For the Love of Farming
For the Love of Farming
Wolf Gulch Farm with Maud Powell
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In today's episode I sit down with Maud Powell of Wolf Gulch Farm in the Little Applegate Valley. Maud and her husband, Tom, have owned and operated their certified organic farm for the past 24 years. Tom works full time on the farm while Maud works part-time and also for OSU Extension, Small Farms Program. They started in diverse vegetable production and have now transitioned to exclusively growing seed. They helped to run Oregon's first CSA cooperative, the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative. They purchased their property knowing it was marginal farmland and were excited to implement water conservation, water catchment, and soil building strategies to make it work. While they found success and made it work for over 20 years, climate change, specifically severe droughts in their region, meant that they lost access to water for irrigation in 2021. Faced with the inability to farm their property they have leaned into their farming and rural community to find leased land as an option. They are uncertain how long farming will be viable in their Valley and Maud shares with us her views on adaptation. Maud is a humble community builder and talented storyteller, I am grateful for her vulnerability and willingness to talk about the hard stuff. This episode was recorded on July 19th 2022.
Welcome to For the Love of Farming. I'm your host, Tegan Moran. In today's episode, I sit down with Maud Powell of Wolf Gulch Farm in the Little Applegate Valley. Maud and her husband Tom have owned and operated their certified organic farm for the past 24 years. Tom works full-time on the farm while Maud works part-time and also for Oregon State University Extension, the Small Farms Program. They started in diverse vegetable production and have now transitioned to exclusively growing seed. They helped to run Oregon's first CSA cooperative, the Ciskiu Sustainable Cooperative. They purchased their property knowing it was marginal farmland and were excited to implement water conservation, water catchment, and soil building strategies to make it work. While they found success and made it work for over 20 years, climate change, specifically severe droughts in their region, meant that they lost access to water for irrigation in 2021. Faced with the inability to farm their property, they have leaned into their farming and rural community to find leased land as an option. They are uncertain how long farming will be viable in their valley, and Maud shares with us her views on adaptation. Maud is a humble community builder and talented storyteller. I am grateful for her vulnerability and willingness to talk about the hard stuff. This episode was recorded on July 19th, 2022. Hi Tegan. So thank you so much for taking time this morning to share with us. I really appreciate it. Thanks. Just to kick us off, can you share a little bit about your farm and who you are, where your farm's located, and what you produced.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'd be happy to. So I'm Maud Powell and my partner Tom and I own and operate Wolf Gulch Farm, which is in the Little Applegate Valley in the Siskiy Mountains of southwestern Oregon. We've been at Wolf Gulch, we bought Wolfgulch 24 years ago. So we've been farming there for 23 years. And I also work at OSU Extension in the small farms program. Woop woo based in Jackson County and do some work in Josephine County as well. And we have been farming produce, and then gradually, starting about 2001, we did our first seed contract with seeds of change. We grew onion seed, it was our first uh seed crop. And gradually over the years, we've been doing more and more seed, and as of last season, we've been doing exclusively seed. And part of the reason we switched to seed is we actually need less water growing seed. And so we've been watching the effects of climate change on our property. Um we bought the property knowing that it had somewhat marginal water anyway. We have the only water right to Wolf Gulch, but Wolf Gulch is intermittent runs primarily underground. So we've been pulling water out of Wolf Gulch to top off our irrigation ponds that collect winter rainwater. But three years ago the gulch completely dried up. So we've been reliant on just water catchment. Wow. Yeah. And so last summer, after the heat dome of late June and early July, when I believe I'm not going to get the numbers right, I could look it up later, but anyway, we had weeks of over 100 degree weather, and our crops were languishing in the field, and we realized we really couldn't farm at our home property anymore, which was pretty devastating after investing so much in water conservation and just practicing as many water conservation strategies as we could on our property, and kind of being known for that and really proud of how much food and how much seed we could grow with so little water in this kind of marginal property. And that was one of our visions. Bought the property knowing that it wasn't the best soil, it's not actually zoned EFU, it's not exoned, it's not zoned exclusive farm use, it's zoned woodland resource. But it was affordable as a property for us in our late 20s. And we also felt strongly about being able to farm on more marginal land, as so much of like the best farmland is being paved over for housing. So we felt philosophically like we wanted to see how much food we could grow on this property. And we did. So we're we're really holding that we there was a success in what we did, and we raised our children on that property, but now we're looking towards moving. And it's been a slow process and full of grief and gnashing of teeth and anger at politicians for not addressing climate change, but now there's some peace around it. So the first step has been to lease property. So we're leasing acreage on two other properties in our valley that have more reliable water and better water rights. Two one is on the little Applegate River, and then the other is on the main stem of the Applegate with really good water. So we are leasing this year. We're still living at our home property, but our plan is to sell in the spring. And it's gonna be interesting because Wolf Gulch is a place name, so we're probably gonna have to come up with another farm name.