WOODBURN, Ore. — For as long as she can remember, Emily Iverson has pitched in on the family farm, best known as the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm.

However, joining it takes much more than that.

“Our family has a rule for the third generation where we’re required to have a four-year college degree and work two years off the family farm first,” Iverson said. “There are 20 cousins, so this is about putting in a little bit of work to come back to the farm.”

In the process, “We bring new ideas back to the farm, adding value to the operation,” she said.

Iverson graduated from Oregon State University in 2020 and spent the next year working at nearby Goschie Farms in their hops and vineyard operations.

Then she set out, visiting 35 states and three countries, working for tulip festivals in Alabama and Rhode Island and a flower farm in New York before heading to Australia, where she spent seven weeks working on a tulip farm.

“I met so many people and learned about tourism across the U.S., Canada and Australia,” she said. “I visited over 15 different tulip farms and 10 flower farms or agritourism operations across those three countries.

“It was an amazing experience, and I came to understand things like land use laws, tourism, consumer trends and different farming practices,” Iverson said.

The 25-year-old officially returned to the farm a year and a half ago and, at their recent tulip festival, was overseer of wine tasting, did all the scheduling and hiring and much of the ticketing and social media.

“This year we had an amazing season; it couldn’t have been smoother, but you must always be prepared and looking for new ideas and ways to shift,” she said. “You don’t ever want to be in a stagnant position, especially in tourism.”

During the festival she didn’t take a day off.

“That’s just how this business is, but I’m willing to grind it out for the festival,” Iverson said. “It’s just like harvest; you’re going to put in as many hours as needed to get the job done.

“At the same time, you need to be cautious about your mental and physical health and make sure you’re taking care of yourself, delegating where possible, and good communication is huge.”

Ross and Dorothy Iverson started the farm in 1950 and began growing tulips in 1974. Iverson Family Farms now includes Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, Red Barn Hemp, FSOil and Wooden Shoe Vineyards.

Current plans include rebranding so it’s clear that their wines, hemp, ag crops and tulips all stem from the same place and family.

What Iverson is most excited about is seeing her dream of a July flower festival come to fruition this year.

“We hope to have 10 acres of various flowers and maybe do some U-pick and wine tasting,” she said. “We’re known both for our flowers and for providing an experience, so why not grow off of that and let people come out more than once a year?”