According to Environmental Health News, the decision was announced Tuesday, December 22, 2009. In an article by Editor in Chief Marla Cone, an inert ingredient is anything added to a pesticide that does not kill or control a pest. In some cases, those ingredients are toxic, but companies do not identify them on pesticide labels.

The article goes on to explain that for 11 years, EPA denied petitions seeking disclosure of the chemicals but now the new administration says it plans to draft a rule that will increase transparency and encourage companies to replace toxic substances.

Manufacturers have always argued that revealing what those inert ingredients are would be giving away their trade secrets. Inert ingredients can be more toxic than the active ingredients and make up the bulk of a pesticide.

Please read the rest of the story. This is a big deal for those of us who have worked over the years to get manufacturers to tell the whole truth about what’s in that can of pesticide.

Well, that’s where the Center for Science in the Public Interest comes in. You can read all about their proposal and make suggestions and comments at Tara Parker-Pope’s excellent blog post in the New York Times. Enjoy!

If you’ve been paying attention to Michelle Obama’s White House Garden…

Read this: “Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House” NYT Article

Watch this:

Inside the White House: The Kitchen Garden

If you’ve noticed the increasing number of farmers markets popping up in recent years…

If you’ve read a recent restaurant menu calling out the farms where the ingredients come from…

Read this: “The Top 10 Farm-to-Table Restaurants” Epicurious.com Article

If you’ve read any of the latest and greatest food journalism…

Read these: Grist Food, The Ethicurean, Civil Eats, Cooking Up A Story, Organic Consumers Association

And if you’ve seen any of the recent food documentaries…

Watch These: Food Inc., The Future of Food, Fresh: The Movie, Ingredients

…Then you might get the feeling that there’s something important going on here.

THE NEW GOOD FOOD MOVEMENT

Something is going on, indeed. There’s a growing movement throughout this country to return to a sustainable way of farming, a holistic way of cultivating the soil, a conscious way of eating, and a more enlightened way of looking at our relationship with food. This new movement has manifested itself in various forms, each with a specific and important focus. Here they are in a nutshell:

• Local, Organic, and Sustainable Agriculture:

The people in this part of the new food movement have their hands and feet in the earth. They are focused on practicing and spreading the good news about local, organic and sustainably-produced food. They are farmers and grocers and chefs and teachers and activists and scientists who spend their waking hours caring for the earth, rebuilding the soil, providing healthy food to their families and communities, and promoting the benefits of organic agriculture.

• Accessibility to Real Food:

These people have dedicated themselves to the task of making good food accessible, affordable, and viable for all people. You can find these people creating urban gardens, proposing solutions to the problem of rural and inner-city food deserts, and pioneering farm-to-school programs. They are making sure that food stamps are valid at farmers markets, educating children about nutrition and gardening, and lobbying state and federal politicians.

• Farm Worker Social Justice

These are the people fighting for social justice from the field to your table. They advocate for fair treatment, safety, and living wages for farmers and food workers in our country and throughout the world.

• Fighting Big Agriculture:

These are the journalists, filmmakers, activists, lawyers, farmers, and organizations that are scrambling, fighting, and lobbying for sustainable food’s place at the table of U.S. (and world) Agriculture. They strike back against the misinformation campaigns of the world’s Monsantos, live in the red tape and monotony of bureaucrats, read every page of the epic that is the Farm Bill, file lawsuits, fight appeals, practice politics, and secure government funds. They are dedicated to the end goal of unmaking global institutions and corporations and governments who make sustainable agriculture, good food accessibility, and farmworker social justice impossible.

• Creating a Good Food Community:

These are the journalists, activists, organizations, and everyday people aimed at creating connections between all the aforementioned groups and spreading the message of this new food movement. Their end goal is the enlightenment of the masses and the systemic change of our global agricultural juggernaut.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF FARMERS

Also within this movement, incredibly inspiring work is being carried out by young farmers. These highly-motivated, intelligent, idealistic, and sometimes unconventional folks are both carrying the torch passed on by their predecessors, and blazing a new sustainable trail into the future. And their numbers are growing every day. In fact, our home here in Southern Oregon is especially blessed with a multitude of industrious and inspiring young farmers. Leading the way are Josh Cohen and Melissa Matthewson of Barking Moon Farm, a certified organic farm located in the Thompson Creek watershed of the Applegate Valley.