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00Which I just just occurred to me a couple days ago is we're gonna have to come up with a farm name, which could be fun.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So it's kind of pivoting from feeling really land-based and place-based and grounded in this specific property, to okay, we are gonna adapt, and there's a new palette for us to discover. And luckily, Tom and I are thriving as a couple and in a partnership, and so you know, just I think we're all being called right now to be adaptable, be flexible, be creative, and we're getting called to do that. But we are both very uh grounded people. We like security, we like knowing where home is, and so it's been a challenge, and also very grateful that we've had the time to kind of adjust to this new reality and grieve, and we've had our neighbors and community really rally around us and offer us leases and look for properties for us, so feel really blessed by that and staying in as much gratitude as possible while also allowing a natural grieving process.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. To have to leave a home farm, and I know that there was a period where you were even questioning whether farming was gonna be a viable future for you, uh, certainly in the area. And yeah, and thank you for sharing the role the community played because as you were speaking, I was thinking, well, thankfully you had established yourself in the community before needing to make this move and had the network to be able to identify these other options close by the lease. And it's just that you know, that asset and value that a farming community and network can be. Uh and so now how many acres total are you actively producing seed on?
SPEAKER_00Well, we're actively producing seed on about four acres. Four acres. Yeah.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_02And that's another one of the benefits of focusing just on seed is that less acreage is required. Definitely, yeah. So thank you for sharing that. And can you share a little bit about how you came to farm and what led you and your partner to purchase the farm in the first place and to step into farming? A little bit about your journey.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm. Yeah, so Tom and I met um working for OSPERG, the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group. So we were both, you know, environmentalists in the mid-90s, and we were idealistic, and we were both into backpacking and nature, and we saved money to travel to India to hike to backpack in the Himalayas, and we ended up in Ladakh, which is a region of northern India that's on the Tibetan plateau. So it's actually really more like Tibet than India in terms culturally, but it's within the political boundary of India. So we went there to trek, and then we learned about a farm program where you could live on a farm and work on the family farm, and we were intrigued. So we'd never farmed before. I had I'd had a little garden at my house in Seattle, and Tom's father had grown up on a homestead in Mississippi, so had deep farming roots there. And so we ended up signing up to do three weeks on this Ladakhie farm, and we fell in love with farming. And we were learning about it was really interesting because we were farming through this program with the International Society for Ecology and Culture, which was, you know, in the mid-90s really examining how global economic forces were undermining food systems, community food systems. And so we were farming, but within the context of learning about globalization. We were reading Vandana Sheba and Wendell Berry, and so we were part of a reading group with other volunteers. And so we were really learning about farming within that context and were very inspired to take our passion for the environment and for social justice and channel that into agriculture. And then we just loved the lifestyle, just being outside, and we were living with a Ladaki family, which was four generations living under one roof in this home-built, this this hand-built house, beautiful house. And we just, you know, it just felt like it was so inspiring and just such a wonderful experience. And so we decided to move to Southern Oregon where my mother had just moved to, and start a farm. And we um so we we came back to Oregon and we spent the season interning on two CSA farms, one of which is Whistling Dock, where we'll be going today. And um I got pregnant unexpectedly, and my sister and her husband were also interested in living rurally. And so with our mom, we were able to all of us buy a property in the little Applegate that, as I mentioned, was kind of marginal farmland, but was good enough, and we felt like we could make a go of it. So we got some experience doing CSA farming, and we hit the ground running the next year.
