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THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT

Bakers and Chefs Farm Tour, August 2, 2010

By Dan Armstrong

The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project hosted a three-farm tour for Willamette Valley bakers and chefs on August 2, 2010. This was the most extensive of the Bean and Grain Project's three August farm tours. It was essentially an all-day affair that began at noon at Stalford Seed Farms in Tangent with a talk about the Bean and Grain Project by the project originator, Harry MacCormack, followed by a talk and tour led by Gian Mercurio of Stalford Seed Farms. At one-thirty, the group of about forty traveled via caravan to A2R Farms in Corvallis for a tour led by A2R's Clint Lindsey. At three-thirty, the caravan proceeded to the Hunton Family Farm in Junction City for a tour led by Tom Hunton. The day ended beside the pond at Hunton's farm with a beautiful dinner prepared by Melissa Williams of Adam's Sustainable Table Restaurant.

Windrower
Windrowers at Stalford Seed Farms

The three-farm tour was a powerful demonstration of what the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project has been able to accomplish in its three years of existence. The three farms that hosted the tours were all, at one time, almost exclusively involved in grass seed production, totaling some 13,000 acres of western Oregon farmland. Now all three of these farms have begun the transition of portions of their conventionally farmed land into organic production with a focus on food crops. Stalford Seed Farms, having been at this process for five years, now has 155 acres that are certified organic and another 135 in transition. The Hunton Family Farm is in the first year of transitioning 81.5 acres, and A2R is in the first year of transitioning 458 acres. Both Stalford Seed Farms and Hunton Family Farm have added grain mills to their operations.

The tour itself provided a tremendous amount of insight into what is involved in the transition of farmland from conventional grass seed production to organic food production. With three separate farmers talking at length about their farms, the crops they have planted, what techniques they are using, the successes they've had, and the obstacles they've encountered, the guests were provided with an incredibly educational tour. Not surprisingly, the overwhelming response from the fourteen bakers and chefs who attended was that the tour gave them a new appreciation for growing local grains and beans and a desire to find new ways of using these local products in their businesses.

The first farm on the tour was Stalford Seed Farms. Due to Willow Coberly's long-time desire to grow organic food on her farm, Stalford Seed Farms was the first large farm to take part in the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project's "Big Experiment," as Harry MacCormack refers to it, when they planted their first test plots of hard red wheat in 2006. The tour began with Harry MacCormack and Gian Mercurio each offering overviews of what the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Project is, how it came about, and what it hopes to achieve in the future. Gian then led the guest bakers and chefs through the nearby fields of malting barley, black beans, hulless oats, brown flax, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, and hard red wheat.

Gian Mercurio Organic Beans

The second farm on the tour was A2R Farms which is owned and operated by Mike Robinson and his son Clint Lindsey. (See Clint's blog if you want a really insightful perspective on the transition of a grass seed farm to organic production.) After becoming an integral part of the Bean and Grain Project discussion a year and a half ago, A2R Farms has worked in close conjunction with Stalford Seed Farms and Hummingbird Wholesale to ensure that they have a place to sell their 2010 harvest. Clint led the tour at A2R Farms that included a look at their recently certified organic seed cleaner and a walk through A2R's transitional plots of hard red wheat, hulless oats, garbanzo beans, brown flax, cayuse oats, yellow-eyed beans, sunflowers, and their conventional winter wheat.

A2R Tour Seed Cleaner

The third farm in the tour was the Hunton Family Farm. Tom Hunton joined the Southern Willamette Bean and Grain Project discussion two years ago in the winter of 2009. His son Jason had just returned from working on an organic farm in California and is now a key part of the farm operations and the transition to organic. Tom loaded up a wagon with hay bales and attached it to his vintage John Deere tractor and took the bakers and chefs on an informative tour of his transitional field crops, which included two varieties of hard red wheat, emerald lentils, green laird lentils, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, orca beans, black turtle beans, and brown teff.

Tom Hunton Hayride at Hunton Family Farm

After a full day of viewing crops, a beautiful dinner created by Melissa Williams of Adam's Sustainable Table was served on the lawn beside the pond at the Hunton's home. A wonderfully enjoyable and fun evening of talk and good food ensued.

The following bakers and chefs attended the tour: Pat Daniels of Farmhouse Bakery in Cottage Grove, Joan Drabkin of the Oregon Wine Festival, Barbara Eveland from Nearly Normals in Corvallis, Julie Fitzgerald from Bread of Angels in Harrisburg, Aimee Manley from Market of Choice Bakery in Eugene, Eric and Jenney Murdock from Living Earth Bakery in Corvallis, Charlene Murdock and Richard White, Diane Sciacca from Sciaccas Focaccia in Eugene, Didier and Trinidad Tholognat from Le Patisser in Corvallis, Clive Wanstall from the Lane Community College Culinary Arts program, and Scottie Hurley from the Linn-Benton Culinary Arts program. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to see what the Southern Willamette Bean and Grain Project is doing.

To Those That Made it Possible

The following farms, bakeries, breweries, businesses, restaurants, non-profits, and individuals made donations to the Bean and Grain farm tours: Casa de Dilla, Hideaway Bakery, The Bread Stop, Sweet Briar Farms, Adam's Sustainable Table, Holy Cow Café and Catering, Hey Bayles Farm, Camas Farm, Horton Road Organics Farm, Groundwork Organics Farm, Oakshire Brewery, Gathering Together Farm, The Earth Smart Store, Hummingbird Wholesale, Lynne Fessenden, Allison Filderman, and the staff from Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, Max Peschel, Krishna Khalsa, Marcia Rhea, Nancy Rohn, Randy at Main Street Coffee in Brownsville, the Ten Rivers Food Web, and, of course, the participating farms–Stalford Seed Farms, Hunton Family Farm, and A2R Farms. Much thanks to all of you for making this happen.

Go to Stalford Seed Farms Tour. Go to Hunton Family Farm Tour.

Special thanks is extended to The Willamette Farm and Food Coalition and The Ten Rivers Food Web, Hummingbird Wholesale, and the Evergreen Hill Fund of Oregon Community Foundation for for their continued support of the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project. Also thanks to Erik Silverberg for farm tour photos.

Prairie Fire

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