During the months of November and December, Co-op members harvest boughs from native evergreen trees growing on their tree farms. We sell these to florists in Portland and Salem who use them to make centerpieces and table decorations for the holidays. We also sell to folks making wreaths and garlands.

This year, nine OWC families are involved in producing boughs from a variety of species, including Noble fir, Grand fir, Incense cedar, Port Orford cedar, Ponderosa pine and Western while pine. We wait to harvest until shortly before delivery to the customer so our greens are fresh and fragrant.

Our bough harvest season is short but busy, ending before Christmas. When it’s all done, then we can relax with our families to enjoy the winter holidays. (Our bundled firewood producers never sleep, though.)

Woodfirst Sustainable Enterprises, based in Klamath Falls, OR, provides mobile saw milling services throughout Oregon. The company is a Working Partner for the Oregon Woodland Co-op. Chris Johnson, Woodfirst owner has 35 years of sawmilling experience. He has offered to donate to OWC 10% of the gross proceeds from any jobs performed for or referred by Co-op members. 

Two portable sawmills are available to turn logs into lumber. The Woodmizer LT40 can take up to a 36 inch diameter x 20 ft long log, and can produce planks up to 20 inches wide. The Alaskan-style chainsaw mill can cut slabs up to 38 inches wide, e.g. for live-edge table tops. 

To maximize production efficiency, a landowner should have one or two laborers for offloading lumber, depending on the size of the logs. It’s recommended to have a forklift, tractor. or backhoe with a thumb for lifting and moving logs to the sawmill once it is set up and level. With supplemental labor and equipment provided by landowner, Chris can produce 350 to 500 board feet of lumber per hour.

For details and pricing, contact Chris by phone 541-892-0323, or email [email protected].

All OWC members are welcome to attend the OWC Annual Meeting, hosted this year by Pat and Karen Karger at their Cove Orchard Farm between Gaston and Yamhill. Woodland owners who are interested in the Co-op are welcome too. Please see the program updates and important reminders below.
 
Schedule
9:00 – 9:30: Coffee and snacks
 
9:30 – Noon: Live Demonstrations

• Truffle Hunting: Marilyn Richen will bring her trained dog and hunt for truffles in a nearby Douglas-fir stand.
• Chainsaw Mastery: Terry Lamers will share his extensive knowledge of chainsaw safety and performance. Bring your own saw for an inspection.
• Bigleaf Maple Tapping: Taylor Larson will demonstrate how to tap our native maple to produce syrup and the equipment you’ll need.
• Shiitake Mushroom Production: Jim Merzenich will describe how to inoculate oak logs with mushroom spores and will have a few inoculated logs for people to take home.
• Firewood Bundling: Pat & Karen Karger, and Lyal Purinton, will demonstrate the process of splitting and bundling to produce our firewood products.

 
Noon – 1:00 PM: Potluck lunch and OWC annual business meeting
 
Volunteer Opportunity
During the annual meeting, members will vote to elect new and/or returning members of the Board of Directors. There will be several vacancies to fill. Please consider taking a more active role in the administration of our Co-op for the benefit of all members. Find out more about the requirements from President Neil Schroeder, [email protected], 503-628-2344.
 
Reminders

• Bring folding chairs for everyone in your party and extras if you have them
• Bring a generous potluck dish to share (OWC will provide the main dish)
• Dress warmly for the weather. Activities will be outside or in an unheated barn.
• Carpool if possible since parking is limited.

 
Directions
Cove Orchard Farm, 22700 NE Cove Orchard Road, Yamhill, OR

From Gaston, travel south on Hwy. 47 3.8 miles to the junction of Cove Orchard Road. Continue south 0.3 mile on Cove Orchard Rd. to the tree farm entrance on the left; look for the sign. Take the gravel driveway up the hill to the right. At 0.25 mile, take the right hand fork to the barn. Watch for signs and people showing you where to park.

From Yamhill, travel north on Hwy. 47 3.9 miles to the junction of Cove Orchard Road. Travel north on Cove Orchard Rd. to the tree farm entrance on the right; look for the sign. Take the gravel driveway up the hill to the right. At 0.25 mile, take the right hand fork to the barn. Watch for signs and people showing you where to park.