Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current, August 10, 2018, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2 CapitalPress.com August 10, 2018 People & Places Marketing key for new farms Gary Fredricks, WSU Extension adviser, sees interest in small ag growing Western Innovator By DON JENKINS Capital Press As director of Washington State University Extension in Cowlitz County, Gary Fred- ricks advises people interest- ed in becoming farmers. First of all, he counsels, budding farmers should have a marketing plan. How will you sell what you produce? “That to me is the first place to start,” he said. Second, they should have a farm plan. How will the land, buildings and other resourc- es work together? “Mistakes cost money,” Fredricks said. Third, if you have animals, what will you feed them? It may be the biggest expense. “To me, good pasture is free food,” Fredricks said. “Once you start buying feed, it gets expensive fast.” And, he adds, check your motives and interests. “You have to be passion- ate about farming. If it’s all about the money, I just don’t think it’s going to be what you want,” he said. Small ag is big Fredricks, 63, has been director of Cowlitz County Extension since 2002. The southwest Washington coun- ty has timber and manufac- turing, but relatively little large-scale food production. According to the 2012 Cen- sus of Agriculture, the county had 492 farms that year, but 396 of them had less than $10,000 in sales. The median Gary Fredricks Age: 63 Position: Washington State University Extension director for Cowlitz County, interim director for Lewis County Extension Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from WSU Don Jenkins/Capital Press Gary Fredricks, Cowlitz County director of Washington State University Extension, advises new and prospective small farmers. size farm was 15 acres. Fredricks said he believes that’s enough space to make a go of farming. “If I have 10 acres, I can grow a lot of veg- etables,” he said. Cowlitz County’s agri- cultural profile is similar to many other Western Wash- ington counties. Fredricks has spent his career in the region and serves as an all-purpose adviser to small farmers. His expertise ranges from goats to composting to pastures. WSU alumnus He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from WSU. His office in Longview is decorated in the style of a Cougar alumnus — WSU banner, WSU poster and a WSU rug. Since June 1, he has been spending two days a week in Chehalis as interim director of WSU Extension in Lewis County, a position he filled following the retirement of the previous director. Fredricks grew up in Taco- ma and spent weekends on his uncle’s dairy in Auburn, south of Seattle. After earning his master’s degree, he worked briefly at a dairy and for the federal Milk Market Admin- istrator. He began his career with WSU Extension in 1984 as an adviser to dairies in Clark County, south of Cowlitz Coun- ty. At the time, Clark County had 84 dairies, Fredericks re- called. He now counts five. Although agriculture in Western Washington has shrunk in some ways, Fredricks said there are business oppor- tunities for new small farmers, particularly if they can cut out the middle man. Small farmers are posi- tioned to sell directly to cus- tomers shopping for locally grown food, he said. “More and more people are looking to know where their food is coming from,” Fred- ricks said. “When we’re talking about expanding agriculture, we have to talk about small farms.” Websites, farm guides, whatever — get your name out there, he said. “Marketing is about con- necting with people, and it takes time, and it takes work,” Fredricks said. “It’s that per- sonal connection that will al- low for that premium.” A progression According to the Census of Agriculture, farming is not the main occupation of most Cowlitz County farmers. Fredricks said small farmers Background: Grew up in Tacoma and became familiar with dairies by spending weekends at his uncle’s dairy typically move into the field gradually. “It’s usually a progression. They don’t just jump into it,” he said. “They have flexibility and a little less risk. “I’ve seen people take hobbies and expand it and make some significant money off it,” said Fredricks, citing the example of a woman he knows with mason bees. Making a living with live- stock and a small land base is tough, he said, though an- imals can be a feature of ag- ritourism. Established small farmers should welcome small farm- ers and not view them as com- petitors crowding farmers’ markets, he said. More farmers make more robust markets, he said. “From my standpoint, mar- keting is probably foremost.” Capital Press Established 1928 Board of Directors Mike Forrester Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Susan Rana Harrison Forrester Mike Omeg Cory Bollinger Jeff Rogers Corporate Officers Heidi Wright Chief Operating Officer Rick Hansen Chief Financial Officer Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2018 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. