Threemile Canyon Farms

Location:

Boardman, Oregon

Certification(s):

Located in a remote corner of northeastern Oregon on the Columbia River, Threemile Canyon Farms grows organic onions, potatoes and other crops on over 1000 acres of certified organic cropland. They are strong advocates for agricultural land preservation, and in 2003 they set aside 23,000 acres of undisturbed juniper and sage habitat - 25% of the property's 145 square miles - in permanent protection under The Nature Conservancy's management.

Besides setting virgin land aside for conservation, and using organic agricultural practices, the company takes additional steps to protect the environment around cultivated areas. The native shrub-steppe is extremely susceptible to fire and invasion by foreign species. Threemile Canyon is diligent about reseeding the borders of fields with native plant species and implementing aggressive fire protection measures.

Pictured above is Russell Loughmiller, organic crops manager for the farm.

www.threemilecanyonfarms.com

Crops:

Onions, Potatoes

Our Growers Are Our Heroes

We got into this business because we wanted to help small scale organic farmers here at home gain access to the larger commercial marketplace, and to ensure their families and communities thrive. Over the past decade or so, we have endeavored to do this, step by step, with over ninety B.C. farms.

Our hearts still belong to the small scale growers. We have visited dozens of farms in B.C., working with growers to see them move to larger and more financially sustainable operations.

We feel encouraged by the impressive increase in consumer demand for organics and local. We also acknowledge that we might not be able to grow all our own food year round. Even more so now, as our climate changes, no harvest is a safe bet.

So over the years, we have extended our relationships with small scale farmers to include farms down the Pacific Coast, through Washington, Oregon and California, then on to Mexico and South America. Together, this network of growers keep us all fed year round. And for this we are grateful.