SPEAKER_02Wow. I've heard little snippets of your story over the years, and it's so nice to just hear that stated and wide thorough. You'd mentioned previously that you helped to create a cooperative. Can you speak a little bit about that experience?
SPEAKER_00Sure. Yeah, so um the Siskiy Sustainable Cooperative was incorporated in 2003, which was the year my son was born. So I was not part of the actual formation. But pretty quickly the co-op had this very um ambitious business plan that included building a site with seed cleaning and a commercial kitchen, and and pretty quickly it sort of fell apart. Like it was the dream was sort of bigger than um the capacity, the staff capacity. And and so very quickly, like a lot of the farmers that initially signed on fell away, and it was sort of the skeleton crew. And Tom and I were asked to come in to run the CSA, which was sort of the last standing piece of it. And so we Tom and I started coordinating the CSA in 2005, and I had young kids at the time, and so the division of labor split that Tom was doing most of the production planning, working directly with the farmers to figure out what would go in the boxes every week and do that type of coordination. And then what fell to me was the marketing and this the membership coordination, um, member relations, and the financial pieces. So we for most of the co-op's lifespan, which we we coordinated the CSA for 15 years, we had between seven and nine farms. Wow. All certified organic, all in the Williams, Applegate area. And we had very little attrition because it was such a tight group of farmers. We had a couple farmers leave, but because they left farming. And it was, you know, one of the most rewarding experiences that I've had because there was such a creation of culture. What I loved about it is um, well, for one thing, it was, you know, we were so invested in each other's farms and families, and we all got to know each other so well because for 24 weeks during the season, we would meet every week together to do the packout, and it was an hour and a half tops, but it was so efficient, like we built the you know, two to three hundred boxes of food every week in an hour.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00And so to be able to watch the farmers show up with their you know, their boxes of produce, and then to distribute them, and then load up the reefer truck and have it taking all this food out to people, and then during that hour and a half, we there was this incredible this magic, you know, we're talking about the insects on our farm and what variety of lettuce is doing best this year, and how our kids are doing in school and what camps they're in, and what's happening on your farm, and laughing, and it was just like just yeah, such a sense of camaraderie and to just real intimacy between this group of farmers. And you know, one thing I would say is I used to laugh so hard at our meetings. We had probably three farmers that are just so funny. So, you know, I loved our meetings, and it was so it was just so fun to go interact with these other farmers. So yeah, it was um a great experience. And you know, we we had some challenges. There were issues that came up around quality control, and we had other issues around equity in terms of how many helpers farmers brought based on the the percentage of produce that was going into the boxes. Um but we really were able to problem solve together, which was also really inspiring to see, you know, that people didn't leave the co-op out of animosity. We really stayed in it and and worked together to address issues that came up, which always do when you're in social relationships. So that was really inspiring. And then yeah, watching the kids grow up was so cool, and all the kids would, you know, help out with distributing the produce and it yeah, it was really positive. I was really interested in making sh looking at food access issues. So we were actually the first CSA in Oregon to accept SNAP or Oregon Trail, and we partnered with some of the local coordinated care organizations so that we could get some subsidized boxes to folks that were on Medicaid and were looking at food-related illnesses, including diabetes and obesity. So that felt really important, and we did some farm-to-school work as well. So we we did do some deliveries to schools, and yeah, it was it was really an amazing experience. And it was it was really hard to let it go, but we were tired after 15 years, and some of the larger farmers were kind of moving on and looking for different distribution channels, and we really saw the CSA model shift, especially as local food became more available other places. Um, there's a little bit less interest from folks who wanted to pick what they were gonna eat that week and not um have it chosen by us. So yeah, but it was really, yeah, really, really wonderful experience.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thank you for sharing that. And there's so many elements of how that kind of cooperative model can take something that would be kind of isolating and really hard and challenging and often lead to burnout pretty fast and transform it into something that can actually be a morale booster or a motivator, that kind of collective experience of getting through the hard stuff and this opportunity to actually get out of that isolated farm environment to connect. Really beautiful how you shared that. Thank you. Yeah. When you were introducing your farm, you spoke to the water issues. And so I assume that was a challenge that was really an overarching challenge for you most recently.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh, and so now that you've transitioned and you have found some land with a little more water security for the time being, you know, what are the what are the top challenges or challenge that you're working through currently on the farm?
