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Processing

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The NY Times has an article on the lack of processing facilities that is impacting small farms. We’re lucky here to have a few options for mobile (“Custom”) harvest facilities, but we still fret about the threat of our primary one (Frontier Custom Cutting) deciding to quit. Still, at least we’re not obligated to drive our cattle for miles to get them to your plate…at least for now.


Sold out for this year!

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Thanks to all the customers who placed orders this year! Our Premium summer beef is sold and tucked away in freezers around the Portland area. And we have maxed out on orders for Neighborly Autumn heifers. We may be able to fill up to 4 quarter orders for fall/winter ground beef shares, but won’t know for a few weeks.

If you’re interested in finding out about steer/heifer shares for 2011, please email or call us (503 852 9585) to get on our mailing list. Ordering info will go out in the winter (although we will take share reservations for 2011 at any time starting now).

And thanks to everyone who continues to support our farm!

Limited quarter shares available soon!!

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Well, we were sold out, but our neighbor informed us earlier this week that he has one additional heifer available!

We have 1 or 2 quarter shares left at $3.25/lb plus butcher charges (around $100 per quarter). We estimate the heifer to have a hanging weight of around 150-180 lbs. The butcher date will either be in early October, if we get enough orders now, or in December. Orders are taken first come, first served, and we ask for a $150 deposit to hold your order.

Please contact us ASAP to reserve a quarter share, and enjoy wonderful grass fed beef all winter! (Or contact us to request our ordering info flyer.)

Spring Newsletter

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I had hoped to get this out a month ago, but life and other stuff got in the way. So here it is: our Winter/Spring Newsletter. It includes info about ordering for this year (we’re sold out for Summer, but are taking reservations for fall “Neighborly” beef shares).

What Makes Mossback Farm Beef Special?

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or, Why Our Beef Rocks

(Part One)
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A customer recently asked us a very good question. She pointed out that she had found information about a farm selling “grass-fed” beef for a significantly lower price than us, and inquired about why there was such a difference in price.

Her questions prompted me to do a couple of things. One was to do an informal survey of beef in north-western Oregon (mainly coast range, and northern Willamette Valley) to compare prices, which is something I do periodically. Prices ranged from about $2/lb to about $4.80/lb (plus processing). The other thing I did was ponder (along with Rich) how to articulate what makes our beef, and specifically, our animal and land management practices, different from other farms.

What makes us different:

1) Intensive rotation (i.e Management Intensive Grazing) – not “free range” = improved grass/soil/ecosystem health

Many farms like to tout that their animals “roam free” on their pastures. I think they do this because of the idyllic picture it paints for people… happy cows, allowed to wander at their will. However, the reality of good management is that “free range” cattle creates many problems for the land, from soil compaction along paths, to damage to creeks and riparian areas if that cattle are not fenced out, to poor grass quality (and the need for off-farm inputs, i.e. fertilizers and/or herbicides).

When we bought our property in 2002, we witnessed the results of poor management first hand. The prior owner had more than 50 cattle on the property year around, and as a result, the land had a very poor complement of species, low fertility, high compaction, very poor water retention, and the creeks were degraded by gullies with no riparian cover.

We practice Management Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG), and ideas based on Holistic Management. We have 5 main fields with perimeter fencing (which we have worked long and hard to put in place!), and we subdivide these fields into many smaller fields with electric wire and water points. The steers are moved nearly every day in the peak growing seasons of spring and summer in order to take advantage of the huge pulse of growth that happens during that time of year.

Imagine you make a big feast, with a lot of ingredients. The first time you sit down to the meal, you eat some of everything, and especially the good parts. The 2nd day, you need to eat again, and there’s a good spread still in front of you. You probably have some of most of it, but maybe pick around some of the wilted lettuce or less appetizing ingredients. The third day you have it, you probably are very selective about what you eat from it, leaving behind all the parts you don’t really like. As the days go by, the good stuff is mostly gone, leaving the unappetizing-to-downright unpleasant bits to be eaten. You’re not eating as much each time, and it’s generally not as fresh and nutritious as day 1.

Steers do this as well, if left on the same pastures every day. The result is usually that they will eat the grasses they like best, and avoid the ones they don’t like. They will eat the “good” grasses down to the point where regrowth may take a long time. And by making the beneficial, high-nutrition species so short, the species they don’t like have better access to sunshine and are allowed to prosper. The farm then is left with a pasture of less appetizing species, that will probably need to be eradicated through re-seeding, herbicide application, fertilization, etc.