Since 2006 Josh and Melissa have been growing certified organic vegetables and producing certified organic eggs on their property in the Applegate. They run a Community Supported Agriculture program and sell their produce and eggs through the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative, at two Ashland Farmers Markets (Tuesday and Saturday), and at local grocery stores (Ashland Food Co-op) and restaurants. But leaving their ability to grow amazing produce aside, the most impressive thing about them is the work they do to expand and strengthen the sustainable farming community in our region.

AN INTERVIEW WITH BARKING MOON FARM

MD: How did you guys get started farming, and what made you choose Southern Oregon as a spot to start up Barking Moon Farm?

Josh and Melissa: We started gardening on a very small-scale in Santa Cruz, CA. Melissa got a degree in Agroecology from UC Santa Cruz and worked for a nonprofit whose mission was to support organic farming. Our love for good food and growing gardens just grew into a dream to someday own our own farm. When we were driving to Oregon to check out grad schools for Melissa, we happened upon the Applegate Valley and immediately fell in love with the land and the area. Coincidentally, acquaintances from our Santa Cruz days, Chris and Melanie Jagger from Blue Fox Farm, moved to the Applegate right around when we discovered it. Anyway, Melissa ended up going to grad school in Montana, and so it was 3 years before we made it back to the Applegate. But during those 3 years we came to visit a number of times as Chris and Melanie were getting their farm up and running. When we returned, we interned with Vince and Mary at Whistling Duck Farm, and bought our farm about a year later. We love the Applegate community. All the farmers are so supportive of each other, and so many young people are buying farms and raising families out here.

MD: As young farmers yourselves, how do you view the future of small-scale sustainable farming in the Rogue Valley and throughout the country?

Josh and Melissa: I think it is the career choice of the future. Of now. Right now. It isn’t easy work and can be very grueling both physically and mentally, and it isn’t easy to start a farm business in terms of economics either. But I think the reason there are so many amazing, persistent and passionate young people wanting to farm out there is because it is intellectually stimulating work and meaningful. I think more and more people are getting interested in where their food comes from and there is nothing more that this country needs than more healthy, young, able farmers to feed them.

MD: I am so impressed with the work you are doing off the farm with the League of Women Farmers and with Rogue Farm Corps. Can you tell us about what you do when you’re not growing or selling vegetables?

Melissa: Well, as an OSU Extension Agent off the farm, I’m continually working with new farmers. We coordinate a League of Women Farmers that meets often to network, learn and exchange information with each other. Most recently this summer, the OSU Extension was given a grant by the Organic Farming Research Foundation to host four field days for women farmers on the challenges and issues on Organic Certification in this region. We will also be training women farmers on carpentry this year, and hopefully we will do welding and tractor training next year. We have over 75 women farmers, both new and established, that participate in the group.

We also hold an 8-week business planning course called Growing Farms in which we help new farmers develop a plan for their farm. And if we can secure the funding, we will be launching a farmer incubator program in partnership with THRIVE and the Friends of Family Farmers, in which new farmers go through our Growing Farms course and then get set up on OSU Extension land to start their new farming enterprises.

Josh and Melissa: At Barking Moon Farm, we host two interns that live and work with us each season, from March through October. They learn all aspects of running a farm: soil, field prep, greenhouse, planting, harvesting, marketing, as well as all the business skills associated with running a farm such as insurance, bookkeeping, etc. We provide the interns with housing, food, a stipend, and lots of other perks.

We also are a part of Rogue Farm Corps, an internship program in the valley with about 10 participating farms. We teach parts of the Rogue Farm Corps curriculum, this year focusing on the intricacies of pastured poultry and Community Supported Agriculture. Our hope is that the interns will take all the skills they learn on our farm and begin new farms of their own in the future, or take those skills and apply in them in other managerial farm situations. While training and working with interns for 8 months of the year takes a lot of effort, we actually love this part of our farm and really develop close relationships with our interns. We are passionate about teaching and providing new skills to potential young farmers.

MD: Wow! What is it that drives you both to do what you do, every day?

Melissa: We love the work of farming. It definitely isn’t the money that drives us to farm. It really is the good work that we are doing, the meaning of it all, and the belief that we are making an impact on our community. It is pretty darn addicting as well. I just can’t stop talking about it.

