About Christie Farms
Christie Farms is operated by Jonathan & Cheryl Christie. We're entirely a family operation with Jonathan doing the labor and Cheryl doing the important work, raising our son and keeping dinner on :-)
Our farm is a small second-generation family farm in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Jonathan's parents originally founded the farm in the late 1950's, and Jonathan &
Cheryl assumed management of the farm approximately ten years' ago.
Since then, we've gained organic certification and currently have approximately 50 acres certified organic by Oregon Tilth. Our specialty is Big Trefoil seed production, but we also raise other legumes, grass seed, sheep, cattle, and timber.
Why big trefoil?
My father planted Big Trefoil on our property in the late 1950's to early 1960's when Oregon state was pushing this crop as a possible solution to our heavy clay soils in the Willamette
Valley. Over time, the Trefoils fell out of favor, with a reputation for being difficult to grow and harvest. We kept a few acres of it "just in case", but it mostly grew wild on the property.
A few years ago, I decided to make a go of Big Trefoil and use the internet as a marketing tool. I harvested the seed from the few acres we had maintained, developed the website and waited to see what would happen. Luckly, there has been a favorable response, especially from small growers"little guys" like ourselves. About half of our sales come from individuals with a few acres who either have poor soil conditions similar to ours or they want a cover
crop and they are willing to give Big Trefoil a chance. The other half of our sales are wholesale to seed companies within Oregon that turn around and re-sell the seed to their customer
contacts elsewhere.
If you'd like to learn more about us, please feel free to contact us. We'd enjoy hearing from you.
Jonathan & Cheryl