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CapitalPress.com
April 20, 2018
People & Places
A new market for landrace grains
Don Scheuerman’s
company raises
ancient varieties
unique to region
Western
Innovator
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
ENDICOTT, Wash. —
Don Scheuerman believes the
future of farming lies in the
grains that were grown in the
past.
Scheuerman
co-found-
ed Palouse Heritage with his
brother, Richard, seven years
ago, and incorporated in
2014. The company sells an-
cient landrace grains.
Ancient grains technically
are early grasses such as em-
mer, spelt and einkorn. Land-
races are the strain of grains
that developed in specific lo-
cations, Scheuerman said.
The early landrace grains
are like the “great-great
grandparents” of today’s
modern wheat varieties, he
said, adding they require little
fertilizer.
The company fills a specif-
ic niche, Scheuerman said.
“Our markets are the 49
percent of the people in Wash-
ington, Oregon and California
who voted for mandatory
GMO (genetically modified
organism) labeling,” he said.
The company is not organ-
ic, but is aiming toward or-
ganic practices, Scheuerman
said.
He stresses that the compa-
Don Scheuerman
Title: Co-founder, Palouse
Heritage
Age: 68
Hometown: Endicott, Wash.
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Don Scheuerman, co-founder of Palouse Heritage Grains, stands on the top of the hill overlooking his
farm April 6 near Endicott, Wash. The company sells landrace grains to high-end restaurants and is
collaborating with brewers.
ny is not against conventional
agriculture.
“These are complicated
issues without simplistic an-
swers,” he said. “We don’t
come down on (a particular
side). We just picked our way
and we don’t look back.”
The company also has a
30-acre seed farm, and three
other farmers grow for the
company, for a total of rough-
ly 100 tons produced on 100
acres, Scheuerman said.
Scheuerman wants to en-
hance the farm’s value per
acre, with an emphasis on sus-
tainability and soil health.
“We really view ourselves
as transitioning into soil that
grows crops, as opposed to
growing crops in soil,” he said.
The company sells the rare
grains to a handful of high-end
restaurants and collaborates
with brewers.
The Scheuermans worked
with Washington State Uni-
versity researchers, including
Steve Jones, director of the
bread laboratory in Mount Ver-
non, Wash., to identify histori-
cally relevant grains that have
the desired characteristics for
baking and brewing.
Newer heritage wheats
with higher yields need to be
identified to provide commu-
nities with access to regional
food that is minimally pro-
cessed, Jones said.
“The idea that commod-
ity white wheat is the future
has been with us for over 100
years,” Jones said. “Anything
that does not go along with
that old idea can have an im-
pact.”
Jones appreciates Scheuer-
man’s approach.
“I really like the idea of
somebody doing something,”
he said. “Don is doing some-
thing.”
Scheuerman is a partner
and co-founder of the new
Grain Shed cooperative in
Spokane with brewers Joel
Williamson and Ted Ben-
son and miller-baker Shaun
Thompson Duffy in Spo-
kane’s Perry District. It is
slated to open at the end of
April.
The co-op recently re-
ceived approval for a brew-
Education: Attended Wash-
ington State University for
three years
Family: Daughter, Nicole
Website: https://www.
palouseheritage.com/
ery, Scheuerman said. In
five years, he hopes to have
“Grain Shed” beer in every
store in the state.
The co-op is based on
the “five pillars of grain” —
bread, beer, pasta, pizza and
spirits, he said.
Farmers sell landrace,
heirloom and ancient grains at
a premium into the co-op.
The co-op isn’t interested
in getting bigger, Scheuerman
said. Its members want to get
the model to a point where oth-
er small farmers can replicate
it for their own food shed, he
said.
“We’re trying to reconnect
the rural to the urban,” he said.
National runner-up in YF&R Discussion Meet receives her tractor
Prize donated
by Case IH
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
After finishing as national
runner-up in the Young Farm-
ers & Ranchers Discussion
Meet at the 2018 American
Farm Bureau Federation con-
vention in Nashville, Jenny
Freeborn arrived Thursday at
Ag West Supply in Rickreall,
Ore., to claim her prize.
Freeborn, who chairs the
Oregon Farm Bureau’s Young
Farmers & Ranchers Commit-
tee, received a Farmall 50A
tractor donated by Case IH for
her impressive showing at the
event. Matt Mollard, territo-
ry sales manager for Case IH,
was also on hand to give Free-
born the key.
