Long recovery awaits farmers

The fertile soil at Boistfort Valley Farm that has produced a bounty of organic vegetables sold at three area farmers markets lies under several inches of river mud the color and consistency of partially melted fudge.

"Who knows what's in this mud?" observed Hannah Johnson, a farm employee and family friend of its owners, Mike and Heidi Peroni, as she navigated through it in boots Friday. "Pretty nasty, though."

After the floodwaters receded, the mud covered the Peroni home, barn, greenhouses, office and vehicles. While friends and volunteers have cleared some of it away, the mud still obscures a certain future for this and other farms in the Boistfort Valley, among the hardest hit areas by last week's record floods.

Peroni, 42, said the question of whether the couple moves away from the South Fork of the Chehalis Rivers remains "on the table."

The cleanup will continue, and Peroni needs to talk to his insurers and determine what equipment is salvageable.

"I'm an agricultural idealist and a financial realist," he said. "We're just gonna have to look real hard at this. What's going to be possible, whether it's — it's certainly going to look different than I intended."

Peroni has farmed his entire adult life. In 2002, the couple moved from the Independence Valley in southwestern Thurston County to this farm community in Lewis County because of flooding concerns.

He is the board president of the Olympia and Chehalis farmers markets and also sells dozens of varieties of vegetables, including onions, squash and carrots, at the market in Ballard and the Olympia Food Co-op. The couple also sells directly to 250 customers between Olympia and Seattle. They own nearly 20 acres of farmland and lease an additional 66 acres.

When his in-laws alerted him that the river was rising Monday, he said he initially brushed it off, having seen it interact with the floodplain with little consequence.

This time was different.

By late morning, he and his wife were stowing household items as high as they could.

"By the time we realized it was going to be an unprecedented flood, we were landlocked," he said.

A fishing guide evacuated the couple and their 4-month-old daughter, Natalina, by boat. They stayed with a neighbor until the roads cleared enough for them to stay with friends. On Friday, Peroni rented a house a short distance from their damaged farm.

They returned Wednesday to assess the damage.

The carcasses of 10 horses greeted them at the driveway. Their walk-in cooler floated to near the town's general store and perched itself on top of a small car, where it remained Friday.

Each morning, Peroni and Johnson have met to compile a short to-do list for themselves and the friends and volunteers who show up to aid the farm's recovery. On Friday, work was under way to dry out the house, move their salvaged household items into their rental and establish an operations center for the corps of workers.

"The response has been fantastic in the valley," said Jim Hoffman, a family friend who is helping repair the Peroni family's house. "It's heartwarming really."

One man was attempting to flush out the cylinders of farm equipment. Heidi Peroni e-mailed customers to alert them to the farm's situation. They hope to make some of their Dec. 20 deliveries with stores undamaged by the flood, Peroni said.

Mike Peroni said that area farmers need both immediate financial assistance and long-term financial advice as they travel the long, complex road toward recovery.

"This is a huge step backwards," he said of the situation facing his farm. "We were witnessing steady growth and we had compiled an excellent bunch of equipment that was all running beautifully and dialed into our operation."

Christian Hill is a reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5427 or chill@theolympian.com.