Meet the farmers at Jubilee Valley Farm

Jubilee Valley is a small farm in Noti, Oregon which specializes in Nubian dairy goats, poultry, organic vegetables, goat and sheep milk as well as chicken, duck, and quail eggs.

Emily and Levy and their young family have been farming here locally for over five years. Jubilee Farm is a special part of Florence Farmers Market, bringing their organically grown produce, and often introducing the community to new and unusual fruits and vegetables. Emily and Levy met in Kenya, through their shared interest in and love for farming. Emily was doing small scale organic farming before the two met, and they later farmed together in Kenya for a couple years before coming to America. They have been farming here for over 5 years now. Emily says these days, Levy does much of the garden work while she and their young children take care of the washing and weeding. While market goers mostly know them for their organic produce, they also raise dairy goats and sell goat and sheep milk from their farm through a small CSA they offer. In addition, they raise several rare and unusual poultry breeds and dwarf rabbits!

They especially love that their work allows them to stay on their farm and make the most of resources they have there. During the winter Levy works on thinning the forest and turns the trees into fence posts that they sell. When asked what keeps them going, Emily says they both love what they do! They try to keep it fun and interesting by growing new and unusual things each year, which has become one of their specialties! This shows in the produce they grow and bring to the market, always with interesting fruits or vegetable varietals to see and try. And always creatively, beautifully displayed.

Their goal is to save enough money to eventually buy land in Kenya and start some kind of project there, perhaps a childrens home, Emily shares, or an organic farming school. When asked about the origin of the name Jubilee, Emily says, “I originally chose the name Jubilee Valley because, in the Bible, the Year of Jubilee, which happened every 50 years, was the time when the Israelites were required by God to release all slaves, forgive all debts, and return all land to its original owner. In addition, they were supposed to rest the land so that it didn’t get over worked, and rest themselves by returning home to their families. They had to rely on God to supply all their needs during that year when they didn’t sow seeds or harvest crops. I just think it’s a beautiful picture of not only caring for the land, but also for ourselves and for each other. My goal is to implement something of that sort in the future of our farm, though I’m not sure I want to still be farming 45 years from now (she says with a wink;)…”You can find Jubilee Farm produce at Florence Farmers Market every Tuesday, and visit their Facebook page to see some of the animals they raise and to find out about their CSA.

Thank you Jubilee Valley for sharing your talents with us!