Fish, cattle and potatoes: Food production a way of life
At this end of the Klamath River we harvest potatoes; at the
other end they harvest fish and crabs. “We” and “they” have plenty
of differences, but there is much in common: in particular, the
river.
On its winding path through Oregon and California, the Klamath
River connects diverse agricultural and food industry businesses
and workers, and people deal with several similarities: natural
resources, including the river, are key to operations; regulations
affect their stakes in land and water resources and how they run
their businesses; and volatile prices and markets affect sometimes
elusive profits.
People up and down the Klamath River have one other common
trait: (usually) they love what they do – it’s the lifestyle as
much as the money.
Food production of all types is a way of life all along the
Klamath. In Klamath County, row crops are important. And
tricky.
“Any profit in a potato deal is a success,” said Dan Chin, owner
of Merrill-based Wong Potatoes, which plants 4,000 acres of
specialty and russet potatoes, wheat and grains, and onions in
Klamath and Siskiyou counties.
Just down the river, the landscape changes.
“On the river here ,there isn’t the land (for big farms). The
land is too broken up,” said Kathy Bishop, a Seiad Valley rancher
who lives on California State Route 96, which traces the Klamath
River’s curves through Siskiyou and Humboldt counties.
“We all do a little bit of small-scale farming for food,” she
said. “People raise a couple animals for food, veggies, fruit
trees.”
Growers in Klamath County and fishermen who hunt at the mouth of
the Klamath each season grapple with volatile prices influenced by
a world market. The sustenance farmers in between work what they
call “real jobs” and consider their 50 or so animals a hobby.
Gary Rainey, who has free-range cattle in Horse Creek along
Route 96, said even though he and his wife work other jobs, it’s
never occurred to them to leave their ranch.
“It’s kind of thankless, but it’s a way of living,” Rainey said.
“Whether you’re working potatoes, you’re a commercial hay grower or
you’re doing what we do, quite often the return isn’t as big as the
effort you put into it, but it’s a way of life.”
All the way down the river, those feelings are mutual.
“In corporate culture, guys are always asking, ‘How much longer
are you going to put up with this crap?’ ” said Dave Bitts, a
Eureka-based commercial fisherman. “In fishing it’s, ‘How much
longer do you think you’re going to be able to do this?’ “
Consumers in the area realize that, producers said. Part of the
region’s identity is tied to consumers’ access to locally-grown
organic potatoes from Chin’s farm, fresh butternut squash from the
Bishops, fresh beef from the Raineys or snapping Dungeness crab
from Bitts’ boat.
“We have influence beyond economic significance,” Bitts said.
“It’s part of this place’s sense of self. If you want, you can come
down and buy crabs or tuna. It’s what this place is.”
Grow your own fruit and vegetables with Bill & Sheila
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