In the Field Articles
Community Initiatives, Farming, Featured, Food Security, Growers Network, In the Field »
The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project hosted two farm tours in mid-August. Attendees were treated to views of ripening crops, stories from farmers, wonderful meals with many locally-grown and organic ingredients, and live music. Coming away from these events, it struck me that each season, project organizers continue to solve problems, make progress, and move ahead toward local self-reliance. The grand goal of providing the Willamette Valley with locally grown and processed organic staples (beans, grains, and edible seeds) moves closer to reality every year.
The big news this …
Community Initiatives, Farming, Front Page, In the Field »
When you get chefs and bakers together to tour farms and see ingredients they aren’t used to getting locally, ideas flow like butter on hot corn on the cob. They discuss texture, pairings, and seasonings as they taste things like green garbanzos in the middle of a field, hummus under the shade of a tree or taste pastries made with freshly-ground local wheat.
On August 2nd, dozens of Willamette Valley bakers and chefs spent the afternoon touring Stalford Farm near Tangent, A2R Farms south of Corvallis and Hunton Farms south of …
Farming, In the Field, Lebanon »
The farmers in the Ten Rivers foodshed are a mixed crowd—and I mean that in the best possible way. From grass seed farmers with thousands of acres under their care to blueberry growers, organic vegetable farmers, and pastured livestock farmers, we’re blessed with a diversity of growers, crops, and approaches. When Ronnie Meers started Spectrum Light Organics less than two years ago just outside Lebanon, he added a new element to the local food scene—organic wheatgrass for juicing.
Farming, Food Processing, Food Security, In the Field »
Interested farmers gathered again in Eugene and Tangent March 10th and 11th to discuss growing beans and grains for local markets. For several years in spring and fall, organizers of the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project have been holding these meetings. Each time, new faces, additional acres, and more experimental crops join the project. The March meetings made it clear that the barriers aren’t big enough to halt the slow but steady progress being made.
