Our Story
We (Conner and Sarah) are drawn to this livelihood by a magnetism of purpose, abundance, and place. We believe that agriculture is a culture worth our creative attention; that the story of human life on earth is largely defined by the pursuit of sustenance, and in turn, how we treat the ecosystems that nurture our growth.
The seed that grew into this farm was planted in 2001, when we first met at UC Davis. Forged over good meals, bad movies, and backpacking, our friendship brought together a girl from the Bay Area and a guy from the Sierra Foothills. Our mutual appreciation for food and the natural world sparked the journey, and now our mutual adoration and respect is what keeps us lovingly inspired. Building a farm together is the life that we envision, because it is work that we enjoy and it is work that we can share. When the farm is our home AND the farm management is a marriage, it takes a lot of intention to cultivate a healthy balance between work and family. Though not always easy, it is infinitely rewarding, and the friendship over good meals continues, now with homegrown food and more family members!
We build on our collective agrarian heritage by connecting with our family, friends, and neighbors, fostering strong relationships that tie us to the land and each other. Through careful stewardship, we tend the earth to ensure sustained fertility and biodiversity, honoring the natural cycles that sustain life. We embrace nature’s pace and tendencies, working in harmony with its rhythms rather than against them. In doing so, we support life on the land, both in our homes and in our fields, creating a thriving environment that nurtures generations to come.
Rooted in Complicated Ground
This farm exists because of a lot of things we didn't earn — land that has a long history before us, opportunities that weren't available to everyone, and the particular luck of the lives we were born into. We think about that often.
We farm on land that belonged to the Molalla people. We live and grow food in a food system built on deep inequities that haven't gone away. We're not outside of that history — we're inside it, trying to do something worthwhile with the position we find ourselves in.
That means staying curious about where we fall short. Raising kids who ask hard questions. Supporting the organizations around us doing work we can't do alone. Choosing partners and practices that reflect what we actually believe.
We don't have a tidy way to wrap this up, because it isn't tidy. But we think saying nothing would be worse than saying something imperfect.
Soil
On our land, Soil is a Proper Noun, the heart of the farm, and the arbiter of our actions. We invest in our soil through luscious cover crops, diverse and extended crop rotations, minimizing soil disturbance, and by applying as much compost as we can afford. Investment in the soil is an investment in the future of our farm.
Seeds
Early each spring, regional seed farmers are celebrated as we flip with great admiration and anticipation through colorful catalogues. Buying regionally adapted, organic varieties connects our farm to a sustainable food system, supports other organic farms, and encourages resiliency within the Pacific Northwest climate. We prioritize and wholeheartedly support seed farmers who maintain and improve open-pollinated varieties while focusing on flavor, beauty, and adaptive traits.
Pests & Disease
Every farmer faces challenges. We choose to address these challenges proactively through preventative measures and controls. Crop rotations break pest cycles, cover crops and flowers provide habitat for beneficial insects, floating row covers establish physical barriers to pests, and vigorous, resilient crop varieties tolerate negative pressures.
Weeds
Without the use of herbicide, our weed management strategy relies on fast action and long-term thinking. Weed management is most effective and least disruptive to our soil when tackled at the earliest stage of growth. A 1950’s Allis Chalmers cultivating tractor, a selection of hand hoes, and a four-burner flame-weeder are the basis of our weed management, and when used at the right time (timing is everthing), and in the right sequence, weeds are not an insurmountable barrier to production. Weed control is THE single most labor-intensive (and expensive) cultural practice on the farm. ‘This year’s weed is a hundred year’s seed” goes the adage; we are constantly reminding ourselves that time spent now will save us time in the years ahead.
Biodiversity
In our soil, in our pastures, in the riparian area that meanders through the farm, and in the hedgerow along our fields – biodiversity is our greatest ally. Prior to our time here, this land was in conventional commodity crop rotation, and monoculture was the norm. These early years represent a shift in paradigm as we support the GOOD (fungi, microbes, pollinators, predatory insects, etc), rather than fighting the BAD. The good is a beautiful chaos. It is not always neat and tidy, but it is vibrant and full of life. We allow many plants to flower as food and forage for beneficial insects. We celebrate the raptors and resident herons in our pastures, and we look forward to establishing four acres of native habitat along our creek.
Animals
We have carefully selected heritage breeds of animals that are well suited to life on pasture and which thrive within a system of intensive rotation. Disease (worms, hoof-rot, etc.) resistance, unassisted birthing, efficient feed conversion, cold-hardiness, slow growth, vigorous offspring, multi-use (meat, wool). These are a few of the traits that we hold in high regard as shepherds, herdsmen and herdswomen.