Our approach means that the steers get a fresh feast every day in the growing season. They can eat as much as they want, stopping only when they’re full.. The next day, they are moved to a new paddock and have a brand new feast. This allows the “good” grasses to be eaten down to the point at which regrowth is stimulated, and for the less desired species to not usually have the chance to out-compete the good grasses. In this situation, even the less desirable species get nibbled on as part of the feast, and don’t become a problem.

(Next post will discuss why our steers never receive grain, and also the issue of scale.)

What Makes Mossback Farm Beef Special? Part 2

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We wanted to expound a bit about how our beef and our farm practices differ from some of the other farms out there. In this 2nd installment, we’ll talk about the benefits of grass/hay-only beef, and also about the scale of our operation.

2) grass fed and grass finished
No grain, repeat, no grain! Not a handful right before butchering, just none at all. We purchase our calves from our neighbors at about 9 months of age, and the calves have never had grain at any point in their lives. Rich goes to the neighbors’ ranch to train the calves to get used to him, and associate him with good things, which is a good beginning to their lives with us. It doesn’t take long for them to learn to come to the fence edge when Rich is out doing chores, eagerly awaiting the next move to a grassy, clovery feast.

Why don’t we feed any grain? The health benefits of foods high in CLAs (Conugated lineolic acids) and Omega 3 fatty acids are pretty well documented. The problem is, when grain is included in the finishing ration, even tiny amounts, it throws the proportions of good : bad fatty acids out of whack, and it can take weeks, or even a month of exclusive grass feeding to get them back to where they were.

It’s a shame that a day of feeding grain can kick the high quality grass fed beef down to something that is commodity-grade, from a health standpoint, but that’s the nature of nutrition. We don’t make the rules; we follow them.

3) small (scale) is beautiful
We’ve learned too much about the farm crisis of the 1980′s to be comfortable with going into debt to farm. So our philosophy of farming has always been to start small, and grow slowly.

We purposely named our farm “Mossback Farm“, not “Mossback Farms“… we have no interest in growing super big, or creating an agricultural empire. We don’t wish to wholesale. What we want to do is raise a small number of animals which help us manage our landscape, while also providing artisanal-quality food for a dozen or two families a year. While we do partner with our neighbors, the Thorntons, to get calves and hay and to offer our “Neighborly” beef in the fall, we do so in a way that is mutually beneficial, and allows us both to retain our autonomy, and practices that work for our scale.

Our scale… it’s small because our land holdings are small. We have 33 acres, but only about 20 are actually in pasture. The rest is forest, riparian buffers, road frontage, and the homestead area. While some people choose to have a higher stocking rate, we prefer to keep ours low so that we can better manage the grass and the animals. (see Intensive Rotation, above) This way, we don’t skimp on quality for the sake of quantity. As our water and other farm infrastructure improves, we’re slowly increasing our herd, monitoring the impacts on our land and lives, and making sure that nothing gets out of balance.

What Makes Mossback Farm Beef Special, Part 3

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Continuing our discussion about how our beef and our farm practices differ from some of the other farms out there. In this 3rd and final installment, we’ll talk about the seasonal nature of our beef harvest, and about following the rules relating to butchering.

4) Seasonal harvest
I’ve seen some farms offering beef nearly year round. I can appreciate being able to provide beef whenever a customer would like it, but the reality is that grass fed beef, like all other fresh foods, is best harvested at a specific time of year. I could go buy strawberries at the grocery store right now (in January), but I know that they wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as strawberries harvested in June or July.

Our “Premium Summer Beef” is named as such because it is harvested in late June, when the steers have had 6-8 weeks to dine on the premium grasses during the period of lengthening days, giving them the highest sugar content. Higher protein grass – such as grass in the fall and winter – makes for gamier and tougher meat. This grass is better for growing calves and for milking cows. Grass with higher sugar is better for fattening animals and making more tender meat. Because the sugar content (Brix) in grass is higher in the late spring/early summer. So, we plan our seasonal harvest so that the meat benefits from the animals having grazed mainly on sweet grass leading up to harvest. This is also why we adjust our price for the “Neighborly” beef shares available during the fall… those animals have had less sweet grass prior to harvest, and their meat, while excellent, is not usually quite as tender, and we adjust the price to reflect that difference.

Incidentally, the sugar content of grasses is also higher during the afternoons after the grass has had time to absorb sunshine, which is why we usually move the steers onto a new pasture later in the day, rather than in the mornings.

