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 Our CSR Performance and Commitments
Natural Resources Current Performance and Commitments Overview Agriculture is unique among industries in its absolute reliance on the natural ecosystem for its success. And farmers know better than most people that without healthy land, abundant water, clean air and adequate wildlife, agriculture can't exist and succeed. So, sustainable agriculture attempts to measure and manage the impacts on the ecosystem to encourage practices which result in positive effects and reduce [and wherever possible eliminate] negative effects. Through engagement with conservationists, industry peers, state policy experts and other interested parties, we continue to identify the leading practices in managing natural resources around the world as they relate to our business practices - and we remain committed to continuously improving our impact on the natural resources upon which we so depend. When we started farming in Oregon, we knew we had to start talking with leaders in the Oregon environmental and conservation movements if we were going to earn their trust. To us, it seemed natural when we described our sustainable business model as one based on the belief that sound business practices and sound environmental practices go hand in hand. But it's fair to say there was more than a little skepticism about what exactly would be the impacts on water, land and air resources from large-scale farming on our 93,000 acres near Boardman, Oregon. Our immediate needs for our farming platform were to establish certainty and that required some creative programs for water conservation and wildlife and habitat preservation. When we combined our dairy with our potato farm, we were able to envision raising high-value crops in a sustainable, closed-loop system and immediately we were launched into issues relating to waste management, soil health, air quality, nutrient and pesticide use and energy conservation/alternative fuels development. Water Conservation We are committed to using water wisely. Our water conservation ethic of protecting and preserving water resources means that we voluntarily placed limits on the water we draw from the Columbia River [reducing it by two-thirds, from 1,500 to 600 cubic feet per second] and the application of these water rights to three acre-feet [the normal application would be four acre-feet]. In addition, we voluntarily cut our allowed acres of irrigated farming from 65,000 acres to 41,000 acres and we contributed $1.25 million to Oregon Water Trust to protect stream flows into the Columbia River. During our growing season, we use a state-of-the-art computer-guided irrigation system, with a 100 square mile wi-fi network to assure precision water application in each of our 246 pivot-irrigation circles. We are guided by the belief that over use of water is damaging to crops and places an unnecessary strain on water resources. In our dairies, we flush the waste several times each day using recycled water, and we have established a secure and intensely-maintained system for handling dairy waste that allows us to meet our zero-discharge Confined Animal Feeding Operation ["CAFO"] permit. For our dairies we pump about 2.2 million gallons from wells; 1.2 million gallons are consumed by our cows and 1 million gallons goes through our waste systems into lagoons to be recycled. We closely monitor these wells and make reports to the state on a regular basis. Our commitment to use water wisely will continue into the future, because we know it will mean enhanced habitat for Columbia River salmon.
Wildlife and Habitat Protection We have placed 23,000 acres of our land - more than one quarter of our farm - into a wildlife conservation area that is recognized nationally as a model of effective species and habitat protection. We partner with The Nature Conservancy to manage the preserve. Known officially as a Multi-SpeciesCandidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances, this voluntary - but binding - agreement between Federal and State wildlife agencies and private companies, outlines specific conservation and adaptive management plans for the next 25 years. As part of this commitment, we make significant financial contributions each year to the conservation area, supporting its maintenance and various research projects focused on the animal and plant species that exist naturally on it. Soil Health In the arid, windy Columbia River plateau region where we farm, soil erosion is one of our biggest challenges. Creative uses of cover crops, crop rotations and attention to the nutrient content of the soil have become essential tools for our success. To improve the soil, we extended our crop rotation for potatoes. By relying on organic liquid-manure fertilizer and manure-based compost we have dramatically reduced our use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and boosted our soil structure and its ability to retain water. Furthermore, these organic fertilizers have helped us increase our certified organic acreage, so that in 2006 we plan to plant 2,688 acres. Waste Management
Our compost operation is one of the most dramatic examples of the benefit that comes from merging environmental values with sound business practices. We partner with the City of Spokane to recycle their yard debris - saving valuable landfill space - by incorporating it with our manure-based compost to produce uniform, high-quality compost, dairy bedding and soil amendments primarily for farm use. Our composting operation is located adjacent to our dairies in the center of our 93,000 acres. It is designed to minimize odors, noise, vectors, dust and litter. We employ 25 full-time workers, made an initial capital investment of $1.5 million and constantly update our equipment to efficiently meet Air Quality and Energy Management Agricultural air quality issues are moving to a central place in public policy debates throughout the country. Nowhere is this more acute than Oregon. Based on discussions with environmentalists, industry peers and State and Federal agencies, Threemile Canyon Farms is attempting to play a positive role in assuring that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has all the authority it needs to adequately enforce the Clean Air Act in Oregon. That may mean that an Oregon statute that