Yamhill valley

farmers network
FALL 2014 NEWSLETTER
Helping our farmers thrive.

A note from your network coordinator:

+ elcomeQ fallR
Its always a good feeling to be entering a new season. I
really believe that its one of the greatest pleasures of
farming: the shifting of daily routines, pace & tasks,
and the welcoming of new crops, colors & tastes to our
fields and tables.

I hope everyone is feeling good about your 2014 season.
The summer was quite a doozy weather-wise (so hot! so
dry!), but seems to have been a wildly productive one. In
talking to many of you over the past couple of months, I
think were all ready to slow down, evaluate, and start
figuring out how to do better next year. And the Network
is here to help you do that!

I want to send a huge thank you out to everyone who
completed the fall event survey: it was great to hear
your feedback & to get a sense for what events youd like
to see this fall & winter. It sounds like you are all in
the mood for some educational events and workshops, so I
am gearing up to send those your way. Topics most
requested included business planning, small scale meat
production, soil types, & local marketing opportunities.
Keep an eye on your inbox for announcements about those!

Please read on for some great information from YVFN &
other partners in the community. See you all soon!

-Beth Satterwhite, Network Coordinator

Mark your (mental) calendars!
Whole Hog Exchange
EARLY NOVEMBER
There have been a number of
requests for a get together
among pork producers in the
county. Were thinking info
exchange, farm tour &
comparative tasting should be
great fun! If youre
interested in being a host for
this event, please email Beth.

Veggie Growers Exchange
LATE NOVEMBER
In parallel: veggie growers,
its time we all get together
& chat! What varieties did
awesome for you this year? Did
you learn any super
techniques? Find a great
source for drip tape? Bring
your notes from the season &
lets talk veggies. If youre
interested in being a host for
this event, please email Beth.

1st Annual Meeting
EARLY DECEMBER
Its time to have a
party!! The annual meeting
will be a fun opportunity for
as many of our members to get
together as possible & to
celebrate the season. Think
potluck, end-of-year ah-has
and uh-ohs, & some talk
about 2015 YVFN plans.


























































Preserving/reclaiming your
rights to food and farming
in Yamhill County*

*please note: YVFN is a neutral,
non-political body whose
mission is education &
networking among local Yamhill
County farmers. This is a
message from a community
member interested in working
with farmers on GMO issues,
and not an effort of YVFN. If
you are interested in getting
involved, please contact Mike
using the information provided
below. Thanks!

Most everyone in Oregon
lately has heard in some
way, shape, or form of a
"Right To Know" GMO
labeling initiative,
proposed ban on GMO crops,
or community rights
movement to protect the
rights of farmers and our
rights to have fresh, local
foods to eat.
I recently celebrated with
friends from Jackson county
(Measure 15-119) and
Josephine county (Measure
17-58) on victories for GMO
bans or restrictions, and
find other friends
organizing community rights
measures in Benton and Lane
counties. I can't help but
ask, why isn't every county
in Oregon organizing their
own measure? There's never
been a more important, nor
opportune time to define
our rights as citizens to a
free food system and a free
farming system.
Big corporations have their
own interests in mind,
which don't include the
best interests of our
safety, livelihoods or
future. If you're a farmer
or concerned citizen in
Yamhill County, now is a
time for action. Let's pool
our interests and resources
and make a change in our
county, and our state
for us and future
generations.

Contact: Mike Hurst
Email [email protected]
Phone 541-981-0634

Farmers rising!
Oregons beginning Farmer & rancher convivium
October 17
th
-19
th
(Friday-Sunday)
Two Rivers Farm, Springfield, OR

Time for a little shameless cross-promotion: I took a position
at Friends of Family Farmers at the beginning of the summer as
their Beginning & Young Farmer Organizer. A big part of that
work has been planning a statewide beginning-farmer-focused
conference. We wanted to put together an event that was
educational, fun, interactive, and well, convivial! Not your
everyday farming conference. I hope that a bunch of Yamhill
County farmers can make it!

For more information, visit the event webpage HERE.
To purchase tickets, click HERE.


















































Introducing the yvfn website & member
forum!

A little bit behind schedule, but we finally have a website! Please
hop on and let us know what you think. Heres the LINK. Feedback
can be sent to Beth HERE.

As we work on building out the site, wed like to
add a few features, including some member
profiles (from those who are willing to share
their farming story), a photo gallery of local
farms, and content for you including event
announcements, a resources page and more. If you
have ideas for content, please let me know!

