La Grande Farmers’ Market:  This lively market has grown in recent years and offers a wonderful way to spend Saturday mornings. In addition to lots of fresh produce, enjoy live music and shop for crafts and baked goods. The market runs through October 20, from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, and Tuesdays, from 3:30 to 6 p.m., in Max Square, at the corner of Fourth and Adams in downtown La Grande. September 22 is Kids Day at the market, where kids can have a free booth space from which to sell their products and creations. Kids can also shop for free that day.

With the Cove-Union Farm Loop brochure as your guide, enjoy the countryside while checking out what is fresh at these favorite stops:

 Platz Family Farm stand has a wide variety of vegetables, including squash, beets, peppers, sweet corn, lots of tomatoes, carrots, flowers, frozen berries, raspberry syrup and jam, local crafts and much more. Find  homemade bread and scones on Fridays. Located at the north end of Union, where their beautiful garden is visible from Highway 203 but accessed via North First Street, the farm stand will be open mostly on Fridays 10-6:30 through the fall season. They will probably close in mid to late October. They are open on Mondays for just a couple more weeks and can usually be found at the La Grande Farmers’ Market.

If you haven’t yet discovered Cats Paw Farm Mercantile in Union, now is a great time to stop by the charming little shop on the north edge of Union. Owner R’Chel is a very busy entrepreneur, using products grown in her own garden and pasture next door to create a myriad of beauty and food products. She recently provided the following news:

• Herb tea blends and spice herbs are constantly being crafted and restocked as she continues to harvest and air dry their spray-free herb crops.
• This summer’s Peach Mustard is available and R’Chel debut a Jalapeño Mustard soon. Shoppers will find around a dozen mustard flavors that the shop crafts and stocks year round.
• The shop has added three new Shrub Syrup Concentrate flavors this summer, bringing the selection to 9 flavors. Added to your bottled or domestic drinking water, shrubs are a great way to get your daily water intake with the added benefit of electrolytes and a vitamin boost in an all-natural, product, crafted from spray-free local fruit.
• An End of Summer Soap Sale is underway to make room for all the fall and holiday soaps currently curing. Get 40% off on selected bars. They are converting to eco-sustainable packaging-all plastic packaged skin care, hair care, lotions and liquid soaps are marked down to 30% and below.

Cats Paw Farm Mercantile is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Entering Union from LG, take a right into the parking lot just after crossing the Little Creek bridge. From North Powder, go through Union towards La Grande and turn into the last driveway on the left before the Little Creek Bridge.

Cove has lots to offer people who are following the Cove-Union Farm Loop, including Nella Mae’s Farm Stand on Antles Lane, which is self-serve, open every day from April through October, and offers fresh produce, fruit and eggs, from the nearby farm and other local producers. Be sure to pick up a suggested recipe for serving what’s fresh!

The Plantworks has brought back their plant stand on Lantz Lane in Cove, offering native plants and also a few fire resistant non-native plants. The greenhouse grows plants for environmental rehab and watershed projects. Pick up a few hardy plants for your landscaping. The stand is self-serve and prices are listed.

The Pick‘N Patch, 62816 Lower Cove Rd. near Cove, opens to the public Friday, October 5. They will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 10 to 4 through the month of October. Also open by appointment only and for school trips, Monday thru Thursday. Contact Dian Frisch, 541-786-2421. It is a U-pick pumpkin patch with lots of sizes to choose from. There are also straw bales, corn stalks and wheat bundles for fall decorating needs.

If you are following the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway to Wallowa County, pick up a copy of the Wallowa Barn Tour and see the beautiful and historic structures in all corners of the county.

One of the highlights, Liza Jane’s Farm Stand at 6 Ranch, is always a great place to stop, located at a Century Farm at 87161 Hwy 82, on the north side of the highway nearing Enterprise. It’s open 24/7 and self-serve; with fresh produce, honey, eggs, and herb garden, local grass fed meats (beef, lamb, pork, chicken & goat), fresh bread and handmade soaps.

The Wallowa County Farmers’ Market is held Saturdays from 9-2, in Joseph, Memorial Day through half of October. There’s live music, crafts and produce booths, in one of the most scenic towns in the West.  The WCFM is hosting a Harvest Dinner fundraiser on Saturday, September 22. The fall schedule also includes an apple cider press, October 6. See the website and flyer for more information.

