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BY SHANNON FINNELL
Transition Techniques
Conserving the river and an organic conversion
T
Farm managers are still deciding if they
want to keep the old agricultural pond on the
demonstration farm site
PHOTO BY SHANNON FINNELL
he cool waters of the McKenzie River splash in
the background and wet the air as the wind rushes
through the riparian forest. Crops like tomatoes,
lettuce and dry beans populate 40 acres unmarred by
pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Livestock linger as
students visit on a fi eld trip, learning about the crops that
become their lunches, and local farmers experimenting
with new techniques discuss their strategies over test crops.
This is the image of the future shared by McKenzie
River Trust, EWEB, Cascade Pacifi c RC&D, Willamette
Farm and Food and host of other partners collaborating
on the planned demonstration farm at the freshly acquired
Berggren Watershed Conservation area. Dave Ritchie,
cartographer at the Lane Council of Governments and
project overseer, says, “I think what we all envision is a
place that can set an example for how to cope with changes
in agriculture and agricultural markets, especially locally.”
This summer, McKenzie River Trust became the proud
owner of 92 acres of riparian forest and farmland along
the McKenzie River, thanks to EWEB and the BPA’s
donation to compensate for the Willamette Valley Project
(an extensive series of dams) and a contribution from the
original landowners, Richard and Sandra Hunsaker.
Organizers are collaborating to create a 40-acre
organic demonstration farm on the site of what is now
conventionally grown hay. The farm will feature crops that
aren’t widely grown in Lane County but have the potential
to create sustainable local markets. Soil tests in the works
will reveal more about what these crops might be. Ritchie
says the criteria are fairly simple, “Something that can
grow here, something that has reasonable opportunity for
whatever processing might be and something like tomatoes
that people eat regularly or have some other destination
market.”
New farming techniques can be tricky, and venturing
into new markets a risky business. Providing a laboratory
for organic ideas could persuade farmers to commit to a
conversion.
“I think the biggest challenge is fi nancing it because
there’s a lot of input in the transition process,” says Lynn
Fessenden, executive director of Willamette Farm and
Food. “It’s typically a three year process, sometimes
longer. And for those three years, they can’t sell their crops
at a premium price.”
Part of Willamette Farm and Food’s role in the
demonstration farm will be helping the farm and other
local farmers fi nd markets for their transitional organic
produce. “Schools are a good market for transitional crops
that are not certifi ed organic because most schools aren’t
buying all organic,” Fessenden says.
FoodHub, another development intended to help
farmers match their crops to markets belongs to Ecotrust,
a Portland-based conservation group. “FoodHub is like
an online dating service for industrial producers and
consumers,” Ritchie says. Consumers can search for
produce with specifi c attributes, while producers can list
any quantity or location of food that they wish to sell.
Fessenden and Ritchie think that the tool will be useful in
creating a niche market for transitional crops grown on the
demonstration farm and others like it, which have the same
inputs as organic food without the organic certifi cation.
According to EWEB water quality expert Karl
Morgenstern, organic farms around the McKenzie River
can protect the safety of Eugene’s sole source of drinking
water and make a profi t at the same time. “In order to make
agriculture economically viable and to get young people
interested and engage in agriculture as a business again,
we needed to do a number of things to start changing that
paradigm over the next 20 to 30 years,” Morgenstern says.
In addition to abstaining from pesticide and synthetic
fertilizers, Morgenstern plans to protect the river by adding
an extra hundred feet of buffer zone that already separates
the fi elds from the McKenzie. “There will be a buffer of
shrubs and plants that are benefi cial pollinators and beetle
habitat,” Morgenstern says. “Beetles are great predators of
insects.”
Along with the farming being performed by employees
of the demonstration farm, organizers are considering other
options, such as participation from schools. “There’s talk
too about having parts of the farm where other growers can
come in and see if they can do some things to bring back to
their own farm to implement,” Morgenstern says.
Ritchie emphasizes that the groups involved in the
demonstration farm expect to learn a lot from local farmers
during the process. “It’s not like we’re landing and telling
people how things should be done,” he says. “We’re really
expecting to be a collaborative experience with the farmers
in the area.”
The BCA joins Big Island Conservation Area
immediately across the McKenzie, part of McKenzie River
Trust’s plan to support a contiguous wildlife corridor that
allows for the free movement of native species.
Fessenden says that the groups are ready to support that
vision. “We’re excited to partner in whatever way works
best,” she says. “A whole group of us went out there last
ew
spring and started dreaming all sorts of dreams.”
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14 OCTOBER 21, 2010
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