Four Corners farmers say it was a good year, despite some setbacks

Agriculture vendors at the market provide produce, meat and dairy. Other vendors include artisans and nonprofit organizations, such as the League of Women Voters of La Plata County.

Vendors come from a range of places inside and outside La Plata County. A couple of vendors are from Archuleta County and many are from Montezuma County and San Juan County, New Mexico.

Adobe House Farm

Linley Dixon has owned Adobe House Farm and operated it with her husband and brother since 2010. Dixon said 2021 was slightly less successful than 2020, though still a good year for the farm and business, but 2020 was the best year she's ever had thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's been a whirlwind because business really skyrocketed when COVID hit," Dixon said.

She said everything she grew, including tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, basil and kale, sold well. Her cherry tomatoes were the best-selling produce in 2020, she said.

"We sell through James Ranch and a farmer-owned cooperative and people didn't want to go into grocery stores," she said. "They felt more comfortable going into the small James market."

Dixon said 2020 sales were so good she decided to invest in a new greenhouse so she can grow year-round.

"We built the greenhouse because we do get strong winds in the spring," she said. "We have a very short season and passing hail storms every year. So in order to kind of mitigate from those extremes, we've got the insurance of having protected culture. Everything is very highly controlled."

Conditions in the greenhouse are highly controlled, but they're highly expensive and there's a steep learning curve, too, Dixon said.

"The problem with that is we're highly mechanized now," she said. "There's a lot of equipment to run that and if that breaks down it's expensive."

What did the Dixons have to learn? They knew how to drive a tractor and perform outdoor planting, but now they've got an indoor grow operation with a pad and cooling fan and different heating systems. Dixon said they've installed solar panels and a lot of welding was involved in setting that up."Just a whole different skill set to run a year-round greenhouse," she said.

She said the farm uses compost from a local business, Table to Farm, which collects compost from homeowners in town.

They apply the compost by sprinkling it on top of their greenhouse grow areas once every four weeks or so to maintain fertility and continue a year-round cover crop.

Dixon said she wants people to remember her farm the next time shelves are empty.

"I'm disappointed it's not the same as it was when everybody was panicked," she said. "It's like, remember that we're here for you when times are tough and shelves are empty. There's local food happening. I want people to remember that."

Adobe House Farm has been a vendor with Durango Farmers Market since it entered into business in 2011. Dixon said the Durango area is a supportive community for local food because people are loyal to local farmers.

Plus, the surrounding area is a good place to have a farm, she said.

Rohwer's Farms

Heidi Rohwer with Rohwer's Farms north of Cortez said this year's growing season was stressful because of how short on water she was.

Rohwer's Farms, which has participated in the Farmers Market since 2009, consists of about 24 acres, 12 of which were dedicated to produce and orchards. The farm is normally allotted 22 inches of irrigation water, but this year it received just 1˝ inches.

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Source: The Journal