Tour of Agricultural Gene Bank & Research Farm (Corvallis)

I received this news release today & wanted to pass it along — sounds like an interesting tour.

7-9-09

OSU, USDA invite public to tour Corvallis farm, gene bank July 18

By Tiffany Woods, 541-737-2940, tiffany.woods@oregonstate.edu
Source: Joseph Postman, 541-738-4200, joseph.postman@ars.usda.gov

CORVALLIS, Ore. ­ The public is invited to tour an agricultural gene bank and research farm on the outskirts of Corvallis on July 18.

The annual event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oregon State University’s Lewis-Brown Horticulture Research Farm and the adjacent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Clonal Germplasm Repository, which is at 33447 S.E. Peoria Rd.

The repository preserves thousands of varieties of crops, including hazelnuts, strawberries, hops, mint, pears and blackberries, so they’ll be available for research and whatever needs might arise in the future.

Visitors will be able to sample many of the 600 different blueberry cultivars at the site; tour cherry research plots; learn about new fruit and vegetable varieties soon to be released; and see irrigation research that helps reduce water use while increasing yields of blueberries and other fruits. Attendees can tour the property in vans or walk along a marked route.

The event coincides with Corvallis’ da Vinci Days, so a shuttle bus will transport visitors from campus to the farm between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Board the shuttle at S.W. 14th Street and S.W. Jefferson Way across from OSU’s Education Hall.

To reach the facilities on your own from Corvallis, take state Route 34 east about one mile, then turn right on Peoria Road for another mile and look for an open house sign.

Visitors check out cherry trees during the 2008 field day at Oregon State University's Lewis-Brown Horticulture Research Farm and the adjacent U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Clonal Germplasm Repository. The 2009 event will take place on July 18. Photo by Diana Brin.

About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University System. Its more than 20,000 students come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance.

Shearing Day

I have a hobby that utilizes local resources — I spin wool into yarn. Luckily, Oregon is rich with people who raise sheep and other fiber producing animals.

Of course, there’s beautiful, natural wool from all over the place, along with independent dyers who create amazing batts and rovings… so I don’t always buy only locally. It’s too tempting.

Other spinners know what I’m sayin’. Still! The resources are here. There are also many spinners and yarn producers here, so if you’re into knitting or crochet or other yarn-centric hobby, it’s possible to buy locally!

Anyway, today was shearing day out at the Bellwether Wool Company, so we headed over to watch the action. There were about four people wrangling the sheep in the pens, queuing them up for their turn on the shearing platform. Then, the shearer brings one onto the platform and goes to work. (Pictured, professional shearer Andy Zettle from Dexter, OR.)

He uses his whole body to control the animal, keeping it calm and working quickly. His right hand works the clippers while his left protects sensitive bits or helps turn the sheep this way and that.

After a quick hoof trim, they’re released back into the pen, then the whole lot are let out into the pasture, happy and naked.

Whee! Naked sheep and bagfuls of yummy wool to spin. I love this hobby.

And just because this video is so cute:

Vote to help Corvallis-Albany Farmers’ Markets win $5,000

I voted to help the Corvallis-Albany Farmers’ Market win $5,000 in the “Love Your Farmers Market” online contest, sponsored by Care2.com and LocalHarvest.org. Every vote helps promote local food, family farms and sustainable agriculture. If you’d like to vote, too, click the image above!

The Corvallis-Albany Market is currently #71 in the top 100 markets with the most votes — I know they deserve to be higher on that list!

Rhubarb Crisp

I am not well-versed in the rhubarb world, but I thought I’d share this rhubarb crisp recipe from Foodwishes, the video recipe blog. Enjoy!

(follow the link to get all the recipe details)

Updated: Included this on the recipes page.

Changes

What do you think of the new look? I was getting tired of my photos at the top of the page & wanted something more colorful.

I’ve also recently decided to change the tone of the blog a little (yes, again!) and make it more personal. I’m going to put up a page about our efforts to go through this quarter of a cow & am going to try to write a little more about our successes and failures in our attempts at living locally and sustainably. Onward!

Quarter Cow

Well, this will be an adventure… picked up a quarter of a cow today from Bald Hill Farm in Corvallis.

There is a LOT of ground beef here. We hardly ever buy ground beef, so we’ll have to come up with some ways to use that. It’ll make some good pots of chili this winter!

Today’s post brought to you by chickens.

“Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.”
~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Remember when I posted back in March, and these guys were all nothing more than little puff-balls? They are 13 weeks old today and each about the size of a medium house cat. With beaks. We really lucked out, not knowing what we were doing when we picked these out — the Barred Rocks are pretty even tempered and hardy. They don’t pick on each other much. The Accidental Rooster keeps everyone in line, but isn’t too mean. Except that he’s selfish when it comes to treats. Oh, we’re giving out a strawberry? WOOSH… that streak was the rooster, grabbing the berry before it hit the ground and darting off to a corner to gobble it down before the girls are any wiser. Oh, Rooster.

We haven’t named them as we still can’t really tell any of the girls apart. They do have personalities, and there are moments when those personalities become very apparent — mostly after we’ve spent some time hanging out with them — like we have a little escape artist, one who likes to sit on laps and stretch out for petting, and one who is super observant. But I can never see at a glance which is which!

They’re not peeping anymore, now their voices have taken on that deeper clucking noise. The other morning, when I was having some difficulty getting the coop door open, Rooster crowed at me a little, but not loudly. We’ll see what he sounds like when he starts crowing in earnest. None of the neighbors seem concerned, so we will just see. (We are semi-rural… very heavy on the semi.)

In other chicken news, I’m really enjoying the blog Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs, written by Orren, a 12-year-old boy who is raising what looks like a pretty darn big flock. He’s concerned about responsible agriculture, supporting local farmers and, of course, healthy chickens. Orren is trying to raise $500 for Heifer International to buy flocks of chickens.

From the Heifer International site:

A flock of chicks can help families from Cameroon to the Caribbean add nourishing, life-sustaining eggs to their inadequate diets.

The protein in just one egg is a nutritious gift for a hungry child. Protein-packed eggs from even a single chicken can make a life-saving difference.

Heifer helps many hungry families with a starter flock of 10 to 50 chicks. A good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year – plenty to eat, share or sell. With Heifer recipients’ commitment to pass on the offspring and training, the exponential impact of adding chickens to communities in poverty is truly a model that helps end hunger and poverty.

Because chickens require little space and can thrive on readily available food scraps, families can make money from the birds without spending much. And chickens help control insects and fertilize gardens.

I’m planning to donate a bit. If you can donate too, please visit Orren’s blog (linked above) and follow his link to his donation page. If you just want to help spread the word, please consider posting about his efforts on your blogs! I think the cause is great and Orren’s clearly a kid with a big heart, so I’d love to see him meet his goal.

Cluck, cluck!

2nd Buy Local First Breakfast this weekend (Corvallis)

This Saturday, June 6, the second of Corvallis’ Buy Local First Breakfasts will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall, 223 S.W. Second St.

The cost is $6 per adult and $4 per child 12 and under. Discount coupons are available at participating businesses.

Look what I found

What timing — last night I was noodling around online, following links, and came across this postcard:

It is apparently from an artist named Karen Kerney and the postcards, and a poster version, seem to be available from a variety of sources.

I like the sentiment. It’s not too moony (though dancing in the street might be a bit much for me!), and it’s nothing earth shattering, just simple actions. I just wrote about this topic yesterday and found this the same day… maybe the universe is telling me I should follow through with the block party I’ve been thinking about.

Being Neighborly

When my husband and I purchased our home in North Albany last summer, we found ourselves moving in to quite an established neighborhood. Most of the families have been there for years, and some even own multiple properties along our little dead-end lane. Everyone is always at the ready with a wave and a smile,  and I think everyone has stopped by to chat or admire the chickens or let us know that there used to be a cherry tree in our yard and boy are they disappointed the previous owner tore it out.

Well, shoot, so am I. (So we planted two new ones!)

I think we’re both feeling a little pressure (entirely self-imposed, I’m certain) to make our garden something to be proud of, and one from which we can share. You see, all this buy local stuff is great, but it’s the community aspect to all of it that’s really been my motivator behind this blog. There was a great post a while back on Culinaria Eugenius about small community food exchanges, and how they can be anything from swapping jam over the back fence to an organized group that meets to share meals.

So, I’m curious… what do you do on a small scale? Are you involved in anything organized, or is it more like you just share when you have it and, hopefully, enjoy someone sharing with you in return? Do you have ideas on how to reach out to strangers, for the shy among us? How about ideas for keeping it simple, for those among us who dread taking on another “task”?

I hope to see some comments! And if there are any groups out there that want a mention, please let me know.