Jim Ables and Kat Topaz had a dream: to get out of the rat race and become farmers.

But the couple, who both used to work in publishing and tech, didn’t realize how hard it would be to make a living from the soil.

So they started coming up with ideas, and they found they could bring nearby city dwellers to their 75-acre Sauvie Island farm for “u-pick” and pumpkin patches, communal farm dinners, harvest festivals and school outings.

“We didn’t even have a name for it yet, but we started to realize how powerful this place could be,” Topaz recalled.

Six years in, that property is now the popular and thriving Topaz Farm.

But in late July, Ables and Topaz found themselves facing uncertainty.

The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development released proposed rules changes for far

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