Jan Kerns, Baker County

“I came to the ranch as a “city girl” bride, having been raised in La Grande. I had embarrassing moments, as I learned about agriculture and life on a farm.  In the blizzard of 1974 the storm raged for 36 hours, blowing snow into the irrigation ditch networks and covering up newborn calves that had laid in the ditches for shelter. We brought around 18 calves in the house, trying to warm them up and keep them alive.  Calves were in the bathtub in warm water, on my personal heating pad, laying all around the dining room floor in front of electric space heater, and a 36 hour period of no sleep… I recall trying to give a calf mouth-to-mouth respiration with a piece of waxed paper over its mouth. A calf suddenly got a burst of energy and “carried” the dining room table on its back when it stood up!”

Tom and Janet Kerns came to Baker County from Lorraine, Oregon in 1938. Due to the poor ag economy, Tom taught Vocational Agriculture in Enterprise during the week and came back to the ranch 5 miles west of Haines on weekends to help Janet with chores and raise the two oldest children. Over the years, the teaching job left the scene, their farm grew in size and focus…livestock and logging, and three children appeared.

The middle child, Tim L. is my husband. We met on a blind date while in college, were married the next September and graduated from OSU in 1966. Rather than follow our paths of teaching and engineering, we chose to return to the ranch. We wanted to be “on the land”. In 1966, Grandfather Tom purchased the land which we are now on and which is adjacent to the original farm they settled on. We were the third owners of the land, which eventually became what we now call the Home Place. It was first homesteaded in 1864.

This land and farming as a career choice is totally ingrained in the Kerns family. Our operation includes our two sons and their families; both of our grandsons talk of farming/ranching as their career choice.

Not only is Oregon our birthplace home, but it’s where we chose, 42 years ago to live and raise our family. It was an easy decision to make as we wanted to be on the land, working with yearly renewing life…livestock and crops, and be able to raise our 2 sons in an environment where they would learn to respect all aspects of nature and the environment as well as develop into strong individuals with both self-motivation and a strong work ethic

This farm was the first potato farm in Baker County, raising potatoes for the miners in the Elkhorn Mountain gold rush towns and camps. That potato legacy continued with Grandfather Tom raising potatoes during the 1950s and now for us, with over 500 acres of potatoes for Ore-Ida, Simplot, and seed potatoes for our own use.

It is ironic to think of the many changes over the years. Yet, many reflect the original land use and products raised, for example, raising potatoes over span of 143 years, with a targeted customer base. The shape of the fields and utilization of lands have also changed. When we bought Home Place, it was all flood irrigated, with the shapes of the fields corresponding to the natural irrigation ditch drainage patterns. Over the years we moved into sprinkler irrigation – first hand-pack lines, then wheel line sprinklers. Both of these methods required square or rectangular fields, so the formerly naturally curved fields were re-configured to match the irrigation delivery equipment. Now that we have converted to mostly center pivot irrigation, the field shapes more closely match the original lay and use of the lands.

My role in our farming operation has changed over the years, as well. Due to constantly increasing workload in the office as bookkeeper, office manager, and regulatory compliance person, I no longer run any of the equipment. It has gotten too big and complicated for a “fill-in” person. I still enjoy working the seed cutting and potato harvest crew – the personal relationship with the employees is really gratifying.

Today, my role is more “big picture”. I serve on the Oregon State Board of Agriculture and am often called upon to sit on special ag-related, targeted-interest committees. I served two terms on the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee, Washington, D.C., I am one of the founders of the Oregon Seed Growers Association and membership chairman of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association. My role has shifted to being a lead person in natural resource issues and concerns for Baker ag community.

Agriculture has a very bright future in the long-range picture, although a very rocky road ahead, in the short term. Until the out-of-control input costs, due to rapid escalation of petroleum related costs -- fuel fertilize, crop protection chemicals, lubricants, etc.; and the labor availability situation is stabilized, I see some severe cost/price squeezes ahead for agriculture. In the long-term, there will develop many economic opportunities, whether they be new niche markets, new product developments with the “Oregon twist”, new technology to help us do the work cheaper and with less labor, or new by-product market opportunities as we move more towards cellulosic energy…to position for a very bright, but different, future in agriculture.

Every day we make decisions that are a gamble due to weather, pests, marketing, purchasing and employees. Farming is a day-to-day gamble…no need to go to Reno or Las Vegas.

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These are authentic stories from real farmers.  Any editorial content does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Agri-Business Council of Oregon or our members.