"Food can be a vehicle for social change. It brings people together in a way that very few other activities can." Anim Steel
Our Growing Practices
Our sustainable farming philosophies are constantly adapting as we learn more and as we respond to the evolving realities of place and time. We are committed to growing diverse and unique crops following organic practices, aiming for the most flavorful and nutrient-dense end-product. We prioritize environmental health by using minimal tillage methods to foster living soils, creating thriving habitats for pollinator communities, and strive to strike a balance between human-scale, hand work and some mechanization. Many of the buzzwords used in the ‘sustainable agriculture’ movement do not necessarily feel authentic to us and we do not farm according to any single prescribed set of practices. We, do however, believe in farming in thoughtful, authentic, ecologically-oriented ways by tapping into the intuitive relationships we have formed with land, place, and climate through farming. We are committed to humbly doing our best in a compromised system, knowing that no agricultural system is perfect and that we will always have more to learn. We are excited about experimenting more with dry farming and collectivized farming models because our future requires that we figure out how to grow food in both changing social and ecological climates.
Our values
Biodiversity and seed sovereignty
We understand that life begins with a seed and seed sovereignty is a topic we are always learning more about in our work as farmers. To ensure a balance of exceptional taste and reliability in our crops, we source a mix of open-pollinated and hybrid varieties (click here for a brief breakdown of the difference between the two) with an emphasis on organically grown seed. We prioritize sourcing from local and regional seed producers and continuously strive to grow out new and old varieties that deserve care, attention, and preservation through the work we collectively do in our fields and kitchens. We try whenever possible to understand holistically the location and labor behind the seeds we plant.
Equity
We are a small team, but without our employees there would be no farm. We strongly believe that all farm employees should be paid a fair, living wage and treated with respect, care, and joy. We are always looking to improve our role as advocates for fair labor practices across the agricultural sector. We all should ask ourselves who touched our food and how those people were treated. Equity in the food system means many things, and first and foremost it means dignity for the hands and hearts that steward the lands that sustain communities around the world.
Equity also comes in the form of giving back to the community. Through a combination of donated time, money, vegetables, and other resources, along with accepting a variety of payment options for our CSAs, we are constantly asking ourselves how to strengthen and renew our mission for social justice and empowerment on our farm. We believe that everyone in our communities, no matter their life circumstances or identities, should have access to locally-produced, high-quality vegetables (what once might have been referred to as ‘chef’s quality’ produce.) We are committed to breaking down the harmful narrative that food donated to service providers for vulnerable communities should be ‘seconds’ quality. We partner with Equitable Giving Circle, Growing Gardens, and Outside In to distribute the finest, tastiest, and freshest crops to all of our eaters.
We are committed to challenging our own role and complacency in the ways the broader food system causes harm and to demanding a better food future for us all.
Community Partnerships
We believe in cooperation over competition. We work with about 10 other food producers to provide staple goods to our CSA members through an online marketplace. Once you are a CSA member, you can add products from Campfire Farms, Beeway Honey, Laney Family Farms Beef, Fawn Lily Farm, Real Good Food, Rise Up Remedies, The Fermentista, Kiyokawa Family Orchards, Ayers Creek Farm, and Tostado Coffee.
We also love contributing to the wider agricultural learning community by participating in variety trials, community events, workshops and campaigns to get people excited about biodiversity and flavor!
Empowering Female Farmers
We are proud that our farm is powered by a majority female crew and is a space that invites expression of all gender and sexuality identities. We take empowering female-identifying farmers very seriously and will continue to contribute to the rise of women working in agriculture around the world by creating opportunities for personal growth and professional development in all areas of farming for our employees. We have seen first-hand the many ways expressions of toxic masculinity show up on farms and are here to help dismantle it.
Mentorship
Acknowledging the social impact inherent in agriculture, we want to contribute to building a robust regional food system by nurturing new farmers, supporting other producers of quality food and making charitable donations whenever possible. We learned farming the hard way: on our own! Therefore, we love to pass on what we have learned from over a decade of farming and share the realities of farming as a career by empowering our employees to develop their farming careers. Nothing makes us more proud than a past employee being empowered to start their own farm/garden project! We are also excited to pass knowledge to the next generation of growers by serving as a Host Farm for Rogue Farm Corps’ Internship Program. You can find more information here.
At this time we have no open positions for employment.
We understand that life begins with a seed and seed sovereignty is a topic we are always learning more about in our work as farmers. To ensure a balance of exceptional taste and reliability in our crops, we source a mix of open-pollinated and hybrid varieties (click here for a brief breakdown of the difference between the two) with an emphasis on organically grown seed. We prioritize sourcing from local and regional seed producers and continuously strive to grow out new and old varieties that deserve care, attention, and preservation through the work we collectively do in our fields and kitchens. We try whenever possible to understand holistically the location and labor behind the seeds we plant.
Equity
We are a small team, but without our employees there would be no farm. We strongly believe that all farm employees should be paid a fair, living wage and treated with respect, care, and joy. We are always looking to improve our role as advocates for fair labor practices across the agricultural sector. We all should ask ourselves who touched our food and how those people were treated. Equity in the food system means many things, and first and foremost it means dignity for the hands and hearts that steward the lands that sustain communities around the world.
Equity also comes in the form of giving back to the community. Through a combination of donated time, money, vegetables, and other resources, along with accepting a variety of payment options for our CSAs, we are constantly asking ourselves how to strengthen and renew our mission for social justice and empowerment on our farm. We believe that everyone in our communities, no matter their life circumstances or identities, should have access to locally-produced, high-quality vegetables (what once might have been referred to as ‘chef’s quality’ produce.) We are committed to breaking down the harmful narrative that food donated to service providers for vulnerable communities should be ‘seconds’ quality. We partner with Equitable Giving Circle, Growing Gardens, and Outside In to distribute the finest, tastiest, and freshest crops to all of our eaters.