broadly exempts agriculture from these air quality programs will have to be modified. Going forward, we are committed to working with all parties to establish science-based standards and best management practices for controlling air emissions at Oregon dairies and other animal feeding operations. In the meantime, we are also committed to continuous improvement of our own agricultural practices that impact air and other natural resources. In the near future we will finalize financing and engineering to construct our methane digester that will have a positive impact on methane, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia air emissions on our farm and surrounding communities. Our next alternative energy proposal will be an ethanol facility to produce fuel for our region's vehicles and wet distiller's grain to feed dairy cows. We are committed to learn more about our energy consumption and take specific steps to conserve energy, reduce consumption of fossil fuels and minimize our energy "footprint", without sacrificing our economic growth. Nutrient and Pesticide Use We are committed to maximize the use of organic fertilizer and eliminate pesticides that are on the Food Alliance prohibited list. Already we are applying 37,900 tons of compost and 2,964 acre-feet of manure-based effluents, annually, to our crop fields and it will be natural for us to continue on this path in the next year. Use of chemicals is a significant operational issue, so we have standard practices relative to the provision of chemicals to the farm by contractors. These restrict contractors from bringing chemicals on site, provide for storage that is locked, and restricted access. All chemicals and details regarding their use are logged in a database. 
Meet Our Employees
Agricultural Practices Current Performance and Commitments 
Overview From our beginning, seven years ago, we have believed that the way we farm is as important as the products we produce. So we constantly strive to find ways to meet our customers' needs while respecting the land and our animals. This has led us, naturally, to practice sustainable farming, taking the best from leading-edge technologies and age-old natural processes, and applying the best-practices from the farms of our peers. We choose not to plant GMO seed. Our agricultural practices weren't necessarily invented by us, but we practice them rigorously on a larger scale than many other farms, helping to create new understanding of their value. A "Closed Loop" Our business platform combines a potato farm with a dairy in a closed-loop process. Peels and culls from the potatoes processed off-site are returned and recycled as dairy feed. Rotation crops let us rest the soil in our potato fields and provide an all-vegetative ration for our dairy cattle. Our Jersey and Holstein cows provide high quality milk for cheese-makers and fluid milk sellers. Manure from the dairy closes the loop, providing a low-cost source of nutrient-rich fertilizer and compost. That organic fertilizer allows us to substantially reduce our use of conventional fertilizers and to increase our production of certified organic vegetables and grains. Eventually a methane digester will extract methane gas from manure and produce one of our two on-farm alternative fuels - the other being ethanol. Traceability Based on feedback from our customers, we know that traceability is extremely important, so we grow our own quality potato seed at our Grande Ronde seed farm in La Grande, Oregon. We use advanced technology to record all farm crop inputs in real time. Our employees use hand-held computers, linked by a farm-wide wi-fi network to central computers to record irrigation and nutrient levels so that our customers can monitor the relevant data for each crop they purchase from us - and identify, if needed, specific crops grown on any one of our 246 crop circles. This data-base provides an extra measure of accountability for product quality which our customers demand and appreciate. In addition, most of our dairy herd is raised and milked on our farm under strict quality control measures. Every cow is tagged and tracked through our computerized data base. This dairy database also contains detailed records on the health history of each of the 48,000 dairy animals on the farm. Our goal is to maintain accurate life-cycle oversight of our entire herd - that's an important practice for us and an increasingly important consideration for each of our customers and consumers in the value chain. Product Quality Like all responsible farmers, we hate waste and embrace product quality, safety and farm cleanliness. When the SGS auditing firm conducted an independent review of our corporate social responsibility practices, they focused on product quality for agricultural and dairy operations. What they found were comprehensive guidelines, contract requirements and record keeping to insure quality and provide management information to monitor and evaluate trends. In particular when it comes to milk, employees are trained to work with the cows at each stage of development, from birth through lactations, to assure the highest quality product. Anticipating the standards of our customers, we decided that our cows would never be injected with rBST or any artificial growth hormones. And in the milking parlors, workers are selected and trained who will meet the demanding sanitary, health standards of our industry, so that the milk products we produce will pass the toughest quality standards -- all the way up the supply chain to the consumer. Commitment to Organic Farming We have a growing commitment to organic farming - each year of operation, we have expanded the number of acres devoted to the growth of certified organic crops [from 272 to 2,266 acres in four years - and next year we expect to plant 2,688 acres]. There are two reasons for this. First, we have a commitment to produce healthy highquality food that earns the trust of consumers. Second, we are finding that the processors and organic retailers who are our direct customers in the supply chain are seeking more of the high-quality, reliable source of organic crops that we can provide - so they can develop marketing and pricing strategies to meet their expanding demand for organics [we expect that our long-term contracts will require 5,000 certified organic acres in the next few years].
