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Sheep cheese tastes distinctive, characteristically strong, and very different from cow or goat cheese. On this family sheep farm, the making of cheese reflects a slower pace of life along with a direct connection to the land. Consuming this cheese requires a careful eating pace. View the video here. Download Show: MP4 | WMV | iPhone [sniplet commentlink] [sniplet recipelinker] Director s Journal One of the great pleasures doing these stories is getting to go where the story is actually located. In this case it was the foothills of the Cascade Range of Oregon: Pines, firs, windy roads, and hills growing into mountains. As Lynn and I pulled into the dairy, I was first greeted by yaps from Bonnie, their herding dog. From around the corner appeared a smiling Kathy Obringer. She hopped into the car and we drove straight away over to the cheese room where she showed us the results of her family’s hard work. As always, it was educational. Every cheese has its timeline, and it’s all marked down on the calendar. Kathy and Elle, her daughter, checked it a couple of times during the short time we spent in there. The small rounds aging in the standing fridge. The larger rounds hibernating in the walk-in. My favorite part of the process that I got to witness (and film) was Elle adding dry cocoa to the outside rind of the all sheep’s milk ‘Scio Heritage’ cheese. It was rubbed, brushed, and oiled. An antique bronze color emerged. I asked if it changed the taste of it, and Kathy didn’t think so, but it did make it so beautiful. It was time to bring in the sheep for their second milking of the day. Hank rode his bike out to the part of the pasture where they were grazing, as Bonnie charged ahead. Next thing I knew the sheep were filing in through the gate, with Hank and Bonnie on their heels. Well, really, it was Bonnie. Hank was making sure the slowpokes didn’t stay behind nibbling their way back. Inside the milking parlour, Elle herded them into the milking stall where they happily ate the grain mixture (made especially for them!) as they were milked. Afterwards that group would be led outside, waiting for a new pasture area, as another round of sheep were milked. It was a cycle that seemed so natural. One growing into another: the cheese cycle, the farming cycle, the cycle of work in harmony with nature. As I packed up to leave, I took a moment to soak it all in. One more time to smell the trees, feel the wind on my face, and to hear the chirps, yaps, and baaaas. —Rebecca Additional Resources Ancient Heritage Dairy Dairy Sheep Association of North America Facts about Sheep’s Milk Learn more about Sheep Subscribe To Us By RSS Subscribe By Email

5 million family farms have been lost since the 1930 s, and most of the surviving farms are not small family operations. As the population of family farmers continues to age, there is a critical shortage of young farmers to take their place. Michael Paine is a rare breed, not only does he come into farming without a prior farming background, he s also relatively young.

Five million family farms have been lost since the 1930 s, and most of the surviving farms are not small family operations. As the population of family farmers continues to age, there is a critical shortage of young farmers to take their place. Michael Paine is a rare breed, not only does he come into farming without a prior farming background, he s also relatively young. View the video here. Download Show: MP4 | WMV | iPhone [sniplet commentlink] [sniplet recipelinker] Director s Journal I read this in my local paper awhile back: “Oregon is one of the only bright spots in the country where we’ve got young farmers coming into the business ”. Hmmm, I knew most farmlands were industrialized, but I thought, with the growing interest in locally produced food, I would think the family farm would also be growing. I contacted Dianne Stefani-Ruff from Portland Farmers Market, who made the quote, to see who might just be one of those new young farmers. She gave me the names of 4 or 5, and I never got past the first one I called, Mike Paine of Gaining Ground Farm. I knew right away he was someone who was very passionate about farming. He wasn’t born to farming, like many are, but raised in the suburbs. He had a garden as a young adult, but that was about it. His drive to become a farmer really sprouted from his experience in Africa in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, and, finally from working on his Masters degree at UC-Davis in Agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is a growing field. Many farming methods that may have been lost to time are now returning. One that Michael puts to practice is using chickens to ready his fields. He puts them in portable coops that are moved along the field after the group of chickens scratch, peck the ground, and leave behind a rich manure. Recently he created a pond to catch the natural drainage of water from the hills. This water will be used to irrigate his crops. Using organic methods, some of the vegetables he grew this year were tomatoes, melons, squash, mixed green lettuces, eggplant, and beans. They were all beautiful. I really enjoyed his sharing all the different varieties he grew, many I never heard of. I think the people who come across his vegetables at the farmer’s market and who are shareholders in his CSA are very lucky indeed. If you’re not familiar with what a CSA is, check out the story I did on Laura Masterson’s farm, in Food Network: Community Supported Agriculture There is a lot of hard work involved in farming. I knew that. But what really surprised me is how hard it apparently is to get your first farm. It even surprised Mike. Does it surprise you? Here’s some alarming information about the state of family farms in America today, and the respective ages of these existing farmers. From Farm Aid: In the 1930s, there were close to seven million farms in the United States. Today, just over two million farms remain, and only about 25% of these are family farms.In 2004, the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) predicts that 98 percent of total farm operator income will come from off farm sources and at last count only 7 percent of all farm families reported 100 percent on-farm income.More than half of today s farmers are between the ages of 45 and 64 and a quarter of the farmers in this age group plan to retire by 2005.Only six percent of our farmers are younger than 35. The complete Farm Aid article is titled, “Why Family Farmers Need Help” —Rebecca Additional Resources Food Routes Home Family Finance® Resource Center Edible Nation New Generation Takes Over Old Family Farm Subscribe To Us By RSS Subscribe By Email

