Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2017)
2 CapitalPress.com January 20, 2017 People & Places Farm opens doors to guests Leaping Lamb Farm proprietors offer visitors taste of country living Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester ..........................President Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Sid Freeman .................. Outside director Mike Omeg .................... Outside director Corporate officer John Perry Chief operating officer Capital Press Managers John Perry ................................Publisher Joe Beach ..................................... Editor Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press ALSEA, Ore. — The in- ception of Leaping Lamb Farm was far from auspicious for novice sheep producer Scottie Jones. Upon moving to damp ru- ral Oregon from dry metro- politan Arizona in 2003 with her husband, Greg, Jones seemed to encounter disaster at every turn. “Things just fell apart,” she said. Fences, irrigation equip- ment and farm machinery constantly broke down while the sheep had trouble birthing lambs, leading Jones to ques- tion whether they’d gotten in over their heads when buying the 44-acre farm near Alsea, Ore. “Quite honestly, it was a mid-life crisis,” she said. “We were naive and idealistic. If we’d known a lot more, we probably wouldn’t have done it.” Knowing full well that the couple’s friends in Phoe- nix were taking bets on how soon they’d give up and move back, Jones vowed not to quit. With the help of neighbors and Oregon State University Extension agents, Leaping Lamb Farm gradually found its legs. Much like the pioneers who traversed the Oregon Trail, Jones said she may have underestimated the challenges lying ahead, but she does not regret the venture. The couple bought more land, expanding to 67 acres, and sold lambs both directly to consumers and to larger sheep producers in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Due to the paltry wool market, Jones also switched to raising hair sheep — spe- cifically a cross between Katahdin and Dorper breeds — which had fewer birthing problems and better resistance to parasites, she said. Even as she fine-tuned the operation, though, the farm was just breaking even finan- cially. Capital Press Entire contents copyright © 2017 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Scottie Jones visits with two goats at her Leaping Lamb Farm near Alsea, Ore., where she offers farm stays to visitors interested in agriculture. Added income Since farm chores kept her tied to the property, Jones de- cided to make the operation more profitable by starting a side business on-site. “If I’m not going to leave the farm, what can I do?” she said. Since she’d never been shy about socializing with strang- ers and was familiar with the concept of on-farm lodgings in Europe, Jones decided to open her property to over- night visitors. Jones admits that her busi- ness plan for offering “farm stays” amounted to little more than “build it and they will come.” Although her strategy was rather vague, that’s exactly what happened. After Jones obtained a conditional use permit from the county government and launched a website in 2006, Leaping Lamb Farm was mentioned in four paragraphs of a Sunset magazine story on agritourism. Despite the brevity of the reference, it nonetheless spurred public interest and further media attention. An article mentioning Leaping Lamb Farm in a “foodie” magazine caught the Western Innovator Leaping Lamb Farm Owners: Scottie and Greg Jones Hometown: Alsea, Ore. Purpose: Raising lambs while pro- viding lodgings to agritourists great,” she said. “If you don’t want to help, that’s fine, you’re paying to be here.” Roughly 60 percent of the farm’s guests come from the Portland area, while the rest generally live along the West Coast. Online directory Family: The couple has two grown daughters Ages: Scottie is 63, Greg is 66 Education: Scottie earned a master’s degree in medieval archeology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1980 and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix in 2003. Greg obtained a doctorate in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1978. attention of Kim Hall, a res- ident of Portland, Ore., who wanted to teach her four-year- old daughter about agricul- ture. “I will probably never own a farm myself, so it was an opportunity to see what that’s like,” Hall said. Over the past six years, Hall and her daughter, now 10, have repeatedly returned to Leaping Lamb Farm during different seasons. The experience has changed as her daughter has grown older and become in- terested in new things, she said. “It’s always a different adventure.” ‘Magical’ experience Lisa Peters, another Port- land resident, has been com- ing back to the farm for three years with her two sons, now 13 and 15. “It was magical,” she said, noting that they’ve pitched in with feeding the animals and distributing hay. “I don’t know how well we did at any of the tasks.” Leaping Lamb Farms ap- peals mostly to families, as well as people who are think- ing of leaving behind other careers to start farms, said Jones. Visitors commonly help with chores such as collect- ing eggs and cleaning stalls, but some even assist with tail docking, ear tagging and cas- tration duties. “If you want to help, that’s The “farm stays” even- tually became so popular that Jones had to turn away guests, steering them to oth- er farms that also offer over- night lodgings. Those references led her to another project, the U.S. Farm Stay Association, which provides information about roughly 900 other farms that offer overnight lodgings across the country. Jones created a website for the nonprofit association, also known as Farm Stay U.S., which is sustained by about 133 paying members who are allowed to display additional information and photos. Farm stays appeal to con- sumers because the proper- ty is an attraction, not just a place to sleep, like a hotel, Jones said. “A lot of people think they’re going to go places, but they don’t go anywhere because there’s enough to do here,” she said. To Reach Us Toll free ............................. 