As discussed in other sections of this report, we have incorporated nature-based solutions in our conventional crop fields as well. While standard industry practice is to apply metham sodium - synthetic soil fumigant - to control verticillium wilt [a disease that attacks potatoes], we have found that a natural alternative - such as planting potato fields with mustard plants [which contain glucosinolates] controls the disease and gives tilth and texture to the soil. We will continue to evaluate the use of mustard in conventional potato growing. In addition, "pair-planting" often protects against soil erosion, as in the case of planting triticale [a cross between wheat and rye] immediately before planting corn, and oat hay with alfalfa. All of our organic crops are certified by Oregon Tilth. 
Certification and Accountability To be sure we are accountable and transparent in all we produce, we receive certification from acknowledged independent sources, such as the following:
Additionally we are committed to seek certification for our food crops from the "Salmon Safe" organization and for our compost from the Organic Materials Review Institute [OMRI]. 
Our Workplace Current Performance and Commitments Overview
Employees are our most important asset and we are committed to building a workplace based on trust and mutual respect. The economic well-being of employees is of paramount importance, and our dairy and farm operations provide 300 full-time jobs [and 300-400 seasonal jobs] that pay wages placing them in the top tier of agricultural workers in Oregon and well in excess of the Federal and Oregon minimum wage rates. All full-time employees receive generous levels of health benefits. Farm workers also have access to a cafeteria plan including health and dental insurance, child care assistance, and a matching 401k plan. Our goal is to bring consistency, in 2006, in wage and benefits to all operating units. As part of our emphasis on continuously improving the workplace, in 2006, we will continue to encourage employees' participation in various workplace committees that address health and safety, efficiency, general working conditions and community stewardship. Freedom of association In Oregon, agricultural businesses are exempt from the National Labor Relations Act [NLRA] and its Oregon statutory counterparts. This legislative void has led to confusion as well as controversy over how best to assure that farm workers have the opportunity, should they desire it, to organize and bargain collectively for fair contracts. Threemile Canyon Farms has been clear and consistent in its belief that our workers should have the right to choose, by secret ballot election, whether or not they want to be represented by a union. In the 2005 Session of the Oregon Legislature, we sponsored a bill [HB 3258] to make this freedom of association for all agricultural workers the law in Oregon. We testified in favor of the bill, helped it pass the State House... and when it was about to die in the Senate, we offered Threemile Canyon Farms as a "pilot project", so that our agricultural workers, at least, could exercise this important right. Unfortunately, the bill died. We remain committed to providing this opportunity to our workers, a point that we have made in discussions with our customers and other key stakeholders. We hope that all interested parties will work with us to achieve this end. To date, a union organization, which has expressed an interest in organizing Threemile Canyon Farms workers, has not been willing to accept the secret-ballot election procedure as the mechanism for determining the workers' level of interest in union representation. In the year ahead, we are committed to work on a solution which promotes freedom of association in our workplace and allows the workers to best protect their interests. Child Labor Child labor can be a concern in farm settings; however, this has not been an issue at Threemile Canyon Farms. There was no incidence of child labor [defined as no one under the age of 16, or under 18 during school year] on the farm in 2004/2005, and to ensure that this continues we will adopt a formal written policy on child labor in 2006. In addition, we will draft a code of conduct in 2006 that all of our contract labor suppliers will be required to sign to assure that they will not hire minors for work at Threemile Canyon Farms. Workplace Environment, Safety and Health We will continue to work closely with the Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Quality [DEQ] to assure we continue to meet and exceed compliance for our water and waste permits. In 2006 we will undertake efforts with State and Federal agencies and the dairy industry to assure that the next legislative session of the Oregon Legislature provides DEQ with adequate authority to enforce the Clean Air Act in Oregon and to propose science-based standards and best management practices for air emissions as they apply to dairy operations and other animal feeding operations.