MD: As a farmer, and advocate for small farmers, is there anything you would like to say to all the everyday consumers out there?

Melissa: Small-scale farmers work really, really hard for very little return, and provide the highest quality food to communities all over the world. Please thank them for what they do and give them as much of your support as you can.

As I write this, I realize that for the Hoy’s, the turkey was just the vehicle for the stuffing…and the gravy. What follows is taken from a scrap of food-stained paper where she wrote in her own words the narrative for our holiday bird recipe. She sent it to me when I cooked my first Thanksgiving away from home in 1973 when I was 20 years old.

STUFFING

Use 1 loaf of bread (not sourdough, but white or wheat will do), preferably somewhat stale, for a 12 pound turkey. Wet the bread with milk, water, or broth and goosh it all up in a large mixing bowl until the crust is all blended in with the rest. Sometimes I put in 1 egg and mix in well; sometimes not. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mince one medium onion, and 2 0r 3 stalks of celery. I really like the stuffing cooked in a large skillet before stuffing the bird, but if I’m in a hurry I just put the onions an celery in and stuff it without cooking. If you do cook the cressing, use bacon grease for the best flavor. If you’re not a bacon eater, vegetable oil works just as well. Cook the onions and celery until transparent, then dump in the bread mixture and cook it until it’s all mixed up and the right consistency, 5 minutes or so. Then stuff the turkey and sew it up. [Note: I never put it in the turkey without cooking and I add a healthy amount of fresh chopped parsley and lots of garlic.]

TURKEY

I cook a turkey in a covered dturkey roaster that I’ve had since 1935. [Note: my nephew got the turkey roaster...darn!] You can do very well with any roasting pan that is at least 3 or 4 inches deep. Make a tent of heavy aluminum foil to put over the turkey and fasten it down as well as you can.

I cook the turkey at 400 degrees for the first hour or hour and a half until the juices begin to come out and cover the bottom of the pan. The juice should be a little brown and look kind of greasy. Salt and pepper the turkey [Note: I usually do this before putting in the oven], add a cup of water or a little more if necessry and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. All you have to do is watch it so the liquid doesn’t boil out. Addd more water if it gets too low. Baste it about every 15 minutes for the last hour of cooking. Allow 15 minutes per pound.

GRAVY

I start making the gravy during the last hour of cooking. To make the gravy, add water to the pan and then make a smooth paste of flour and water in a measuring cup, say 2 or 3 heaping teaspoons of flour. Then fill the cup with water, stif and add it to the water in the pan. If after cooking it’s not thick enough to suit you, add more flour and water paste little by little until it’s just right. Salt the gravy and continue to cook until you take out the turky and let it rest fo 20 minutes before serving.

USE THIS RECIPE AS A TEMPLATE

This is the most simple way to make your holiday feast. My mom could do this recipe in her sleep, and probably did on those early mornings where we planned to have our meal right at noon. You can adjust cooking time and stuffing amounts depending on the size of your turkey. You can brine your bird, or put a flavorful dry rub on it. You can add dried fruit and/or nuts to your stuffing. You can substitute stock for water in the gravy. I usually make a stock from the giblets that I use for my gravy. You really can’t mess this up much.

Please enjoy this recipe and have the happiest of Thanksgivings!

I drive by a small u-pick peach orchard on my way to work. During the summer months I enjoy watching the peaches mature, becoming more orangey-gold as July turns into August. One early morning in mid-August I notice there are cars parked along the road starting at the orchard gate and continuing in a line for about half a mile. Car engines are turned off, whole families sit quietly together waiting for the orchard to open. Peaches may be one of the only foods that everyone would agree are best eaten in season. I believe that’s why those families wait so patiently every year to pick their bucketfuls of perfect August peaches. Peaches that have spent most of their lives in coolers, and have traveled great distances are not worth waiting in line for. They will never have that yielding softness that only a ripe peach has, nor the juicy, sweet-tart perfection of an August peach. I have been lucky to live most of my life in places where peaches grow in the summer, and my favorite peach recipe remains unchanged over the years. Here it is. Get a sharp knife, peel the peach and then cut along the suture from stem to blossom end, continuing up the opposite side. Twist the two halves gently. A freestone peach will separate easily and be ready for slicing. A cling variety will need to be sliced from the pit. Next eat the peach and savor the deliciousness. Sometimes I like to expand on this simple recipe, by making crepes and creme fraiche to eat with my fresh sliced peaches.