“This is literally something
George Plaven/Capital Press
Jenny Freeborn, Young Farmer and Rancher chairwoman for the
Oregon Farm Bureau, is presented with a Case IH Farmall 50A
tractor by Matt Mollard, territory sales manager for Case IH after
she received national runner-up in the Discussion Meet competitive
event at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual conven-
tion in Nashville.
I’ve been working on since I
was 15 years old,” Freeborn
said of competing in the na-
tional Discussion Meet. “It re-
ally is a dream come true for
me. The fact that this actually
happened is incredible.”
The Young Farmers &
Ranchers Discussion Meet is
a competitive event that sim-
ulates a committee meeting,
with members swapping in-
formation and ideas on a pre-
determined topic. The list of
topics for Freeborn included:
• Round 1 — With a grow-
ing demand for U.S. farm
products abroad, how can agri-
culture overcome public skep-
ticism of foreign trade to nego-
tiate new trade agreements and
open new world markets?
• Round 2 — How can
Farm Bureau help members
with increasing legal and regu-
latory obstacles so they can fo-
cus on farming and ranching?
• Sweet 16 — How can
farmers and ranchers main-
tain their buying power with
the continued trend of input
supplier and provider consoli-
dations?
• Final Four — Farmers
are a shrinking percentage of
the population. How can Farm
Bureau help first-generation
farmers and ranchers get start-
ed in agriculture?
The night before the Fi-
nal Four, Freeborn said she
couldn’t eat or sleep. Her sis-
ter, Kathy Hadley, who also
made the Sweet 16 in 2016,
stayed with her to provide sup-
port.
Above all else, Freeborn
said she was thrilled to shine a
spotlight on the good work be-
ing done by the Oregon Young
Farmers & Ranchers Commit-
tee.
“That was the best part of
it for me, knowing that I am
bringing attention and notori-
ety to our state,” she said.
Freeborn, who lives on the
family farm in Rickreall, was
appointed chairwoman of the
committee in December 2017.
The group is specifically for
Farm Bureau members be-
tween the ages of 16 and 35.
Martha Smith of Colorado
won the discussion meet. Jared
Knock of South Dakota placed
third, and fourth place went to
Matt Jakubik of Michigan.
Oregon agriculture leader Phillip Walker dies at 64
By MITCH LIES
For the Capital Press
Phillip Walker, a Salem
tree fruit and nut grower who
held leadership positions in
the agricultural industry for
many years, died of cancer
April 6. He was 64.
Walker served on the Or-
egon Hazelnut Commission
from 1991 to 1997 and from
2003 to 2009, including serv-
ing as chairman for three
years and treasurer for three
years. From 1987 to 1991,
Walker was a member of the
Nut Grower Society Board,
serving as president of the so-
ciety in 1991. He received the
Nut Grower of the Year award
in 1997.
Walker served as a Polk
County commissioner in
1998 and from 2003 to 2005.
He served a stint on the Polk
Calendar
To submit an event go to the
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mit an Event.” Calendar items can
also be mailed to Capital Press,
1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR
97301 or emailed to newsroom@
capitalpress.com. Write “Calendar”
in the subject line.
Through Sunday
April 22
Puyallup Spring Fair. Washing-
ton State Fairgrounds, 110 Ninth
Ave. SW, Puyallup, Wash. Website:
http://www.thefair.com/spring-fair
County Bud-
get Commit-
tee, on the
Polk County
Citizens Advi-
sory Commit-
tee for Correc-
Phil Walker tions Facilities
and on the
West Salem Little League
Board of Directors.
Walker served on the board
of Oregon State University’s
Agricultural Research Foun-
dation, from 1991 until his
death, including serving as
president of the foundation
from 2009 until his death.
“Phil was a great leader,”
said Ralph Fisher, who is tak-
ing over as president of the
foundation and who worked
with Walker throughout Walk-
er’s tenure as foundation pres-
ident. “He was one of those
guys that when he spoke, you
Saturday, April 21
Oregon Women for Ag Auction
and Dinner. 5:30 p.m. Linn County
Fair and Expo Center, 3700 Knox
Butte Road, Albany, Ore. This excit-
ing event is a fundraiser for Oregon
Women for Agriculture,. Web: owa-
online.org
Tree School East. 9 a.m.-4
p.m. Baker High School, 2500 E
St., Baker City, Ore. This year the
school will offer 29 classes. Spon-
sored by OSU Extension, the Or-
egon Forest Resources Institute
and the Oregon Small Woodlands
Association. Cost: $50, $20 for 18
and younger with an adult family
member. Website: http://extension.
listened, just because of his
depth of knowledge on topics
and his organizational under-
standing.