We continue to cooperate with The Bureau of Labor and Industries [BOLI] and Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] in their review of our wage and hour and occupational safety practices. At the time of printing this CSR Report, there are no outstanding BOLI or Occupational Health and Safety issues and in 2006 we are committed to voluntary quarterly meetings with these agencies and to repeat BOLI's on-farm training sessions for all our workers/managers on employee rights under Oregon employment laws. In 2005, the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety [NIOSH] visited our farm to evaluate safety issues related to emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide [gasses associated with cow manure]. NIOSH on-site monitoring of emissions indicated that we were operating well within safe limits for employees. In 2006, the data from NIOSH will assist in creating science-based standards for dairy operations in Oregon and clarify concerns about potential off-farm impacts of air emissions. Progress on our methane digester will further assist us in achieving best practices regarding air emissions. In 2006 we will also work closely with Morrow County environmental and health agencies on a range of alternative energy and public health issues. Training, Education and Development Training for the work in our fields and dairy involves a variety of formal job and job-related training programs and practices, so that our workers can handle their tasks safely and with a high level of proficiency. Ninety-six percent of our workers completed all their training requirements in 2005. Since we like to promote from within, workers are given the opportunity to fulfill their compliance education and training requirements in classes held on-site, in Spanish. Employees are properly trained on the issue of protective equipment and every employee who works with pesticides has a license for handling these materials or is directly supervised by a person with a Private Pesticide Applicator License. Workers who want to advance get additional skill-training which will lead to the licenses and life/work skills that may open valuable opportunities away from Threemile Canyon Farms. Although we hate to lose good workers, we encourage them to get the best training and reach for the biggest opportunities for their families. In our training and development programs, we stress the individual responsibility of each worker to keep track of progress - and a computer-based tool, known as "Compli", provides accurate record keeping and the right incentive for continuous improvement. Employment Practices and Individual Opportunities
With the hiring of a Director of Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility [Rose Corral, a bilingual human resource professional with 25 years of industry experience], we will be able to directly work with employees, provide them with a direct way to hear them and pay attention to their individual needs and address any issues which arise. When necessary, we will rely on a disciplinary system which we have found to be both fair and effective. Workers with problems or a dispute have access to management. We are committed in 2006 to continuously improve all policies and practices under the Compli compliance system, workforce training and education and non-discriminatory hiring practices [lawsuit settlements in 2005 resulted in improved job opening-notification, application and hiring practices]. Historically, farm work has involved a high number of working hours owing to the intense demand during planting and harvesting - and, although many workers desire as many hours as possible on the job, we are actively seeking ways to reduce working hours for those employees that request it. Threemile Canyon Farms has an extensive training program open to all employees that is designed to provide employees with the opportunity to change jobs and/or to move up in our organization. Based on feedback from our workers and our desire to create a workplace that is challenging and fulfilling, we are exploring ways to incorporate a more formal job rotation system into our workforce planning and management. 
We will continue to emphasize promotion from within, providing training and opportunities for workers to advance in our organization. Because 90 percent of our workers are native Spanish speakers we are committed to making Spanish the common language on our farm. To that end we will expand the Puentes ["Bridges"] Program we have initiated with Blue Mountain Community College to provide more Spanish language classes for native English speakers, and English classes for native Spanish speakers. We will expand the program so all employees - from managers to laborers - will receive compensated work time to attend on-farm classes. 
