Producers and Buyers Anticipate Skagit WholeSale Market Launch

June 22, 2010 [Mount Vernon, WA] - Area food producers are preparing to sell their products to wholesale customers in the covered parking lot of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op on Thursday mornings from 8-10 a.m., starting this Thursday, June 24th, and will be there every week through harvest season, interest provided.

The weekly market is designed to help area buyers and sellers decrease time and fuel costs associated with collecting and delivering local food themselves," says Lucy Norris, PSFN Project Manager. "The Skagit Valley Food Co-op and Puget Sound Food Network together identified an initial group of local vendors, now we need restaurants and food service buyers to show up." Buyers can either preorder from the farm, and then pay and collect at the market site, or choose to pick up later. Each vendor will choose their own invoicing and delivery options. Impulse buys are expected and encouraged.

The Skagit WholeSale Market is grounded in the harvest of all-star Skagit organic producers like Hedlin Farm, Skagit River Ranch, Ralph's Greenhouse, and Skagit Flats. Staples from Sakuma Bros, Twin Sisters Mushrooms, Hidden Meadow Ranch, Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy, and the newly formed Viva Farms will be complimented by delicacies from San Juan Pasta Company and Gothberg Farms. Seasonal appearances by other Skagit and PSFN member producers, and products from nearby and east of the mountains will appear throughout the season.

A collaboration between the Co-op and Puget Sound Food Network, it is the only grassroots business-to-business market of its kind in Northwest Washington.

Those interested in learning more or wish to participate as a Skagit WholeSale Market buyer or seller should contact Erin Treat at skagitcoop@gmail.com or visit PSFN at www.psfn.org. Map and directions to the Skagit Valley Food Co-op are posted at http://www.skagitfoodcoop.com/map.html.

For more background and information, please read our first press release from June 8th on our blog at http://psfn.org/blog/2010/06/seeking-buyers-for-the-skagit-wholesale-market-thursdays-starting-june-24th/, and follow All FOOD Considered, a blog created by Skagit Valley Food Coop.

Get Farming!

The Cultivating Success Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching Course starts Wednesday, Sept. 2 and will be held every Wednesday evening, from 6-9pm, through Nov. 18, with some weekend farm visits.

This course is excellent for individuals and couples who wish to start or redesign a small farm enterprise. It helps participants take a realistic look at their goals and resources and decide what type of small acreage enterprise is right for them. Students are exposed to all type of farming and ranching systems, guest farmers speak to the class, and field trips are taken to local farms.

The course fee is $250; some scholarships are available.

Courses will be held at the WSU Mt. Vernon Research Center, located at 16650 State Route 536
Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (map and driving instructions).

This year's course will be taught in English and Spanish, using the "adult dual-language model" - That is, some portions of the course will be in English with Spanish translation, while others will be in Spanish with English translation. All printed materials are available in both languages and written work is completed in the participant's preferred language.

To register, or for more information, please reply to this email or call Sarita Schaffer at 206-914-7948.

Space is limited so please call today!

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El curso “Agricultura Sostenible de Pequeña Escala”, está programado para el 2 de septiembre y será todos los miércoles por la tarde, desde las 6 hasta las 9 horas, empezando el 2 de Septiembre, terminando el 18 de Noviembre.

Este curso es excelente para personas y parejas que quieren empezar o expandir un pequeño negocio agrícola. El curso les ayuda a los participantes a evaluar sus metas y recursos y decidir cuál tipo de empresa pequeña agrícola más les conviene. Los participantes tienen la oportunidad de ver muchos sistemas de agricultura y ganadería a través de visitas guiadas y charlas con agricultores pequeños locales.

No hay costo para participantes hispanohablantes.

El curso tendrá lugar en el Centro de Investigación y Extensión Agrícola de WSU en Mount Vernon, que se ubica en 16650 Ruta Estatal 536 Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (mapa y cómo llegar).

Los que completen este curso y también el curso “Planificación de Negocios Agrícolas” habrán cumplido con las condiciones para participar en un nuevo “Incubadora de Negocios Agrícolas” que ofrece a agricultores nuevos y minoritarios el acceso asequible a la tierra, agua, financiación, y la asistencia técnica con la producción y el desarrollo del negocio.

Espacio está limitado, por favor llame hoy para registrarse.

Para más información sobre el curso y/o la Incubadora de Negocios Agrícolas, por favor comuníquese con Sarita Schaffer al 206-914-7948 o envíele un correo electrónico a sschaffer@wsu.edu. Hablamos Español.

CSA News for Whidbey Island Folks

The Community Supported Agriculture Training Center at Greenbank Farm is pleased to report that 60 community members have invested in Whidbey Island’s newest farmers and the island's largest CSA.

Harvest boxes for members are discussed each Monday by Anza Muenchow, CSA Program Coordinator, and the CSA students. On Mondays, decisions are made about what to harvest that week, when it will be picked and who will be on the harvest team. Priorities for each row are discussed and tasks delegated. The students also send out a weekly newsletter including recipes.

The work that the CSA students and Anza have accomplished in a few short months is absolutely incredible. They have built a hoop house and a wash station, set up the field for irrigation, laid the irrigation hoses and drip tapes, set up over-head sprinklers, hauled water when they had to, started hundreds of organic seedlings, planted, weeded, harvested, attended classes and worked at the Farmers Market. Then they show up on Mondays to start the cycle again.

The CSA Training Center at Greenbank Farm is rooted in a long tradition of farming begun by the Phillips family in the early 1900's. In the 1930s, the Philips switched from dairy farming to berry farming; by 1972 the Greenbank Berry Farm was known as the largest loganberry farm in the United States. Chateau Ste. Michelle purchased the property and in 1995 negotiated with the national non-profit Trust for Public Land to sell all 522 acres of the Greenbank Farm to Island County, the Port of Coupeville and The Nature Conservancy.

The CSA Training Center works closely today with the Greenbank Management Group and the Port of Coupeville on a daily basis. It's a place where everyone is on a first name basis. Most importantly, it's a place where everyone is working to make agriculture a way of life once again at Greenbank Farm, create new farmers, and increase agricultural acres in production on Whidbey Island.

Office of Farmland Preservation

Here's the link to the newsletter from the Office of Farmland Preservation for inquiring minds:
http://ofp.scc.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ofp-alternate-june-2009-newsletter.pdf

IMPORTANT Information for local farmers!

Three Week Sign-Up for EQIP Organic Conversion Program is May 11-May 29. The recently announced Organic Initiative offers financial assistance to organic and transitioning organic growers to help in implementing conservation practices as part of their Organic Systems Plan or Organic Transitions Plan. USDA announced a 3-week sign-up period for farmers to receive this conversion assistance. Interested farmers should go to their USDA/NRCS office as soon as possible! Find offices at:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/organization/regions.html
.