Smoky Summer

It’s summer, and Eastern Oregon is on fire. The wildfires near Anthony Lakes and in the Wallowa-Whitman forest are affecting Good Groceries’ ability to provide some summer produce, including these recent shortages:

• Last week the La Grande Farmers Market was canceled due to hazardous air quality. This happens to be where I receive our berry order from Aichele Farms (Stanfield), so we weren’t able to make the connection.
• Nella Mae’s Farm has suspended harvesting salad, beets, and other produce to protect the crew from Cove's terrible conditions (pictured).

Farmers don’t have the luxury of staying inside when it’s harvest time. By protecting her workers, Nella Mae is losing crops that will not wait for a clear day to ripen.

There may be long-term effects as well. I just saw on Facebook photos of cattle near Caldwell that were unable to outrun the fires. I haven’t heard any issues with our ranchers, but summer ain’t over …

We are also feeling the residual effects of last spring’s freeze after extremely mild temps — Forest Cove Acres lost most of their cherry crop this year, and Platz Family Farm doesn’t have enough extra peaches to share with us.  :(

Only time will tell if these are random weather events or part of a new pattern we need to learn to live with (and/or try to combat). In the meantime, I appreciate your patience if we come up short on a few items.