800-882-6789 Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff N. California Tim Hearden .................... 530-605-3072 E Idaho John O’Connell ................. 208-421-4347 Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas .......... 208-860-3898 Boise Sean Ellis .......................... 208-914-8264 Central Washington Dan Wheat ........................ 509-699-9099 E Washington Matthew Weaver .............. 509-688-9923 Oregon Eric Mortenson ................ 503-412-8846 Mateusz Perkowski .......... 800-882-6789 Graphic artist Alan Kenaga ..................... 800-882-6789 To Place Classified Ads Ad fax .............................. 503-364-2692 or ...................................... 503-370-4383 Telephone (toll free) .......... 866-435-2965 Online ......www.capitalpress.com/classifieds Subscriptions Mail rates paid in advance Easy Pay U.S. $3.75/month (direct with- drawal from bank or credit card account) 1 year U.S. ...................................$49.99 2 years U.S. .................................$89.99 1 year Canada .................................$275 1 year other countries ......... call for quote 1 year Internet only .......................$49.99 1 year 4-H, FFA students and teachers ....$30 9 months 4-H, FFA students & teachers .....$25 Visa and Mastercard accepted Calendar Sponsored by: To submit an event go to the Community Events calendar on the home page of our website at www. capitalpress.com and click on “Sub- mit an Event.” Calendar items can also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR 97301. 13th Annual Cattlemen’s Work- shop. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Blue Mountain Conference Center, 404 12th St., La Grande, Ore. http://oregonstate. edu/dept/eoarcunion ton St., Post Falls, Idaho. The new Food Safety Modernization Act regulation requires every pro- cessing facility to have a trained resource person or “Preventive Controls Qualified Individual” who has completed a specialized training course (such as this one) developed by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance that is recognized by the FDA. This person will oversee the imple- mentation of the facility’s food safety plan and other key tasks. http://bit.ly/2f6cogT Tuesday-Wednesday Jan. 24-25 Wednesday-Saturday Jan. 25-28 Saturday, Jan. 21 Western Idaho Ag Expo. 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Caldwell Events Center, 2207 Blaine St., Caldwell, Idaho. http://www.spectraproductions.com Tuesday-Thursday Jan. 24-26 Northwest Agricultural Show. Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Drive, Portland, Ore. The hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Tues- day, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Wednesday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Thursday. www.nwagshow.com Washington-Oregon Conference 2017. Three Convention Center, 7016 dridge Blvd., Kennewick, www.potatoconference.com Potato Rivers Gran- Wash. Wednesday, Jan. 25 Central Oregon Forage Sem- inar. 7:45 a.m.-5 p.m. 4-H Clover Club Building, 502 SE Lynn Blvd., Prineville, Ore. Annual forage sem- inar with registration at 7:45 a.m. Sponsored by Central Oregon Hay Growers’ Association, area agri- businesses in cooperation with Ore- gon State University Extension Ser- vice. Cost: Free, including lunch. Wednesday-Friday Jan. 25-27 FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food Course. Idaho De- partment of Labor, 600 N. Thorn- American Sheep industry Asso- ciation Convention. Denver Mar- riott City Center, 1701 California St., Denver, Colo. www.sheepu- sa.org/About_Events_Conven- tion EcoFarm Conference. Asilo- mar Conference Grounds, 800 Asilomar Ave., Pacific Grove, Calif. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Cultivating Diversi- ty.” https://eco-farm.org/confer- ence Thursday, Jan. 26 Tree Seedling Availability Meet- ing. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Clackamas Community College, Clairmont Hall Room 117, 19600 S. Molalla Ave., Oregon City, Ore. Glenn Ahrens and Jen Gorski, OSU Extension Forestry and Natural Resources, will provide local background infor- mation. Mike Taylor of IFA Nurseries will demonstrate a new online sys- tem for ordering trees. Stan Beyer from the Clackamas County Farm Forestry Association will provide in- formation about sourcing seedlings. There is no fee but advance regis- tration is required. Call OSU Exten- sion Service 503-655-8631 or email jean.bremer@oregonstate.edu. Rice Grower Meeting, 8:30 a.m.-noon. Evangelical Church, 5219 Church St., Richvale, Calif. GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE www.oxarc.com http://cecolusa.ucanr.edu Rice Grower Meeting. 1:30-5 p.m. Glenn County Office of Edu- cation, 311 S. Villa Ave., Willows, Calif. http://cecolusa.ucanr.edu Friday, Jan. 27 Rice Grower Meeting. 8:30 a.m.