Extraction distractions

(CSA Newsletter: Summer Week 8 )

Meet this week’s vegetables:

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the farm this weekend for our CSA Open House — it was great to finally share the fields with more CSA members. Those of you who missed this Saturday, you have another chance this year to visit: our final open house of the season will be on Sunday, October 28, from 1 to 4 pm. Hope you can make it!

Unfortunately, a weekend that began well with a successful open house, followed by a beautiful rainy Sunday morning, ended with a significant jolt — of a kind we have come to expect around here. It seems that few weeks go by in our farming lives without a perceived threat of some kind. They vary from time to time, but they are constant enough that we have become used to the sick feeling of dread in our bellies.

This sounds ominous, doesn’t it? It is. We have been meaning to address a related issue for weeks, and I suppose our Sunday afternoon news provides the incentive: Oregon’s farming future is constantly under attack. As young farmers, we feel this routinely, in numerous different ways. Whether it is news of another Measure 37 claim or the potential impact of developments on irrigation water supplies, we cannot ignore or deny that we have entered into a very tenuous way of life and profession.

So, it was not entirely unexpected when a neighbor down the road from us passed on the news that another farmer on the island is in discussions with a rock mining company about the purchase of a 400 acre parcel of Class-1 farmland. At this point, this rumor’s details remain unsubstantiated; however, the spirit of it is unquestionably grounded in reality.

At this time, we already know of one approved gravel-mining claim on the island, set to begin within the next few years. And we also know, from our own Internet research, of another large parcel currently owned by a rock mining company. We’re unsure of whether they have approved claims yet. This additional 400-acre parcel would be a third potential gravel mining site on a small farming island.

What does this mean for us, for the island, for the county, and for the state?

First, the initial step in mining gravel is to remove forever all of the topsoil from a parcel. (Where does the topsoil go? It is sold to unsuspecting gardeners for amending their own plots — something to keep in mind as you shop for soil.) This means that some of the best farmland in the world will be taken out of food production forever. I cannot overemphasize the scale of this loss, for all of us. Now that Casey and I have worked our land for one season, we know intimately the difference good soil makes in growing produce. Grand Island soil is amazing. To lose it is a tragedy on a scale I cannot even begin to articulate.

The second impact is the actual mining process which lasts decades and will involve literally hundreds of trucks driving on and off the island every day. For those of you who visited the island this weekend, you saw our roads: they are quiet, narrow county roads. The last time I heard the plans relating to the approved claim north of here, there are no plans to upgrade any of the infrastructure related to transporting heavy loads of materials at that scale.

Those are just the beginning of our fears. There’s also the seemingly less important but still very real dread of being surrounded by loud, noisy equipment all day long. We farm for many reasons, not the least of which is a desire for a dying way of life: not a simple life by any means, but hopefully a more natural life. In addition to growing vegetables, we also enjoy non-material pursuits such as riding our bikes on quiet county roads and sitting outside in the evenings: these could be lost. In the end, our loss is just one of many in these possible scenarios, but the unknowns weigh on us on so many levels that we can’t always separate them out as we contemplate the future …

We wonder: how will the mining affect available water? How will it shift flood patterns? How will it affect our growing conditions and those of other farmers on the island? Unknown after unknown after unknown — all of which present real potential negative outcomes for the immediate & wider community of farmers and eaters.

We’ve talked to one of the Yamhill County commissioners about the previous mining claim’s approval. As she said, all they have to do is meet a list of criteria and the zoning change is legal. With one claim on the table, maybe that’s ok. But we’re now realizing that the door may have opened to more. Now our question is: at what point do we say that’s not ok? What does it take to preserve a precious renewable resource? A precious resource that is currently being farmed? We’re not talking about vacant land that’s been out of production for decades — all of these claims are on currently productive farmland. Where is the logic of ending that? Especially when Casey and I personally know many would-be farmers that cannot find land to farm?

Wendell Berry writes extensively about the negative impacts of extraction industries. He knows, since his native Kentucky is only now recovering its farmland from a much larger scale mining tragedy. Why do we ignore these lessons now? Perhaps it’s naïve, but I did not expect to see the same actions occurring in 2007 that destroyed farm communities in the early 20th century.

So, that’s our current drama. The news is still fresh and admittedly still unsubstantiated for now. But whether this claim pans out or not, we feel certain that this will be a continued threat to the island indefinitely if nothing is done to more permanently protect the farming future here. What would that look like? We do not have those answers. But we do know that the start to any solution is for people to care. Which is why we’re sharing this news here, even with all the unknowns of the particular situation.

We are only one small farm on the island, and on our own we have little political power. Extraction companies generally represent some big money and influence. We’re daunted even knowing where to begin with something that feels so huge. We can’t help but wonder why we’re even trying to farm in a moment of Oregon’s political history that feels so dead-set against farming.

Why bother? Why subject ourselves to unending threats to our farm business? Why why why?

A million reasons. Too many to count, in the end. Ater a shaky few hours of silence during which we both absorbed our recent shock, we took time to count our numerous blessings. Being here. A field of abundant vegetables. You.

Thank you for your support in this often rocky adventure in farming and eating. We’ll keep you posted on any further developments with this particular issue, if it amounts to anything.

Either way, we hope that you too take a moment to count your blessings. Remember that we are all the receivers of gifts from the ground. May we share in a grateful humility for how tenuous this gift could be without future protection. So, for now, as always, enjoy the beautiful and abundant vegetables that grow out of this amazing place.

Your farmers,

Katie & Casey Kulla
Oakhill Organics

About Edamame

Edamame is a fresh vegetable soybean—that is, a soybean that doesn’t need to be processed to be eaten. They make a great snack or appetizer.

To prepare:

To eat:

Some important CSA business stuff:

1. 2007 Payments: A quick reminder to everyone about payment for the 2007 season. Most folks are paid-in-full, but a few families still have payments left. Check in with Katie at the CSA pick-up for your balance. There’s no rush for the final payments, but we’d prefer for everyone to be ‘paid up’ by the end of the summer season.

2. Fall Season: Our 2007 fall CSA season is more or less full at this time. We will make more room for any current summer CSA members who have yet to sign up, but please let us know by the end of August.

3. 2008 Winter Season: We’re finalizing the details for our first-ever Oakhill Organics winter CSA season. We hope everyone picked up the separate winter info sheet we had at the pick-up site (it will be available for several weeks if you missed it). That should provide most of the details you need in deciding whether to sign up.

But we have one big remaining question: where we will distribute the winter produce. What we’re looking for is someone reasonably close to the current CSA pick-up site who has a garage or carport they’d be willing to provide for box drops Tuesdays/Wednesday mornings. We will offer the hosting family a free share for the season. Also, depending on weather, we may shift to the ‘box drop’ system of distribution for fall this year as well if that’s an option. If you have a garage or other covered space you can offer, please call us: 503-474-7661.

(Also, unfortunately, we will not be able to offer the winter season to our valued coast CSA members — as you know, winter travel between the valley and coast is problematic. Thank you for your understanding!)