Farm Tours Part 2

It’s time for another installment of Rogue Farm Corps farm tours.  I’ve been enjoying these farm tours and the topics discussed by the farmers.

Animal Husbandry & Dairy @ By George Farm

After having experience working in restaurants and interning on other farms in the Rogue Valley, Tyson and Johnny decided to start their own farming venture.  They plan to focus on rotationally grazed animals and currently have a raw milk herdshare as well as many laying chickens.  Raw milk cheese will soon become a sizable component of the business as well.  It was neat to learn about how animals can be used for a healthy whole-farm system.  I also stayed to watch some of the evening milking of the cows and goat in order to learn the basics of milking.

a chicken pen for rotational grazing

eclectic chickens

milking time

Rise Up!/Full Bloom

Full Bloom is an intentional community in the Little Applegate Valley started by a group of people who met when they were apprentices at the Zen Center in Marin, California.  The community owns land that they garden and farm on.  As an important income source, Full Bloom also runs Rise Up! Bakery, an artisan bread business that focuses on using organic and local flours (they make very tasty bread).  Some members of the Full Bloom community have years of experience in collective living and had some useful advice on what makes communities successful.

Medium-Scale Production & Post-Harvest Handling @ Blue Fox Farm

Blue Fox Farmhas over 30 acres of land.  They keep at least 15 acres of that in production at one time and focus on building the soil on the rest of the land.  While Blue Fox started their business by selling at farmers markets, to restaurants, and through a CSA, after having kids they switched to a different system.  They now sell the majority of their produce as wholesale to local food coops and to Organically Grown (a regional organic produce distributor).  Because of the move towards wholesale operation, it is important for Blue Fox to have their GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification, which involves having special procedures in harvest and post-harvest handling to mitigate food borne pathogens.  Learning about their post-harvest handling procedures reminded me of my work last summer with Adelante Mujeres, where I helped construct and harvest and post-harvest handling guide for La Esperanza Distributor.

greenhouse peppers

wash & pack station

extra large salad spinners

Apple Orchards @ Thompson Creek Organics

This orchard is run by a couple that had little agricultural experience prior to buying the property (which came with an orchard), and now they run a successful agricultural business!  Thompson Creek has 7.5 acres of apple trees of many varieties.  Over time, they have grafted new varieties onto existing trees that have varying ripening times, taste, and pest/disease resistance.  In addition to selling fresh apples at markets and to independent grocers and cooperatives, Thompson Creek also sells apple cider.  They’re now starting to move into the realm of hard cider, a good value-added product.

touring the fields

apple scab (a common fungus problem)

an extra big cider press

Medicinal Herbs @ Herb Pharm

Herb Pharm was founded in 1979 and is now a relatively well-known liquid herbal extract company.  They have a 25 acre farm in Williams that supplies the majority of the herbs needed for the tinctures, which are made just down the road.  Other herbs are purchased from local farms, and some herbs that do not grow in the southern Oregon climate and must be sourced from other locations around the world.  The naturally-occurring medicinal properties in herbs make them a potentially high-value crop and they can also be farmed in sustainable ways. 

an herb pharm tincture

As we start into the final stretch of the season, there are a few remaining classes including Business 101, Permaculture & Biodynamics, and Seeds (at DBF!).