We will be at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market this Sunday from 10 AM to 2 PM.

Frikeh III – Fixing the Problem

Food, Inc., King Corn, Omnivore’s Dilemma, and a host of other films and books have identified the substantial flaws in our food supply. These problems seem remote and insurmountable, and the best we can do as individuals is to shift our buying habits. When the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) uses its rules to say frikeh and other traditional farm products cannot be sold in a farmers’ market, it brings a local dimension to the problem. Fortunately, we have the ability to initiate constructive changes at the local level.

Farmers’ Markets have been operating in Oregon for almost 30 years. The oldest still operates in Grants Pass. The Portland Farmers’ Market started in 1993 and was originally located in the Albers Mills parking area. These markets allowed nonconventional, small scale farmers to survive. For the first decade or so, the markets were ignored by the ODA. In the mid 1990s, the bureaucracy started to get itchy as markets started to sprout up in urban areas. To address the situation, a couple of market managers sat down with ODA staff and crafted a set of guidelines for vendors. Earlier this year, the agency started an aggressive campaign to increase regulation of farmers’ markets. The agency has decided to draft rules later in the autumn and possibly require licenses for farmers’ market vendors.

Was there an incident that gave rise their concerns? No. For three decades, Oregon’s farmers’ markets have operated safely, and without any reported food borne illness incidents. In fact, this exemplary safety record is reflected nationwide. It is clear that factors other than straight forward food safety concerns are behind the move to further regulate farmers’ markets. After all, the food safety challenges are arising from the complexities of the food industry that is already regulated by ODA and other agencies, not the simple open air farmers’ market. Data and science tell us ODA is moving in exactly the wrong direction.

The Oregon Legislature has never grappled with the question of whether and how to regulate farmers’ markets. There is no policy or set of laws that relate to farmers’ markets. The basic statutes governing food safety were drafted long before farmers’ markets and other direct sales venues became institutions. Leaving ODA to regulate direct sales without an open and public discussion will be disastrous. We believe it is time for the legislature to take a look at how other states regulate farmers’ markets and food production from small scale farms, and come up with a coherent approach for Oregon. We provided several examples of states with more progressive approaches than Oregon.

The reality is, Oregon makes it very difficult for small scale farms to increase the value of their crops. For example, there is a domestic kitchen license, but it requires no pets in the building where the kitchen is located. In our case, we cannot get a domestic kitchen license as long as our beloved Tito lives. Other licenses are expensive and the requirements so burdensome that few farms even explore the option.

There is a land use dimension. Our farm is zoned Exclusive Farm Use, 80 acres, High Value Farmland. This means we cannot divide the land and have few options for the land other than agriculture. We support those laws. That said, because the land use laws are predicated upon the farmer’s ability to manage the land profitably, the state should be circumspect about depriving a farmers the ability to produce a food like frikeh on the land without good cause. Unless there is a clear safety or environmental rationale, farmers should be able to extract as much benefit from their labor on the land as possible.

The interim between sessions is a good time to contact legislators. Senator Jackie Dingfelder (sen.jackiedingfelder@state.or.us) and Representative Brian Clem (rep.brianclem@state.or.us), who chair the legislative committees that oversee agriculture, along with your own legislators, should be contacted. Various groups concerned about food supply and quality also need to initiate the discussion with Sen. Dingfelder and Rep. Clem. If we are going to have a healthy market farm sector, we need to establish separate policies and laws governing the sector. Picking up on the bicycle analogy, it does not make sense to force bicyclists to wear seat belts when a helmets are what is needed.

This is where we need your help. We need as many people as possible to encourage Sen. Dingfelder and Rep. Clem to have their committees to discuss small scale farming and its reliance direct sales venues such as farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture (CSA). We need tiered rules that are grounded in good science and hazard analysis. We need profitable small farms if we want to preserve farmland. We need the state to recognize the fundamental safety of a direct sale between producer and consumer.

There is great concern among farmers and market managers regarding ODA’s push for greater regulation. For most of us, this is time when we are the busiest, and so we need the other leg of the three-legged market stool, our customers, to help us. As things progress, we will keep you updated. Now to pick plums.

Plums:

Imperial Epineuse.

Greens:

Mixed quelites, fenugreek and purslane. This will be the last week for purslane and fenugreek.

Preserves:

The fruit is grown by us, and we process the preserves at Sweet Creek Foods, south a bit of here in Elmira.

Garlic & Shallots

Spuds, new:

Potatoes are born blind, no eyes until they approach maturity. They have thin skin that peels off in layers as the spud grows. Carola is one of the best varieties for new potatoes. True new potatoes are delicate, so use them quickly

Naked Barley and Frumento:

Known in the Wapato Valley as a “salad grains.’

Melons:

We will have some Charentais. Sadly, the warm nights over the last week have reduced the sugar content of this year’s crop. They are good, but not the usual sublime confections. This year we planted more, but also have a higher cull rate than usual. On average, we harvest between 25% and 30% of the melons. Last year, the quality was very high. In this planting, we may not even pull off 5%. We are inclined to think it is a seed quality problem, not the first problem we have had this year. Good melons have a corky webbing on their skin, those lacking the cork are inferior and not worth picking. Most of the field is smooth skinned.

Berries:

“Chester Thornless Blackberry,” hereafter just “Chester.” Thank Zenón for his diligent work in keeping the field cool this week. Despite temperatures over 100 degrees, we had very little damage.

The “Chester” originated in 1968 at the Southern Illinois University plant breeding program at Carbondale. The original cross was done by Robert Skirvin. It is named after Professor Chester Zych, who kept the variety “SIUS 68-6-17″ alive between the time the Carbondale breeding station was closed and variety was officially named in 1985. According to Skirvin, the thornless trait comes from a popular English variety called “Merton’s Thornless.” The Brits have cherished Merton since the 1930s. The plant is “semi-erect” which means it has a strong stem but still needs the support of a trellis. Chester has a very “clean” flavor, the flavor of the wild blackberry amplified. It was named the 2001 “Outstanding Fruit Cultivar Award” by the American Society for Horticultural Science

Commercial growers disparage the Chester because it is very hard to grow well, cannot be machine harvested, is prone to UV damage, and should not be picked before it is perfectly ripe. There is no doubt that the Chester is one fussy customer, but for us it has always returned the affection lavished upon it. It is a great fresh berry out of the hand, and freezes well to boot.

Our good friend, Martie Sucec, gave us this old Gourmet Magazine recipe for Blackberry Slump when we first started at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market in 2002. It is simple to make. It has become a favorite among our Hillsdale customers.

Blackberry Slump

4 cups of fresh blackberries (2 – 3 Pints)
2 teaspoons lemon juice (add some zest, if you like more lemony flavor)
3/4 cup sugar; depending on the sweetness of berries, or to taste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk (whole, 2%, hemp or soy) room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat over to 375 degrees.
Put berries in an ungreased 5- to 5-cup casserole, gratin dish, deep dish or ceramic pie plate and sprinkle evenly with about 1/2 cup of the sugar.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining sugar into a medium bowl.
Add milk and melted butter and whisk until smooth, then pour over berries (don’t worry if berries are not completely covered).
Bake slump in middle of oven until top is golden, 35-45 minutes.
Transfer to a rack and cool 20 minutes.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Courtesy of Martie Sucec and Gourmet Magazine.

Carol and Anthony Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm