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4 CapitalPress.com Friday, April 3, 2020 COVID-19 More Oregonians buying food direct from farms during virus CSA, a direct farm- to-consumer model, is booming during COVID-19 By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press Ambrosia Farm VENETA, Ore. — New unemployment claims in Oregon catapulted nearly 1,500% the last week of March, according to the Ore- gon Employment Depart- ment. But for Brandon Huff and his wife, Phaedra, owners of Ambrosia Farm in Veneta, Ore., this is their busiest sea- son yet. Industry leaders say more people are buying directly from farms to avoid grocery store crowds, shorten the sup- ply chain and secure a reliable food source at a time when store shelves are often empty. “Everyone’s getting laid off and talking on social media about chillin’,” said Brandon Huff. “And over here, I’m busier than ever. It seems like agriculture is full speed ahead.” Experts say subscrip- tions to CSA — Commu- nity Supported Agriculture — have spiked the past few weeks. CSA is a partnership between a farmer and cus- tomer in which a customer pays for a membership share Produce from a CSA box at Ambrosia Farm in Veneta, Ore. Ambrosia Farm Brandon Huff, co-owner of Ambrosia Farm in Veneta, Ore., says this is the busiest season yet for the farm’s CSA. in exchange for a weekly box of fresh produce, meat or other farm goods. Ambrosia Farm runs a CSA program. Members pay a share price at the start of the growing season and receive weekly boxes of colorful cabbage, peppers, strawber- ries, spinach and more. The farm offers both delivery and pickup options. “We’re seeing a major uptick in CSA memberships,” said Holly Hutchason, exec- utive director of the Port- land Area Community Sup- ported Agriculture Coalition, or PACSAC. In the past two weeks, RJ Ewing, operations man- ager for Deck Family Farm in Junction City, Ore., said the farm’s number of CSA mem- bers has leapt from 80 to 125. Kelly Crane, executive director of the Oregon Farm- ers Markets Association and former owner of a 50-mem- ber CSA, said people may be seeking farm-direct food for a sense of stability. “People are feeling a lit- tle food insecure,” said Crane. “Having a relationship with a farmer committed to deliv- ering food every week is reassuring.” Hutchason and Crane said people may also be choos- ing CSAs to sidestep grocery stores and distribution chains. “I you’re concerned about how many people are han- dling your food,” said Crane, “buying direct from the farm is the shortest imaginable sup- ply chain.” Heidi Noordjik, Ore- gon State University’s small farms coordinator, said she thinks CSAs are also gaining traction because more peo- ple are cooking at home and thinking about how they can support local businesses and producers. CSA is unfamiliar to many consumers, said Hutchason, but it’s also new to many farms. Before the virus out- break, said Hutchason, many small farms relied heavily on restaurant sales. With so many restaurants now closed or lim- ited to take-out and delivery, Hutchason called the change a “huge loss for farmers.” Many of these farms, she said, have been forced to adapt by expanding or creat- ing CSAs. Laura Masterson, owner of 47th Avenue Farm in Port- Oakdell Egg Farms and other producers have been scrambling to meet retail demand that has spiked in recent weeks as consum- ers stock up on eggs during coronavirus-induced stay- at-home orders. “Recently we’ve had to do some things we’ve never had to do to allocate product based on availability amid exceptional demand,” said Cliff Lillywhite, Oakdell’s president and co-owner, in a March 30 interview. “This is a once-in-a-life- time situation.” Oakdell is the largest egg producer in the Intermoun- tain West. Shell egg prices have skyrocketed in the past month as demand shifted from foodservice and insti- tutional channels to grocery stores. Retailers respond- ing to the surge in at-home consumption had also been trying to stock up as Easter for a short period of time. … We are doing our best to quickly resolve this issue to better meet your needs.” With foodservice essen- tially shut down, most meals are eaten at home, causing additional demand at grocery stores. “This is the first time I can recall having to limit supply like we have in the last three weeks or so,” he told Capital Press. Lillywhite on March 26 advised retail clients that their egg sales could be 20-25% higher until schools reopen and social distanc- ing is no longer an issue. Oakdell should have enough to cover normal