Tickets are now on sale for the 2016 San Juan County Farm Tours! Tours are Sept. 24 and 25 on San Juan Island, Oct. 2 on Orcas Island, and Oct. 8 and 9 on Lopez Island. The farm tours are an incredible and unique opportunity to visit farms, meet farmers, taste locally grown foods, learn skills and more about agriculture in San Juan County.

The San Juan Island Farm Tour includes the opportunity to meet heritage breeds of goats and sheep, walk in an edible food forest, and taste locally grown heritage wheat baked in delicious pastries. You can judge different varieties of garlic, learn about cultivating herbs, distilling essential oils and taste apple varieties. On Saturday evening, join San Juan Preservation Trust, the San Juan County Land Bank and others at Red Mill Farm, a 700-acre farm owned by the trust, for a tour and conversation about the challenges and opportunities of farmland conservation in the islands. Enjoy a delicious local meal prepared by Gretchen Allison and beverages by Kari’s Island Elixirs.

The Orcas Island Farm Tour offers a farm brunch at The Kitchen, shuttle buses an opportunity to visit over a dozen unique and interesting farms. At the end of the day, enjoy a soiree at Orcas Farm, with live local music, DJ Teacher’s Pet, a free farmers potluck and the Lion’s Club Beer Garden sponsored by Island Hoppin’ Brewery.

The Lopez Islands Tour I includes the opportunity to learn about greenhouse-grown salad, shellfish farming, and how draft horses are used for vegetable and grain production. Discover how fleeces are transformed into yarn and how to ferment vegetables. Enjoy samples of delicious Lopez-grown produce and products including oysters, wood fired pastries and pizza. Watch a border collie herd sheep, visit a licensed goat dairy, and much more! Start the tour on Saturday with a local farm breakfast made by the Lopez Island Farm Education program, or on Sunday with fresh baked local grain wood-fired pastries at Barn Owl Bread at Midnights Farm. On Saturday evening, end the tour with a Lopez-grown dinner at the Grange, and participate in the second annual pie contest, either by entering a pie or buying a slice.

For more information about the Farm Tours, and to buy tickets, visit: http://SJCFarmTours.eventbrite.com.

Ticket sales support participating farmers.

About San Juan County Agricultural Resources Committee: The SJC ARC’s mission is to protect and strengthen the agricultural resources of San Juan County.

About San Juan Island Agricultural Guild: The SJI Ag Guild is a community-based volunteer organization dedicated to fostering a vibrant, resilient and sustainable local food system in San Juan County.

Look for Savor the San Juans, free in every paper next week, for more information on the tour.