Mud City Press

THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT

We hear the slogan "eat local" over and over again, but what does it really mean? It's more than just eating fresher food. It's about preserving local food systems. It's about food security and common sense management of the pantry. Here in Oregon's Willamette Valley we have the agricultural potential to feed the valley residents twice over. And yet we grow rye grass and fescue for grass seed and ninety-five percent of what we eat in this fertile valley is imported. With the price of all fossil fuels on the rise, this makes no economic or agricultural sense at all. Harry MacCormack of Sunbow Farm in Corvallis, Oregon has conceived a plan to turn this around.

The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project is a step by step strategy to rebuild the local food system by increasing the quantity and diversity of food crops that are grown in the valley, evaluating deficiencies in the food system infrastructure, building buyer/seller relationships for locally grown food, incorporating the culture of community into the fabric of the food system, and compiling resources on organic and sustainable agricultural practices specific to this region. As the name of the project implies, central to the task is stimulating the cultivation and local marketing of organically grown beans and grains to provide a foundation for year-round food resources in the valley.

Bean and Grain Index

WHY BEANS AND GRAINS?: There are plenty of reasons to grow beans and grains. Dry storage is a pretty good start. Modest water needs is another. More.
AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION IN THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY: The Bean and Grain Project has been exploring alternative crops for Willamette Valley farmers for two years now, but recent distress in the grass seed industry has added a new immediacy to this work. The time is ripe for farmers and other food business leaders to gather and discuss new agricultural models.
THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT (Project Report One: January-June 2008): The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project made its first public presentation in January of 2008. This report describes the work of the Bean and Grain Project during the first half of that year–background, scheme and scope of project, and spring planting.
THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT (Project Report Two: June-November 2008): This report summarizes the work of the Bean and Grain Project during the second half of 2008–the growing season, harvest, sales, and the evolution of the Bean and Grain Project organizatonal model.
THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT (Project Report Three: January 20, 2009): The Bean and Grain Project gave an end of year 2008 presentation at the Oregon State University Extension Service auditorium in Eugene on January 20, 2009. This is a summary of that presentation.
THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT (Project Report Four: March, 2009): There were two Bean and Grain Project meetings in March for farmers interested in growing beans and grains in 2009. This report summarizes those two meetings.
THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT (Project Report Five: Farm Tour, July 2009): The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project sponsored a farm tour and dinner on July 22, 2009. This is a report on that tour.
THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT (Project Report Six: Three Farmers Meetings, October, 2009): The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project hosted two farmers meetings in mid-October. A week later, the Oregon Department of Agriculture held a farmers meeting in Albany. This is a report on all three of these meetings and a commentary on what they portend for Willamette Valley agricutlure.
THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT (Project Report Seven: Spring Meetings, March, 2010): The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project hosted two farmers meetings in March, one in Eugene and one in Tangent. These meeting were conducted to discuss the planting of spring field crops, experiences with beans and grains in the last two years, and progress toward increased food system infrastructure.
REBUILDING THE LIFE OF THE SOIL: An Interview with Shepard Smith: Shepard Smith of Soilsmith Services talks about his compost and compost tea business, how he makes his compost tea, and why good compost and compost tea are such valuable soil amendments.
LOCAL FOODS PROJECT FINAL REPORT 2008: The Ten Rivers Food Web in Corvallis has been a vital part of the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project since its inception. This is the TRFW's report on the Bean and Grain Project for 2008.
CROPS AND YIELDS 2008: Part of the purpose of the Bean and Grain Project is to accumulate information on the growing of beans and grains in the Willamette Valley. This document is a compliation of the crop statistics of Bean and Grain Project participants from the 2008 growing season. It includes varieties grown, type of cultivation, acreage, and yields.
BEAN AND GRAIN FARM TOUR 2009: Chris Peterson wrote this article on the Bean and Grain Tour for the Ten Rivers Food Web website.
SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEAN AND GRAIN PROJECT WORKING DOCUMENTS: Two early gatherings were critical to the creation of the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project. This document contains summaries of those two formative meetings.
COMPOST TEA: Promises and Practicalities: This article about compost tea was originally published in December, 2003 by ACRES USA and was written by Elaine Ingham of the Soil Foodweb Lab in Corvallis. Elaine Ingham was one of the primary researchers in the development of the compost tea brewer.

Reports from Sunbow Farm

Harry MacCormack, co-founder of Oregon Tilth and owner of Sunbow Farm in Corvallis, Oregon, provides the vision and inspiration for the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project. MacCormack has farmed in the south Willamette Valley for forty years, exploring organic farming techniques, developing standards for organic farm certification, and plain old experimenting in the field with a wide variety of grains, legumes, and edible seed crops. Below are some his thoughts and writings about the Bean and Grain Project:

BEANS, GRAINS, SOIL BIOLOGY, AND COMPOST TEA: Mud City Press went to up to Sunbow Farm outside Corvallis on January 23, 2009 to interview Harry MacCormack. These are selected portions from that interview.
PROJECT DESIGN PRINCIPLES: These are the design principles established by Harry MacCormack in the formative stages of the Bean and Grain Project.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY 2008: This is the financial report for beans and grains grown at Sunbow Farm in 2008.
BEAN,GRAIN,EDIBLE SEED RESEARCH 2008 REPORT: Harry MacCormack's field notes from 2008 are summarized in this document that details what was planted, what seed varieties were used, nutritional information on beans and grain, product processing, and total costs.
2009 SUNBOW FARM GRAIN, BEAN, EDIBLE SEED REPORT: Bean, grain, and edible seed yields from 2009 growing season are summarized in this document by Harry MacCormack.

New Books by Harry MacCormack

TRANSITION DOCUMENT: Toward a Biologically Resilient Agriculture: Dan Armstrong reviews Harry MacCormack's new and expanded fourth edition of THE TRANSITION DOCUMENT: "This is an important book by a long-time contributor to what might be the most crucial work of our time–the transition from better living through chemistry to better living through natural processes."
THE MORNING STAR SUTRA and THE EVENING STAR SUTRA: Venus eclipsed our sun in 2004 and will do so again in 2012. This event will not happen again for 130 years. Indigenous cultures across the world understand this eight-year opening as a period of intense possibility for manifestation of new directions. These sutras offer a way into that unfolding.