OUR FARM
With endless rows of fruitful trees and our secret garden filled with diverse varieties overlooking Mt Adams, our farmland gives so much. From the little critters to our beautiful community, it’s only right to do everything we can to care and maintain this precious farmland we all get to enjoy.
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
Regenerative farming is an agricultural approach focused on restoring and enhancing the health of ecosystems through farming practices. By working in harmony with natural systems it aims to:
Improve soil health
Increase biodiversity
Promote sustainability
To us, the “ecosystem” includes the community in which we grow.
PRESERVING THE FAMILY FARM & FARMLAND SUSTAINABLY
What we really love about the regenerative agriculture model is that it focuses on outcomes and addressing root causes. This approach encourages curiosity, learning, engagement, and collaboration. We are a regenerative farm for the love of planet and people. Part of sustainability is keeping our family farm in business and keeping the farmland in the business of farming.
One motivator for us to go full tilt into regenerative agriculture was the economic sustainability of our farm. With family farms facing increasing challenges from climate change to global pandemics, astronomical inflation, anti-family farm policies and competing with mega corporate farms, we have had to adapt quickly.
Regenerative agriculture helps keep more farmland in farm use and more family farms in business through sustainable and productive practices. Here’s how:
Improving Soil Health and Productivity.
Economic Viability for Farmers
Enhanced Ecosystem Services
Climate Resilience
Preventing Land Abandonment
Supporting Local Economies
Policy and Incentives
Soil Health
We aim to reduce soil disturbance and focus on its improvement by:
Enhancing soil structure
Building organic matter content
Encouraging healthy microbial activity
Our techniques to reduce soil erosion and degradation include a focus on:
Perennial crops
Minimal tillage
Cover cropping
Crop rotations (specific to our annual flower/vegetable crops)
Increased Yield Potential: Healthier soils with improved structure and fertility can support higher and more stable yields, making farmland more productive and profitable.
Reduced Soil Degradation: Practices like minimal tillage, cover cropping, and composting prevent soil erosion and degradation, ensuring that land remains arable and productive over the long term. This is critical to our success and future generations.
Perennial Crop Farming
Our specialty is growing perennial, no-till crops (tree fruit) and transitioning our flower crops to low or no-till management. No-till perennial farming is the most soil friendly method for our rich soils. We are also emphasizing perennial flower varieties to help improve the ecological benefit of our floral offerings.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity promotes a diverse range of plants, animals, and microorganisms. This includes:
Integrating production systems
Maintaining habitats for pollinators and wildlife
Planting diverse crop species
We found that the best way to manage pests on our farm was to encourage biodiversity. In fact, this is the reason we started growing flowers on our pear farm!
Beyond creating a habitat for beneficial insects and native pollinators, our every day farming practices and decisions make all the difference.
Instead of removing wasps nests on our pear trees, we choose not to harvest those trees. It’s small price to pay for the excellent pest management work they do.
Heavily mulching creates cozy habitats for earwigs that help defend our farm against pests. Beneficial insects are our first line of defense against pests, and maintaining habitats for pollinators and natural predators enhance these essential ecosystem services, reducing the need for chemical interventions and supporting crop production.
Now back to the flowers… we found that the best blooms for bees are native plants, so we have planted over 15 thousand square feet for a native pollinator and beneficial insect habitat on our farm! Learn more about our Bloom & Buzz project here.
There are also undisturbed natural areas, including a stream that runs alongside the family farm which we believe is important to protect because the wild spaces around our farm are for wildlife and plants.
Last, but not least, biodiversity on our farm includes ALL the creatures on it, including people. The people on our farm are a diverse bunch and we are stronger because of it.
Water Conservation
We have completely overhauled the irrigation systems for our other farm locations and are currently in the process of installing a brand new efficient system at our new farm! Beyond the efficiency of the system used to irrigate, the farm must manage with conservation in mind because water management goes hand in hand with soil health.
To help maintain productive farmland, even in the face of drought or heavy rainfall, healthy soil is the key to:
Improved water retention
Reduced runoff
Our cover crop mixes have incorporated tillage radish to help us naturally break up hard soil and build robust soil structure.
OUR PRACTICES
Integrated Pest Management & Holistic Management
Our pest management approach lives within our overall regenerative agriculture practice. to manage pests and diseases, our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) utilizes:
Natural predators
Biological controls
Minimal use of chemical inputs
We are very much focused on outcomes, whereas other pest management approaches (including organic) focuses on inputs.
