Today’s interview with Mike and Laura Ellis of Mt. Hope Farms is going to be a little bit different, because it’s going to be more of a coaching style. They are facing some challenges, which I think are similar to what many listeners may be facing. I wanted to just open it up and make this more of coaching style; so that you could hear the challenges that they’re facing. Potentially, you won’t feel so alone; and that also you can hear potentially some ideas and tips that may work for you as well.

TRANSCRIPT:

By way of background, Mt. Hope Farms is based in Molalla, Oregon. They specialize in preserved foods and unique fruits. They have won awards from the Good Food Awards for their fruit spreads; which are made with the best fruit that they actually grow and source. They are an operating farm, and much of the produce from their farm goes into their … preserves. They also source ingredients as well, which can include local spirits, spices, organic sugar, and other ingredients that also contain no GMOs.

Each recipe is original and each jar is made with love. It’s meant to pair with cheese, charcuterie, baked goods, and anything else you can imagine. Their products are a reflection of their farming heritage, their love of the land, and are meant to highlight the berries and fruits that are so special to their farm and family.

Laura and Mike, thank you so much for joining us.

Laura: Thank you so much for having us.

Jennifer: In the bio that I just read, we were talking about … or one of the pieces that we talked about was farming heritage. I wanted to actually start just with a very basic foundation question, which is what is your history or your background with farming?

Laura: Well, Mike and I are on his grandpa’s farm. That’s the land that we’re farming, the ground that we’re farming. We’re the third generation. He knows all of the … Actually, do you want to tell them about the background and everything?

Mike: My farming history, it goes back as many generations as I can count back. I remember being told about … it was my great, great grandpa that walked out here to Oregon on the Oregon trail.

Jennifer: Oh wow.

Mike: At the age of something like eight or something like that. We bounced around throughout the valley, throughout our history; but my great grandpa settled around the area and grew lilies and glads. His wife bred pansies. They shipped bulbs and seeds all over the world.

Jennifer: Oh, interesting.

Mike: Did that throughout … They survived the Great Depression. They always would say that people would buy flowers before they’d buy food; something to make life seem normal again.

Laura: Lift their spirits and make them happy.

Mike: Yeah.

Jennifer: Yup.

Mike: Also, traded flowers and bulbs for musical instrument they donated to the high school for their music program.

Then my grandpa branched out on his own. He went into grain farming, … and slowly kind of moved from one farm to the next as we head from Canby over to Molalla. In ’62, he bought the farm that we’re on right now. My dad farmed with him all of his life, growing grain crops. Then, they transitioned over into grass seed production. We do … still do some grass seed production, some clover seed and radish seed for cover crops and forage.

Laura: Yup.

Mike: Then, with our … with us coming on the farm, we decided we needed to look to the future, do something that was going to be more sustainable because all the farms around us are three to four times our size. We’re small; and trying to grow a commodity,