We are committed to challenging our own role and complacency in the ways the broader food system causes harm and to demanding a better food future for us all.
Community Partnerships
We believe in cooperation over competition. We work with about 10 other food producers to provide staple goods to our CSA members through an online marketplace. Once you are a CSA member, you can add products from Campfire Farms, Beeway Honey, Laney Family Farms Beef, Fawn Lily Farm, Real Good Food, Rise Up Remedies, The Fermentista, Kiyokawa Family Orchards, Ayers Creek Farm, and Tostado Coffee.
We also love contributing to the wider agricultural learning community by participating in variety trials, community events, workshops and campaigns to get people excited about biodiversity and flavor!
Empowering Female Farmers
We are proud that our farm is powered by a majority female crew and is a space that invites expression of all gender and sexuality identities. We take empowering female-identifying farmers very seriously and will continue to contribute to the rise of women working in agriculture around the world by creating opportunities for personal growth and professional development in all areas of farming for our employees. We have seen first-hand the many ways expressions of toxic masculinity show up on farms and are here to help dismantle it.
Mentorship
Acknowledging the social impact inherent in agriculture, we want to contribute to building a robust regional food system by nurturing new farmers, supporting other producers of quality food and making charitable donations whenever possible. We learned farming the hard way: on our own! Therefore, we love to pass on what we have learned from over a decade of farming and share the realities of farming as a career by empowering our employees to develop their farming careers. Nothing makes us more proud than a past employee being empowered to start their own farm/garden project! We are also excited to pass knowledge to the next generation of growers by serving as a Host Farm for Rogue Farm Corps’ Internship Program. You can find more information here.
At this time we have no open positions for employment.
The 2021 wild roots farm crew line up
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Mary Colombo - Farmer/Owner/Manager
I have always kept a garden and I was previously a geologist before I made the jump to be a full-time farmer in 2009. In farming I've found my tribe. I love being the crew leader since organizing and getting shit done are kind of my things. My passion for farming is mostly driven by my love of cooking, good food, nourishing others, and a hard day's work. In my "spare" time I bake, read, run, go camping, snuggle with cats, and travel. This past season, I grew out a bed of dye flowers and have now dove into the world of natural dyes and dyeing. My goal for 2021 is to find more personal time to run, read, do yoga and hang out with friends. |
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Brian Shipman - Farmer/Owner/Boss Man
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Jami Epstein - field crew member, hype lady
After years of traveling and working professionally in kitchens, I decided it was time to learn more about where the food I was cooking actually came from. I tried my hand at goat dairy farming, then veggies, and finally found my home in the Wild Roots family as the loud eager baby duckling. At the farm, you can find me constantly covered in dirt and singing 90s songs to the seedlings and crew. While at home, I’m usually diving deep into cooking projects, ceramics, and trying to figure out how to keep my indoor plants alive. |
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Katie Gourley - field crew member, baker of all the things
I am a farmer, baker, zine writer, and grain nerd of Sicilian and Irish ancestry. I was born and raised in Portland, OR where my family has been living as settlers on unceded ancestral lands for five generations. Over the years, I have worn a few different hats in the food and agriculture world, including as a researcher, farmer, market manager, pastry chef, cheesemonger, food writer, and culinary educator. After a brief time working in the world of publishing, I worked in farmers market management before pursuing a Masters in Urban Planning where I focused on food sovereignty and conducted community-based research with grassroots seed savers. I show up to farming dedicated to supporting future food communities and systems of land stewardship premised on radical equity, care, and reparative action. I am a collector of heirloom beans, poems about food, and Georgia O'Keeffe postcards. In my free time I enjoy nerding out about seeds, getting lost under big trees, and baking cakes to fundraise money for reparations. In 2021 I am most excited to learn more about working with flowers and all the dry beans. |
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Caitlin Brigham - field crew member, master fermenter
I’m a lover of nature who has recently come to farming after spending five years working back and front of house in restaurants around Portland. Experience working with high quality produce as a cook and fermenter inspired a fierce love of fruits and veggies in all their fantastic forms. Currently, I am pursuing a master’s degree in Food Systems and Society through OHSU as a form of activist research. I hope to tie my work at Wild Roots Farm with my graduate education to put social justice theory into practice at the farm and community level. I also want to continue pursuing my personal passion for food preservation with all the bounty that the farm has to offer. For fun I collect bad jokes and goofy puns, climb rocks, sleep under the trees, care for and eat all the plants, and walk, run, or bike while looking at neat things outside. My goal for 2021 is two-fold: to learn about systems of community care that can emerge from intentional farming and to spend as much time as possible playing in the dirt. |
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David Moses Oberstein - Field crew member / Irreverent cookie baking grandma
I grew up in a rural part of NW New Jersey where I developed an appreciation for open space and farming. I've spent a few years working on diversified vegetable farms, both as a grower and as an educator. I have a borderline obsession with the CSA model (I had 3 separate CSAs in 2020) which helps to build connection with community and provides deep nourishment. My love of agriculture is rooted in a passion for local food systems and their impact on building community. In my free time, I love chasing waterfalls, baking cookies, making kitties purr and fermenting anything that I feel isn’t cultured enough. I'm looking forward to a year of learning about land stewardship and sharing dried beans with future fabaceae friends. |
