PHILOMATH, Ore. — Rebecca Sweet, owner of Buzz Cover Crop Seeds, views farmland as an opportunity to boost ecological systems.

She consults with farmers to help them customize their habitats and nourish lands with cover crops.

“Cover cropping started after the Dust Bowl, but we’ve learned that cover crops can serve so many roles besides simply holding your soil in place and fixing nitrogen,” Sweet said.

Besides improving soil health, cover crops can break disease cycles, improve water infiltration, create better water holding capacity, protect water quality, suppress weeds, enrich biodiversity and discourage pests.

Sweet’s seed mixtures are designed to support pollinators.

For orchards and berry growers, building up the health and populations of native pollinators such as bumblebees can boost production and the bottom line of businesses.

In some instances, cover crops help by looking beautiful — such as between rows or vines at vineyards.

“Pretty is part of what the wine industry is selling. If a customer shows up and sees flowers like this, it’s more obvious that there’s a stewardship goal and ethic at that winery,” Sweet said.

Sweet is on a quest to create a better turf grass to manage floors for ag operators, including for vineyards, fruit growers and organic hazelnut farmers.

She’s looking for grass to go dormant early, stay short and support the weight of a tractor.

“That’s hard to find because that’s not what the turf industry is after in their breeding programs,” Sweet said.

A durable grass of this sort would reduce the need for weed control and mowing, conserving resources, she added.

Sweet also sells organic cover crops to smaller vegetable farms, wine grape growers and hazelnut farmers that are certified organic.

Sweet grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills by ranchland, oak savannas and rivers, and her mother taught her how to identify plants.

When she moved to the San Joaquin Valley as a teenager, she saw horizon-to-horizon agriculture and wondered where the wild things lived.

“There were no living things but the ag,” Sweet said.

At American River Community College in Sacramento, she became interested in agricultural acreage as habitat thanks to a mentor with the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.

Sweet received her undergraduate degree in environmental biology from Humboldt State University and her master’s degree in horticulture from Oregon State University, where she focused on cover crops and wine grapes.

Starting her business

After graduating, Sweet worked as a manager for vineyards and blueberry farms and taught about sustainable agricultural practices.

The idea of starting her own cover crop business simmered for years until 2019, when she decided to create a job where she could work from home to be closer to her children.

“The pandemic may have shut the world down, but ag kept going. The business took off like a rocket, and I’ve been running ever since,” Sweet said.

She and her family live on a 5.5-acre farm outside Philomath, where they raise vegetables, chickens, sheep and, occasionally, other livestock.

“It’s a real blessing and a privilege to own land. Stewardship is a long game, and farmers know that best,” Sweet said.

Rebecca Sweet

Age: 48

Home: Philomath, Ore.

Business: Buzz Cover Crop Seeds, which sells mixes for ag operators and provides consultation for site goals.

Family: Husband Chris Smith, a water resources engineer for River Design Group in Corvallis, Ore., children Clara Smith, 11, and Darien Smith, 9.

Education: Undergraduate in environmental biology from Humboldt State University, master’s degree in horticulture from Oregon State University.

Website: www.buzzcovercropseeds.com