SPEAKER_00It's I mean, honestly, the new property we're at is really dreamy. There's like almost no weed pressure because it's previous pasture that was really well tended, and we're just loving the abundance of water, and it's really good soil, it's flat. So we're sort of in like a honeymoon period at this new property, and then you know, we've worked really hard to develop good relationships with the seed company buyers. We sell to five or six seed companies around the country. Great, yeah.
SPEAKER_02That was one of the questions I was gonna clarify. Yeah. How many different channels do you have for selling? Okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I think we sell to six different seed companies, and it's all contracted in the winter months, so that's really helpful. And, you know, we we've been in relationship with these seed buyers for probably 10 years. And, you know, Tom does more of, you know, he's in charge of the production. But I will say, you know, as a seed grower, he's um really conscientious about communicating with um the seed companies and making sure they know if there's any issue with the crops or what's happening in the field. And so, you know, there's a lot of trust built, so which is really helpful because then he gets kind of the pick of the the contracts in the winter. And so um, yeah, that's been really important to build those relationships and to communicate well, which can be really tricky in the summer when we're busy. So it's hard to think of, I mean, I think the biggest I don't know, the big challenges.
SPEAKER_02So you're saying if we get 20 plus years into our farming business and have well established, you know, relationships for our market channels and are integrated into our farming community, we may have a year with well, it is it's July.
SPEAKER_00So who knows? I mean, you know, actually, well, one thing I'll say is um just like the aberrant weather is is really hard with seed farming. And so, you know, we had this, we had rain in early July, which is such a blessing and it keeps everything a little bit greener. We have to mow more, but it's lovely. But, you know, if you have a seed crop that's ripe, you can lose it. And we've lost crops in August because of a rain event or, you know, hail. And so that is the trick with seed is that it's such precision harvest that a weather event can. Ruin a crop. You can lose a crop. So we that could happen. So far, not this year, but it's July. So yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, and I think the other benefit of having so many years under your belt, too, is how you roll with those challenges. And I think as you spoke to in your introduction, we just have to continue to adapt and be responsive.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So coming to a time and a space in your farming path where that is just a known.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Exactly. Seems to be absolutely and then it's, you know, that's always an issue of diversity because if you lose, you know, one seedlot, it's going to be okay overall because you have 16 others. And then it's always that balance of diversity versus, you know, being spread too thin and having too many systems to be managing. So it's always like a dance. Yeah. With that.
SPEAKER_02Where do you go for information and support? 20 plus years.
SPEAKER_00I do think just like the farmer-to-farmer connection is continues to be like the biggest inspiration for me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and it sounds like you have a very vibrant farming community down in this part of Southern Oregon. And I know a lot of our the podcasts I've done so far are farmers that are around in the southern Willamette Valley, and that's something that they speak to regularly. It's just you can call another farmer and they're going to be helpful. Yeah. And there's relationships there. And so it sounds like that is very much alive here as well. Absolutely. Yeah. So, Maude, we're going to put you in a little time travel pod and send you back to just getting back from India. You know, all enthused about really fully stepping into the farming path. Knowing what you know now. Is there anything you would tell Maud and Tom?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, it's really interesting. I think the issue of leasing versus owning is is pretty interesting. And I think we were of the mindset that we wanted to buy as soon as we could because we wanted to plant those perennials and we wanted to build the soil and put in the infrastructure. And leasing seemed pale comparison, or leasing paled in comparison as an option. And it's really interesting to be sitting in this place now and feeling like leasing is a way more appealing option because we don't know what the future holds for this area in terms of water and heat and fire. And so I don't know if it would change how I felt. I think it is really, I feel really strongly about committing to a place. On the other hand, I think leasing could be it's obviously a better option for people that, you know, don't have the capital to be able to invest, which we were really fortunate to.