We are also excited to announce we have set up an online forum to
allow members to connect outside of events! Were utilizing a
wonderful platform called Switchboard, which is very streamlined
& easy to use. Take a look HERE!

I will be sending everyone an email invitation
right after this newsletter is sent out, so look
for that & get your account set up! Its quick
and painless & easy to get started and set your
preferences so you dont get too many emails. If
you have any questions shoot Beth an email.

Introducing heather stoven,
yamhill countys new osu
small farms agent!

Heather Stoven was recently hired as the
Community Horticulturalist and Small
Farms Extension Agent for Oregon State
University serving Yamhill County. Her
position oversees the Master Gardener
program, community horticulture and
small farms. Prior to this position,
Heather worked at OSUs North Willamette
Research and Extension Center with the
nursery crops and Christmas tree
programs. She has a Master of Science
degree in integrated pest management
from UC Davis and her strengths include
pest management, plant problem
diagnosis, greenhouse growing and
nursery crops. Heather is eager to be in
this new position and is looking forward
to meeting small farmers to learn of
local needs and to provide assistance to
the community.

Heathers contact information:
2050 NE Lafayette Ave.
McMinnville, OR 97128
Office: 503-434-8910
Fax: 503-472-3054
[email protected]


A peek at the website:

A peek at the forum:


LetUmeat, a collective of seeders,
feeders, and eaters

LETumEAT is online community for Seeders, Feeders
and Eaters that we call The Collective. It is a
place to promote, connect, and educate farmers,
chefs and artisan producers on a local and
national level by sharing stories, experiences and
resources. Were starting by profiling members of
the food community in Oregon and will soon be
expanding to Washington, California and the rest
of the country. Please let us know if you are
interested in being a part of The Collective!

The LETumEAT crew is made up of 6 friends in West
Salem: we are chefs, farmers, event organizers and
marketers. We raise sheep, goats, pigs and laying
hens and grow vegetables for our pop up dinners
and events around the Willamette Valley. Any
ingredients we dont grow ourselves we source from
our neighboring farms and friends.
Read more about the LETumEAT project
online: www.letumeat.com
















































Events calendar

October 17
th
-19
th

Farmers Rising Beginning Farmer Convivium in
Springfield
Three-day conference for beginning farmers; includes
learning sessions, film screening, and a hoedown. All
meals included in ticket cost, camping available on
site & children are welcome. For more information &
tickets>>

October 23
rd

Pasture & grazing Management Workshop in
yamhill
Join OSU agent Gene Pirelli for a half-day workshop
on pasture management, back by popular demand (the
same workshop sold out this spring!). Topics covered
include: improving pasture health, nutrient
management, and planning. RSVP is required to
503.472.6403 or [email protected].

November 2
nd

Fill Your Pantry Event in Corvallis
A great chance to stock up on staples for winter,
including dry beans, cornmeal, flours, honey and much
morealso a great chance to chat with farmers from a
little further south in the valley! For more
information & to pre-order click here>>


Recommended resources

Good Source for organic cover crop seed: namois
organic farm supply in Portland
Pricing by packets, 1#, 5#, 25#, 50# and increments
in between can be pre-ordered and custom bagged. For
farm orders, email ([email protected]) or call
(503.517.8551) in advance to reserve stock or
preorder.

Attra sustainable agriculture hotline
Have a question that you cant find the answer to?
Besides phoning a friend, theres always the ATTRA
hotline. They have a phone hotline, accept email
questions & even can answer via text message. To
learn more, check it out (the whole site is packed
with resources!) here>>

Cornell small farms youtube channel
If youre looking for some information & inspiration,
I highly recommend browsing through Cornell Small
Farms Youtube channel: they have a great collection
of videos covering everything from sheep dairying to
pastured hog production to veggie and berry
production. Check it out here>>

Photogrammar: the place to go for Cool old
farming photos
Take a look at what it was really like back in the
day, farming in Yamhill County. Such cool images
here. Check them out>>

Lines written in the days of growing darkness
-mary oliver

Every year we have been
witness to it: how the
world descends
into a rich mash, in order that
it may resume.
And therefore
who would cry out

to the petals on the ground
to stay,
knowing, as we must,
how the vivacity of what was is married

to the vitality of what will be?
I dont say
its easy, but
what else will do

if the love one claims to have for the world
be true?
So let us go on

though the sun be swinging east,
and the ponds be cold and black,
and the sweets of the year be doomed.

!!!

Have an event idea, a skill to share, or
a hankering to host a farmers feast &
tour? Email beth at to get started!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook for
interesting articles, event info & more!
!!!


































































Fall 2014