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2 CapitalPress.com August 21, 2015 People & Places Family recipe produces business Charlotte Armstrong starts flapjack enterprise from scratch Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester ..........................President Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Sid Freeman .................. Outside director Mike Omeg .................... Outside director Corporate officer John Perry Chief operating officer Capital Press Managers Mike O’Brien .............................Publisher Joe Beach ..................................... Editor Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press DECLO, Idaho — Char- lotte Armstrong cooks up a batch of flapjacks for her hus- band, Tom, almost every morn- ing, and Tom never tires of the old family recipe given to Char- lotte by her mother-in-law. That recipe and five years of marketing and wheat variety research are the foundation of Cowboy Tom’s Flapjacks, an enterprise Charlotte launched in 2005. The product line, which fo- cuses on flapjack mixes that in- clude a blend of dry ingredients and unprocessed grains, started in Charlotte’s kitchen after a friend raved about the flapjack mix Charlotte and Tom sent her for Christmas. “Her question was ‘Why aren’t you guys selling this stuff?’” Charlotte said. Tom flinched while Char- lotte jumped in with both feet and started doing her homework and experimenting with differ- ent varieties of wheat. Narrowing a long list down to five varieties — including one grown on the Armstrong ranch — she held taste tests in her home. Testers scored the flapjacks for texture, tenderness, flavor and appearance. Everyone picked the same variety, and it wasn’t the soft white wheat the Armstrongs grow, she said. It was a dryland hard red variety. Dry farming makes the wheat naturally higher in pro- tein, which gives it more flavor, she said. “That’s the difference; that’s what you taste,” she said. The grower of the winning variety had grown wheat organ- ically, but not certified, for 25 years and was particular about his production. Charlotte was Capital Press Entire contents copyright © 2015 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Charlotte Armstrong works on some of her Cowboy Tom products. She started the Declo, Idaho, enterprise 10 years ago. Western Innovator Charlotte Armstrong Occupation: Owns and operates Cowboy Tom’s Flapjacks with her husband, Tom Location: Declo, Idaho Founded: 2005 Products: Flapjack mixes, including whole wheat and gluten-free teff and buckwheat, maple syrup Recognition: TechHelp Idaho’s 2009 Spirit of Continuous Innova- tion Web: cowboytoms.com E-mail: cowboytom@safelink.net confident in the quality of his grain and was ready to move ahead. Then she had to find some- one to do the processing, pack- aging and labeling. She found a great partner in the University of Idaho Food Technology Center in Caldwell and her “packaging posse” of grandchildren. The company’s flapjack in- gredients are individually pack- aged at the Food Tech Center and assembled into retail and wholesale packaging at the Cowboy Tom’s facility back at the ranch. Charlotte started out ped- dling her wheat flapjack prod- uct to independent shops but expanded sales to Whole Foods and Natural Grocers and at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. She also sells wholesale through a Billings, Mont., wholesale market and the pres- tigious Gourmet Market at the Dallas Market Center. Doors have opened for her every step of the way, and cus- tomer requests have led her to expand her offerings to include maple syrup — which began production at the Food Tech Center and is now produced at her on-farm facility — and glu- ten-free grains. She sources gluten-free buckwheat nearby in Cassia County and gluten–free teff, an Ethiopian food grain, from a Boise grower. She also wrote a tall tale — the Legend of Cowboy Tom — to accompany her flapjack mix and syrup in a gift pack and was embraced by the cowboy artists whose works she used to illus- trate the book. “It’s been much, much more than I ever thought it would, and it keeps growing,” Charlotte said of the business. A lot of people have tried to figure out the recipe and what makes Cowboy Tom’s Flap- jacks so good, but they can’t, she said. Eighteen years ago, she re- tired from an accounting job with Kraft Foods to marry Tom, who was managing a cat- tle ranch in Arco, Idaho. Now, between production, sales and trade shows, she’s putting in long hours, she said. Cowboy Tom’s now pro- cesses and markets 12 to 16 tons of grain and at least 3,000 bot- tles of syrup annually. While the Armstrongs are thrilled with the success of Cowboy Tom’s Flapjacks, Charlotte has built the busi- ness with the intention of selling it — not working un- til she’s 80. But it has given her new experiences and has allowed her to push past busi- ness fears. It has also forged strong relationships and brought many personal re- wards, she said. University of Kentucky shows off hemp plots POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Toll free ............................. 800-882-6789 Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff N. California Tim Hearden .................... 530-605-3072 E Idaho John O’Connell ................. 208-421-4347 Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas .......... 208-860-3898 Boise Sean Ellis .......................... 208-914-8264 Central Washington Dan Wheat ........................ 509-699-9099 E Washington Matthew Weaver .............. 509-688-9923 Oregon Eric Mortenson ................ 503-412-8846 Mateusz Perkowski .......... 800-882-6789 Graphic artist Alan Kenaga ..................... 800-882-6789 To Place Classified Ads Ad fax .............................. 503-364-2692 or ...................................... 503-370-4383 Telephone (toll free) .......... 