Also, Slow Food Wallowas is putting on an event called Pig-nic: A Hog Harvest Festival, October 6, from 1-4 p.m. at Barking Mad Farm Bed & Breakfast on Alder Slope. More info on Facebook.

This time of year, Ruby Peak Naturals, a store in Enterprise carries a good amount of local food.

In Baker City, Val’s Veggies is a large farm stand located in a small red barn on Campbell Street, across the street from the Baker Heritage Museum. There is always a wonderful selection of produce and fruit from Val’s Medical Springs farm, as well as from other regional producers. The Val’s Veggies Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch opens October 1, at the farm, 44889 Houghton Creek Road, Baker City, Oregon. It’s worth the drive!

The Baker Farmer’s Market is held every Wednesday from June 6 through September 26, from 3 to 6:30 p.m., and October 3 through 24, from 2 to 5 p.m., in the courtyard at the Baker County Fairgrounds Event Center, 2600 East Street, Baker City, Oregon.  ​

#    #    #

The tour includes suggested stops to view the agriculture exhibits at the Union County Museum, experience a livestock auction and pick up some garden or farm supplies while rubbing elbows with cowboys and farmers. Purveyors offer fresh cut flowers, fruit and produce, and you can find out how to fill your freezer with pasture-fed poultry, pork, eggs and beef. Heck, you can make a day of it, exploring the beautiful valley and picking up everything you need for dinner along the way. Or, get to know the growers (They’re very friendly!) and make a beeline straight to your favorite local source instead of the supermarket!

Some farm stands are self-serve on the honor system while the hours and days of others vary and some stops are seasonal. But you can call ahead to see if certain stops are open when you plan to visit.

See the Cove-Union Farm Loop map on at www.VisitEasternOregon.com or pick up a copy at the Historic Union Hotel or Union County Museum in Union, at the Union County Chamber of Commerce, 207 Depot Street, La Grande, or Tuesday evening or Saturday morning at the La Grande Farmer’s Market (an exceptional market and local best-kept secret!). Contact us for a digital version of the Farm Loop map.  

The tourism industry has seen a strong growth in people wanting to know where their food comes from and having a desire for authentic rural experiences. Nature has provided Eastern Oregon with all of the ingredients needed to meet that demand. Businesses interested in developing and marketing culinary and agricultural tourism for visitors now have the opportunity to work with tourism marketing professional Janet Dodson of Sunnyslope Marketing, LLC. Northeast Oregon Economic Development District (NEOEDD) engaged Dodson to work with businesses and tourism partners in Wallowa, Union, Baker, Umatilla and Morrow counties as part of a year-long agritourism development project.

Agritourism in Eastern Oregon includes a wide variety of visitor experiences and services such as lodging and camping on farms and ranches; agriculture tours; on-farm hunting and fishing; restaurants and events that feature local foods on the menu; local breweries, distilleries and wineries; and farmers markets, farm stands, pumpkin patches and corn mazes.

“Janet Dodson has a wealth of experience in tourism marketing and development in Eastern Oregon. She also comes from an agricultural background and is familiar with the hunger that visitors have to connect with authentic agriculture experiences and locally grown products,” says Sara Miller, NEOEDD Economic Development Specialist and project partner. Funding for the project is being provided by USDA Rural Development, Eastern Oregon Visitors Association and Travel Oregon.

“Many farmers and ranchers view tourism as a way to connect with people from urban areas,” says Dodson. “Many tourism businesses see an opportunity to expand their market by partnering with farms and ranches. And lots of people want to know more about how their food is produced or to experience the rural lifestyle. This project seeks to bring together those three sets of interests and make good things happen.”

One of Dodson’s first tasks will be organizing working groups in two tourism regions to help guide project activities and make connections to grow agritourism. Interested businesses and agriculture operators in Baker, Union and Wallowa counties are encouraged to join the Northeast Oregon working group. Those in Umatilla and Morrow counties are invited to become part of the Oregon’s Rugged Country working group.

In the spring, workshops will be offered to respond to the technical assistance and resource needs identified by the working groups and partners participating in the project. Dodson will also be reaching out to businesses throughout the five counties to inventory agriculture related products, experiences and services that should be marketed to visitors. She will assist the working groups to create plans to promote the unique offerings of each region and guide investment of funding earmarked for future marketing. Anyone interested in learning more or getting involved in the project is welcome to contact Dodson at janetd@eoni.com or 541-786-8006.