Current Performance and Commitments Overview
Our drive to produce healthy, high quality milk products and bring them to market in ways that earn the trust of our customers starts with a commitment to comfortable, humane and healthy treatment of our farm animals. Herd Health Our dairy workers are trained to care for each distinct stage in a cow's life. The overall herd health is closely monitored to address the range of medical needs, from prevention of newborn mortalities to care for mastitis and metabolic disease in mature cows. Increasingly, we are focusing on "prenatal care" of pregnant cows during the 60 day period before birth to improve the life of mother and calf. A veterinarian is on premises at least 12 days each month and an animal hospital is available on-farm to separate and care for sick cows away from the rest of the herd - with the aim of increasing the healthy and productive lifespan of the herd beyond an average of 2.5 lactations. Humane treatment means that no cows are injected with any artificial growth hormones. Our nutritionists insist and ensure that cows receive a healthy balanced ration - an all-vegetative menu of crops grown on the farm combined with culls, peels and assorted wastes from nearby food processing operations. The living areas have been designed to reduce stress -- "stall service" means cows have clean and dry bedding each day and manure is flushed at least three times a day. Milking 
Our milking parlors blend high-efficiency and tender care. Here trained dairy workers exceed all state regulations in health, cleanliness and sanitary practices. Cow udders are cleaned and dried to prevent mastitis. Each cow is milked on automated carousels, completing the milking cycle in about 8 minutes -- then she takes a walk back to her stall. The health of the cow and the quality control of the milk for consumption are completely inter-connected -- milk quality is monitored for bacteria counts and milk temperature is maintained near a target of 37 degrees. Efficiency is important -- our workers consistently beat the industry's best practice of delivery time from milking to storage - but the humane and healthy treatment of our animals is always the priority in our thoughts and actions.
Community Current Performance and Commitments Overview
Agricultural activities historically have been closely intertwined with local communities, but some would argue that the scale and practices of modern day farming and animal operations have severed that linkage. At Threemile Canyon Farms, we believe that supporting the communities that are impacted by our operations is a central part of our responsibilities as a good corporate citizen and so we are committed to strengthening the ties between our farm and surrounding communities. Local Economic Impact We hire locally, promote from within and target our farm purchases to have high impact with local suppliers and contractors in nearby rural communities. Our annual payroll is approximately $10 million and in excess of 85% of our workers live in Morrow County or adjacent communities. We are one of the largest property tax payers in Morrow County, helping to pay for schools, public safety, public health and other public services. We contribute over $100,000 annually towards transportation programs. And we are a part of the overall agricultural sector of the state's economy - including activities such as: producing, processing, transporting, warehousing and wholesale trading -- that accounts for over $12 billion in economic activity [or approximately 10% of Oregon's Gross State Product, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture studies]. For our part, Threemile Canyon Farms contributes approximately $250 million annually, to the economies of nearby rural communities. Community Support Supporting the local community is an important part of our definition of sustainable farming. We make charitable contributions to events and organizations -- donating money and other support to local service organizations and youth groups, sponsoring youth and adult soccer leagues, high school athletic programs, and after-school/summer sports. We support scholarship activities for farm families and internship opportunities and scholarships for recruited college students. Additionally, we align ourselves with local initiatives and community-based groups that support local job growth, improved health care and housing options. To respond to the needs of our neighbors, Threemile Canyon Farms recently volunteered to join the Boardman Fire District. As part of our commitment, we will build and maintain a fire station and equipped fire-fighting vehicles on the farm. The location ensures that proper equipment will be within reach of remote homesteads in Morrow County. Our employees have the opportunity to volunteer to receive the training necessary to be a rapid response volunteer fire corps, should the need arise. 
Each year, we have expanded our concept of community to support statewide initiatives and organizations that reflect the values of sustainability and corporate social responsibility discussed in various sections of this report. Our commitment is to use contributions of time and money to further engage with a broad range of stakeholders so that we can be a positive force in all our communities. A short list of these organizations would include The Nature Conservancy, The Oregon Garden, The Oregon Food Bank, The Oregon Environmental Council, SOLV, the Oregon Business Association and the Washington Potato Foundation.
Management Systems Current Performance and Commitments Overview
Although many of our management practices have been in line with our CSR Framework and commitments, it's nevertheless true that many of them have been informal solutions to emerging operational challenges and not fully documented. Those requirements mandated by our legal obligations have been fully complied with, but many operational aspects of the farm and our CSR commitments lie outside of the legal arena. We acknowledge the old management axiom: "what gets measured, gets managed" - so we are committed to undertaking a major initiative to establish management systems that will effectively set policies, and monitor and measure those policies, practices and processes for the five other key areas of operational impacts - Natural Resources, Agricultural Practices, Workplace, Animal Welfare and Community. These systems are unique in our farm setting but are similar to the means other public and private enterprises use to ensure their operations meet certain internal and external standards, and are accountable. Our systems will also include performance management of all employees so that everyone is held accountable for their contribution to achieve our goals and expected performance. At the same time, we acknowledge another axiom: "not everything that's measured is meaningful and not everything meaningful can be measured." So we also know that our Corporate Social Responsibility commitments will have a qualitative component so that our business will innovate and continuously improve in meaningful ways for our customers, employees and effected communities. Strategy and Decision Making To have an impact on how we do business, our CSR principles must be integrated into the core strategy and decision making processes of our farm and dairy operation. In terms of our strategy, there are a number of areas in which CSR will play a major role, including product innovation and the continuing effort to expand our customer base through external product certification. One example of this is the organic certification of additional acreage by Oregon Tilth, a USDA-accredited agency. Compliance and Ethics 
The size and complexity of our farm and dairy mean that we are covered by numerous laws and are required to report to public agencies on various aspects of our operations. Our initiative to create a more robust compliance and ethics management system will ensure not only that we remain in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, but also that we achieve the highest ethical standards in our business activities. This is an area we have always taken very seriously and we wish to build on this heritage. For example our workers have access to an innovative, bi-lingual web-based program [developed by an Oregon company and called "Compli"] that ensures that they receive proper compliance, licensing, safety and other training and receive necessary information about their workplace rights, procedures, policies and benefits. Our code of ethics is also included in the "Compli" program.
PDF version of Corporate Social Resposibility Report Operations and Performance Management This area includes procedures and policies to ensure that all operations run effectively with respect to managing the CSR impacts and opportunities. In the Compli program sited above there are clear, written policies and procedures for ethics, wage and working hours, age verification, employee discipline, non-discrimination, employee health and safety, hazardous material usage, waste management, water management, the conservation area, and sourcing. In terms of performance management, in 2006, we will integrate CSR into our strategic and business planning processes and hold our managers accountable for achieving CSR goals. Rose Corral, our Director of Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility, will focus our efforts to achieve our goals for Compliance, Ethics and Performance Management. As part of this, we will hold our labor contractors and suppliers accountable for meeting our CSR principles and code of conduct. Stakeholder Relations and Communication From our initial engagement with public officials and environmental groups to buy the 93,000-acre "Boeing Space Age Industrial Park" and establish our renowned conservation area, we have sought to communicate with a wide range of community, regulatory, customer, employee, environmental and other stakeholders about our operations. We have tried to be honest and forthright about our business decisions and future plans - and in 2005 we established a web site to provide more direct access for those interested in specific aspects of our operations. We have responded to dozens of such inquiries from interested individuals. In 2006 we will formalize this by implementing a stakeholder communication and engagement program. 
Continue reading the 2005 CSR Report |
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 Threemile Road Boardman, OR 97818 • 541-481-9274 • mail@threemilecanyonfarms.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Recycling and reuse are key practices on our farm. We use the leftovers - the peels and culls - from off-site processing of our potatoes [and other crops] as feed for our dairy cows. Then we use the 196,000 tons of manure the dairy herd produces each year to make fertilizer and compost to enrich and improve our fields. We manage the dairy waste with a recycling system that was designed into the dairy barns - concrete flush lanes lead to concrete holding tanks and over screens that separate solids from liquids and then divert the liquids into lined lagoons. Recently we built additions to this system that contain, and concentrate the manure slurry to levels needed for a successful methane digester.
our current market demand of 180,000 yards of finished compost annually. We collect detailed records on all materials that enter and leave the composting facility. We exceed EPA Section 503 standards for compost production and ensure destruction of weed seed and pathogens. We keep our windrows intact for a minimum of 100 days, maintain moisture levels between 25% and 65% and temperatures at 132 degrees or higher. We turn our windrows every four to five days. This composting, curing and final processing is continually monitored to protect ground water and surface water quality. In addition, an independent laboratory analyzes samples of our feedstock and compost to ensure the consistency of our finished product. Mindful of fuel conservation and distribution costs, we located our regional distribution center for finished compost in Wood Village (East Multnomah County), saving fuel use as we serve the metropolitan market.
Javier Mendoza knows his parts of the operation.
Martha and Adolfo Madrigal are a farm family.
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