Page 60 - Southern Oregon Magazine Fall 2022

neck of the woods | community

least at first. Early on there was a distinctive Wild West vibe, and it was She created the original recipes for our salves and topicals, doing so
exciting and unnerving. There were tremendous price swings, over- with an understanding of complementary blends and the strength of
night hemp plantations, and some failed dreams. full spectrum CBD oils. We produce them in our food safe facility in
Jacksonville. The rest of us divide duties according to interest and skill.
Market instability doesn’t last, however. The market doesn’t tolerate Hailey does social media and label design. I do field engineering and
profiteering. Surplus greed ended up with surplus inventory, and this is sales. Our son-in-law runs operations, and our eldest daughter keeps
precisely what happened. In 2019 acreage peaked at 64,000 acres and the books. Most of us maintain outside jobs.
1,960 Oregon farmers. This year there are 275 farms operating 2,900
acres. Sanity returned, if briefly. In 2020-21 we saw an influx of black We adhere to holistic farm practices – organic, biodynamic, and regen-
market operations. erative. Our biodynamic vision involves treating the farm as a balanced
ecosystem. The idea is to use inputs from the farm rather than import
The public could not easily differentiate between legal and illegal grow them. Everything on the farm is there in balance. If we were to remove
sites. Illicit grows cynically took on the pretense of farming hemp as an existing plant, such as California poppies or Purslane which thrives
disguise for THC. Regulators initially did not have the ability to test. here naturally, then we would upset the balance. The second funda-
Law enforcement was underfunded and lacked authority to inspect ment is to feed the living soil, rather than the plants. Healthy living soil
operations. Legislators responded with rules that impacted legal oper- is a tremendous nutrition source. It also serves as a buffer when pests
ations more than illegal ones. This is just a messy truth about the pro- or diseases come on the scene, and they will appear. Unhealthy soil
cess. By the end of 2021, those of us remaining felt like we’d survived provides them an easier foothold.
an endless parade of assaults. Neighbors of farms felt the same.
We finally eliminated film mulch. This is the plastic sheeting you see
Meanwhile, some wonderful stories taking place behind such drama along each row in many farms. Biodegradable mulch film is better than
were sadly obscured. Away from the noise and spectacle, our experi- the alternative, but it still doesn’t let the soil breathe. We now use straw
ence as a family farm was idyllic. Not since 1960 have family farms mulch, and the plants are healthier because the soil is. Unfortunately,
offered the economies that allow easy access to a family farm lifestyle. so are our weeds. But we are adapting.

Four generations work together on our farm. My father, our children, These other plants provide beneficial alternatives to our primary crop.
and grandchildren work with us side-by-side. I see how this disappear- We nurture beetle banks along the margins of our fields. Beetle banks
ing tradition shaped our culture. Working together is challenging and are native plant areas that house and feed squadrons of beneficial preda-
rewarding. Farming is problematic by definition, but working together tory insects that feed on those pests we don’t want. Those sweet lady
for common goals is unifying. So is a dinner under the willow tree bugs absolutely crave aphids. Under a magnifying glass, they are insa-
after work. Our matriarch, Whitney, is a skilled grower and herbalist. tiable carnivores.

58 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | fall 2022