Just one of our fields of our Organic corn.

Threemile Canyon Farms is rapidly expanding our production of certified organic crops, helping to develop this high-value Oregon agricultural niche by providing retail and industrial customers with a dependable - and economical - supply of organic produce.

Our farm is ideally suited to be a key supplier to specialty groceries and regional producers of organic products. Our green farming ethic marries crop and milk production. As a result, nutrient-rich dairy manure is recycled into natural fertilizer and compost that enhances the soil and feeds the crops, efficiently producing top-quality produce without the use of chemical agents.

Oregon Tilth Certified Organic

Our organic acreage is certified by Oregon Tilth, a USDA-accredited agency, and has grown to 2,300 acres in the last four years. (Oregon organic farms average 112 acres.) Even on our conventional fields, we use organic growing techniques and have dramatically reduced our use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Threemile Canyon Farms has been recognized by Sustainable Northwest and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for our socially responsible and conservation-oriented green farming practices.

Onion harvest

Our organic operation helps signature Oregon brands. Our organically grown yellow dent corn and potatoes go into Kettle Foods tortilla and potato chips, helping to sustain that Oregon business. Our harvested grass-seed fields provide forage for Beef Northwest, whose natural beef is featured prominently by Burgerville USA and Whole Foods.

We doubled our acreage of organic potatoes between 2003 and 2004. They are used by Alexia Foods for specialty potato products and also sold fresh under the Threemile Canyon Farms brand in season (September through February) in natural food specialty stores, including Whole Foods and New Seasons markets.

Our Spanish yellow, red and white onions are sold fresh, mostly under the Threemile Canyon Farms brand. Our specialty wheat is used by organic bakeries up and down the West Coast.

Russell Loughmiller, organic crops manager

Working with nature to expand consumer choices

Russell Loughmiller, organic crops manager, is a planner extraordinaire. And that's a good thing, because planning is the key to successful organic farming.

"You have to figure your crop rotations out years in advance," says Loughmiller. "And you have to carefully monitor and anticipate the disease and insect pressures you may face so you can address them proactively through organic methods."

Loughmiller, who grew up on a farm in southern Idaho, likes the way Threemile Canyon Farms is expanding choices for consumers and refining organic practices. "It's a smart way of farming -- you're working with nature," he says.

Loughmiller worked on a Lamb Weston team to develop the potato industry in Turkey, and then worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Lebanon. Now he's an active participant in organizations like Oregon Tilth, learning more and sharing the insights he has gained from managing one of Oregon's largest organic farming operations.

Threemile Road Boardman, OR 97818 • 541-481-9274 • mail@threemilecanyonfarms.com