-noon. Colusa Casino Resort, 3770 Highway 45, Colusa, Calif. http://cecolusa.ucanr.edu Rice Grower Meeting. 1:30-5 p.m. Veterans Hall, 1425 Veterans Memorial Circle, Yuba City, Calif. http://cecolusa.ucanr.edu Wednesday, Feb. 1 California Prune Industry Sum- mit. Orchard Creek Lodge, Lincoln, Calif. www.californiadriedplums.org Thursday-Friday Feb. 2-3 Farm Size and Productivity: A Global Look. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. First Floor Auditorium of Pa- triot’s Plaza III, 355 E. Street SW, Washington, D.C. A collaboration of USDA’s Economic Research Service and the Farm Foundation. Researchers and economists from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the U.S. will discuss new research findings on agricultural develop- ment. http://bit.ly/2jkc0eH Thursday-Saturday Feb. 2-4 Organicology 2017. Hilton Port- land and Executive Tower, 921 SW Sixth Ave., Portland, Ore. Topics range from FDA down on the farm to farmworker shortages, regulatory updates and seed selection. www. organicology.org Saturday, Feb. 4 Ties to the Land workshop. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Bayview Community Center, 20298 E. Perimeter Road, Bayview, Idaho. This award-win- ning workshop uses presentations, video clips and interactive exercis- es to help families who own farm, forest or other rural land learn more 20 Northwest Locations about planning for an orderly transi- tion to the next generation. Cost: $35. www.uidaho.edu/ex- tension/forestry Tuesday, Feb. 7 Pesticide Short Course-IPM. 8 a.m.-4:10 p.m. Lane Community College, Center for Meeting and Learning, Bldg. 19, 4000 E. 30th Ave., Eugene, Ore. $85 if regis- tered by Jan. 23; $95 after. http:// extension.oregonstae.edu/lane/ farms Alfalfa U. Canyon Crest Dining and Event Center, 330 Canyon Crest Drive, Twin Falls, Idaho. Learn how alfalfa can contribute to a farm’s profitability. alfalfaU.com Tuesday-Thursday Feb. 7-9 Spokane Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spo- kane Falls Blvd., Spokane, Wash. Spokane Ag Expo is the largest farm machinery show in the In- land Northwest. https://greater- spokane.org/ag-expo/ Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers 2017 Con- vention. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick, Wash. This annual event includes the second largest industry trade show in the nation and a welcome breakfast. wawgg.org Wednesday-Feb. 8 Oregon Clover Growers Annual Meeting. Noon-1 p.m. Holiday Inn, Wilsonville. www.oregonclover.org Wednesday-Thursday Feb. 8-9 The 8th Annual Organic Farm- ing Conference. Canyon Crest Event Center, 330 Canyon Crest Drive, Twin Falls, Idaho. The event is organized by the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesti- cides. www.pesticide.org events 1-800-765-9055 Friday, Feb. 10 University of Idaho Cropping School. 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Best Western Plus Caldwell Inn & Suites, 908 Specht Ave., Cald- well, Idaho. This event will have presentations on fertilizer and ir- rigation water management, crop diseases, falling numbers, soil health, precision ag, unmanned aerial systems and a drone flight demonstration (weather permit- ting). CEUs available. The cost is $20 and includes breakfast and lunch. owalsh@uidaho.edu, 208- 722-6701 Friday-Sunday Feb. 10-12 2017 Women’s Conference. Chico Hot Springs, 163 Chico Road, Pray, Mont. Women’s lead- ership, communication and other agriculture-related topics will be discussed. Sponsored by the Montana Farmers Union. mon- tanafarmersunion.com Tuesday-Thursday Feb. 14-16 World Ag Expo. International Agri-Center, 4500 Laspina St., Tulare, Calif. The nation’s largest agricultural exhibition celebrates its 50th year. www.worldagexpo. com Practical Food Safety & HACCP. The Riverside Hotel, 2900 Chinden Blvd., Boise, Ida- ho. HACCP, or Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points, is a pre- ventive system for the control of health-threatening food hazards during food processing. The com- prehensive three-day workshop is designed for individuals respon- sible for implementing and man- aging a HACCP system in a food processing facility. Participants who pass a final test will receive a certificate of completion. http:// bit.ly/2f2iJ9Q To get information published Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main office or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. Letters to the Editor: Send your comments on agriculture-related public issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital Press. Letters should be limited to 300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday. Capital Press ag media www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com www.AgDirectoryWest.com marketplace.capitalpress.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller www.facebook.com/onlyAGdotcom twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo www.blogriculture.com Index California .............................. 10 Idaho ...................................... 8 Markets ............................... 13 Opinion .................................. 6 Oregon .................................11 Washington ........................... 9 Correction policy Accuracy is important to Capital Press staff and to our readers. If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a headline, story or photo caption, please call the Capital Press news department at 503-364-4431, or send email to newsroom@capitalpress.com. We want to publish corrections to set the record straight.