2012 Salute to:
Women in Agriculture
Published by The Headlight Herald
Salute To Agriculture • May 23, 2012 • 2
Welcome to our fourth Salute to Agriculture! This year features jobs that women hold in Agriculture. I’ve traveled the county six years interviewing farmers for the Headlight Herald. I’ve noted that an obvious trend has arisen: the majority of the folk I interview have been female. From working small acreage farms, to small food-based businesses, to working alongside male business partners on dairy farms, women are taking to farming like never before. Well, actually, that isn’t quite true. What may be a bit more accurate is that women have come full circle in their farming pursuits. Farm women have a long history of tending substantial gardens, canning, preserving and cooking. A century ago, these jobs belonged to women while men performed the bulk of the jobs requiring more labor. Men worked on tractors, tended sick animals and lifted
heavy feed sacks. Men sat in meetings and made decisions for the farm as well. But, here in our county, just like the rest of the country— the Denise Porter face of farming is changing. A century ago, farms were small, then they grew—often to hundreds of acres—and now we’re seeing small farms dot the landscape alongside larger farms. And in Tillamook County, women, by and large, are responsible for many, if not most of those small farms. Not only do they grow, harvest
and preserve food for others, they play the role of bookkeeper and sales person. In their roles on dairy farms, women partners have accomplished these goals for decades, it seems. But now they are also tending sick cattle as veterinarians, hauling livestock as truck drivers and oftentimes caring for children too. And they are incorporating technology in ways never imagined by their mothers. They are maintaining farm Facebook pages and web sites, interfacing with customers and becoming their own entrepreneurs. Within the agribusiness realm, women are leading meetings, making product and joining sales forces in droves. Women farmers and entrepreneurs are amazing! And so this year, we salute them and the work they do to keep our country fed. Happy reading.
Women farmer statistics • Nationwide there are more than 306,000 women who own or lease farms. Of those, 260,000 are full owners. • Most female farmers are involved in small farms with only one or two owners per farm • The largest percentange of those women farm land in the 10- 49 acre range • The majority of women farmers—83,000 of them—have an “other” type of farm such as llamas, alpacas, vegetables and produce, eggs and a mixed variety of agricultural products • The second largest percentage of female farmers, or 69,000, have beef ranches • 67,000 women own aquaculture farms • In Tillamook County there are 56 female farmers accounting for 3,912 acres
Source: National Agriculture Statistic Service
Vegetable farmer Carolina Lyddy Corvus Landing Farm, Neskowin Carolina and her partner, Mike Lees, broke ground for their Corvus Landing Farm in 2009. Carolina can be found tilling, planting, harvesting and marketing the produce from their smallacreage property. Before coming to Neskowin,
Carolina worked for some years at several Eugene-area organic vegetable farms. She said she came to farming “through a love of food and a desire to make it available to all people,” and she grew to “love the practice of farming with all of its challenges.” Fresh vegetables and salad greens are the mainstay at Corvus Landing. “We specialize in crops that do well in our cool coast climate, particularly greens, carrots, peas, potatoes, and much more.
We also grow veggie starts for coastal gardens, including cool-season tomatoes, mixed vegetables, and over-wintering crops,” she said. Farming, she said, is more than working the land and harvesting product. It’s also about connecting with consumers, having a business plan, paying bills and budgeting. Caring for the environment is also imperative. “We use all natural methods to preserve SMALL FARM and protect the ANIMALS ANIMALS health of our land and our neighbors.” Carolina and Mike sell produce SURGERY EMERGENCIES through a farm REPRODUCTION & HERD HEALTH stand and self-service refrigerator, as well as supplying product for several Main • Tillamook, OR 97141 restaurants in the Pacific City and (503) 842-8411
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Lincoln City areas and through the Lincoln City and Neskowin Farmers Markets. Carolina also coordinates the boxes of produce delivered to area families who’ve purchased shares in the farm. Rather than being paid dividends, the families receive fresh produce weekly. This is called a Community Supported Agriculture farm, or CSA. Source: Corvus Landing Farm web site.
3 • Salute To Agriculture • May 23, 2012
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Elena, her husband Devin and their five children have a 60-cow herd of dairy cattle. Their farm, called Spring Valley Farm, is one of three certified organic dairies in Tillamook County. Elena was raised on a “kinda, sorta farm,” with beef and horses, she said, laughing. She was raised in Wallowa County and later, Scio. We’d had livestock my whole life, from the time I was little. I spent a lot of time on my uncle’s ranch. I was exposed my whole life, really.” She learned a lot about farming from her family, and also as a member of the North Clackamas FFA chapter when she was in high school. “It was so awesome. We had our own farm, 100 head of sheep and our own beef herd.” Elena said she was always drawn to animal husbandry. Elena and Devin believe in a holistic farming approach. In addition to the cows, they have bee hives, an orchard, goats, horses, chickens—“a real menagerie,” she said. One of the biggest challenges of farming is that there is no separation of family life and farming. “You really can’t separate your job from everyday life. It’s so entangled that it’s really hard to describe all that I do. There really isn’t a ‘normal’ day.” Even on a farm, there are often stereotypes as to what is men’s work, or women’s work, she said. “People would be surprised at what I do. I trap moles, I bale, I run a tractor— whatever needs done. I fix fences too.” She also manages the books for the business, which she learned, “from the school of hard knocks.” Elena worked alongside her husband, even when the children were babies. “There’s a safety factor, but we found ways to make it work,” she said, adding that now that their youngest is eight and oldest will graduate high school this year, managing the children has turned into having some of the best extra help there is. “As teenagers, they pretty much know everything we know. They know what to do with a sick cow and a calving cow. I love being out here where the kids are with us all day long and raised with their dad around. Part of that intertwining that can’t be unconnected.”
