2B | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS
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some for us to sell.
Hopefully, they left
some of the big ones.”
The Crays charge $2
for a pint of blueberries
and when asked how
they can charge so little
and make money, they
both responded with big
smiles and looked at
each other before Duane
said quietly, “We don’t
really make money, we
just hope we can kind of
break even — and that’s
ok for now,” he said. “We
have talked about rais-
ing our prices, but
Debbie thinks it is a
tough time to do that to
our customers.”
The Cray’s are very
aware of the COVID-19
related challenges posed
to visitors to the farm
and have changed the
way customers can pur-
chase and pick their ber-
ries.
“We have posted on
our Facebook page, ask-
ing customers to bring
their own containers, we
also have sanitizer and
will weigh their contain-
ers so they can pick and
just take the container
home,” Debbie said.
Masks are recom-
mended at the farm and
there is a good deal of
space to allow pickers to
spread out.
Debbie is the more
talkative of the Crays, as
Duane tends to the
plants and also works on
the new barn and studio
the couple are building.
They have plans to
expand the farm and
eventually incorporate
music and a wider
assortment of food for
visitors to purchase. All
of those plans are on
hold as the COVID pan-
demic has pressed the
pause button on the
growth the couple had
hoped to complete.
Ready
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visit www.KeepOregon-
Green.org/prevent-wild-
fires.
Above all, know your
risks and be prepared for
them. OEM’s 2 Weeks
Ready initiative offers a
real way each of us can help
ourselves and our commu-
nities prepare for the next
emergency.
2 Weeks Ready encour-
Fishing
from 1B
Cutthroat trout fishing
opened May 22 on the
Alsea River and trout fish-
ing has been good
throughout the basin. The
rivers are dropping quick-
ly into more normal sum-
mer flows but are still pro-
viding good conditions for
trout fishing and will pro-
vide good opportunities
through the summer
months.
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Duane and Debbie Cray, who bought Clearlake Blueberry Farm in 2016, are hop-
ing to offer additional food items and venues as the farm expands its options.
They have made some
progress, finishing the
new barn to hopefully
increase future sales.
“We built a chicken
coop and maybe in a
year or two we will have
eggs for sale too,” said
Debbie.
Of course, by that
time they will have spent
a considerable sum for
the new coop, Duane
pointed out, smiling
again, in addition to
costs like fencing, food,
medicine and other
chicken-related needs
But making money is
not the ultimate goal for
the Crays, who are con-
tent to slowly build a
customer base while
improving their land
and the quality of the
fruit their land produc-
es.
The interest in the
health benefits of
high-level antioxidant
foods like blueberries
continues to drive scien-
tific research into the
tart, indigo fruit.
And the numbers of
visitors to Clearwater
grows each year as well.
The importance of the
blueberry crop to the
overall economy of
Oregon is significant
and has been rising each
year since 2009, when
the state produced 47.2
million pounds for con-
sumption.
In 2019, production
figures show a total
more than three times
higher at 153 million
pounds
harvested,
according to the Oregon
Blueberry Commission.
This annually increas-
ing tonnage was grown
by only 330 growers.
The total number of
acres dedicated to the
cultivation of blueber-
ries in the state has
grown from 6,100 acres
in 2008 to 14,500 acres
in 2019.
The first pickers of the
season at Clearlake
Farms on Saturday came
from as far as British
Columbia, Seattle and
Portland, along with a
number of area resi-
dents.
There were couples
and families excitedly
spilling out of shiny
SUV’s with obvious
excitement as they
walked among the tall
blueberry laden bushes.
The deep color — or
more ripened — blue-
berries is due to their
high levels of anthocy-
anin, which is a flavo-
noid that has been iden-
tified as having benefi-
cial effects on many
bodily systems related to
circulation, cognition
and energy levels.
America is the world’s
leading producer of
blueberries and more
than 700 million pounds
were grown for con-
sumption in 2019.
For more information
about
Clearlake
Blueberry Farm, the
Crays post regular berry
updates on the farm’s
Facebook page and are
hoping to remain open
for about five more
weeks this season.
ages Oregonians to prepare
to be on their own for a
minimum of two weeks.
This empowers individuals
and communities to count
on themselves and each
other, especially in the af-
termath of a major disaster
such as a wildfire or earth-
quake.
It’s also a great way to
mitigate the effects of
events such as heat waves,
power outages, and even
COVID-19 as people may
need to isolate at home for
as long as 14 days.
“It’s all about know-
ing the risk so you can
plan ahead to reduce that
risk,” says OEM Director
Andrew Phelps. “Disas-
ters don’t wait for us to be
ready, and they can be due
to any number of hazards.
Preparing for disaster can
be overwhelming but 2
Weeks Ready is an achiev-
able goal. You don’t have to
get there today, but you do
need to start now.”
OEM has created a short
video to show Oregonians
the basics of a 2 Weeks
Ready kit, including face
coverings and hand san-
itizer. Everyone’s kit will
look different so be sure to
customize for you and your
family.
For more information
on preparedness resourc-
es, visit www.oregon.gov/
oem.
SALMON RIVER:
Cutthroat trout, fall
Chinook
Fall Chinook fishing
opens on the Salmon
River on Aug.1. Expect
fishing to be slow at the
beginning of August but
things typically start to
pick up at the end of the
month and into
September.
SILETZ RIVER:
Summer steelhead, fall
Chinook, cutthroat trout
Summer steelhead fish-
ing is still slow on the
Siletz River but overall it
has improved in the last
few weeks. The higher
than normal flows in June
and early July changed the
migration timing and
these fish and they are
finally starting to stage in
the upper portions of the
river and gorge sections.
The high and cooler
water has slowed the
migration this year but
now we are in a more typ-
ical summer pattern and
the fish seem to be
responding, moving up
into the gorge where there
is better summer holding
water. Fish numbers
should keep increasing
through the month of July
and into August.
Spring Chinook fishing
closes on Aug. 1 above the
Ojalla boat ram. Anglers
are reminded that the bag
limit has been changed for
the 2020 spring Chinook
season to 1 fish per day
and 1 for the year.
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