Day 2 with USDA Undersecretary Ann Wright began at the Eugene Local Food Connection conference. Ann gave a great keynote speech and we signed up 73 new FoodHub members. Welcome good people of Eugene!
From Eugene we raced to Philomath and Gathering Together Farm for a fantastic meal with Organically Grown Company and seed pioneer Frank Morton.
Next step? Stahlbush Island Farms for a tour of their new biogas facility. There I have one word: AMAZING. Stahlbush is a vertically integrated fruit and vegetable operation in the Willamette Valley. 
They power their production plant using the energy derived from vegetable scraps. It’s an entirely closed loop operation. They even sell energy back to the grid. Truly impressive.
After a tour of Stahlbush Island Farms we sat down for a discussion with area farmers and foresters. The conversation ranged from new organic dairy rules to inheritance taxes to immigration reform, Christmas trees (Oregon is home to the largest Christmas tree grower in the WORLD), wheat prices and the nursery industry (Oregon’s #1 agricultural crop), among many other fascinating topics.
Finally, we ended the day at Navarre in Portland where owner John Taboada joined us for dinner with Garry Stephenson from OSU’s Small Farms Program, Laura Masterson of 47th Avenue Farm, Kendra Kimbirauskas from Friends of Family Farmers, and Sarah Brown and Connor Voss, two young farmers just getting started.
Photo by Mike Davis
I just finished reading a compelling article that gave an overview on the most important ways gardening has varied over the years. It seems that organic and year-round gardens are the future of gardening. I wonder if this consensus holds true for most of us gardeners.