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CapitalPress.com
Friday, March 4, 2022
People & Places
Unique crop adds spice to farm
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
KELSEYVILLE, Calif.
— When Simon Avery and
Melinda Price were consid-
ering going into farming,
they wanted to find a unique
crop, not one that hundreds
of other farms across Califor-
nia were already growing.
The pair met in 2016, and
their conversation had turned
to farming and finding that
niche crop.
They ruled out several
options.
Mushrooms were elimi-
nated because they involved
working inside a dark ware-
house. Hops need too much
water, and vanilla was not
suited for the Northern Cali-
fornia climate.
But saffron checked all
the boxes. The rare and
expensive spice needed rel-
atively little water, making it
perfect for the Mediterranean
climate, and no one in the
region was growing the crop.
They founded Peace
and Plenty Farm near
Kelseyville, Calif., and soon
had what they call the largest
organic saffron farm in North
America.
Saffron is used as a sea-
soning and as a fragrance. It
is also known as the “sun-
shine spice” not only for
its golden color but for its
mood-boosting qualities. It is
grown along the north shore
of the Mediterranean Sea and
in Turkey and southern Asia,
but only a few farms in the
U.S. raise the spice.
Established 1928
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................... Editor & Publisher
Anne Long ................. Advertising Director
Western
Innovator
Samantha Stinnett .....Circulation Manager
Entire contents copyright © 2022
MELINDA PRICE
AND SIMON AVERY
dba Capital Press
Owners: Peace and Plenty
Farm.
An independent newspaper
Location: Kelseyville, Calif.
Occupation: Farmers
Education: Melinda has
a bachelor’s degree from
University of the Pacific
in Stockton; Simon has a
bachelor’s degree from the
University of London.
Simon Avery and Melinda Price of Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, Calif.
“Simon (Avery) and I pur-
chased the 7.3-acre property
in 2017, and had our first saf-
fron harvest that year, said
Melinda Price. “We opened
the farmstand in 2018.”
The property was once
known as “Gaddy Ranch,”
and had been homesteaded
in the 1800s.
Here’s the growing cycle
of saffron:
Saffron corms — a bulb-
like structure — remain
dormant through the sum-
mer and are planted in late
August and early Septem-
ber. They “wake up” in
response to falling autumn
temperatures. The corms
send up shoots in October,
and bloom from mid-Octo-
ber through mid-November.
That’s when the saffron
is harvested by hand and the
stigma — the saffron spice
— is separated by hand.
The bloom is over
by November, when the
corms put their energy into
growing leaves and roots
through winter and spring.
“Mother corms” planted
deeper yield higher-quality
saffron.
By late spring or early
summer, the leaves begin to
yellow, eventually turning
brown and dying back, indi-
cating that the corms have
gone back into dormancy
for the summer. Each corm
forms new bulbs. This is how
the plant multiplies.
“We sell our saffron at
our on-site farmstand, on
our website and to stores and
boutiques across the coun-
try,” Price said. “All the
packaging and processing is
done in a specially built facil-
ity on the farm.”
On their website, 1 gram
of saffron sells for $75. One
ounce is equal to 28.3 grams.
They also sell 4.6 ounces of
saffron-infused raw honey
for $20.
The price is so high
because picking the flow-
ers and obtaining the saffron
“threads” is all done by hand.
One flower produces about 7
milligrams of dried saffron.
That’s equal to about 0.0002
ounces.
Website: www.peaceplen-
tyfarm.com
Personal quote: “At Peace
& Plenty Farm, our goal is
to build a thriving organic
farm that creates a place
for the community to
gather, a place for children
to learn and to contribute
to an economy of local and
sustainable agriculture.”
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group File
Pilot Rock Rural Fire Protection District crews and fire-
fighters from other departments extinguish a fire last
year in Pilot Rock, Ore. Senate Bill 1582 in the Oregon
legislature would allow rural fire districts to annex ar-
eas within 7 road miles of a fire department.
pony up for the service.
“Essentially, it would give
fire protection districts the
right to annex folks 7 miles
from their station into your
district,” he said. “It’s not
something we really want to
do, to force people, right?”