A field of shimmering sunflowers; a flock of hungry birds feeding , and a farmer who shares some of his stories about his sunflower fields. Recipe from the episode: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Download this episode Director s Journal I have a soft spot for flowers. Years ago I took some painting classes from a great watercolorist, Susan St. Thomas. The subject I always picked to paint was flowers. Gladiolas, stargazer lilies, Johnny jump-ups. They are all my favorites, for various reasons. Near to where I live there are many farms and nurseries. Out driving one day, looking for fresh berries to pick, I stumbled upon a field of sunflowers in full bloom. There were acres of them, which translated into thousands of perky yellow and black heads craning upwards. Which also translated into millions of seeds for birds, and, perhaps, for people. Aha! There might be a story here after all. I pulled over into the fruit stand, and asked for the owner. His name was Don and he was great. I just had to ask him one question—Tell me about your field—and he took off. Sometimes you never know where the next story will pop up. —Rebecca Additional Resources Schlichting Century Farm Growing Sunflowers National Sunflower Association Wikipedia: Sunflower

Tons of tomatoes, and over 70 different varieties are represented at this tomato fest. These farm fresh tomatoes have character, beauty, and yes, even charm. Recipes from the episode: Baked Roma Tomato Pasta; and Tomatoes Vinaigrette Download this episode Director s Journal It was back in May. Or maybe it was June. I passed by a group of folks selling plants for a community fundraiser. It was a good cause and I was looking for some geraniums to plant out back, which they had. There were also a handful of tomato starters. Should I give this a try? I love homegrown tomatoes. I knew I didn’t have the time for a whole garden, but maybe one tomato plant would work. There wasn’t a varietal name attached to it, or the others. I took the nameless home along with a small geranium, and planted both. It was wise of me not to plant a whole bunch of tomatoes. With my schedule, I was happy to coerce the few I got from the plant. There was one surprise. I expected it to be red. And it is definitely orange [see photo]. I have no idea it’s namesake. Does anyone out there know? Hello!? My one plant (with one ripe tomato) was not going to satiate my taste for tomatoes—especially when my inner clock said—HEY! It’s time for tomatoes! So what a great opportunity it was to go visit the local farmer’s market and experience a Tomato Tasting. I got there about 8:30am, as the plates were being filled with cut samples. The morning light filtered through the tall leafy trees and buildings surrounding the market. The light was beautiful and so were the colors of all the different kinds of tomatoes. Colors and types I had never seen before. Soon folks were lining up, equipped with toothpicks and pencils. Poke, taste, rate. Jab, taste, exclaim. Pick, taste, pick, taste, oooh, pick, taste, hmmm, move on. There was a quiet symphony of sounds stirring in the background as I filmed the activity and lushness of colors. What a great way to celebrate one of my favorites of summer. —Rebecca Additional Resources Finding your local Farmer’s Market Heirloom Tomato American Tomato

Follow along as we travel from the field to the factory to learn how some of the best and freshest green beans get picked, processed, and canned all within a few short hours of time. Recipes from the episode: Old Fashioned Green Beans and Bacon; and Green Beans A La Poulet Download this episode | Download food4thot Director s Journal For those of you who have been following, I like to see how things are made, how they work. Take me to a factory and it’s like putting a kid in a candy store. I eat it up. So when I learned that one of the first processing plants to become Food Alliance certified was in my backyard, I thought this is one I’d like to see. And to learn how sustainable practices were crossing over from grower to processor. It sounded like a logical progression. We started where the green beans are grown, out in a bean field. A very large bean field. They had 4 pickers going at once. And I don’t mean 4 people bending, sifting, and picking. These pickers were closer to the size of a Hummer on steroids. Who invented these things? They attacked 4 rows at time, bristly brushes lowered into the bean bushes (yes, I’m having fun). And out popped scratch-free green beans. Beautiful beans. Then they got dumped into a waiting hauler, which dumped them into a waiting bin at Truitt Brothers. And then the fun began. Conveyor belts galore. It was dizzying. From one to another, to another, to another, almost into infinity. I think you will get a sense of it from the film. I’m not sure why they had to travel such a distance in such a way, but I’m sure each step had its purpose. Those beans were washed, jiggled, and tumbled so many times, I can’t imagine any leaf, rock, or piece of dirt that made it to the can. Only beans, just a few hours old. As Sue Root said, you can’t get much fresher than that. —Rebecca Additional Resources University of Florida, IFAS extension, Canning Vegetables University of Illinois Extension, Growing Green Beans Bean Picker

