It was the Hertels’ sweet corn that first brought them to the Portland Farmers Market – back in the mid-90s when the Wednesday market was held at Pioneer Square. Asked by the market director to bring in a load of their sweet corn to sell, Vicki and Charlie were reluctant to travel into Portland and even more reluctant to park their farm truck along the city’s downtown square. Yet, after a successful day at the market that cleaned out their shipment of corn, the Hertels came back for more and are now market regulars at both Wednesday and Saturday markets.

It all started about 33 years ago when Charlie and Vicki started renting out both their parents farms and dairying, like many other farmers in the Tualatin Valley area. DEQ clamped down on farmers and threatened fines to those who pastured animals too close to potable water sources such as Dairy Creek. The Hertels could choose between moving outbuildings or selling their stock. They chose the latter and turned to growing fruits and vegetables to make a living. It was, as Vicki relates, an unfortunate occurrence at the time but one that turned out to be more fortuitous than they could have foreseen.

They tip their hats to Portland Farmers Market customers who they credit for their success over the past 10 years. “Market-goers kept asking us to start a CSA,” Vicki explains. “We finally relented and four years ago we started one with 9 members -- now we have 411 members.”

With a growing waiting list for next year’s CSA, they were able to cut down on attending far-away markets. And, the upswing of their CSA has only added to their market success where each year sales have jumped considerably. This, in turn, allowed for their son, Chris, to come into partnership, and their farm now supports two families. It was Chris that helped get the CSA program off the ground.

When the Hertels started at the market, they farmed about 3 acres of vegetables, but each year they have added more to keep up with customer demand. Today they tally up 50 acres of vegetable and fruit crops. ing fruits and vegetables to make a living. It was, as Vicki relates, an unfortunate occurrence at the time but one that turned out to be more fortuitous than they could have foreseen.

Vicki says they won’t ever leave the market. “We have so many friends there, and no other market compares to PFM when it comes to how it’s managed. The quality of our customers is also hard to beat,” she adds. “They are happy to see us, thank us and appreciate our hard work. When we were commercial and dairy farmers, we enjoyed farming but never saw the end user, the customer. Now, we really enjoy farming and it makes the work a lot easier when you receive direct and positive feedback.”