Instead, Kretschmer said
his department would focus
on using the legislation as a
tool to educate residents not
covered by the district about
their options, and give them
the ability to join if they
choose.
According to Kretschmer,
more than 40,000 acres in
Union County is not covered
by the fire district.
“We’ve been looking at
ways to let people know,
because not everybody in
the valley knows they don’t
have fire protection,” he said.
“This would be just another
tool that could be used. Now,
you never want to force any-
body to do anything, right, so
our goal is to let people know
that hey, your house is not
protected so there’s a good
chance that you won’t have
a fire department response.”
Kretschmer said dispatch
in Union County can see
whether a house is covered
by the district, and whether
they pay into the essential fire
service. In Umatilla County,
it’s not as clear cut, accord-
Price uses the precious
spice in her cooking.
“My new favorite way to
use it is in tomato sauce,”
Price said “Saffron adds
complexity. It is also yummy
in my morning oatmeal and
coffee.”
ing to Umatilla Fire District
1 Chief Scott Stanton. That
leads to issues when some
fire threatens homes and fire-
fighters scramble to fight a
fire, leaving little time to dis-
cern whether that home is
covered.
“Imagine going to a
fire scene,” Stanton said,
“whether it’s here or Doug-
las County or wherever, and
you go up to a subdivision
and you know that there’s
two homes maybe in there
that have chosen not to pay
the fire district. You may not
know in an emergency sit-
uation which one is pay-
ing and which one isn’t, so
you’re just going to do your
work and then all of the sud-
den they find out they’re not
paying.”
Stanton also said the
discrepancy between who
does and doesn’t pay for
fire services can create
inequalities.
Major renovation of Oregon Trail Interpretive Center starts soon
By JAYSON JACOBY
EO Media Group
BAKER CITY, Ore. — The big-
gest project at the Oregon Trail Inter-
pretive Center near Baker City since it
opened almost 30 years ago began on
March 2.
The $6.5 million makeover is
designed to turn the center, which has
attracted almost 2.4 million visitors,
from an energy hog to a building with
a more modest appetite for electricity.
Achieving that will entail much
more than cosmetic work.
The Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, the federal agency that oper-
ates the Center on Flagstaff Hill about
5 miles east of Baker City, has hired
Hess Contracting of Preston, Idaho,
to replace most items attached to its
frame.
That includes installing new
cement board siding, insulation, roof-
ing, windows and doors.
The contractor will also replace
the heating and cooling system for the
all-electric building.
The Interpretive Center, which has
been closed since November 2020 due
to the pandemic, will remain closed
during the remodeling. Work started in
October to remove exhibits and other
items in preparation for the project.
The work is slated to be finished
in the spring of 2023, but the Cen-
ter will stay closed for several more
months while exhibits and fixtures
are reinstalled.
That’s a shorter duration than
BLM originally expected, said Larisa
Bogardus, public affairs officer for
the BLM’s Vale District.
Initially the agency expected the
remodeling would take more than 2
years.
The impetus for the project was
a nationwide survey comparing the
energy efficiency of BLM buildings,
Bogardus said.
That survey, which included an
inspection of the Interpretive Center in
May 2018, earned the Center the “dubi-
ous distinction” of being the agency’s
least efficient building, Bogardus said.
Among the findings is that the Cen-
ter’s “Energy Use Intensity” — a mea-
sure of its inefficiency — was 170
kilo-British Thermal Units per square
foot. The average for BLM facilities is
84, according to the survey.
The Center when operating had a
monthly power bill averaging $10,000.
The remodel is estimated to reduce
the Center’s energy use by 73%,
according to a press release from the
Vale District.
“We want to be good stewards of
our natural resources,” said Vale Dis-
trict Manager Wayne Monger, whose
office oversees the center. “This
design utilizes high thermal insula-
tion value materials and high effi-
ciency heating and cooling technol-
ogy to counter summer and winter
EO Media Group
published every Friday.