We’d love to be able to supply families with beef shares all year, and to supply local restaurants as well. However, we know from experience that the taste and texture of grass-fed beef changes quite a bit during the year, and we prefer to limit our harvesting to the time of year when quality is at its peak.

5) It’s the law, ma’am (Rules regarding “custom-exempt” meat processing)
Here’s a link to an OSU report summarizing small-scale (custom exempt) meat processing rules.

a) why ¼-animal shares?
Our beef shares are butchered and processed by a local state-licensed facility. When you buy a share, you are actually buying ownership of 1/4 (or more) of an animal. While we could legally sell 1/8 shares, this is stretching the limits of the “custom exemption”, which is basically a a loophole in the Federal Meat Inspection Act to enable farmers to be able to get their own livestock processed for their own use. When farmers use this loophole to divide up an animal among more than 4 customers, they are really stretching the intent of the loophole, and it can cause additional scrutiny (and possible repercussions) for both the farmer and the butcher. We think the loophole works just fine as is, so we don’t push the boundaries just for the sake of making additional sales.

b) butchering and cut/wrap charges.
The laws are definitely clear cut about this. Customers are supposed to pay the farmer directly for their share of the live animal (based on live weight or hanging weight), but are not allowed to pay the farmer for the butcher’s services. While some farms include the butchering fees in their per pound cost (ostensibly to avoid confusion or “hidden” fees), they are not actually following the law. We choose to follow the law about this, and have our customers pay the butcher directly for their services.

c) meat delivery
By law, we could deliver the meat to customers. However, given our small scale, and our lack of a delivery vehicle, we don’t do any deliveries. We feel that the easiest way to handle the beef shares is for the meat to leave the butcher shop directly with each owner, rather than us getting into the delivery business.

d) cowpooling
We are happy to facilitate cowpools… this is when 2 (or more) families get together to purchase a quarter share of an animal. If families are interested in cowpooling we are happy to take note, and to try to connect them with other families. When cowpooling, families need to come to agreement about their cut/wrap preferences, about who will contact the butcher with the preferences, and how pick-up will be handled. We are willing to hold a quarter share for a potential cowpool for a limited amount of time, but can’t guarantee that we will find another family to share the share. We encourage families who are uncertain about a full quarter (due to freezer space or other considerations) to talk with friends and families members about sharing a quarter.

Taking reservations for Premium Summer beef shares

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Alright, orders have been rolling in, and it turns out that we have just a few quarter shares still available. The price is $3.75/lb (hanging weight), plus butcher charges (which will probably come out to ~$110-130/quarter). We’re estimating these quarters to be between 165-215 lbs (hanging weight). (You can request a smaller or larger quarter.)

4/29/12: edit/clarification: At $3.75/lb, a 165 lb quarter will cost $618.75, plus the butcher charges which are about $110-130/quarter. So a small quarter would cost about $750. A larger quarter would be closer to $950. We don’t guarantee a specific quarter weight… the quarters will most likely weigh between 165-215. Customers can state a preference for a smaller or a larger quarter, and we do our best to meet that preference. Sorry if there was any confusion about the pricing!

Contact us right away if you have questions or if you’d like to make a reservation. $150 deposit (applicable toward the final balance) is required to hold a reservation. And the steers will be going to the butcher in late June, ready in mid July.


“Neighborly” beef shares available October-November!

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“Neighborly” shares are from heifers raised on grass and hay by our next door neighbors, and available in fall. We have quarter (or half) shares available October – November. $3.25/lb (hanging weights have been ~145-180 in past years), plus butchering charges which usually average about $120 per quarter. Final cost will be about $600-700 for a quarter. Email us now to order or ask questions!

2013 Newsletter, and Summer beef

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Hello! We’re proud to say that we got our 2013 Farm Newsletter out much faster than last year (as in, at all :) ). Click on the link to see what we’re up to on the farm.

Orders for our Premium Summer beef for June have been trickling in, so we also put together a new flier with the current rundown to complete getting the word out.

Let us know if you have any questions, and let’s think spring!

Beef shares – availability update

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We are currently sold out for our Premium Summer beef shares.  We actually sold out in record time this year… which was great for us, but not as great for customers who missed the ordering window.

The good news is that we are currently taking orders for Neighborly beef shares, available ~October to December.  Please contact us for information about reserving your quarter for Fall!

