Jessica Bass and Adam McGrath lease 20 acres of once-overgrazed pasture in Wallowa County, Oregon, ground that likely hadn't been plowed in 50 years before they arrived five years ago, making theirs probably the first row crop farm to work this land, in a climate where frost can linger into June and return by August. The only structure on the property was an original homestead building. They started with just two Belgian mules, Charlie and Mae, aged 25 and 29, who'd been farming longer than the couple had - a debt they honored by naming the farm after Charlie, known as the "lazy" mule for napping mid-harness at the hitch rail and letting his teammate do the heavier pulling when no one was watching.
The farm's main crop is certified organic garlic, grown with draft power and rotated yearly with cover crops to manage disease and build soil health; they've since added calendula and chamomile, grown on a hand-scale, no-till system, and plan to expand into herbs like milky oats, red clover, lemon balm, and catnip. While the farm started and still runs primarily on a mixed herd of horses and mules (which is lighter on the land than a tractor) they also use a 1970s International Harvester tractor for transplanting garlic, a task too slow-paced for a mule's pace. As row crop farmers in cattle and hay country, they're often solving problems no one nearby has easy answers for, but they've built strong, mutually helpful relationships with their farming neighbors despite the different methods.
For Jessica and Adam, farming is about stewarding land in line with their values - producing food and medicine without doing harm - and the satisfaction of hard, honest work with animals they love. That connection extends beyond the farm: after learning to pack mules into the backcountry while working for an outfitter, they now spend a few weekends each summer in the mountains with their stock, including a three-week honeymoon trip through Hells Canyon last fall.