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News Staff
Idaho
Rural fire districts could change under proposed law
LA GRANDE, Ore. —
Rural residents outside city
limits may be brought into a
city’s fire district under a bill
before the Oregon Legisla-
ture, resulting in increased
taxes to pay for the service.
Senate Bill 1582 would
allow rural fire districts to
annex areas within 7 road
miles of a fire department.
That means residents who
might have forgone paying
taxes for fire protection ser-
vices could see an increase
to help fund the departments.
The Senate on Feb. 17 passed
the bill 18-8.
For some fire chiefs, the
legislation would give their
departments the option to
increase taxes. La Grande
Rural Fire District Chief
Craig Kretschmer said his
department is not keen on
making property owners
Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor
energy demands of the site.”
Approximately 16% of the project
is funded through the Great American
Outdoors Act, which allocates up to
$1.9 billion annually for maintenance
and improvements to critical facilities
and infrastructure in national parks, for-
ests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas
and Tribal schools.
During the extended closure, a new
exhibit at the Baker Heritage Museum
in Baker City, scheduled to open in
May 2022, will serve as an Oregon
Trail Experience, with BLM park
rangers on site to provide interpretive
programs.
A series of living history demonstra-
tions and other events will take place
across Grove Street from the Heritage
Museum at Geiser-Pollman Park.
“We recognize the important role
the center plays in telling the history
of Eastern Oregon and the settlement
of the Pacific Northwest,” Monger
said.
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SATURDAY-SUNDAY
MARCH 5-6
Linn Benton Beekeepers
Association Bee School: Day
1: March 5, 9 a.m. to noon, vir-
tually online via Zoom, basic
beekeeping, bee biology, over-
view of beekeeper’s year. Day 2:
March 6, 1 to 3 p.m., hands-on
at Corvallis Waldorf School,
3855 NE Highway 20, cov-
ered outdoor location, bee-
keeping equipment and basic
tasks. Free to paid LBBA mem-
bers. Non-members $25, which
includes membership. To regis-
ter or for more info email, info@
LBBA.us or http://www.LBBA.us/
beeschools/
MONDAY-TUESDAY
MARCH 7-8
Oregon Dairy Farmers
Association Convention: Salem
Convention Center, 200 Com-
mercial St. SE, Salem, Ore. The
convention is the time each
year for our members to net-
work, participate in association
discussions, and learn about
new technology and research
advancements. Website: https://
bit.ly/3GP6Alv
TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY
MARCH 8-9
Oregon Wine Symposium 2022:
Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland.
The Oregon Winegrowers Associa-
tion will host an in-person event and
trade show March 8-9 at the Oregon
Convention Center. The live event
attracts industry owners, directors,
academics, winemakers, viticulturists,
and sales and marketing profession-
als. Website: https://www.oregon-
winesymposiumlive.com/
SATURDAY
MARCH 12
Tour of Sheep Farm and FAM-
ACHA Training: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Grand Ronde, Ore. OSU Extension
and Polk SWCD bring this work-
shop for sheep and goat produc-
ers who would like to be FAM-
ACHA certified and learn more
about small-scale sheep produc-
tion from expert farmers. FAMA-
CHA is a technique used to detect
the signs of barber pole worm, the
most common and costly inter-
nal parasite in sheep and goats.
This technique can be used as
part of your animal health proto-
col to identify animals that should
be dewormed. FAMACHA can help
you save on dewormer costs and
help to reduce parasite resistance
over time. This workshop includes
training by Dr. Chuck Estill, Carl-
son College of Veterinary Medi-
cine at OSU and participants will
receive a FAMACHA certification
and card. Contact: Hayley White,
971-612-0027, Hayley.white@ore-
gonstate.edu
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
MARCH 17-20
Oregon FFA State Convention:
Deschutes County Fair and Expo
Center, 3800 SW Airport Way, Red-
mond, Ore. Oregon FFA members
from around the state will gather to
compete and to learn during their
annual convention in Redmond.
Website: https://oregonffa.com/
state-convention/
Index
Dairy .......................................................9
Opinion ...................................................6
Correction policy
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staff and to our readers.
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