Hanging weight and final weight… some information

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A customer recently emailed me after picking up her order… she was curious as to why the “take-home” weight was different from the “hanging” weight.

When it comes to beef weights, there are 3 different ones of which customers should be aware.  The first is “live” weight. This is what the animal weighed on the hoof, or when it was alive.  The live weight for our Premium summer Angus steers usually averages around 1200 lbs.   Jersey steers are usually less, as are heifers.

The next weight is “hanging” weight.  This is the weight that the butcher gives us after the animal has been taken back to the butcher shop to hang.   The weight difference from live to hanging is from loss of blood, head, hide, hooves, viscera, lungs and heart.  The hanging weight is usually about 40% of the live weight.  So, a 1200 lb animal would have a hanging weight of 720 lbs (estimated).  (A half share would then be 360 lbs, and a 1/4 would be 180 lbs).  This is the weight we base our per lb charges on.  The butcher also charges cut/wrap fees based on this weight, plus extra if a customer has requested additional bones or organ meats.

The last weight is the “final” or “take-home” weight.  This is the weight of the meat that each customer will bring home.    This weight is usually about 60-65% of the hanging weight.  So for a 180 lb quarter share, the final weight would be about 108-117 lbs (estimated).    The weight is lost in 2 ways.  About 4% is water weight lost during the 10-14 day period that the carcass is hung (or “cured”).  Then about another 30-35% is lost during the cutting process.  This amount is variable based on 2 factors – one is the amount of fat in the meat, and the other is the cuts that a customer requests.  Higher fat means more loss.  (Our grass-fed beef animals tend to be lower fat, so the loss tends to be closer to 35%.)   Also , the more boneless cuts requested by the customer, the lower the final weight.  (Note that the lower weight doesn’t mean that you are receiving less meat – rather, you are receiving fewer bones).

What does this mean as far as actually per lb costs?  It depends on the per pound price (higher for the Premium Summer Angus beef, lower for the Premium Summer Jersey beef, and Neighborly beef), as well as the cuts that a customer requests.    A 180 lb quarter share of beef from us would range from $6.60-8/lb (for final weight).  This is about 40 to 60% less than what you would pay if you purchased grass-fed beef by the cut from retail outlets.  (My latest research found that ground beef averages about $5/lb, roasts are about $12/lb and premium steaks are about $20/lb).

Hopefully this information is helpful to folks considering buying a beef share.  As always, please drop us a line if you have questions!

Farm updates – Music, New shop, Lupine, Drones, and oh yeah, Cattle

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Well, we certainly don’t seem to be updating the blog very often.  Not to say we haven’t been busy, just a lot of it doesn’t make it here.  I’m thinking it’s time to start posting more often…so readers, make sure you remind us!

 Music

The item that is in the forefront of our minds these days is Val’s Kickstarter campaign to record and produce her second album.   There’s 9 days left in the campaign, so if you haven’t checked it out, now would be a great time!  A little added bonus teaser, a new song she just put out

 Shop

In other developments, we had a shop built last fall to house and consolidate farm tools and projects, and let Rich work out of the rain on those wet days.  We’re pretty excited for it.

 

Shop - inside

Shop – inside

Shop - front

Shop – front

 

 Lupine

Our Lupine patch is still growing along, and the Fender’s Blue Butterfly flight season is about 2/3 of the way through.  We’ve seen 3 males, which is less than some years, but hopefully an additional survey later this week will pick up more.

Kincaid's Lupine patch

Kincaid’s Lupine patch

 

 Mapping Drone

Rich’s past in aviation, mapping, and technology is catching up to him.  This past winter he put together a drone to map out the farm, with the thinking that some great options exist for vegetation and soil health monitoring.  After quite a few crashes, things are coming together.

Farm drone

One of the mapping exercises lives here and a shaky video of one of the flights is below

Cattle

And don’t forget the Cattle!  Rich had a pretty funny shot of them lingering between fields during a move yesterday (seems to be the only time he thinks to take pictures!), but it doesn’t seem to have been saved, so we’ll leave you with this one from earlier in the season.  The grass (and weeds :/ ) are much taller now.

April cattle

April cattle

 

And some added bonuses…in 2009 Rich took a picture of our son next to a newly planted tree, and followed up with the same shot this spring.  They’ve both grown up so much!

~2009

~2009

2014

2014

 

 

Thanks for all your support, and we promise to try to post more often!

Website update – in progress!