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Circulation ......................... 800-882-6789 Email ........ Circulation@capitalpress.com Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas .......... 208-860-3898 Boise Brad Carlson .................... 208-914-8264 Cent. Washington Dan Wheat ........................ 509-699-9099 W. Washington Don Jenkins ...................... 360-722-6975 E Washington Matthew Weaver .............. 509-688-9923 Youth ranch continues to grow, looks to future Nonprofit ranch offers space for FFA, 4-H kids to keep animals By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Carl Grub started the Jen- sen Memorial Youth Ranch about 10 years ago, donating the land and the building. So far, he is pleased with its progress. “I’m very tickled,” Carl Grub said. “There’s a lot of kids that take advantage of it.” “Carl is now 81 years old and I’m 71,” brother Craig Grub, a ranch volunteer, said. “About 10 years ago, Carl brought up the idea, ‘If we’re going to do anything, we’ve got to do it before we’re dead.’” The Medical Lake, Wash., ranch was originally Jensen Memorial Youth Ranch The Jensen Memorial Youth Ranch in Medical Lake, Wash., provides FFA and 4-H students with free space to care for their livestock, among other activities. owned by the Jensen family, and Carl purchased the ranch from them. The youth ranch is named in their honor. The roughly 110-acre ranch provides a place for 4-H and FFA members to keep their animals — steers, pigs, lambs and goats — at no charge. Students must buy their animals, feed them and clean and maintain the pens. The number of participat- ing students is increasing, Craig Grub said. “We’ve turned out some excellent, excellent students through the program,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any- thing more educational than for a kid to have the respon- sibility of an animal to take care of,” Carl Grub said. The purpose of the ranch is straight forward, the brothers said. “It’s to keep good kids doing good things,” Craig Grub said. “Without Jen- sen Youth Ranch, most kids wouldn’t have a facility to keep their animals.” The ranch serves students from Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, Reardan, Medical Lake, Cheney and “all the area in between,” Craig Grub said. Last year the ranch host- ed a 4-H fitting and show- ing school as a precursor to the Junior Livestock Show of Spokane. More than 250 students participated. The ranch also offers week- ly 4-H cooking and sew- ing classes and monthly meetings, Carl Grub said. The nonprofit ranch add- ed onto its pig barn last year and hopes to add a shooting range for students to use for free. “Like most things, all it takes is time and mon- ey,” Craig Grub said. “We aren’t going to have a can on a stump. We want it to be world-class. We’ve got to get the funds to build it right so it can be a beautiful, safe place for the students to learn gun safety.” The ranch held its annu- al picnic for volunteers last weekend. “It’s kind of a thank you for the community for the support they give us,” Craig Grub said. Carl Grub’s hopes for the ranch are “just getting big- ger,” he said. “We’ve got a good board of directors, good 4-H group leaders and good FFA teach- ers,” he said. “I’m sure it will just continue to grow.” Calendar To submit an event go to the Com- munity Events calendar on the home page of our website at www.capi- talpress.com and click on “Submit 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. Saturday, Aug. 11 Yachats River Valley Farm Tour. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Yachats Chamber of Commerce, 241 U.S. Highway 101, Yachats, Ore. Fun for all on the ar- ea’s small farms. Go to the Yachats Chamber office for information and to download a map. Cost: Free. Contact: 541-547-4461 Monday-Tuesday Aug. 13-14 FSMA Foreign Supplier Verifi- cation Workshop. College of Se- quoias Tulare College Center, 4999 East Bardsley Ave., Tulare, Calif. New Food Safety Modernization Act regulations require that import- ers must have a program in place to verify that their foreign suppliers are producing food in a manner that provides the same level of public health protection as the preventive controls or produce safety regula- tions, as appropriate, and to ensure that the supplier’s food is not adul- terated or misbranded with respect to allergen labeling. Participants will receive an official FSVP certificate after the class. Cost. $599. Web- site: https://bit.ly/2uvR7Ez Wednesday, Aug. 15 Organic Hazelnuts Second An- nual Summer Farm Tour. 9:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Cold Springs Farm, 35541 Cold Springs Road, Lebanon, Ore. Join the Organic Hazelnut Growers Association’s summer tour at one certified organic farm and one tran- sitioning farm. Cost: $18 for mem- bers of Organic Hazelnut Growers Association. $45 for non-members. Website: http://www.pesticide.org/ organichazelnuts Wednesday-Thursday Aug. 15-16 Pastured Poultry Training. 