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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2018)
14 CapitalPress.com April 13, 2018 Adapting to change a constant for grower BUYING or SELLING Orchard, Nut or Vineyard Property? Your best pick is FarmSeller.com More than 1080 rural property listings from 70 rural property professionals. • Ag Businesses • Berries • Livestock • Nursery/Greenhouse • Orchards & Vineyards • Crops • Dairies • Farm Properties • Hobby Farms • Large & Small Acreage • Ranch Properties • Recreational / Resort By SUZANNE FRARY For the Capital Press WOODLAND, Wash. — George Thoeny is weighing the costs and benefits of crops on his Woodland, Wash., farm and may uproot his berry plants this year. Falling prices and rising labor costs have for several years cut into his berry profits. Thoeny Farms already has converted most of its 390 acres from berries and vegeta- bles to grass seed. Its raspber- ry production peaked at 150 acres and is now at 10 acres. “Raspberries used to go for $1.70 per pound, but now it’s about 50 cents per pound,” Thoeny said. “Unless a grow- er can process berries, or add value with fresh sales, it’s hard to make a profit.” Thoeny sells berries at farmers’ markets in South- west Washington and some are shipped to farmers’ mar- kets in Seattle. He also has a few acres of strawberries, blackberries and sweet corn. Thoeny runs the business with his brother, Ted, and mother, Peggy, in the Wood- land Bottoms, which once supported a thriving agricul- tural community. Decades ago, farmers raised a variety of vegetables and the area was home to dozens of dairies, Thoeny said. About five farms remain, Suzanne Frary/For the Capital Press George Thoeny, a third-generation farmer in Woodland, Wash., is considering converting his berry fields to grass seed. Falling whole- sale prices and the rising cost of labor have made growing berries less profitable, he says. he said, the majority of which now grow grass seed. It’s a crop that has far lower labor costs. Thoeny Farms has suc- ceeded for nearly seven de- cades by adapting to chang- ing conditions, and Thoeny, a third-generation farmer, expects to continue in that tradition. The family grew vegetables, mostly carrots, for about 35 years before plant- ing raspberries, followed by strawberries and blackberries. The supply of migrant la- bor dropped off three or four years ago and local farm la- bor is nonexistent, he said. To harvest their berries and sweet corn, the farm needs about 16 workers, Thoeny said. Hiring GEIER: Rubber Track Crawler Nobili SDS: Side Discharge • Model GEI.64TSE.II • 35” Track Width • 60HP • Rural Residential people and complying with government regulations is an “immense amount of work.” Thoeny and his brother can do the work of growing grass seed. Working with family is a perk of his job, Thoeny said, and is what he always wanted to do. He includes other farm- ers in the area as part of his “extended family.” His chil- dren have chosen careers off the farm. “I got into farming when it was easiest, in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,” Thoeny said. He and his brother may be the last generation of his family to farm, but they don’t want to sell their land and hope to leave a healthy business to their kids and grandkids. • Discharge Mulch under the row. • Model 150, 180, 210 • Timber BROKERS: for more information contact your Capital Press sales rep today 800-882-6789 Old Dutch, LLC EQUIPMENT SALES AND SERVICE www.farmseller.com David Myers ONV18-3/HOU 971-241-7244 www.odtractor.com ONV18-3/106 Buyers can search by type, price, location, acreage, bedrooms, baths, crops, livestock, water, irrigation and more.