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Salute To Agriculture • May 23, 2012 • 4
R-Evolution Garden Ginger Salkowski R-Evolution Garden co-owner and organic farming teacher, Nehalem
Ginger worries about Global Warming, carbon emissions, chemicals, fair worker treatment and many other things. Mostly, she worries that people don’t know how to be self-sufficient anymore. Which is why her fouracre farm, R-Evolution Garden produces more than organic produce. It’s also a teaching tool for would-be farmers. Each summer Ginger hosts dozens of World Organization of Organic Farming volunteers, or WOOOF-ers, as she jokingly calls her students. Through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, “eager traveler/volunteers looking to get their hands in the dirt and learn about growing food,” intern at the farm in exchange for meals and a place to camp. Last year, that meant more than 60 volunteers taught by Ginger and her business partner, Brian Schulz. Farming is not easy. “Nothing I have done has been as authentically challenging to the cultural status quo of consumption and pollution than simply trying to grow food and harness energy right from the land I call home,” she said. R-Evolution Garden is a mecca for trendy ideas based on old-fashioned know how. For example, the farm is solar-powered, but the solar panels are old, recycled ones. Ginger believes in using a blend of new technology and tried and true farming practices. “We have wood fire for our hot water, but at the same time we’re on Facebook and have a blog,” she said. “It’s not exactly the same as the ‘70’s when people just dropped out of the social picture. We do this for very different reasons—climate change and reinventing a food system without using fossil fuels.” Ginger can be found on Friday evenings during the summer at the Manzanita Farmers’ Market selling produce.
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Swaran came to Tillamook County August, 2003 as a veterinarian with Pioneer Veterinary Clinic. She was looking to tend to large animals, especially cattle. Swaran is a diminutive woman, and, she said, people can be surprised that she chooses to work with animals that are often ten times her weight. She has had a concussion from being kicked in the head by a flailing hoof, broken an ankle and sustained other smaller injuries. Often the work makes her sore and tired at the end of the day, yet she loves her job.
Continued on Page 6
5 • Salute To Agriculture • May 23, 2012
Food manufacturing and sales Jaimie Josi, Tillamook Jaimie grew up in a do-it-yourself type of family. Her parents had a small dairy farm and garden the size of most town-sized backyards, she said. Jaimie’s family believes in a natural and holistic approach to food. The children were taught early on how to harvest and preserve, cook from scratch and develop recipes. Those skills led Jaimie and her husband, D.J. Josi, to develop and market their own granola recipes. “I just wanted to provide a healthier, more nutritious granola—that isn’t packed full of sugar—than what’s on grocery store shelves,” she said. Using her mother’s original recipe,
Jaimie worked at creating unique flavors using as many local ingredients as possible. Today she has five flavors: original, banana nut, apple ginger and cranberry orange. The fifth, lavender strawberry hazelnut, is only available when coastal lavender and strawberries are in season. She markets her granola under the label “From the Ground Up Granola.” It is available at Manzanita and Tillamook’s Farmers’ Markets, as well as Manzanita Fresh Foods in Manzanita and Josi’s Bayside Market in Netarts. Jaimie’s garden is also her work zone. From her garden herbs, she is currently developing several tea varieties to debut at this year’s markets.
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Salute To Agriculture • May 23, 2012 • 6
Continued from Page 4 Swaran Dhaliwal “Yes, it’s a physically challenging vocation. It is, and maybe that’s why people don’t get it, why so many women want to do it. There are times I need assistance, but my small arms can also be beneficial. They are better suited to help with a difficult calving, for example.” Each person called to be a veterinarian has challenges, she said. “We just try to make do with whatever situation we’ve been given. To me, it’s a rewarding job.” Many people assume large animal veterinarians are typically men. But Swaran’s graduating class from veterinary school had “14 guys in my class, out of 80 people. Basically, the proportion of men to women changed in the late 70’s and early 80’s. For some reason, it just flipped. Maybe it was the love for animals or the job satisfaction.” And while it’s true that there are more women veterinarians who choose to work with small animals, the number of women who doctor large animals is rising rapidly. “I feel connected to cattle. They’re just amazing creatures. I thought it was a phase when I was in school, that I’d just be interested as a novelty, but in my third year of vet school, the professors were amazing and knowledgeable and I got sucked in,” she said and laughed. Swaran was pregnant with her oldest child her senior year of veterinary school. Being a mother and a large animal doctor can be difficult. “You just do it. I mean, there aren’t any excuses. You have to take precautions, especially when you’re pregnant, but everybody understood.” Swaran said the only down side to her job is that if she is fielding the emergency after-hour calls it may mean that some days she doesn’t see 2108 11th St. her children. “That can be a frustrating, but it doesPO Box 278 little n’t happen too often. It’s Tillamook, OR challenging, but I have a very understanding hus(503) 842-4852 band. We make it work.”
