Farming In Living Color

A twenty minute drive southwest of Portland, where the rich valley land begins to surge upward to the rolling foothills of the Coast Range, you may come across some of the most vibrantly colored crops of the area.

Near Banks, these yellow fields seem to absorb pure sunlight and reflect it right back.

Farmers are totally dependant on the honeybees for adequate crop pollination...

these fields of 'rape' would only produce a fraction of their oil-rich seeds without the bees.

In case you didn't know, or guess, these are fields of....

That's right! Those bottles of light amber oil in the grocery store come from plants that rival Midas for color.

The tiny seeds, encased in the long pods, are crushed and pressed to release their precious oil. Whether for food or fuel, Canola is an imminently desirable crop. I'm curious about the financial figures on it, maybe I'll do some research. It's definately a specialty crop, you don't see it much in the northwest.

Another color-box crop is the Red Clover. We found some fields close to the canola. Wow! Talk about needing sunglasses!

Oregon's climate, in the valleys between the Cascades and Coast Range, allows for an abundance of seed crops, especially the grasses. These red clover heads contain a small fortune in itty bitty seeds.

Our "quick trip to Portland" stretched throughout the afternoon, as Mom and I moseyed along back roads through countryside we hadn't visited for many years. We are farmers at heart.