866-435-2965 Online ......www.capitalpress.com/classifieds Subscriptions Mail rates paid in advance Easy Pay U.S. $3.75/month (direct with- drawal from bank or credit card account) By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Tobacco production has waned in Wolfe County, so its agricultural extension agent checked out hemp re- search plots Thursday to see if the crop that’s just starting a comeback could grow into a substitute for farmers in his region of the Appalachian foothills. Daniel Wilson, the ag agent, liked what he saw while inspecting stands of hemp — marijuana’s non-in- toxicating cousin — at a Uni- versity of Kentucky research farm. Some hemp plants tow- ered eight to 10 feet tall. Hemp could become an option on the acreages where tobacco once dominated in his hilly county, he said. Wolfe County used to produce up to 3 million pounds of burley tobacco during the crop’s hey- day. The county’s production is now 100,000 to 150,000 pounds yearly, he said. “With tobacco out, it’s got good potential to replace some of that,” Wilson said. “Anything that can help off- set some of the income for some of these farmers, I’m for it.” Hemp is prized for oils, seeds and fiber. The crop was historically used for rope but has many other uses: cloth- ing and mulch from the fiber; hemp milk and cooking oil from the seeds; and soaps and lotions. The challenge isn’t grow- ing hemp, which thrived in Kentucky’s soil and climate until getting caught up in the government’s fight against marijuana. The question is whether farmers can find re- liable markets. Wilson was among about 250 people touring the hemp plots. Participants included AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner University of Kentucky agronomist David Williams talks to a group checking out research plots of hemp at the school’s research farm Aug. 13 in Lexington. Kentucky has been at the forefront of efforts to revive the crop. farmers, processors and ag extension agents. Some peo- ple took photos of a crop that remains a novelty. UK agronomist David Williams said hemp’s long- term viability will hinge on whether it can fetch a strong enough profit for farmers. Without that assurance, farm- ers will raise other crops. “We do have strong evi- dence that suggests it will be at least in that neighborhood with the current commodities as far as profit for farmers goes,” he said. “All that’s de- termined by the consumer.” Hemp products sold in the U.S. last year had a total re- tail value of at least $620 mil- lion, according to the Hemp Industries Association. The crop is grown in many other countries around the world. Growing hemp in the U.S. without a federal permit was banned in 1970 due to its classification as a controlled substance related to marijua- na. Hemp and marijuana are the same species, but hemp has a negligible amount of the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high. For now, growing hemp is strictly limited. The federal farm bill restricts hemp pro- duction to research projects designated by agriculture de- partments in states that allow the crop to be grown. Twenty-six states have removed barriers to hemp production, according to Vote Hemp, a group that ad- vocates for the plant’s legal cultivation. Space salad: 1 small bite for Celebration of life planned man, 1 giant leaf for mankind for Chauncey M. Hubbard By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — These are the salad days of scientific research on the In- ternational Space Station. On Monday, for the first time astronauts munched on red romaine lettuce that they grew in space. After clicking their lettuce leaves like wine glasses, three astronauts tast- ed them with a bit of Italian balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. Astronaut Kjell Lindgren pronounced it awesome, while Scott Kelly compared the taste to arugula. They talked about how the veggies added color to life in space. If astronauts are to go farther in space, they will need to grow their own food and this was an experiment to test that. Astronauts grew space station lettuce last year but had to ship it back to Earth for testing and didn’t get to taste it. MONROE, Ore. — Friends and family are welcome to a celebra- tion of life in honor of Chaunc- ey M. Hubbard at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23. He died April 24 at age 96. He was born Oct. 27, 1918, in Spur, Texas, to Chauncey Mulks Hubbard and Mary Jane (White) Hubbard. In 1939, the family moved to Monroe, Ore., where young Chauncey lived for the rest of his life. He farmed and raised Hampshire sheep with his father before starting out on his own. Chauncey was preceded in death by daughter Marilyn Hub- bard Reedy; mother and father Chauncey Mulks and Mary Jane Hubbard; and wife Kleva June (Lindseth). The celebration will be held at Hubbard Memorial Park, 27511 W. Ingram Island Road, Monroe, Ore. For more information, call Cuevas at 541-554-1439. Friday-Sunday Aug. 21-23 Thursday-Saturday Aug. 27-29 Clackamas County Fair & Rodeo, 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. Clackamas County Event Center, Canby, Ore. Farwest Nursery Show, 8 a.m.-7: 30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22 Oregon State Fair Howell Territorial Park, Sauvie Island, Ore. 2 years U.S. .................................$89.99 1 year Canada .................................$275 1 year other countries ......... call for quote 1 year Internet only .......................$49.99 1 year 4-H, FFA students and teachers ....$30 9 months 4-H, FFA students & teachers .....$25 Visa and Mastercard accepted To get information published Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main office or news staff member closest to you, send the in- formation to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press. Include a contact telephone number. 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Aug. 28-Sept. 7 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem. Thursday, Sept. 10 Oregon State University Dairy Open House, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., OSU Dairy, Corvallis. The OSU Dairy has been converting to a graz- ing-based operation. Thursday-Friday Sept. 17-18 California Poultry Federation Annual Meeting and Conference, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monterey If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a Thursday-Sunday headline, story or photo caption, Sept. 17-20 please call the Capital Press Mount Angel Oktoberfest, 11 a.m.-11: 55 p.m. news department at Downtown Mount Angel, 1-855-899-6338. 503-364-4431, or send email to Mount Angel’s Oktoberfest will celebrate newsroom@capitalpress.com. 50 years of the festival, bringing together We want to publish corrections to 350,000 people to celebrate the harvest and family fun. set the record straight. Plaza Hotel, Monterey, Calif.