SPEAKER_02Do you have your leases in paper written down?
SPEAKER_00We have one in paper and one not. So we've got one of each.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, and there's great resources through OSU extension on lease templates. Yeah. I mean, that's the first thing that comes to mind. I'm trying to think what else. I mean, really, I feel good about the way we approached it.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's you know, that's that's a great thing. That the path you went on feels like the way you need it to go. Yeah, I think so.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think, you know, obviously, like I think and and I've taught this idea and it's become more real, but just knowing that it's really important to be nimble and be willing to change based on markets or what your land and resource base can offer, what your customers want. So I don't know that I really knew that going in so much, but but it became pretty apparent readily how you know being entrepreneurial means watching the horizon for new trends and paying attention and being willing to drop what you thought was your dream and pivoting, you know, to what's next.
SPEAKER_02And you touched on this in your intro as well, but can you speak to what really guides the decisions in those moments of pivoting, in those moments of having to be nimble, what are the values or the guiding principles or your North Star that aid you in making decisions about the farm?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Tom and I kind of established that pretty early on that we had our three tenants, which, you know, ironically or not ironically, are, you know, it's the same triple bottom line that of sustainable agriculture, but it was really, you know, making decisions that are best for the land, that are economically viable, and that are embedded in community value. And that's that's really what we've always strived to do.
SPEAKER_02And so when making a decision, do you have a process of sitting down and saying, okay, so this choice, is that in alignment with these?
SPEAKER_00Or does it feel like you really truly embody those values to the point that that just Yeah, I would say at this point it's it's pretty intuitive and natural just to know what that's going to be based on those three principles. And I will say, you know, having off-farm income and having, you know, knowing that we can cover our expenses and that we have in sh health insurance, you know, that's what my job offers us. So we're able to be able to choose community and you know, like we have there's some pressure off of the finance piece. And that that was one really interesting thing too, I would say, back to that, you know, the what you would tell someone young, and I also teach this a lot in classes, is like there's this idea that to really be a true farm, you have to make your entire living off the farm. And actually, I think it's like 70% of US farms, someone has an off-farm job.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00And so there's no shame in that, and there's you know, there's a way that there's actually a little bit like more stability when when that exists. And so um there yeah, just like because I think it there was a time when we thought, well, at some point we'll both be able to just work on the farm, and um realizing like we have more choice in a sense by having that off-farm income.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And so you're part-time and he's full-time on the farm within a part-time employee. Yeah. This question is really about how you keep going, and I really look to you both as a model of really being able to sustain this lifestyle and business. And how do you take care of yourself? What do you integrate for your physical, your mental, maybe spiritual well-being, as well as farming and relationship? So if you just want to speak to some of the strategies that you integrate. And maybe part of that is not being full-time on the phone.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But you know what so yeah, if you just want to speak.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I think for me part of it is um like thinking about where our products end up. So that was that was in some ways that was easier with the CSA because, you know, thinking about and actually like our CSA members would like send us pictures of the food they made or their kids holding the carrots, and that was always there's something really special about you know, growing something in your soil and then knowing like that's gonna end up on someone's table and that's gonna be nourishing their family, and that somehow really inspires me. And now it's like a little more theoretical, but you know, we send these packages of seed to these seed companies, and then knowing that they're, you know, they're putting them in these little packets and they're distributed all over the country and potentially the world, and knowing like a little bit of our farm is like out there dispersed, is really yeah, that definitely inspires me for sure. And then Tom really inspires me, just um it is a really confusing, complicated, horrifying world. And tuning into the news and just the suffering and the anxiety of teenagers. I mean, there's so many places that you can point to that are just unnerving and just so hard to understand and wrap our minds around, and then to be producing food and seed is yeah, it just feels grounding and heartening, and it's wholesome, you know. And and I think part of it is the pace, the devotion, and then interacting with these natural systems that are just I mean, obviously, like we're learning stuff on the farm all the time, and maybe a new pest comes in, but there is a way that it's like it's more understandable than a lot of like the complexities of the world. And it's it's soothing, I would say. It's a bomb right now, it's an antidote to a lot of what we're what we face. And um, so that's that's really helpful right now. And then in terms of self-care, I definitely do yoga. I'm I'm pretty active otherwise. I'm Tom likes to joke that he has to walk me like a like a dog, because like I have like a lot of nervous energy, and so yeah, so I I get a lot of activity because I'm not working on the farm as much as he is. He he goes to a chiropractor pretty regularly and he likes to hike and he does, you know, he he takes care of himself for sure. And yeah, you know, we try to eat really well, we eat simply, but we eat really well, and we try to sleep a lot and just generally keep things simple as as much as we can.