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At long last, we’re updating our website.  It’s a work in progress, and we’re hoping to have most of the edits done this week, so check back in a few days! In the meantime, we should say that we do have one shared quarter (1/8) left to reserve of our Premium Summer beef.  It’s $4.95/lb plus butcher charges.  Contact us

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Saying Goodbye…

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Mossback Farm News
January 2018

It’s with a heavy heart that we are sharing our news with you, our customers, friends, and family who have supported our farm since 1999. We have come to the decision to sell our beautiful farm and move to a nearby town.

Some of you may know that Rich was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) last spring. It came as a shock, since he has always been fit and healthy, but he had a sudden onset of disturbing and life-altering symptoms in March. After the initial “flare” eased up somewhat, we thought we’d continue to stay and farm here in Yamhill, but as time went by, it became apparent that managing 30+ acres is just more than we can do, given his health, and my own physical limitations (which include back and and knee issues).

We started Mossback Farm at our first rented farm in Cornelius in 1999 when I came home one day (surprising Rich!) with 10 chickens, inspired by Joel Salatin to start raising animals in a humane and ecologically sound manner. In 2002 we were fortunate to be able to purchase our current property in the foothills west of Yamhill and Carlton. With the help of many amazing volunteers, we built our first animal barn, and planted several thousand trees. We’ve reforested the seasonal creeks, and eliminated the gullies that channeled water too quickly off the farm. We’ve installed water catchment systems, and a gravity-powered ram pump to pump water for farm animal use, and we dug and installed thousands of feet of pipe to get the water to all of our pastures. We’ve cross-fenced the farm as well, to help manage steer rotations, and keep them out of the creeks. We’ve nurtured and protected the habitat for the endangered Fender’s Blue Butterfly by encouraging the growth of the threatened Kincaid’s lupine through grazing management. We’ve also hosted many WWOOFers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) and met some really wonderful people, many of who we still stay in touch with.

Over the years, we’ve raised chickens for eggs and meat, as well as pigs, Katahdin sheep and cattle. We’ve provided healthy and humanely-raised animal products for over a thousand families, selling at farmers’ markets and through our CSA and animal share programs. In the early 2000’s we had the largest (and only) all-egg CSA in the Portland area, delivering many dozen eggs each week to several drop sites (Egg Drop!) around Portland. We’ve supported our local neighbors by purchasing and raising calves, along with hay and fermented hay.

The icing on the cake for us has been being honored by the local Soil and Water Conservation District for our conservation work, and also being featured nationally by the USDA Farm Service Agency for our efforts to encourage threatened and endangered species and to practice good management. We’ve never done this work for the rewards or accolades… we’ve done it because we strongly value good stewardship. We feel blessed that we’ve been able to be good caretakers of this beautiful place for the past 15 years.

We also feel blessed that our son has been able to spend his first 10 years growing up on a farm. I know that these days, few kids grow up getting to know a large piece of land, and enjoying the wildness of nature. I hope that this experience is something that informs his own conservation ethic as he gets older. He currently expresses interest in becoming a veterinarian so perhaps our love and respect for animals has been passed along to him.

There are so many things that we’ll miss about being here. The quiet. The interruption of the quiet by howling coyotes. The darkness. The wind through the massive trees. The heavy frost on the winter mornings. The elk, so often seen through our front windows across the road in the winter. The neighbors who look out for each other and help each other when needed. The snow in the winter, making everything even more silent. The epic family snowball fights. The rainbows over the hills in spring. The daisies and the moths in spring. The general feeling of space and tranquil beauty.

There are also things we won’t miss… the yellow jackets, coming in during the winter on the fire wood. Also, the yellow jackets throughout the summer, making outside eating into a battle. The way the sun turns the grass to a crispy brown by August. The endless to-do lists. The driving. Oh, the driving.

Our main reservation about moving out here originally was the distance from town. It’s about 12 minutes down to Yamhill, 15 to Carlton, and 22 to McMinnville. Rich’s commute to Forest Grove for the years he worked there was an hour a day, and mine to Hillsboro was 90 minutes a day. Not terrible, compared to driving in LA traffic, but still, every trip to the market or for any errand guarantees a minimum of 25 minutes of driving. And not only driving, but driving on often icy or foggy roads. And having to avoid hitting deer, elk, and even wild turkeys! We’re glad that D won’t have to drive these curvy roads, and we’re grateful that we’ll be able to walk or bike short distances for errands.

