OEFFA conference workshops and were involved in the creation of both the OEFFA and the Federation of Ohio River Cooperatives (FORC).