OUR FARMILY
Our Story
John and Christine Deck met at UC Davis in 1986 as undergraduate students. Christine spent most of her time in the beef barn and John in the feedlot. Having lived and worked in industrialized animal production was one of the factors that motivated them to farm in a different, more sustainable, and human way.
After completing their degrees and growing their family the Decks moved with their 5 children to the Willamette Valley to finally begin their dream of running a family farm.
Twenty years later the Decks have expanded from a small family farm to a medium size regenerative livestock farm, grazing over 500 Certified Organic acres across the valley, employing 20 full and part time folks, running 8 farmers markets, supplying local grocers with meat and eggs, and offering a full-diet CSA.
The work is hard but the rewards are endless. We relish contributing to clean air and water, and building nutrient dense soil. These are legacies that make the hard work worth it.
Meet the Farm Crew
We chose farming for our family of seven all those years ago because we yearned for a lifestyle that felt productive and in harmony with nature. Although challenging at times, we enjoy the hard work. We have created a village of like minded people in order to achieve this goal.
The people who are part of Deck Family Farm are far more than each of our roles as owner, employee, intern, member or customer. We are a family - a farmily. We believe in local, regenerative agriculture and we believe in the importance of sharing these experiences with others in order to build a strong local food system.
Our guiding principles are rooted in our mission:
We believe in being truthful,
with clarity and compassion, as mindful community
members and active citizens of the Earth.
Farm Education Program
We are rooted in our purpose to provide our community with wholesome, nutritious food grown and raised ethically and sustainably in the Willamette Valley, while fostering the next generation of farmers.
Every year, we host interns and apprentices on our farm. They spend 3 months - 2 years learning about all that goes into running a diversified regenerative livestock and vegetable farm.
If you think you have a future in farming, read through the information on our Intern Program page and reach out to us!
Sadie
2nd year grazing trainee
Nancy
Garden Apprentice/Master Baker
Eve
Dairy Lead Apprentice
Brayan
International Student (Peru)
Adam
Marketing/Warehouse/Logistics
Summer
First Year Student/Trainee
Our Community
We see our farm as part of a larger community - a network of people who are interdependent with each other. We grow healthy food for our family, friends and farm community.
Our community of customers are an important part of the farmily. It is only because they are committed to supporting small-scale sustainable farming that we can do our work: produce high-quality food, create jobs in our community and build soil health.
