Siri and Son Farms
Clackamas, OR
Siri and Son Farms is a fourth generation farming family started by Antonio Siri, Joe’s great-grandfather, an Italian immigrant. His son Fred started his own farm in the 1950s. Jim Siri joined his father Fred in the 1970s and formed Siri and Son Farms. Joe, Jim’s son, joined soon after graduating from Oregon State University. The Siri family’s 180 acres is located near Damascus, Oregon, bordered by Highway 212 and rapidly expanding urban growth, which makes for a very busy setting.
Siri and Son have had years to hone their skills and knowledge, continually experimenting with new varieties looking for exceptional flavor and quality. Today they grow 23 kinds of the Northwest’s finest certified organic fruits and vegetables. Their main crops – bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, cilantro, radishes, spinach, green onions, and four types of lettuce – “have been perfected over generation.”
Since emigrating from Italy the Siri family has always practiced a more natural form of farming. They mainly use local raw chicken waste as fertilizer; cover crops to limit erosion and mineral leaching; crop rotation to promote healthier soil; and drip irrigation to conserve water. While Joe was attending Oregon State University, he realized sustainable farming practices were the future. He saw that the family farm was already operating organically, so for his senior project at OSU he took the “final step” and in 2003 Siri and Son Farms became certified Organic.