Out of a personal sense that something was missing, began a journey through America, one cheese at a time. Recipe from the episode: Quick Apricot Salad Download this episode | Download food4thot Director s Journal Have you ever come up with an idea or scheme to do something you really wanted to do, ached to do? Then that voice of reason/doubt/practicality pops in and bursts the bubble. No, no, I better not. If everyone listened to that voice some great adventures and discoveries would have been left to someone else. Or maybe to no one. When I read about Sasha and Michael and their project, Cheese By Hand, in the Pacific Northwest Cheese blog, I thought, now there’s a road trip! Taking four months off from work, traveling the country, and visiting artisan cheesemakers. And they came up with the cool idea to share their adventures, as they happened, through the blog created just for the trip! Cozy, in front of my computer I could read, look, and listen as they discovered each farm and learned first-hand from the cheesemaker what it was like for them to create their product. What was cooler yet, they were coming to town for the American Cheese Society’s yearly conference (sold out, BTW!). I wanted to meet these people. They would be staying several days in Portland, and were very interested in exploring the Portland Farmer’s Market, where they were hoping to discover more cheesemakers. There we met, and I was able to join them briefly as they continued their journey of discovery. —Rebecca Additional Resources Cheese By Hand Monteillet Fromagerie Willamette Valley Cheese Co. Oregon Gourmet Cheeses Murray’s Cheese Shop Artisanal Premium Cheese

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) offers a holistic approach to the production of sustainable food grown in urban areas. In this story, we learn of one urban farmer who successfully uses the CSA model to produce long-term sustainable crops that are fresh, cost efficient to produce, environmentally friendly, and that offers local members a stake in the harvest crops. Recipes from the episode: Oven Roasted Tomatoes Spanish Eggplant Salad; and Caponata Pasta Download this episode | Download food4thot Director s Journal Have you gone to your local farmer’s market lately and tried to make your way through the bustle? Have you noticed at the grocery store they sometimes highlight items from a local grower? Ever notice in growing numbers the restaurants offering dishes made from ingredients grown locally? I have. And it seems to be a growing trend. I grew up in farm country (Iowa). Summers were great. I remember going to a nearby corner where a local farmer always sold grocery bags full of corn just picked that morning. I also remember the great taste of tomatoes in the summer. In fact, I only remember eating freshly sliced tomatoes in the summer. This was before food was imported from around the world or grown primarily in hothouses. Now it seems there never is a specific season for any certain fruit or vegetable. You can practically get anything any time of the year. But the flavor isn’t always quite the way I remember it. That’s part of the reason I became interested in buying locally, and buying by season. It was a natural fit for me to meet Laura Masterson, who runs a small local farm. It was fascinating to watch her zoom from restaurant, to farm, and back home where members pick up the weekly harvest. And she is not alone. I know there are thousands of small farmers across the country (and many around the world) who are facing great odds day to day, producing and selling through a Community Supported Agriculture program. Laura brings up many important points to think about. Is there a future for the small farmer near urban areas? If Oregon leads the nation in slowing urban land development, how well are other areas handling these issues? How important is it to preserve a direct connection between the land, and the food that we eat? This week we have created a new segment, Starting a Conversation. In this piece, Laura raises unsettling questions about the long-term future of small farms near urban areas in Oregon. But these are issues that extend beyond Oregon; similar concerns face many local communities across America, and other areas of the world. The ultimate survival of the small farmer in urban areas will be up to the people to decide through their government representatives. Land use policies can either protect the urban farm or allow for its demise. —Rebecca Additional Resources 47th Avenue Farm Alternative Farming Systems Information Center Local Harvest Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Edible Communities

Farmstead cheese is made only from milk that comes from the animals raised on that particular farm. Distinctive in taste, and quality, one such cheesemaker gives us a glimpse of what it is like to be a cheesemaker on a small farm. Recipe from the episode: Pat s Stuffed Chicken Breast Download this episode | Download food4thot Director s Journal When Rebecca suggested we do a story revolving around cheese, I think she was surprised with my (over) enthusiasm. Years ago as a college student living in France, I developed a real taste for great cheeses. Every evening after dinner, the cheese plate would arrive with what I thought were the most delectable morsels in the world. The light bulb went on! Since then, I have learned that other great cheeses grace the planet. And more and more of them are here in our own backyard. And I also now realize that cheeseheads exist beyond the confines of Green Bay, Wisconsin. So when I “had” to go to the featured cheese shop, Curds and Whey, to scout this story, it took no arm-twisting. And once I met David Schiffelbein and heard his story, I knew I’d found a mecca for this cheese lover. David happily turned me on to Pat Morford’s cheeses and again, no arm-twisting necessary to see how she created these great little cheesy gems. She was, as David promised, open, friendly, and very generous with her time and her product. Before her interview, she fed us an olive tapenade chèvre on a rustic piece of toasted bread and another little number that went well with avocado. Nirvana. I am clearly impressed by what I ate, but I am even more impressed by how hard Pat works at making her product and how hard David works at getting products like hers to the public. These creators and purveyors add a dimension to our lives that wasn’t there, say, 40 years ago when individually-wrapped orange-y cheese singles dominated American lunch boxes. I say, thank you! —Beth Harrington Additional Resources Three Ring Farm Curds Whey American Cheese Society Pacific NW Cheese Project Goat Dairy Foods (UC-Davis)