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CapitalPress.com
September 28, 2018
People & Places
Grower succeeds despite counselor’s advice
Kathy LeCompte
bursts through
gender gap in
agriculture
Western
Innovator
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
As a university horticul-
ture student, Kathy LeCompte
once got some bad advice from
a guidance counselor about her
plan to commercially grow
and sell plants.
“I was told early in my
career there was no room for
women in the nursery indus-
try,” she said.
After successfully running
the Brooks Tree Farm for the
better part of four decades with
her husband, Dave, LeCompte
likes to think she and other
women have helped change
the negative gender stereotype
espoused by her counselor.
“It turns out he was wrong,”
LeCompte said.
Since starting on a 30-acre
parcel in 1980, the company
has grown to seven sites with
255 acres and annually sells up
to 6 million plants of roughly
50 varieties.
The nursery produces coni-
fer seedlings for multiple mar-
kets — reforestation, Christ-
mas trees and ornamental stock
— as well as native plants for
habitat restoration projects.
Much of the company’s
plants are field-grown, but it’s
also invested in greenhous-
es in which they’re grown in
“plugs,” or tiny containers that
contain the roots, rendering
them less vulnerable to drying
out.
“They tend to be a lot more
uniform,” LeCompte said.
Selling plants with more
than one purpose has tradition-
ally broadened the company’s
base of customers, helping to
insulate it from shocks to any
one market.
Kathy LeCompte
Owner: Brooks Tree
Farm with husband, Dave
LeCompte
Headquarters: Brooks, Ore.
Employees: 30 year-round,
up to 75 during peak harvest
season.
Founded: 1980
Property: Seven locations
totaling 255 acres.
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Kathy LeCompte, co-owner of Brooks Tree Farm, examines one of the conifer plugs growing in a
greenhouse at her company’s original location in Brooks, Ore.
“It helps even out produc-
tion,” LeCompte said.
Brooks Tree Farm was
usually far enough back in the
supply chain to cushion it from
economic disruptions, but the
most recent “Great Recession”
proved an exception to that
rule.
With the severe downturn
in housing, loggers weren’t
cutting trees for new homes
and didn’t need seedlings for
replanting. At the same time,
housing developers and home-
owners stopped investing in
landscaping, drying up de-
mand for plants.
“It hit our nursery on both
sides. We weren’t supplying
the timber or the ornamental
nursery trade,” LeCompte
said.
To make matters worse,
severe overproduction in the
Christmas tree industry de-
stroyed demand for seedlings
in that sector as well.
Between 2008 and 2015,
the company dumped 3 mil-
lion Noble fir seedlings, for
example, because they were
getting too big to effectively
harvest and ship.
“It’s not like other busi-
nesses where you can leave
product on a shelf until things
are better,” she said.
Fortunately, the fourth
pillar of the company’s busi-
ness, native plant sales, was a
major factor in why the nurs-
ery survived. Environmental
restoration projects are often
funded by the federal govern-
ment, which spent heavily to
stimulate the economy during
the recession.
The native plant market is
inherently risky because there
are relatively few buyers who
can order tremendous numbers
of plants.
Contrary to conventional
wisdom, native species are of-
ten finicky to germinate and
cultivate even though they’re
grown in their natural climate.
“They just take a lot of ba-
by-sitting,” LeCompte said.
Seeds from the cottonwood
and willow spoil quickly, for
example, and the seedlings
that do emerge can grow very
unevenly. Meanwhile, their irri-
gation needs are disparate: Wil-
lows desperately need water,
whereas over watering cotton-
woods would quickly produce
enormous, unsaleable trees.
Though native plants pose
particular challenges, antici-
pating demand years or even
decades out is a conundrum
facing each of the market seg-
ments served by Brooks Tree
Farm.
Knowing how many Christ-
mas trees consumers will want,
for instance, is highly specula-
tive, LeCompte said. “We’re
guessing what the market is go-
ing to need 12 to 15 years out.
That’s tough.”
Now that the glut of
Christmas trees has ended and
housing starts have improved,
there’s enough need for seed-
lings that a shortage has de-
veloped.
Markets served: Christmas
trees, reforestation, orna-
mental nursery stock, native
habitat restoration.
Sales territory: Primarily
the Pacific Northwest, but
also throughout the U.S. and
occasionally international.
“Those trees were pushed
out and now there’s an under
supply,” LeCompte said.
One product that’s not as
exposed to long-term trends
in other industries are tiny
coniferous trees that are used
as gifts at weddings and fu-
nerals.
The traditional use for
these trees was as “grafters”
that serve as the base for oth-
er varieties, but Brooks Tree
Farm also sells them in dec-
orative boxes or champagne
flutes, serving as inexpensive
and flexible party favors.
Such diversification is
helpful in an industry filled
with uncertainties about fu-
ture demand.
“Those are questions none
of us knows the answers to,”
LeCompte said.