orders, “but the extraordi- nary demand and upcom- ing Easter have resulted in a plummeting, low national inventory of available eggs,” he said. National egg supplies are about a quarter below year-ago levels and at their lowest in several years, he said. Oakdell Egg Farms Cliff Lillywhite of Oakdell Egg Farms says meeting new, much higher demand for retail eggs has been a major challenge. mark eggs sold for $1.66 on Feb. 28 and $3.07 on March 27. Lillywhite’s com- pany operates egg farms in Pasco, Wash.; Franklin, Idaho; and Lewiston, Utah, under the Oakdell and Rite- wood banners. He said on the company website that many stores “are now get- ting back to their normal supply of eggs, but some shortages may still occur approaches. Some short- ages have occurred as a result. USDA reported whole- sale egg prices nearly dou- bled and in some cases nearly tripled between late February and late March. Midwest large white eggs delivered to ware- houses sold for 87 cents per dozen on Feb. 28 com- pared to $2.25 on March 27. California large bench- Farmers markets attempt prepay and drive-thru options to keep industry alive and feed communities By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press California FFA transitions to virtual state convention GALT, Calif. — Much like its neighbors in Oregon, the Califor- nia FFA State Convention is going virtual. The coronavirus pandemic has forced California FFA to can- cel its regularly scheduled conven- tion April 23-26 in Anaheim, where approximately 7,000 members from 338 chapters across the state were expected to gather for meetings, com- petitions and a celebration of the year’s accomplishments. Instead, the association is planning a virtual event with sessions streamed online to comply with state and fed- eral social distancing requirements. Oregon FFA did something sim- ilar earlier this month, live-stream- ing video over Facebook, which drew thousands of views. “Our primary focus is student safety,” said Matt Patton, executive director of the California FFA Associ- ation, Foundation and Alumni. “There was no way we could bring students together in the current climate. It’s just not ethical or safe.” Patton said it would not be feasible to reschedule an in-person convention given the fluidity and uncertainty of the situation. Schools and businesses across the West have closed to prevent spreading COVID-19, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered all residents to stay at home except for essential needs, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy. That leaves a virtual convention as the best option going forward, said Dane White, an agriculture teacher at Galt High School near Sacramento and assistant state FFA advisor. White said California FFA has reached out to several other states whose conventions were canceled due to coronavirus — including Oregon FFA, which streamed speeches and retiring addresses from state FFA offi- cers earlier this month over Facebook Live. LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 04/06/2020. The sale will be held at 10:00am by METROPOLITAN P&C 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2014 BMW 320 4DR VIN = WBA3C3C58EP661297 Amount due on lien $1,375.00 Reputed owner(s) STEPHANIE A ELOFF BMW BANK OF NORTH AMERICA LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 04/13/2020. 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Statewide, farmers markets are adopting safety procedures and seeing a huge spike in sales, said Kelly Crane, exec- utive director of the Oregon Farmers Market Association. “We’re seeing a decrease in visitation but a dramatic increase in sales, as people send fewer family members to market but buy more,” said Crane. “As people are expe- riencing bare grocery store shelves, they’re turning to their local supply chain to fill those gaps.” Consumers say they are choosing farmers markets to avoid grocery stores, shorten the supply chain, eat fresh pro- duce, secure a dependable food source in a time of insecurity and support local producers. “My husband has compro- mised lungs, so we’ve taken the quarantine very seriously, and we’re not going to gro- cery stores,” said April Geiger, customer of the Oregon City Farmers Market. “When the market rolled out an app to pre- pay and had us drive through to pick up the food, I thought, ‘This is the way to go.’ It felt so right, so responsible.” Across Oregon, according to Crane of OFMA, farmers markets have been testing new strategies. The past few weeks, said Crane, markets have slashed unnecessary programs, kept sick workers home, used colored tape to keep people apart and set up hand-sanitiz- ing stations. By the end of March, said Heidi Noordjik, small farms coordinator at Oregon State University, some markets had switched to prepay and drive- thru options only. OFMA recently hosted a statewide meeting over Zoom, a conference call platform, during which 45 market man- agers said they were interested in this new model. “It’s pretty breakneck speed,” said Crane. “Trans- forming an industry overnight is not an easy task.” Melissa Streng, a farmer at Sun Love Farm and vendor at the Oregon City Farmers Mar- ket, said adjusting has been a challenge. “It basically changed my business model overnight,” said Streng. “But as a farmer, I have to adapt to changing situ- ations all the time.” Streng, who is pregnant, said although she misses the closer interactions with cus- tomers, she’s grateful for the new practices at a time when she’s “not comfortable sell- ing in the traditional market setting.” Other farmers have applauded the new system. Gus Liszka, co-owner of Naked Acres Farm in Portland, Ore., is trying to keep up with record meat sales. She said she appreciates the changes Hillsdale Market, where she is a vendor, has made by also switching to prepay and pick- up-only. Liszka is also a ven- dor at Hollywood Market, where pre-order options are still in progress. “We farmers want to be safe, too,” she said. “Frankly, I’m scared of handling cash.” FLAT CARS- THE BETTER BRIDGE Free Site Survey S182033-1 LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 04/06/2020. The sale will be held at 10:00am by AIG PROPERTY CASUALTY COMPANY 2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR 2018 KW TK VIN = 1KXYP49X8JJ198770 Amount due on lien $1,375.00 Reputed owner(s) TW TRANSPORT INC BMO HARRIS BANK/WIL HUNT LLC S179869-1 By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press often required up-front. For example, a payment for six months of produce may be due this spring to cover farmers’ planting and other expenses. In the midst of a pan- demic, said PACSAC’s Hut- chason, more farms are cre- ating payment options, such as smaller shares or pay- ments by the week or month, for consumers who can’t afford to pay up front. “It’s a huge stretch for farmers not to ask for the capital at the front of the season,” said Hutchason. “It’s a sacrifice. It shows their commitment to feeding their communities.” PACSAC, said Hutcha- son, processes SNAP bene- fits, formerly known as food stamps, so consumers can use SNAP benefits to buy CSA shares and so farmers can focus on farming. Double Up Food Bucks, a related program, allows farmers to offer up to $200 in matching funds to sub- scribers who use SNAP to pay their shares. “It’s a big time of change for CSA,” said Crane. “But small farmers are hustlers. They’ve gotta be. They’re the original gig economists. They’ve always had to be innovative and responsive, so they’re really well-ori- ented to pivot during a cri- sis to keep feeding society.” Farmers markets changing structure, seeing record sales during pandemic Egg prices surge as demand spikes By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press land, Ore., has run a CSA for 24 years and also sells to restaurants. Masterson said the farm has about twice as many CSA sign-ups now as this time last year, and after restaurants shut down, over 50 current members signed up for an extra weekly box of vegetables. Aaron Nichols, co-owner of Stoneboat Farm in Hills- boro, Ore., said about 60% of sales are typically to restau- rants—including about 300 pounds per week of salad greens. With restaurants closed, Nichols plans to dou- ble the number of available CSA shares. He predicts CSA crops won’t be as profitable as restaurant crops but said he’s “incredibly grateful” for the community support. “Farms are responding to this crisis really creatively,” said Crane of OFMA. “It’s early enough in the season that they’re trying to shift their models in advance of harvest.” Crane said across the state, numerous small farms have set up online ordering systems such as Barn2Door and Farmigo, coordinated home and curbside delivery options and created pick-up sites. Many farms are also strategizing how to make CSA more affordable. One common criticism of CSA is that payment is • Lower Cost • Custom Lengths up to 90' • Certified Engineering Services Available • Steel Construction Contractor License # 71943 P.O Box 365 • 101 Industrial Way, Lebanon, OR 97355 Office: 541-451-1275 Email: info@rfc-nw.com www.rfc-nw.com S181829-1