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Info About Tours & Field Days Eaton Beef Chef Tour: June 18, 2007
Pullman Area Chefs Sampled Tender Local Beef on a hilltop over the Snake River! Click here for pictures of this amazing event!
The tour began at the Eaton's Ranch. Chefs visited from all over the Palouse, and as far north as Sandpoint to get a closer view of the local ranching operation. The tour stopped at various locations where the cattle spend their time. The Eaton's focus on sustainability by fencing off their waterways to keep erosion down and by giving the cows antibiotic free and hormone free feed year-round. Cinda Williams, UI Latah County Extension Educator explained to the chefs the principles of sustainability as we overlooked Wawawai Creek. The tour participants traveled by bus across the wide expanse of land that the cattle range over, from lowlands across the train track from the river to high on the Wawawai plateaus. We visited cattle that were being prepared to travel across the Palouse to Harvard to summer grazing lands. Near these cattle is the site for the future Eaton Season Ranch, a cabin for guests. Nearby, Nikki Eaton showed off her chickens, which she is hoping will follow the cattle and break up the cowpies, turning them to manure and adding their own manure to the fields as well.
Perhaps the highlight of the tour for some was the meal of Eaton Natural Beef and other organic foods, prepared by WSU Chefs. Tour participants took a horse-pulled wagon to the top of a rise on the Wawawai Grade. In the midst of an oat field, there was tables with tablecloths set up and a bluegrass band playing! What a beautiful place to sample the local beef! With music playing, oats waving in the wind and the snake below, participants chatted and sampled wine from the winery down the road, Wawawai Winery, made with grapes grown right in the canyon! What a spectacular meal!
This tour will not be soon forgotten! What an experience! Watch for more news on the Eaton Season Ranch Grand Opening in late July!
Visit Eaton Natural Beef online or look into Eaton Season Ranch! If you are interested in
sponsoring a Rural Roots Farm Tour on your farm or ranch, please call us
at 208-883-3462 or
email Sara.
Visit our Calendar of Events to find other farming and ranching events
throughout the Northwest! Why go on a farm tour? If you are a community member looking for local food, farm tours are a fun way to get to know farmers in your area and to see first hand why local and sustainable food tastes so good! If you are a grower, or are thinking about getting into farming and ranching, you can learn about sustainable production and marketing methods and hear about the valuable lessons local farmers have learned along the way. Tips for an enjoyable farm tour:
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