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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.”
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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
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page of our website at www.capi-
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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
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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,
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Website: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Is/
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