#McKenzieStrong Diaries – Organic Redneck Growers

Adam Lee is the farm manager at Organic Redneck Growers, a local farm and shop which has been one of my favorite stops along the 126 for a long while now.

At the time of the fire, this was Adam’s fourth season on the farm:

“I knew it was a red flag warning day,” Adam recalls, as he’s originally from California and familiar with the devastation such fires can cause.

The farm itself luckily escaped direct damage, but when the employees came to save the blueberries from the freezers, there were trees on fire around them on the hillside, and the scars of that night on Labor Day were very much evident as talked.

He reflects on the strange fact that the place looks just as lush and green as ever and that it is good that the farm is able to provide a sort of oasis, a respite from the destruction in the surrounding area where locals are welcome to come and just spend some time decompressing and enjoying the atmosphere.

“You kind of have to not think too hard about the why and the how, and just count your blessings, because it’s so hard to put yourself in the shoes of others who have suffered so much more loss. I talked to some of our neighbors who after doing cleanup on their property come here just for a bit of normalcy,” he said.

The farm donated a lot of produce to the relief centers setup in Vida, Blue River and Rainbow in the aftermath of the fire. More recently, they also participated in the initiative coordinated by the McKenzie CDC to provide holiday gift boxes to the families affected by the fire. Providing vouchers for their u-pick produce. To me, there is something special about dreaming of picking strawberries, blueberries or ripe tomatoes on a warm summer’s day that helps you get through these short and rather bleak winter months.

Going forward, he would love to see relationships continuing to develop among the people who live here and businesses such as shops and restaurants. “One of the original intentions of the farm was to feed our river valley friends, neighbors and community.

At the moment, things are as busy as ever on the farm, and crops are still coming out, looking great, and tasting as delicious as ever, so we’re looking forward to having produce in the farm stand for folks that go by – a reminder that the unique beauty of the McKenzie Valley will return and endure.

“I see this moment as a time when our community is coming together, where we’re reconnecting and creating new relationships and I would love to see how this farm could help facilitate that, outside of just selling fruit and vegetables, even just as a place to be, to have a bit of respite, and I would love to work with new businesses that are either looking to re-establish or settle into the valley,” he concludes.

For the latest information on the recovery and rebuilding of the McKenzie Valley, and to contribute to those efforts, visit McKenzie Recovery and follow @CdcKenzie on Twitter.