Holistic Management takes a whole-system approach to farming by considering the interconnections between soil, plants, animals, and humans. This includes planning and decision-making processes that account for long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
This is where George gets to flex his horticultural skills. He takes the lead on pest management and keeps a close eye on balance between pests and beneficial insects. Keeping the balance is key. We have to accept that there will be pests on the farm. After all, the beneficial insects need a food source too.
Mitigating Fossil Fuel Emissions, Energy Conservation
Tree fruits require frost protection in the spring, which is a core farming practice. This means that farmers use different methods to warm the temperature on the farm and fruit to prevent tender blossoms and fruit from freezing. A frost can completely decimate a crop or impact the quality, resulting in devastating economic effects. In the past, farms used “smudge pots”, that are essentially pots filled with diesel that are lit with a wick. Hood River Valley used to wake up to a cloud of thick diesel smog due to this.
When we took over the family farm at other locations, we:
Stopped using smudge pots
Removed and recycled the smudge system
Converted our frost protection system to cleaner burning fuels
Primarily use Frost Fans instead.
On our newest farm, we are currently in the process of making these changes as well.
We also make every effort to reduce our carbon footprint in our day to day operations. We try to:
Plan ahead and make tractor work as efficient as possible to reduce the number of times we are having to drive down every tree row
Let our grass grow a little longer than most would because it saves on the number of tractor miles. (If you want to see golf course style grass head to the local golf course instead! Our farm looks wild on purpose!)
Buy local and sell local whenever possible. It’s important to us that we sell as much of our product locally because most of the pears grown in Hood River Valley are shipped outside our region. We believe every pear counts and any locally consumed pears and flowers are better than none!
Climate Resilience, Carbon Sequestration
No one feels the effects of a changing climate like farmers and farm workers. Over the last decade we’ve been on the receiving end of some major and devastating climate events from unseasonably cold springs, snow during bloom, interrupted and extremely difficult harvest seasons due to wild fires, to scorching 117 degree heat that turned our cherries into dried fruit while on the tree! So, it’s no surprise that climate resilience and fighting global warming are integrated into our practices.
Carbon Sequestration aims to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in the soil. Contributing practices to carbon sequestration include:
Agroforestry
Perennial cropping (flowers and tree fruit)
Enhanced soil organic matter
We leave the pruning debris at the foot of the trees, as well as, use a mulch mower when we cut grass. We also leave natural wild areas along our farms to help provide shelter for wild life and beneficial insects. By increasing soil organic matter and integrating practices that capture carbon, regenerative agriculture helps mitigate climate change, making farmland more resilient to its impacts.
The climate is changing and so we must also. The fact that Regenerative approaches are inherently adaptable (adaptive practice model), allows us farmers to respond to changing environmental conditions and market demands, helping us ensure the ongoing viability of our farm.
Community, Livability, Rural Charm, Connection to the Land
Regenerative approach looks at the full picture, including the community in which we farm. We appreciate the geological origins of the land and honor the original indigenous people to whom this land belonged to prior. We share the cultural aspects of what we grow, who is growing it and how they are integral to the community.
Hood River has a rich farming history that we love to share. We love that Pear farms are still mostly family owned, which is rare in an age of corporate farming. We are so grateful that all the land in Hood River County is not owned by a giant corporate farm. We love that we know our so many families and neighbors are independent farmers and that our kids gets to grow up together. This is what creates the fabric of our community.
Just as we are building resilience in our soil, we must also adapt and build resilience as a community. We are proud to be part of the Hood River Fruit Loop, a community of farms welcoming you to directly purchase from the farmers. We believe it is important for people to get to know who is growing what is on your table, where it is grown and how.
The holistic approach of regenerative agriculture is important to us because we are fighting to preserve this farmland for future generations. The harvest of the present year is not the only harvest that’s important. It is the harvests to come that also matter.
At our farm, we invite you to connect with the farmland and farmers who care for it. In order to help keep family farms in business, it’s important to first understand and learn the challenges we are facing. Saving family farms is critical to maintaining the fabric of our rural community.
We acknowledge that change is inevitable and even welcomed. No one wants to live in winter or summer forever, however, we must make change sustainable.