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2 CapitalPress.com Friday, August 21, 2020 People & Places Heirlooms rule at tomato farm By JULIA HOLLISTER For the Capital Press EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER Established 1928 REEDLEY, Calif. — Amber Balakian remem- bers growing up on the fam- ily farm — going to farmers markets, playing in the irri- gated rows of vegetables and eating fresh produce right off the vine. “My great-grandfather, Zadig Balakian, came over to live during the Armenian genocide,” she said. “My grandmother, Stella, met my grandfather, John Bala- kian, and began farming the Fresno County ranch that we still continue farming today.” The 20-acre certified organic farm now boasts 50 varieties of tomatoes as the primary crop. Amber credits her mother with transitioning to heir- loom tomatoes in the 1990s as a means of developing a niche in the marketplace. The farm also grows organic peaches, nectarines, plums, pomegranates, figs, grapes squash, eggplants and Armenian cucumbers, according to its website. Amber has also devel- oped a line of “Organic Blended Heirloom Toma- toes” in jars that can be used as a tasty ingredient for a variety of dishes and a “Not So Bloody Mary Mix” for cocktails using the blemished tomatoes. “I was determined to find a way to create value from the non-valued, and so I set out to create some- thing beautiful, unique and delicious...,” she said on the farm’s website. Not all of the tomatoes are harvested at the same time. “Tomatoes ripen from the bottom up and each variety differs in when they are ready,” she said. “With heirlooms, it really depends on certain factors like the Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................... Editor & Publisher Western Innovator Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor Jessica Boone ............ Production Manager Samantha McLaren ....Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2020 AMBER BALAKIAN Hometown: Reedley, Calif. Age: 34 Education: B.A., econom- ics, University of Califor- nia-San Diego, master’s degree in management and operations, Harvard University Occupation: Fourth-gen- eration owner-manager Balakian Farms Jesse Segovia Amber Balakian, 34, in Balakian Farms’ greenhouse. She is the fourth-generation owner-manager of the 20-acre farm in Reedley, Calif., that grows 50 varieties of or- ganic heirloom tomatoes. Personal statement: Matthew 17:20: “Jesus replied, Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 2870 Broadway NE, Salem OR 97303. 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. To Reach Us Circulation ...........................800-781-3214 Email ........... Circulation@capitalpress.com Main line .............................503-364-4431 News Staff Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas ..............208-860-3898 temperature, variety, etc., which can change from year to year.” Balakian’s favorites are the Marvel Stripe, a gold- and-red tomato that can grow to 4 inches in diam- eter, and the Chocolate Stripe, a dark red heirloom tomato with dark green stripes. Because the farm is organic it can run into issues with pests. Nematodes are the most common pests in the area, she said. In addition, another pest has attacked her busi- ness and many others — COVID-19. Balakian said the virus has taken a bite out of the farm’s sales, primarily to restaurants, which were closed or shifted to survival mode with carry-out orders. Many of her customers are chefs and restaurants, so the closures have had an severe impact. Farmers market atten- dance has also been lower, cutting into sales. However, markets have started selling community supported agriculture sub- scriptions that have helped offset some of the sales decreases. The Balakians are also regulars at one of San Fran- cisco’s most prominent farmers markets. “The Balakians have been a part of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market for more than 20 years,” said Christine Farren, executive director of CUESA, which operates the market at the city’s Embarcadero. “Gen- erous in nature, committed to their craft, and talented in farming, they have a loyal following.” As an inter-generational farm with deep roots in the Central Valley, they exem- plify sustainable farm- ing with their dedication to organic stewardship and preserving delicious heir- loom varieties, Farren said. At a time when the indus- try needs young farmers more than ever, she said it is inspiring to see next-genera- tion women farmers such as Amber innovating through value-add products, while carrying on the family farm- ing legacy. “It is equally important that Amber, who is Arme- nian and African American, reshape the public’s