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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2017)
8 CapitalPress.com April 14, 2017 Fourth-generation farm looks ahead For the Capital Press Goschie Farms near Silver- ton, Ore., is owned and man- aged by fourth-generation farm- ers Gordon, Gayle and Glenn Goschie. “Our great grandparents were immigrant farmers from Germany, making their way through Ellis Island, the Mid- west and settling temporarily in California, where our grandfa- ther, Carl Goschie, was born,” Gayle Goschie said. In 1904 Carl and Wanda Goschie planted the farm’s sig- nature crop, hops, which contin- ue to be the focus of the business today. The farm’s current loca- tion was established by Herman and Vernice Goschie, the current owners’ parents. Their 1,000 acres under cul- tivation include 500 acres of www.creeksidevalleyfarms.com HAZELNUT TREES: FARM DRAINAGE: McDonald, Jefferson, Yamhill, Wepster Sacajawea, York, Eta, Theta & Felix Installation, Consulting Repairs & Maintenance CALL TODAY FOR A QUOTE & AVAILABILITY PHONE (503) 864-4422 hops, 150 acres of wine grapes and rotational crops of grass seed, sweet corn and grain. In over 130 years in ag- riculture the family has seen many changes: new crops, ir- rigation, internal-combustion engine-driven machinery, pub- lic research and plant breeding, mechanization of harvests, labor supply variations and the scope of their family business expand- ing from local to worldwide. “Throughout all those years each change continues to be refined and expanded, but the one constant is nature,” Gayle Goschie said. “We see it as a partner to work with, not fight against. As we educate ourselves to the potential circumstances of climate change we look at the crops we are growing and the varieties within those crops.” For the last several years, cli- mate change has been a pressing topic of discussion at the wine ONV17-1/#T1D Brenna Wiegand/For the Capital Press Gayle Goschie of Goschie Farms visits Abiqua Creek, which runs through the property. grape symposiums she attends. “The future of our award-winning wine and beer industry depends on it, too,” Goschie said. “Will growing circumstances be the same in 10 or 20 years? Will the irrigation methods we are constantly im- proving upon be enough? And with the air we breathe and the ground we grow crops in, are we doing all we can to sustain those investments for the next gener- ation? … And the scope of our farming now includes sharing those thoughts with our custom- ers and their consumers.” This is no easy task, espe- cially with potential consum- ers across the globe. To that end Goschie Farms chose a third-party certification, Salm- on-Safe, to help with that. “After almost 20 years, Salmon-Safe continues to keep us on target and on our custom- ers’ radar as consumer aware- ness continues to broaden,” she added. “The very nature of our business hinges upon sustain- ability; being stewards of the land is how our industry sur- vives.” Salmon-Safe offers a series of peer-reviewed certification and accreditation programs linking site development land management practices with the protection of agricultural and urban watersheds. Certification requires management practices that protect water quality and restore habitat. In October of 2016 the City of Portland became the first city in the world to achieve this cer- tification across city operations and has challenged other cities to do the same. The Goschies are happy that Oregon’s larg- est city has adopted for every park and byway the sustain- ability practices they’ve been doing on the farm for nearly two decades. “And as we al- ways wish to point out, so many of our farming neigh- bors are doing the same,” add- ed Glenn Goschie. “It’s a great time for Ore- gon Agriculture and those of us multi-generational busi- nesses that have built it and maintain it,” he said. Eliminate destructive gopher damage with the first and only ® ® ( Pressurized Exhaust Rodent Controller ) which can substantially reduce rodent populations in a single treatment. ® Call TOLL FREE 855-667-5181 ONV17-7/#5 Manufacturing & Sales or call (530) 640-3981 www.hmgophercontrol.com ONV17-2/#5 By BRENNA WIEGAND