We’re also looking forward to having more free time to spend with friends. And for gardening, something which was difficult here due to the ravenous local deer. And for being able to spend more time together, without worrying about the chores that need to get done. And we’re also looking forward to taking more family trips.

We’ll be putting the farm on the market within a couple of weeks. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please send them our way.  Hopefully we will find a new place quickly in Carlton or McMinnville, and will be able to make a smooth transition between homes without having to move more than once. If you know of anyone looking to sell, please let us know!

Our sincerest gratitude goes out to everyone who has supported us over the years. It has been an honor being entrusted with feeding your families. We are happy to point you toward other farms who can supply you with high quality beef, so please contact us if we can help you make connections.

All our best,
Val, Rich and D Blaha

 


If you lived here, you’d be home now!

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So we did it. We put the farm up for sale. We are sad about leaving this beautiful place, but we’ve mostly made peace with the idea, and we are looking forward what the future holds.

We’d love to sell soon so that we can move on to the next stage of our lives (hopefully in Carlton, OR!). Our farm is listed in all the usual places… please share with any rural-living-hoping friends! (The listing on Zillow has lots of good photos…)

 

saying farewell…

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Well, we’re doing it… selling the farm. We have about a week left here, and we’re busy packing up our belongings.

This is the longest Rich and I have lived somewhere. In the past, as college students and post college, we moved about every 2 years. We lived at our first farm in Cornelius, OR for about 3 years. That was also where we were married, on a beautiful September day surrounded by 75 lovely friends and family members. Leaving there was sad, but also very exciting since we were becoming first time property owners, and stepping into our dream of owning a farm.

This time, leaving is more bittersweet. We’ve lived here for 16 years. We’ve put our hearts and souls into restoring the property, and we’re proud of all of the trees and restoration work we’ve done. Our son was born here in 2007, and he’s learned so much about nature…one of my favorite memories is his eagerness to take visitors on farm tours and show all of his favorite spots. We’ve met so many amazing people through the farm… customers and volunteers and friends. We’ve lived here through hard times, like losing a baby in the summer of 2005, and the insane snows of the winter of 2008-9.  But we’ve also been here through wonderful times, including really amazing farm parties, and the sunsets and sunrises… so many incredible ones. It’s been thrilling to play a small part in helping conserve an endangered species (the Fender’s blue butterfly). And the wildlife and nature… seeing elk many winter mornings, hearing the owls call at night, and taking in the glory of the stars (and meteor showers) in a dark sky… these images will remain with us forever.

So it is bittersweet, letting go of a beautiful place, and a dream, and a plan… we thought we’d live here for another 20 or more years. But now that the move is at hand, we’re facing forward, letting go of those dreams, and getting excited for all that the future holds. Our new house in McMinnville has a very big yard, and we’ll be able to create a beautiful garden and outside relaxing space there. We’ll have to drive so much less, which will free up a lot of time for so many other things. We’ll be very close to a lot of friends, and only about 5-10 minutes from my studio. One of the most exciting things we’re looking forward to is getting back on our bicycles on a regular basis. And although D is nervous about leaving his school and friends in Yamhill-Carlton, for the first time ever he’ll be able to walk or bike over to the houses of his new friends in Mac. And we’re confident that he’ll thrive in a bigger school district which will offer many opportunities. We’ll be closer to Gallery Theater, so D and I hope to do a play together at some point in the future. And Rich is very much looking forward to having more time to figure out his new path…not having to manage the farm or prepare for this move will take a huge load off his shoulders.

I’ve been reading a lot of Buddhism-related books and articles lately. It’s a philosophy that I’ve always leaned toward, and I’ve found during the past year that so much of it is really relevant and helpful to stepping forward into our new lives. The whole idea of attachment causing suffering is especially valuable. The more I let go of the ideas and visions that I had, and embrace the present, the happier I am. Even though I am planning for a new future, I know that we only have this moment, and I’m learning to stop, breath, and be grateful for family and friends, and for the little daily joys. The more I open myself up to the possibilities of the future, the less I feel the need to cling to the past, and the better I can fully be present.

We’re also very happy about the couple who are buying our farm. Sarah and Josh are a super sweet couple, who plan to have kids, dogs, cows and horses here, and it makes me so happy knowing that they will be wonderful stewards of this place. I believe they are planning to raise beef, so when they are ready, we’ll share their contact info in the hopes that you will support their dreams and endeavors as you supported ours.

in gratitude,

Val B

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