Pearmine Farms, Inc.

Pearmine Farms, Inc. in Gervais, Oregon, is a 4th generation family farm. We farm around 1200 acres of vegetables, sweet cherries, wheat and grass grown for seed. Les Pearmine Sr. managed the farm in the 30's and early 40's for Roy Springer. Les and Milo Pearmine Jr. began managing in the mid-40's for Roy's son Howard, after Roy passed away suddenly, and than purchasing the farm in 1956. Ron and Larry Pearmine took over the operation in 1973, farming together until 2011 when Larry retired. Ron is still active on the farm, working with daughter Molly and son Ernie as they have taken over management.

The farm has a long and significant history. A portion of the farm was the Joseph Gervais Donation land claim of 1850. Joseph Gervais first came to the Oregon Territory in 1812 and settled this farm about 1830. The first crops were wheat and apples. Shards of pottery and a few apple trees remain from this early home site on the Willamette River as well as signs of the old wagon trail that ran from the Wheatland Ferry on up to Fairview and Champoeg. History tells that there was a grist mill on the river as part of the farm as well as the first school house in Oregon.

For just over 40 years we have been members of NORPAC Foods, a cooperative owned by 240 family farms in Oregon. We currently grow 615 combined acres of sweet corn, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower. Our vegetable planting season begins in mid-March preparing fields with planting beginning around mid-April after that "last" frost. We usually start harvesting beans and broccoli in July, corn begins in late August and finish up with Cauliflower in October. All of our vegetables are washed, prepped and frozen within 4-8 hours of leaving our fields, making them some of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat all year long.

Our farm has been members of Willamette Cherry Growers since the early 1930's. Nell Pearmine (Les Sr.'s wife) was one of the original founding members of WCG in 1932. In the early 1990's WCG merged with The Dalles Cherry Growers to form Oregon Cherry Growers, a grower owned cooperative, and the largest cherry processor in the US, where all of our sweet cherries find a home. Our cherries can travel all over the world into other markets, but you've most likely enjoyed them locally either fresh from the store, in milkshakes, Shirley Temples or in some of your favorite ice cream.

Not only are we proud of who we are and what we grow, we understand how crucial balance is to our farm. We work hard managing healthy soils and water as well as wildlife conservation as part of our farm plan. Crop rotation is key to producing top quality products in our operation. The use of cover crops in the winter is also important to our nutrition and soil management. Rotation and cover crops allow us to better manage and decide whether to use no-till, minimal-till or conventional tillage in land preparation each spring. We also have an extensive Integrated Pest Management plan, guiding our decisions to use or reduce the use of inputs for growing healthy plants. The need for wildlife and agriculture to co-exist is important. In 2003 we converted 30 acres of ground that was in production back into a wetland, connecting it with an already existing pond and marsh. We now have over 90 acres in an Wetland Reserve Program that has allowed migrating birds a spot to rest, native birds a home to return to, and location for an abundance of other wildlife to enjoy.

We all know the importance of food and where it comes from. Having the ability to feed families couldn't be more important! But not everyone has that opportunity. In Oregon we have a hunger problem. Knowing the number of children who are hungry each day and uncertain of where their next meal will come from was a call to action for our family. We began contributing additional vegetables to Farmers Ending Hunger in 2008. And in 2009 opened a little pumpkin patch to help raise money for FEH as well as collect canned food for Marion Polk Food Share in Salem.100% of everything earned is donated to these programs. We also work with Salem Harvest, a group of volunteers who harvest extra fruit and vegetables and donates them to Marion Polk Food Share. They will harvest extra squash from the pumpkin patch as well as any extra vegetables we may have throughout the summer. A strong community is vital, to itself and everyone surrounding it. Each fall, not only the money and food we collect increases, so do the lessons of compassion, understanding and the importance of helping others with each connection made on our farm.

Our family takes pride in our history and preserving where we live, work and play. We look forward to passing on this rich history and love for agriculture to the next generation.