'At Threemile Canyon Farms, we believe that sound business practices and sound environmental practices go hand in hand.'

Our operation

Our closed-loop system combines potato farming with dairy operations to produce high-value agricultural products while practicing a sustainable green farming ethic and long-term conservation.

Recognition

Sustainable Northwest, a prestigious organization that promotes socially responsible business practices, named us a 2003 Founder of a New Northwest for showing that "big farms can be green, too." We've also received special recognition from the U.S. Department of the Interior for our habitat-conservation work.

Size

• 93,000 acres west of Boardman, Ore., with 35,000 irrigated acres in production.
• Dairy operation with 16,000 Holstein and Jersey milk cows and 25,000 replacement calves and heifers for a 41,000-head herd.
• Farm payroll of $10 million annually (300 full-time and 300-400 seasonal workers).
• $250 million annual economic impact in Morrow and Gilliam counties.

Major products

• 200,000 tons of potatoes each year for the fresh market and for processing.
• 160,000 gallons of milk daily for cheese processors and liquid customers.
• A growing variety of organic crops (2,300 acres), including potatoes, onions and specialty wheat.
• 640,000 yards of manure-based, finished compost annually for large commercial customers, retail sale and farm use.
• Working toward producing 6 to 8 megawatts of green electricity or its equivalent in LNG by extracting methane gas from manure.

Major customers

• Milk: Tillamook County Creamery Association.
• Potatoes: JR Simplot Company, Logan International - Alexia Foods, Con Agra Foods.

Sustainable farming practices

• State-of-the-art irrigation system with 100-square-mile wi-fi network reduces water use.
• Rotation crops and post-processing wastes (culled potatoes and peels) provide dairy herd with an all-vegetarian diet.
• Dairy wastes (500,000 tons of manure annually) are recycled into compost; no wastes enter ecosystem and farm abides by zero-discharge waste permit reviewed by Oregon agriculture and environmental regulators.
• Use of dairy compost to improve farm fields significantly reduces need for chemical fertilizers.
• Farm's compost production allows for large-scale farming of organic crops, providing stable, low-cost source for food markets and producers of organic products.
• Dairy herd fully converted to BST-free milk production in 2005.
• 23,000-acre on-site conservation area preserves grassland habitat to protect sensitive species under long-term, voluntary agreement with state and federal wildlife agencies.
• Plans anticipate an on-site dairy-waste digester so methane gas can generate 6 to 8 megawatts of electricity or its equivalent in LNG.

Key partnerships

• Dairy supplies milk for Tillamook County Creamery Association's Columbia River processing plant, allowing dairy industry to expand in Oregon.
• Farm supplies organic corn and potatoes to Kettle Foods and forage for Beef Northwest cattle, helping those Oregon-based companies thrive.
• Farm works with The Nature Conservancy to manage conservation area for habitat preservation.
• Farm markets compost under The Oregon Garden brand, donating a portion of the proceeds to operate The Oregon Garden, a non-profit showcase garden, located in Silverton.
• Farm sponsors activities and supports the Oregon Environmental Council, Oregon Tilth and the Oregon Business Association, as well as community organizations in the Boardman area.