“His passing is a great loss
for agriculture and the com-
munity of Salem and the state
of Oregon,” Fisher said.
“Phil was frank and fair
and an inspiration to his
peers, and certainly to me,”
said Polly Owen, director of
the Hazelnut Industry Office,
who worked with Walker for
more than two decades. “He
was a master at ensuring that
all points of view were clear
before decisions were made
regarding the industry.
“I am thankful for all
the opportunities I have had
through the years to work
side-by-side and for Phil,”
Owen said.
“The hazelnut community
has lost an important voice
oregonstate.edu/baker/
Monday-Tuesday
April 23-24
Goat Workshop. WSU Jeffer-
son County Extension classroom,
97 Oak Bay Road, Port Hadlock,
Wash. The 12 hours of instruction
is useful to goat owners and people
thinking about raising goats. Cost:
$40. Website: goatintensive.brown-
papertickets.com
Sunday-Wednesday
April 22-25
California FFA State Convention.
Anaheim Convention Center, Ana-
heim, Calif. Website: http://www.cal-
aged.org/stateconvention
and a very special friend,”
she said.
Walker grew up working
the family’s orchards west
of Salem and returned to the
farm after graduating from the
University of Oregon in 1975.
He took over management
of Walkdale Farms from his
father, Gordon, in the mid-
1980s.
Orchardist Doug Olsen
pointed out that Walker also
was “very involved in the
cherry industry, being one of
the valley’s largest growers.”
“Most of all,” Olsen said,
“he was a great friend and will
greatly be missed.”
Walker’s family’s legacy
in Oregon agriculture dates
back six generations to when
his ancestor, Michael Henry
Walker, traveled the Oregon
Trail from Iowa in a covered
wagon and started farming
Monday, April 23
Changing Hands: A Workshop
on Farm Succession Planning and
Access to Land. 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. OU
Higher Education Center, 101 South
Bartlett St., Medford Ore. Rogue
Farm Corps will bring together aspir-
ing and retiring farmers for a full day
of training on land access and suc-
cession planning. Cost: $20 Website:
www.roguefarmcorps.org/planning
Friday-Saturday
April 27-28
2018 California Beef Cattle Graz-
ing School. 8:30 a.m. UC Sierra Foot-
hill Research and Extension Center,
8279 Scott Forbes Road, Browns Val-
ley, Calif. This two-day grazing school
near Independence in the mid-
1800s.
Walker is survived by his
wife of 38 years, Rebecca;
his sons Marcus, William and
Joseph; his stepmother Nan-
cy Walker; his sisters Rachel
Walker, Karen Walker and
Susan Glaze; and his grand-
children Payten Walker and
Rocco Walker.
A memorial service for
Walker will be held at Zenith
Vineyard, 5657 Zena Road
N.W., Salem, on May 4 at 2
p.m., with a reception to follow.
The family is asking that
donations in Phil’s memory
be made to the Agricultur-
al Research Foundation at
OSU, 1600 S.W. Western
Blvd., Suite 320, Corvallis,
Ore. 97333, or to the Boys
and Girls Club of Salem,
1395 Summer St. N.E., Salem
97301.
provides participants with practical
experience. Cost: $180. Website:
http://unanr.edu/2018grazingschool
Horsedrawn Vehicle and Equip-
ment Auction. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Yamhill
County Fairgrounds, 2070 NE Lafay-
ette Ave., McMinnville, Ore. Auction
starts both days at 10 a.m. Website:
www.pacificoverlandauction.com
Friday, April 27
Governor’s Conference on Agri-
culture. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Clark County
Government Center, 500 S. Grand
Central Parkway, Las Vegas, Nev.
Sponsored by the Nevada Depart-
ment of Agriculture. Website: http://
govcon.buynevada.org/
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Index
Dairy ...................................... 8
Livestock ............................... 8
Markets ................................11
Opinion .................................. 6
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