Forest Grove Farmers Market Farm Visits and Farmer Profiles

As part of my internship, one of the fun things I get to do is visit farms that are selling product at the Forest Grove Farmers Market with market manager Kaely Summers.  We visit these farms for a few reasons:

1. It allows us to confirm that what is being sold at the market is being grown by the farmer.  (Unfortunately, sometimes vendors choose to buy products from other farmers and label it as their own.)
2. It allows us to get to know the farmers and their stories better.
3. It allows us to better answer questions asked by customers at the market.
4. It’s fun!

Reason #2 has really resonated with me so far as I get to speak with the farmers in a way that I can’t at the farmers market because we are always so busy there.  We’ve met a lot of creative and passionate farmers so far, each with some unique stories about how they got into agriculture.

Here are some brief profiles of our farm visits thus far:

L-Bar-T Bison Ranch

This farm’s big product (as suggested by its title) is bison meat.  They raise most of their bison out in Central Oregon, but they keep some bison for breeding at their farm in Forest Grove.  Members of the L-Bar-T Bison family also raise a variety of eggs (duck, chicken, and quail) and some produce.

The Epler family runs the ranch.

These bison are raised on pasture but their diet is supplemented by some grains.

Tasty

N & N Amaro

Nicolás and Norma Amaro from Hillsboro are graduates of Adelante Agricultura’s sustainable farming course.  They have been selling a variety of produce, plant starts, and eggs at the market for many years.  Up until last year, they farmed together with Nicolás’ brother and his wife, Sabino and Reina (they now farm and sell separately).

Chickens for eggs

Norma's fresh garlic

Plant starts

Peas, tomatoes, and chard in the Amaro's high tunnel.

GX Family Garden

Started by the mother of a family that emigrated from Laos, GX Family Garden raises and sells beautiful flowers.  They have plots in both Corbett and Damascus.  They sell at a variety of farmers markets in the Portland area.

GX Family Garden farms on over 2 acres in their Corbett plots.

Flowers and peas

Billy (daughter of Chue, GX founder) and Erika

Making bouquets at market

Tbees

Tbees, run by Ron Stark, sells honey and pollen at the market.  The hives are located on farms in the vicinity of Scholls and Sherwood.  In addition to being honey and pollen makers, these bees are busy pollinators of local blueberries, raspberries, wildflowers, clover, and more.

Bees store their honey and babies in the honeycomb.

Apiary owner Ron Stark and market manager Kaely.
Each pallet has four hives.

These bees are currently pollinating raspberries and wildflowers.

Ron getting some bees for us to take a closer look.

Honey and pollen at market

Hopefully as we continue to do farm visits I can post more brief profiles here and on the FGFM website.