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Oldfield Animal Teach- ing Facility, Oregon State Universi- ty, 3521 SW Campus Way, Corval- lis, Ore. The special guest speakers are Lauren Gwin of Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network and local pastured poultry farmer Laura Sage of Redbird Acres. Agriculture specialists from Oregon State Uni- versity and the University of Cali- fornia will be present both days to talk with local producers. Cost: $40. Website: https://bit.ly/2n9hk7x Thursday, Aug. 16 OSU Small Farms Program’s Mechanical Cultivation Field Day. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. OSU Vegetable Research Farm, 34306 N.E. Elec- tric Road, Corvallis, Ore. The program includes live demonstra- tions of cultivation equipment and presentations by speakers, in- cluding keynote speaker Eric Gal- landt, a weed ecology professor at the University of Maine. Regis- ter by Aug. 10. Cost: $25 Website: smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/me- chanical-cultivation-field-day-cor- vallis Friday-Sunday Aug. 17-26 Western Idaho Fair. Western Idaho Fairgrounds, 5610 Glenwood St., Boi- se, Idaho. Website: www.idahofair.com Thursday, Aug. 23 Inaugural Washington FFA Foun- dation Golf Tournament. 1:30-6 p.m. Apple Tree Golf Course, 8804 Occi- dental Road, Yakima, Wash. To take part, contact FFA Foundation Executive Director Jesse Taylor at jesse@wash- ingtonffa.org or 253-208-9071. A dinner and auction will follow the tournament. Friday-Monday Aug. 24-Sept. 3 Oregon State Fair. Oregon State Fair and Exposition Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem, Ore. https://oregonstate- fair.org/ Friday-Saturday Aug. 31-Sept. 8 Eastern Idaho State Fair. Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds, 97 Park St., Blackfoot, Idaho. Website: https://fun atthefair.com/ Friday-Sunday Aug. 31-Sept. 23 Washington State Fair. 110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup, Wash. www.the- fair.com/ Tuesday, Sept. 18 Oregon Farm Bureau Classic Golf Tourney. 1 p.m. Stone Creek Golf Club, 14603 S. Stoneridge Drive, Oregon City, Ore. Contact: tiffany@oregonfb.org Saturday, Sept. 22 Hood River Hops Fest. Noon-8 p.m. Columbia Lot, Fifth and Co- lumbia, Hood River, Ore. The Hood River Hops Fest is an annual cele- bration of beer’s bitter friend, freshly harvested hops. Hood River County is surrounded by world-renowned hop growing regions, and since 2003 brewers have gathered each Sep- tember in downtown Hood River to share their fresh-hop beer creations. The family-friendly event features more than 50 breweries with more than 60 fresh-hop beers, plus a vari- ety of food vendors, live music, and an awesome collectible mug. Web- site: http://hoodriver.org/hops-fest/ Friday-Sunday Oct. 12-14 Hood River Valley Harvest Fest. 1-6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat- urday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Hood River Event Site, North of Exit 63 off Interstate 84, Hood River, Ore. Celebrate Hood River’s harvest season. Presented by Pacific Pow- er and produced by the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce. This old-fashioned fall festival brings together more than 120 vendors offer- ing local produce and food products, plus arts and crafts, wine, cider and beer tastings. Held along the scenic Hood River waterfront, this is the Columbia River Gorge’s biggest cel- ebration of the region’s incredible fall bounty. Website: http://hoodriver.org/ harvest-fest/ Oregon George Plaven ................. 406-560-1655 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) .......... 800-882-6789 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) 1 year U.S. ...................................$49.99 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. Letters to the Editor: Send your comments on agriculture-related public issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital Press. Letters should be limited to 300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday. Capital Press ag media www.capitalpress.com www.FarmSeller.com marketplace.capitalpress.com www.facebook.com/capitalpress www.facebook.com/farmseller twitter.com/capitalpress www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo Index Markets ............................... 10 Opinion .................................. 6 Correction policy Tuesday-Wednesday Oct. 23-24 Accuracy is important to Capital Press staff and to our readers. Nutrient Management Confer- ence. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Embassy Suites, 1441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside, Calif. The agenda will focus on the latest FREP-funded research results and practical applications of fertilizing materials for agricultural production in the state of California. Grower, CCA, and PCA credits will be requested. Website: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Is/ ffldrs/frep/FREPConference.html If you see a misstatement, omission or factual error in a headline, story or photo caption, please call the Capital Press news department at 503-364-4431, or send email to newsroom@capitalpress.com. We want to publish corrections to set the record straight.