As farmers’ market season comes to a close, not only does access to local food become much more of a challenge, but small farmers also lose out on an important source of revenue. In Lincoln County, a dedicated group of community members decided to take matters into their own hands to resolve these dilemmas. Saturday, November 19th will mark the opening of the Lincoln County Fairgrounds Farmers’ Market. Lincoln County customers can now buy food direct from farmers from November through March.
It all began as a result of the Lincoln …

For anyone who pays attention to where our food comes from—and many more do nowadays—the future of agriculture is worrisome.
Many farms have grown to enormous size and are operated by expensive technology rather than human hands. Individual pieces of equipment to work such acreage cost more than a college education. How can young farmers afford that? How do they learn how to farm if they don’t grow up on one?
Then there’s the head-scratching Farm Bill that few people, if any (including those who write it), understand. Farmers growing some …

As the season settles into fall the pace of life changes, as do our wardrobes and diets.

Soups are welcomed back onto our menus – warmer, heartier fare and easier to keep on hand in the freezer than summer salads, luscious as they are.

Oops! Haven’t had time to bulk up your stash of soups yet?

Not to worry – help is rolling down the street and you can guide it to your door with a few computer clicks.

Rebuilding the local food system in the Willamette Valley is a lot like putting together a puzzle.  Some of the pieces are here, they just need to be put back together—farmers and eaters, for example.  But some of the pieces have disappeared and must be re-built.  Many missing pieces have to do with food system infrastructure: grain mills, processing facilities, slaughterhouses, trucking and storage systems for foods grown, processed, and eaten right here at home.  Willamette Seed and Grain is a new company created to rebuild one of these missing …

The Farm Direct Bill, enacted as HB 2336, becomes effective Jan. 1, 2012. The provisions of the law will provide greater regulatory certainty for farmers and market managers.
As more Oregonians sought out farm direct foods over the past two decades, increased demand led to strong growth in farmers’ markets and other farm direct venues. Consumer interest also piqued farmers’ interest in producing a greater variety of foods made from what they grow.
Like weeds growing near the intended crop, legal questions cropped up alongside the growth of farm direct marketing that …