Future
Farms 2008:
Planning for Change
Tuesday, August 5: Farm Tours
Farm Tour Photo Galleries
More information about farms on the tours
Central
OSU-OKC Horticulture Center (Oklahoma City)
OSU Horticulture Department head Julia Laughlin will show visitors the
John E. Kirkpatrick Horticulture Center’s 40-acre grounds and
gardens, including 16,000 square feet of production greenhouses, orchard,
vineyard, arboretum, and community garden. The Center also hosts
the year-round OSU-OKC Farmers Market, featuring 100% Oklahoma-grown
produce, meats, dairy, plants, and flowers.
Sunrise Acres (Blanchard)
Robert & Barbara Stelle will walk visitors through their 2-acre
high-density market garden area, featuring some vegetables at harvest
stage and others newly planted for fall & winter production. Tour
participants will also see the 9000 square feet of greenhouse space,
where they grow vegetable & herb transplants, along with lettuce
and tomatoes for winter production. The Stelles sell their certified
organic produce directly from the farm seven days a week, all year
long, and at venues including the OSU-OKC Farmers Market and the Oklahoma
Food Co-op.
Sailor Orchard (Blanchard)
(on-bus talk)
Bob Mearkle, owner of Sailor Orchard, will board the bus and talk about
his peach orchard, located in Blanchard. He will describe production
methods and pruning techniques, and share how he and his wife Connie
pick the highly coveted peaches and sell them from their home. A
couple of boxes of the juicy tree-ripened peaches will make an afternoon
snack.
Wichita Buffalo Company (Hinton)
James and Sandra Stepp raise free-roaming buffalo on pasture, without
hormones or other growth stimulants of any kind. They will address
how buffalo can be successfully raised and marketed in Oklahoma, including
fencing, corrals, handling equipment, and medical and nutritional needs.
They will also discuss the demand for buffalo meat and the need for
more producers to raise the animals. The Stepps began their buffalo
business in 1998 as a sideline. They now both work full-time on the
ranch and have five employees.
SS Farms (Hinton)
(on-bus talk)
Dean Smith of SS Farms will ride the bus from Wichita Buffalo Company
to talk about his pepper fields in Hinton. Mr. Smith grows 1,200 acres
of peppers that are 4 times hotter than the habanero pepper, along
with other crops. He has been specialty crop farming on a commercial
scale for many years.
Christian Cheese (Kingfisher)
George and Lawanna Christian have been dairying for forty years and making
cheese for ten, using Grade A milk from their own dairy herd. Their
raise their cattle without hormones or antibiotics and graze year-round
on pastures kept free of synthetic herbicides and fertilizers. The
Christians market their cheeses directly online, through the Oklahoma
Food Co-op, and at some forty Oklahoma grocery stores.
Chapel Creek Winery (El Reno)
Professor Andrew Snyder will guide students on a tour of this working
winery, which also helps to train students in Redland Community College’s
program in enology (wine science) and viticulture (grape growing). The
winery focuses on making small batches of many types of wines, so that
students will become experts in all aspects of the industry. It
opened a tasting room last winter.
Northwest
Crestview Farms (Edmond)
Susan and Vernon Graff grow certified organic vegetables, berries, fruits,
herbs, and other produce on their 26-acre farm. They sell at
the OSU-OKC Farmers Market, through the Oklahoma Food Co-op, and from
an on-farm retail shop that also features other Made-in-Oklahoma products.
Cattle Tracks LLC (Fairview)
John and Kris Gosney raise certified organic hard red wheat and beef
on their Centennial Farm. They grind some of the wheat into flour,
and sell wheat berries, flour, and beef cuts on their website and through
the Oklahoma Food Cooperative. This tour stop includes a meal featuring
products from the farm, as well as the family tradition - homemade ice
cream. Tour participants will also have opportunity to grind flour
from organic wheat berries, see the Oklahoma Centennial witness trees,
and go to the top of the Gloss Mountain range, on the farm, for a view
of the beautiful area.
Wagon Creek Creamery (Helena)
Ron and Barbara Crain have been dairying for 15 years, raising their
herd of 50-60 pasture fed cows without growth hormones or grain. From
the milk, they make a variety of dairy products, including yogurt, yogurt
cheese, butter, ricotta, buttermilk, and cottage cheese. They sell
online and through the Oklahoma Food Cooperative.
Indian Creek Winery (Ringwood)
Jenny & Chris Lewis produce a wide variety of wines from their vineyard’s
grapes. The winery also hosts several agritourism attractions,
including a bed & breakfast, wedding chapel, and gift shop.
East
Queen’s Ransom Farm (Newalla)
Jeff & Rejina Janes grow tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables
on ten acres, including 1/4 acre of strawberries on plasticulture and
350 Apache blackberry vines, for sale at the Shawnee farmers market.
They are currently adding about 200 table grape vines. The couple,
who have been farming for two years, will discuss becoming a
self-supporting farm through diversification, perennial crops and annual
crops. They will focus on planting crops among the trees, working with
the land to maintain natural habitats, and using plasticulture and
drip irrigation for water conservation and weed control. Micah Anderson
of the ODAFF plasticulture program will also demonstrate laying plastic.
Valley View Pecan Company (Earlsboro)
For over 30 years, John and Janice Grundmann have been shelling pecans,
specializing in Oklahoma native varieties. In 2001, they completed
construction of a new 6,000 square foot plant, capable of custom shelling
on orders of all sizes. An on-site retail store offers pecan candies,
fudge, peanuts, English walnuts, black walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews,
almonds and candies made with a variety of nuts. The Grundmanns
shell for customers in four states, and ship candy and nuts nationwide. They
will walk visitors through the process, from cracking, shelling, floating,
and cleaning to the ready-to-eat pecan meat.
Tiger Mountain Ranch (Henryetta)
Sharon and Carl Glidden’s guest ranch demonstrates many of the
endless possibilities of agritourism, offering customizable programs
drawn from a range of Native American and cowboy traditions and skills.
Rocky Top Goats (Henryetta)
Cliff Porter runs 200 to 250 Boer goats on 180 acres, selling mostly
show wethers and slaughter goats. He handles all the labor and
management himself, with a focus on minimizing costs and labor as far
as practicable. Before beginning the goat enterprise in 2000,
Porter ran a commercial cow-calf operation for many years.
Grape Ranch Winery (Okemah)
Since its beginning in 1999, Grape Ranch Winery has been voted best winery
in Oklahoma more than once. Overlooking a pecan orchard on the
North Canadian River, the winery offers daily tasting, as well as a full
schedule of live music on Saturdays and Sundays.
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