Fresh Sliced Peaches, Johnny Cakes, Creme Fraiche, and Corn Butter

Alice Waters recipes for Peach Melba or Peach Shortcake are also simple variations on the sliced peach . As she says, “Most of our (Chez Panisse) peach desserts are simple preparations designed to enhance the natural characteristics of the fruit.” I cannot argue with this perspective. My other favorite peach recipes were created by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson for their book, Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More. The recipes for Caramel Peach Grunt, Gingered Peach and Blackberry Pandowdy, or Summer Fruit Trifle should be distributed to all those families waiting for the peach orchard to open. They know a good peach is worth waiting for, and they, too might enjoy an old fashioned recipe when they get their fill of peaches eaten right off the tree.

Dave Belzberg is no georgia-peach-growing great grandmother. But given the right mood and circumstances, his peaches just might bring tears of joy and delight to your eyes. They are really that good.

Dave has been growing his organic peaches at Rolling Hills Farm in Southern Oregon (Griffin Creek area) for almost 24 years. Before moving south to the Rogue Valley, Canadian-born Dave grew plums up in British Columbia for 10 years. That gives him almost 35 years of experience in the orchards!

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When Ken and Susan Muller first looked at the Rogue Valley with their new farm in mind, they saw an abundance of exceptional produce farms and talented produce farmers. Operations like Whistling Duck, Barking Moon, Hi Hoe Produce, Blue Fox, Rolling Hills, and a multitude of others were getting the job done, and doing it well.

But the one thing that Ken and Susan didn’t see much of was poultry. Specifically, high quality pastured poultry and eggs. And so a little over two years ago, equipped with family histories in farming, experience and skills gained from WWOOFing, and a healthy dose of inspiration, Ken and Susan set out to fill this niche and transform Margaret Krout’s (Susan’s mother) seven acres into a bonafide pastured poultry operation.

Today that transformation is complete. The infrastructure is in place, the chicken houses are beautiful, their flocks are growing strong, and their customers are spreading the word. And as a new customer myself, it’s time for me to help spread the word about this amazing local food resource!

There have already been some great articles about Rogue Valley Brambles that are worth a peek: Mail Tribune, Friends of Family Farmers, Daily Tidings. But in this article, I want to delve a little deeper into all the amazing foodstuffs the farm is producing and let you know where and when you can find Rogue Valley Brambles.

FARM FRESH EGGS:

Rogue Valley Brambles’ eggs are truly in a different class. They’re beautiful, rich in color, extremely fresh, flavorful, and sustainably raised. They’re some of the best eggs I’ve seen, and well worth the cost and a trip to the growers market to find them. This is what sets them apart from the rest:

COLOR – Ken and Susan’s eggs are so beautiful you’re almost tempted not to touch them. Many of the rare breeds that they raise (Araucana, Wyandotte, Buff Orpington, Delaware, Polish, New Hampshire,Cochin, Jersey Giant, and Gold Sex Link) lay eggs with unique and beautifully colored shells. The blue eggs from their Araucana hens are particularly striking………

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-Ernest Hemingway

Wooldridge Creek Vineyard and Winery, Applegate Valley

With all the talk about Eating Local, often times the movement to Drink Local is an afterthought. But for those of us that do partake in the drink, choosing local vineyards and wineries is as worthy a cause as choosing local farms. Not to say that the bottle of Brunello di Montalcino or that Chateauneuf-du-Pape should be left forgotten and unappreciated. What I’m saying is to think before you drink, and perhaps give the locals a larger portion of your wine dollar. After all, drinking local wine keeps money in the local economy, cuts the number of food miles that the wine has to travel, and supports smaller producers who prioritize stewardship of the land and who often utilize more sustainable practices (L.I.V.E. – Low Input Viticulture and Enology).

In this article, you will find a list of wine resources specific to Southern Oregon, and Southern Oregon wineries according to AVA (American Viticultural Area). I’ll also point out wineries that are L.I.V.E. Certified Sustainable, and profile Wooldridge Creek Vineyard & Winery (photos throughout blog are from their tasting room, vineyard, and barrel room). Hopefully this information will help people realize (or remember) the exceptional abundance and quality that we have at our doorstep.

Wooldridge Creek Tasting Room

To view full blog with pictures and links click here!