perspec- tive of who can be a farmer, as diversity in farm owner- ship strengthens our food system and enables greater equity,” Farren said. Nursery offers plant sales with a conscience By GAIL OBERST For the Capital Press PORTLAND — Here’s a new word for your urban dictionary: plantfluencer, a portmanteau describ- ing influential people in the social networking world of retail nurseries. Portland’s Birds & Bees Nursery co-owner Amanda Simard modestly says she doesn’t deserve the plantflu- encer title bestowed on her and sev- eral others in June in a Los Ange- les Times story about Black nursery owners. Simard and co-owner Caitlin Gaul have owned the boutique Southeast Portland nursery for eight years. “Caitlin actually does all the social media,” Simard said. The small nursery has been a lightning rod for publicity. In addi- tion to the L.A. Times, the Portland Monthly, the Bee in Gladstone, the Oregonian and several social net- working sites have followed the nurs- ery’s activities, from its opening in 2012 to its services during COVID- 19 closures, and its monthly fundrais- ing promotions for Black Lives Mat- ter and other social justice groups. Gail Oberst/For the Capital Pres Amanda Simard, left, and Caitlin Gaul are owners of Portland’s re- tail urban nursery, Birds & Bees. The nursery promotes social jus- tice causes at once-monthly sales events. Birds & Bees gathers stock from dozens of wholesale nurseries. The two women are Portland natives whose friendship was forged while attending Lincoln High School. Both say they developed an inter- est in gardening because they liked working outdoors. They developed an interest in retail sales while they were both employed at Finnegan’s Toys & Gifts, a downtown Portland shop. After a few years of working for someone else, they began to think of owning a business. “We wanted to open our own place,” Simard said. For a year before they opened, the pair sought help developing a busi- ness plan from Mercy Corps North- west. The Mercy Corps provides training, financial services, grants, loans and coaching for would-be small business owners like Simard and Gaul. The Corps events and classes in Portland are funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration. With plans in hand, Simard and Gaul opened their nursery on SE Gladstone Street. Three years ago, they moved to a busier intersection at 50th and Powell, about a mile east of their first place. Before COVID-19 moved buying habits into isolation, the small house- turned-nursery featured gift items, cards and house plants inside with nursery plants displayed outside. Now, the nursery has curtailed its open hours and limited its in-per- son shopping to outside displays and sales. But to offset the inconvenience of shortened hours, the women have added a popular service: customers within the city can now order plants and supplies online and have them delivered contact-free. The nursery caters to urban gar- deners, and to those who may not have large, or any, gardening space. Houseplants and terrarium supplies take their place alongside seeds, tools, pots, vegetable starts, flowers, succulents and cacti and Northwest native plants, trees and ornamentals. The nursery’s products are listed on its website, http://www.birdsand- beespdx.com/, along with instruc- tions for ordering. The business also has active Instagram and Facebook sites. Although there are dozens of nurs- eries within 25 miles of Birds & Bees, Simard and Gaul have gathered to the Tabor neighborhood products from dozens of area growers and suppliers including Yaquina Nursery, Weber’s Wholesale, Little Prince of Oregon, Fothergill’s Tropicals, Orchid Tropi- cal Nursery and Potted Elephant. Boise Brad Carlson .......................208-914-8264 Western Washington Don Jenkins .........................360-722-6975 Eastern Washington Matthew Weaver ................509-688-9923 Oregon George Plaven ....................406-560-1655 Mateusz Perkowski .............800-882-6789 Sierra Dawn McClain ..........503-506-8011 Designer Randy Wrighthouse .............800-882-6789 To Place Classified Ads Telephone (toll free) ............800-882-6789 Online ...........CapitalPress.com/classifieds Subscriptions Mail rates paid in advance Easy Pay U.S. $4 /month (direct withdrawal from bank or credit card account) 1 year U.S. ...........................................$55 2 years U.S. ........................................$100 1 year Canada .....................................$275 1 year other countries ...........call for quote 1 year Internet only .........................$49.99 1 year 4-H, FFA students/teachers .......$30 9 months 4-H, FFA students/teachers ..