Saturday, January 18, 2014

Buying the Farm: Slow Money supports Organic Farming

This article first appeared in the 2013/2014 edition of the Natural Choice Directory for the Willamette Valley. I first learned about the Russells and their unique investing philosophy when profiling Jeff Broadie and Casey White of Lonesome Whistle for my article on part time farmers for the November/December 2012 edition of In Good Tilth, the magazine of the Oregon Tilth.
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The rain has stopped for the moment on this overcast spring morning, but it’s threatening to come back any time now. Janet Russell, a slim, grey-haired woman, has slipped on a pair of high rubber boots and a big straw hat to venture out in the muddy pasture with a handful of bovine treats.

Calpurnia, a bold Jersey cross-breed heifer ambles up to eat from Janet’s hand. The milk cow’s shy offspring, steers Janet has affectionately christened Bulwinkle and Meatball, forgo the treats for the shelter of the fir trees they've been browsing under.

It’s too early and cold to plant yet, so the beds in her sprawling organic garden are mostly empty, save for some hardy winter greens and perennials waiting for warmer weather to bloom. A multi-hued flock of chickens, guinea fowl and ducks flutter about the yard closer to the house, scratching for scattered grain.

The modest, single-story ranch house on seven acres of farmland just east of Fern Ridge Reservoir that Janet and her husband Jerry Russell share is a picture-perfect slice of Americana. People across the country aspire to a lifestyle like the Russells’, living quietly in the country and growing enough food to fill the pantry and share with friends and neighbors. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, retirement farms make up 21 percent of the county’s total farms, with so-called lifestyle farms accounting for another 36 percent.

“I read the Mother Earth News and other publications back when I was a teenager and always wanted to have a small farm,” says Janet. But when she came into an inheritance, Janet and her husband realized they could do more than just buy a snug little place in the country. What sets the Russells apart from other retiree and hobby farmers is the depth to which they have invested in the local agriculture community.