SPEAKER_02Thank you for sharing that, and I really appreciate the perspective that farming itself or the farm can be a part of our self-care. I think, and it's true that often the farm can be to our detriment if not managed, you know, and that it can consume us and it can actually sometimes be harmful if we're overworked or overstressed, and yet remaining grounded in that the farm is itself an opportunity for healing and self-care. I would just really appreciate that perspective. And so this next question is a nod to Farmer to Farmer Podcast. But what's your favorite tool on the farm and why?
SPEAKER_00Well, there's kind of a story. I said, All right, if I tell a story. Yes, we're a hori hori knife. Yes. That well, so Melissa Ferry and I, my colleague from OSU, we were invited to Sweden to come to Sweden to present at the university there. And we were invited by this lovely young couple that came to our Women in Sustainable Ag conference in 2016. And tragically, a couple months before we were due to, we had our tickets, we were ready to go to Sweden, and we learned that the woman who invited us is pregnant was pregnant, and that her husband had a brain tumor. And so very quickly our plans kind of changed. They were no longer able to host us, but they passed us off to their professors at the University of Malmo. So we were in very good hands. We had this wonderful visit to Sweden and got to see all kinds of therapeutic gardens and breeding projects and really exciting agricultural work that's happening in Sweden. And then on our last day, we went and visited the couple, and the man had uh just had brain surgery and was not able to speak very clearly, um, but was glowing and so excited to see us after three years, and and his wife was very pregnant and they were so sweet, and they had just started a business selling tools. And so the steel from the horihori knife was made in Sweden, and the handle, I believe, was oak that was from Sweden, and it was a very expensive horihori knife, but I bought it for Tom because I was so touched by this couple and their love for each other and their love for farming, and so I think luckily I had a checked suitcase because I would not have been able to carry that on. But I bought the horihori knife and I um presented it to Tom, and it was just yeah, just um you know, again, it was like this place-based tool, everything all the materials were from Sweden, and it was um, yeah, it was it was bittersweet, and and he ended up dying last fall, so got to be with his daughter for a couple of years, but it's like everything I've done that's running sex.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. There's there's a lot of emotionally charged this. This is it. So this podcast is called For the Love of Farming.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02And so to wrap our time up together, could you please just share what do you love about farming and what keeps you going?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think there is just some miracle about like you take the seed, you know, and you I mean it's really like having a child in a way, right? Like you you have this like embryonic piece of material and you put it in the right environment and you you do the best you can and you watch it take on this life form, you know, and and with seed, it's extraordinary because I mean parsnip seed, people don't realize, but when you grow parsnip seed, you end up with a forest. The parsnips grow to be seven feet tall. And, you know, to watch one of the amazing things about growing seed, especially the dry seeded crops, is that you watch these plants that normally are cut off in their adolescence or you know, pre-adolescence because they haven't become reproductive, they haven't gotten to the reproductive stage. You watch them in their entire life cycle. And you know, to just witness that and to get to witness it some sometimes in the span of a few months, yeah, it's it's definitely an honor to get to watch all that.
SPEAKER_02Ma, thank you so much for your time and openness and sharing and inspiration, truly. Thanks, Stefan. Thanks for sharing. Yeah. Thanks for your attention. This episode has been a production of Oregon State University Extension Services Small Farms Program. Thank you for listening, and we look forward to having you back for our next episode of For the Love of Farming.
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