FARMING FOR KEEPS
HOWEVER, VFC’S BUILDING BLOCKS HAVE BEEN SET FOR YEARS. WE’RE NOT PRACTICING ANYTHING. WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN PLAYING FOR KEEPS.
WE TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN LEARNING EVEN THE SMALLEST IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR FARMING METHODS. WHETHER WE DISCOVER IT OURSELVES OR BENEFIT FROM THE SHARED WISDOM OF THE SMALL YET RICH CRANBERRY FARMING COMMUNITY IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD. A PARTICULAR PLACE THAT PROVIDES AN IDEAL GROWING ENVIRONMENT FOR THAT HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE ‘NAPA VALLEY OF CRANBERRIES’.
CRANBERRY FARMING HAS NEVER BEEN A HOBBY FOR OUR FAMILY. IT HAS SERVED AS OUR PRIMARY SOURCE OF FINANCIAL MEANS FOR DECADES.
WE TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. PRACTICE IS NOT OUR LUXURY. EVOLVING CONTINUALLY IS THE KEY TO OUR FAMILY FARMING WAY OF LIFE TODAY, TOMORROW AND GENERATIONS TO COME.
EVOLUTION OUT OF NECESSITY IS IT’S PUREST FORM. THAT’S WHY WE’RE SO PROUD TO SHARE THIS OPEN LETTER TO YOU.
February 1st, 2011
Subject: Vincent Family Cranberries – Organic Certification Announcement
Hello to you and thank you sincerely for taking the time to learn more about us and what we’re working towards.
We trust that at the very least you will see the value in a direct relationship with an actual farming family that just happens to make the finished product as it sits packaged on the shelf. We haven’t taken the time to try and find out but we do know it is an exceptionally rare thing in today’s world.
First and foremost our family grows Cranberries. That’s what we do, and have done, for over fifty years here in Oregon.
Throughout those years, numerous technological and cultural advances have helped us grow more berries. Our family has always strived to farm responsibly while working to evolve our practices with every opportunity given. We’ve treated our land and our Cranberry vines the way you would expect our family to, after all these years.
With that same spirit that has shaped our farm, we are now proud to announce a bold, new undertaking. We have initiated the process of Organic Certification for our 27 acres of bogs.
We are excited and proud to be able to hold up our farming practices to the scrutiny of the certification process. Organic certification will be an important milestone and crowning achievement of years of hard work. Organic Cranberry farming is rare. Only a tiny percentage of all Cranberries harvested each year worldwide are certified.
Here in Oregon, of the roughly 2500 acres in production, about 1% of Cranberries are certified Organic. There’s a reason for that, and ‘it’s easy’ isn’t one of them. It’s going to take some extra work and some extra dollars on our end to gain this certification. But we think our timing is going to work out well.
As our juices and dried Cranberries have been so well received, it should allow us to use previously unavailable resources to do this right. For example, as of the first of this year, we were fortunate to re-hire a former employee. This achievement as well as our commitment to success are just a couple reasons we are confident that we have the right plan in place to gain certification.
We know as well as any, that a logo on our bottle won’t magically make our juice better. So in the meantime we will continue to produce “the finest Cranberries in the World,” put them in our products, and offer them to you.
The great thing about being the only Cranberry juice company that also happens to be a Cranberry Farming family is that you can also come to the farm and we’ll give you tour of our farming methods for firsthand. Better bring your work gloves though!
Thanks to all of our customers and supporters, who have helped make this all possible. We love hearing from you and nothing is better than meeting you in person.
We won’t let you down.
From all the Vincent’s,
Thank you