Welcome to Skagit County
December 15th 2009
Cropping Connections an Alternative to Green Pea Production
Western Washington’s green pea industry has been in a continual decrease over the past several decades, decreasing from 32,289 acres in 1968 to 6000 acres in 2008. The last remaining green pea processor in northwestern Washington (Twin City Foods) has just announced that it will not be processing green peas in Western Washington for the 2010 growing season. This will leave area farmers scrambling to fill 6000 acres of land with crops that fit within their rotation at a time when the dairy industry is also searching out alternatives to high priced feeds being imported into the area. What options are available that can keep valuable western Washington soils in production while, at the same time, saving our local dairy industry?
Forage specialist Dr. Steven Fransen will speak about forage crops such as corn silage, grain corn, sorghum, alfalfa silage, grass silage and grass hay. Dr. Stephen Jones will speak about his work about using grains that can be grown in Western Washington as feed and also straw that can be used as bedding. Dr.’s Carol Miles and Clair Coyne will speak to growing fava beans and winter peas in Western Washington and their ability to be used as a feed. Chris Benedict will talk about the potential for beets and mangles to be utilized in areas outside of commercial seed production areas. Most importantly, the workshop will allow for area producers to explore ways that the crop and dairy industries can sustainably work together. This will include tillage, manure handling/distribution, and irrigation infrastructure/practices that can be shared.
An application has been made for 3 WSDA Pesticide Credits.
Farming can be a wonderful lifestyle but to achieve financial success, today's farmers must be as good at growing a business as they are at growing their crops and managing livestock. Beginning farmers are well-advised to look at their farm as a new business, with all the careful planning that entails, while existing operations must carefully evaluate how diversification or expansion might impact land, labor, capital, and management resources.
WSU Skagit County Extension will offer a 12-week, bilingual “Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Farm Business Planning” course to help new and existing farmers gain skills in business planning and direct marketing. The course emphasizes financial and legal issues unique to farm-based businesses. The course's bilingual format supports a culturally-inclusive learning environment wherein participants grow accustomed to hearing farming and business terms in English as well as Spanish, both of which are dominant languages on today's farms.
Classes are held Thursday evenings, January 14, 2010 through April 8, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at WSU Skagit County Extension, located at 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A, Burlington, WA 98233.
This in-depth business planning course covers evaluating resources, planning and research, legal and management issues, marketing strategies, budgets and profit/loss statements along with how to cultivate financial resources. During the course, participants will develop a business plan they can present to lenders or investors to finance a new enterprise or expand an existing farm-based business. Following the course, graduates who do not have land will be eligible to implement their business plans on leased farmland managed by NovoFarm, a new farm business incubator located in Burlington..
The lead facilitator is Stanwood Angus beef rancher Holly Thompson, a WSU graduate in animal science and agriculture economics. Thompson recently assisted with WSU Skagit County Extension’s “Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching” course and has worked for Northwest Farm Credit Services as a loan officer. Co-instructors include Don McMoran, Agricultural and Natrual Rescources Educator for Skagit County; Sarita Schaffer, Regional Coordinator for WSU's Latino Farming Program and co-founder of www.GrowFood.org; and Silvestre Duenez, a Business student at Skagit Valley College.
The course features a full line-up of local guest speakers including bankers, business professionals, and successful farm owners. In addition, there will be two Saturday field trips to learn how other thriving farms are turning business plans into profitable reality.
Class size is limited to 20 farms and pre-registration is required. Cost for the twelve-week course is $250; register now to hold your spot. To register or for more information on the course, please contact Sarita Schaffer at (206) 914-7948 or sschaffer@wsu.edu.
For more information on the Cultivating Success series please visit www.cultivatingsuccess.org. For more information on other bilingual small farming courses or opportunities at the NovoFarm Agricultural Business Incubator, contact Sarita Schaffer.
Date of Event: January 8, 2010
Location of Event: WSU NWREC – 16650 S.R. Hwy 536, Mount Vernon
Time: 8:30- 4:00.
Don McMoran
Agriculture and Natural
Resources
WSU Skagit County
Extension 360-428-4270, x.225
11768 Westar Lane,
Suite A 360-428-4263 (FAX)
Burlington, WA 98233
http://skagit.wsu.edu