$25 Visa and Mastercard accepted 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 information 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 Hikers rescued after close encounter with mother cow, calf By MARGO CRAIG Capital Press A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew res- cued an elderly couple injured when a cow chased them off the trail in the Lynch Canyon Open Space Park in Northern California. Officers with the CHP Golden Gate Division report the hikers came across a cow Aug. 11 with her calf on the trail. The cow charged as the hikers tried to pass, causing them to fall and sustain minor injuries. A CHP helicopter responded to the 9-1-1 call with Solano County firefight- ers and medics. Once the helicopter located the couple on the trail, a flight paramedic determined the couple needed a lift to the trailhead. Video posted online by CHP shows a black cow and calf standing a few feet away from the elderly couple on a barren, rocky slope. The cow bellows as the helicopter hov- ers overhead. The flight paramedic used the helicopter siren to scare THROUGH FRIDAY AUG. 21 R-CALF USA annual conven- tion: The Lodge at Deadwood, 100 Pine Crest Lane, Deadwood, SD. Topics will include antitrust enforcement, trade reform, global- ization and animal welfare as well as an update on R-CALF’s lawsuit against the four big packers. Con- tact: 406-252-2516 Website: http:// www.r-calfusa.com TUESDAY, AUG. 25 WSTFA Annual Golf Tour- nament: 8 a.m. Highlander Golf Course 2920 Eighth St. SE, East Wenatchee, Wash. Join us for the 27th Annual Washington State Tree Fruit Association Golf Tournament. Your participation in our tourna- ment helps raise money to sup- port scholarships that are awarded to students in honor of past tree fruit industry leaders. As part of our tournament, we are doing a silent online auction of the Washington apple No. 3 license plate. Website: https://wstfa.org/golf-tournament/? WEDNESDAY AUG. 26 Teleconference on plan to raise Anderson Ranch Dam (online): 6 p.m. Public comments taken on Draft Environmental Impact State- ment through Sept. 14. Website: https://www.usbr.gov/pn/studies/ boisefeasibility/index.html Safety Lockout-Tagout (webi- nar): 1 p.m. In this free one-hour webinar we will cover the require- ments of 29 CFR 1910.147 Control of Hazardous Energy, provide best prac- tices that can be applied immedi- ately, discuss some common issues and discuss some methods to ensure your program is compliant. Informa- Press. Letters should be limited to 300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday. the cow and calf away before hoisting the couple, one by one, to the trailhead, where Solano County medics trans- ported them to a local hospital. Officials did not release the hikers’ names. According to the park bro- chure, Lynch Canyon is a working ranch on the Solano Land Trust northeast of the Bay Area. Grazing sheep and cattle help minimize weeds and wildfire risk. Cows are protective of their young, and visitors are advised not to get between a calf and its mother cow, the brochure warns. “Cattle are not aggres- sive by nature,” the brochure says, “but they are curious about the visitors that share their trails.” tion: 208-426-3820, janehokanson@ techhelp.org Website: https://tech- help.regfox.com/lockouttagout features rodeo events and entertain- ment. Website: http://tfcfair.com Dairy .......................................................7 THURSDAY SEPT. 17 Opinion ...................................................6 CALENDAR Submit upcoming ag-related events on www.capitalpress.com or by email to newsroom@capital- press.com. mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital Capital Press ag media CapitalPress.com FarmSeller.com MarketPlace.capitalpress.com facebook.com/CapitalPress facebook.com/FarmSeller twitter.com/CapitalPress youtube.com/CapitalPressvideo Index WEDNESDAY- MONDAY SEPT. 2-7 Twin Falls County Fair: Twin Falls County Fairgrounds, Filer, Idaho. The fair will include exhibits, judged FFA and 4-H shows, entertainment and carnival rides. Website: https://www.tfcfair.com/ THURSDAY-SUNDAY SEPT. 3-6 The Magic Valley Stampede: Twin Falls County Fairgrounds, Filer, Idaho. The Magic Valley Stampede Small Farm School 2020 (online): Small Farm School 2020 has reconfigured its offerings to present a webinar series that will be offered twice weekly from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays starting on Sept. 17 and running through Nov. 19. Registration for the school is open. Website: http:// blogs.oregonstate.edu/smallfarm- school/ Fee: $35 Contact: Clint Tay- lor, 979-820-3980 or clint.taylor@ oregonstate.edu Markets .................................................10 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.
