By ELAINE WATKINS/YachatsNews.com
People love Yachats for the beaches, but there’s another warmer, sunnier world that exists up the Yachats River past the fog line.
The annual Yachats River Valley Farm Tour gives farmers a chance to show off that other face of the community. Seven farms will show off their work and wares from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10.
The first stop on the self-driving tour begins with the Seeds of Oregon roadside stand, one mile up Yachats River Road. Judy and Cy Kauffman sell vegetables, plants, eggs, and beef.
The rest of the farms are between there and milepost 11; signs will indicate which farms are participating.
Catherine Lucido of Forks Farm, who started the farm tour nine years ago, says that the farmers enjoy interacting with visitors and selling their local products. Forks Farm features jams made from berries grown on the property, bouquets of flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, and homemade crafts.
The tour is especially fun for families.
At Starshine Farms, children can see llamas, alpacas, and peacocks. Farm owner Elaine McNichols sells the iridescent peacock feathers.
At the end of the road, The Ranch will feature baked goods, fruit, grass-fed beef — and live music. Nancy Kromer says the Oregon Coast Recorder Society will play from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and there will be accordion music throughout the day. An added enticement is complementary non-alcoholic mint juleps for all.
Along the way, there are pasture-raised pigs at Yachats Forest Farm, the newest property on the tour. Owners Laura Perazzoli and Will Susich arrived in Yachats last year and cleared enough land to build an enclosure and raise piglets, which are growing rapidly into blackberry rooting machines.
The remaining farmers have all been in the valley for decades, making a living and trying to keep nature at bay.
Besides selling their wares during the tour day, they also teach visitors what it takes to be a farmer in the valley. Four of the seven farms are woman-owned enterprises.
Some, like River Wind Farm owned by Ann Jensen, are open to the public during the growing season. She sells fresh-picked vegetables every other Saturday from May to October and also supplies local restaurants. River Wind will feature hand-thrown pottery during the tour.
Roy and Gerry Foss of Yachats Nursery are also open to the public throughout the year. Their greenhouses are filled with trays of succulents and cacti, all specially grown for coastal landscapes.
Farm owners on the tour encourage people to bring picnics and enjoy the beauty of the land along the river. Everyone is welcome to sit and visit for awhile.
As Lucido says, “Lots of times, we don’t go to town for days. We like the company.”