We Salute
The People Involved In Agriculture!
Tillamook Tire Service, Inc.
Quality Assurance Manager, Tillamook County Creamery Association Jill Allen Jill Allen knows good cheese. Her job is to touch a sample, feel its consistency and pliable texture, breathe in the deep cheddar notes, pop the sample into her mouth, roll it around and experience its taste. She is checking if the cheddar has any abnormal tastes: salty, sweet, bitter or sour. Then, she’ll spit the sample out, cleanse her palate and try another. She is the dairy products quality assurance manager at the Tillamook County Creamery Association. If the cheese she samples doesn’t fit the bill, you won’t find it on a grocery store shelf. Allen and her team of sensory technicians taste 300 cheese samples, ice cream ingredients and finished ice cream, yogurt, butter, sour cream, and every item made at TCCA before putting a final stamp of approval for the product to be sold. Allen knows she and her team are the “gate-keepers. We give final release on a product. We check the product’s analytical specs and make certain that it meets the Tillamook standard. I’ve never tasted anything better than Tillamook.” Raised in Tillamook, Allen got her first real “taste” of her current job as a member of the Tillamook FFA Chapter. There, she participated on the FFA dairy foods team—a contest patterned after what Allen does in the “real world.” FFA members had to find off flavors in milk, differentiate between different types of cheeses and taste the differences between the “real” versus “fake” dairy products. A job such as Allen’s takes constant job training. TCCA is wonderful at giving their employees the education they need, she said. Allen travels across the country attending classes and trainings in order to make her a better quality manager, something she said that pays off for the consumer. “We make certain the product meets the consumer’s expectation every single time. Our main objective is to make our customers trust our product.”
7 • Salute To Agriculture • May 23, 2012
Future businesswoman McKeon Durrer, Tillamook McKeon is no stranger to work. Along with assisting on her family’s dairy farm, performing myriad chores, she also cares for the family goats. The seven does have to be milked twice daily. After McKeon gets home from her day job—she’s in the fourth grade in Jenny Sheets’ class at East Elementary School—she dons barn clothing and milks the goats. The family has a little milking platform and portable machine set up for the does. McKeon then feeds the babies too. The leftover milk is used to make her family’s Swiss Farmer Soap. The business was created by McKeon’s mom, Marissa Durrer, and aunt, Kim Durrer. The women sell the soaps at the Tillamook Farmers’ Market. The scents range from Sannen Oatmeal Strudel to Oberhasli Mountain Huckleberry. McKeon’s favorite bears her name: McKeon’s Summer Tomato. It smells just like a tomato leaf, which in turn reminds McKeon of summertime. Each Saturday during the market season, McKeon works alongside her mom and aunt, learning how to talk to customers, promote her product and how to correctly count change. Often, she comes to the market in a Drindl, a dress worn by Swiss women. “She’s a go-getter,” said Marissa, who admits to being a reserved person. “She gets out there and she sells. I’m not that way and I really need her.”
Retired dairy farmer, grandmother Ruth Woods, Beaver Ruth Woods might not milk cows anymore, but that doesn’t mean her chores are finished. Ruth still cooks, cleans and cares for the myriad grandchildren that traipse through her farm house. That’s because a farm wife’s duties are never done—and if you are retired and still live on the farm, there are always mouths to feed. Ruth takes her job seriously. Her home is full of pictures of her children and grandchildren; her yard teems with colorful flowers. Ruth’s home looks like somewhere a family could grow. Add to it the dairy farm a stone’s throw away, and it’s no wonder this is a place that has thrived through generations. Ruth’s family has farmed its Blaine Road farm for 101 consecutive years. And, she said, the roles of the women have been just as important as those of the men. The women
birthed and raised sons and daughters to carry on the farm, worked alongside their husbands and often served as the farm bookkeeper. In Ruth’s case, that meant five children. Today, two of her sons are dairy farmers. It was in 1911 that Ollie Woods and his wife, Edna purchased the property Ruth lives on. Ruth and her husband, Edwin, Ollie and Edna’s son, would have celebrated 51 years of marriage this year. Edwin passed away seven years ago. The farm has always shipped its milk to the Tillamook County Creamery Association, though in the early days before the consolidation of sites, Edwin shipped milk in cans to the local creamery in Beaver. The family built barns, grew the herd and made room for future generations. Today, Ruth cares for a new age group of Woods children—her grandchildren. And in a few weeks, there will be a great grandson to love too. H22644
Salute To Agriculture • May 23, 2012 • 8
We stand for farmers owning the company; we stand for them taking responsibility for the products they make; for them being in the right place at the right time for over a hundred years making Tillamook Cheese from Tillamook, Oregon; we stand for them never wavering from their commitment to excellence. We stand for that.