DEQ honors Clif Bar for pollution prevention
Capital Press
Clif Bar has been recog-
nized as a Pollution Preven-
tion Champion by the Idaho
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality for its successful
efforts to reduce waste and
improve sustainability at its
Twin Falls manufacturing fa-
cility.
“Clif Bar is setting a gold
standard for not only internal
waste reduction, but for em-
ployee and community en-
gagement on environmental
sustainability,” Ben Jarvis,
DEQ’s pollution prevention
coordinator, said in a press
release.
Pollution prevention is any
technique used to reduce or
eliminate pollution generated,
Clif Bar & Co.
Clif Bar & Co.’s bakery in Twin Falls. The Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality says Clif Bar is at the forefront of innovation.
seeking to eliminate or mini-
mize the amount of toxicity of
wastes and pollutants before
they are generated, according
to DEQ.
To qualify as a candidate
for pollution prevention rec-
ognition, Clif Bar submit-
ted an application to DEQ
demonstrating how it incor-
porated pollution prevention
into daily operations by re-
ducing raw materials or toxic
materials purchased; hazard-
ous or solid waste generated;
water, energy, or fuel used; or
air pollutants emitted.
“This award is a small to-
ken of appreciation for the un-
wavering dedication that Clif
Bar has shown for protecting
the environment,” Jarvis said.
“We have learned so
much about their employee
and community engagement
efforts, and it truly appears
that Clif Bar has left no stone
unturned. From building en-
velope efficiency to supply
chain management to renew-
able energy sourcing, Clif Bar
is at the forefront of innova-
tion,” he said.
Among its achievements,
Clif Bar has a substantially
more efficient building and
bakery due to the use of hy-
brid cooling towers that re-
duce water use by over 30 per-
cent, LED light fixtures and
a reflective roof that reduce
energy use by 20 percent, and
process equipment that result
in emission reductions of over
40 percent.
The facility is also on track
to achieve a zero-waste certi-
fication, which it anticipates
completing by the year 2020.
Efforts currently underway
to achieve zero-waste certifi-
cation include heavy invest-
ment in recycling of wood,
cardboard and plastic and
supplying more 2,000 tons of
feed to local dairy farmers.
for a free workshop about managing
mud, manure and pastures along
with winter health care for horses.
Website: https://www.swcd.net/event/
preparing-winter-horse-properties/
a.m.-3:30 p.m. Keizer Communi-
ty Center, 930 Chemawa Road
NE, Keizer, Ore. This seminar will
address water rights, title issues,
transfers and other related issues.
Sponsored by the Marion Soil and
Water Conservation District. Cost:
$25 Website: https;//www.marion-
swcd.net/
Calendar
To submit an event go to the
Community Events calendar on
the home page of our website at
www.capitalpress.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. Include “Calen-
dar” in the subject line.
Saturday, Sept. 29
Oregon Ag in the Classroom
Fall Harvest Dinner and Auction.
5-9 p.m. CH2M Hill Alumni Center,
Oregon State University. The silent
auction starts at 5 p.m., followed by
dinner featuring food produced by
Oregon farms and ranches. The oral
auction is at 7:45 p.m. All proceeds
from the dinner and auction will sup-
port the Oregon Ag in the Classroom
mission: to help students grow in
their knowledge of agriculture, the
environment, and natural resources.
Registration due by Sept. 14. Web-
site: https://oregonaitc.org/events/
fall-harvest-dinner-2/
Free Washington Hemp Info
Class. 1-3 p.m. Elk Plain Grange,
21817 Mountain Highway E,
Spanaway, Wash. Join the Industri-
al Hemp Association of Washington
and the Washington State Depart-
ment of Agriculture as we present
the in’s and out’s of the Washington
IHRP program, Farm Act of 2018,
basics of growing hemp and cur-
rent industry statutes. There will be
a question-and-answer session and
assistance available with applica-
tions after the class. Space is limited
to 75 people. RSVP for classes at
www.ihempawa.com. Cost: Free.
Wednesday, Oct. 3
Third Annual Open Farm. 8:30
a.m.-1:30 p.m. UC Kearney Agricul-
tural Research and Extension Center,
9240 S. Riverbend Ave., Parlier, Ca-
lif. Open Farm is a gathering hosted
each year by the farming community
to connect technology vendors, aca-
demics and growers to accelerate the
digital transformation of the food and
agriculture sector. Registration is free
for growers and government employ-
ees, $20 for representatives of power
and water utilities and $40 for ven-
dors. Website: https://bit.ly/2N4zRBI
Wednesday-Thursday
Oct. 3-4
Oregon Water Resources Con-
gress Golf Tournament and Technical
Seminar. Eagle Crest Resort, 1522
Cline Falls Road, Redmond, Ore. The
technical seminar will be Oct. 4 and pro-
vide district staff, board members and
consultants will innovative strategies,
tools and solutions to meet water man-
agement challenges. The golf tourna-
ment is Oct. 3. Website: www.owrc.org
Saturday, Oct. 6
Oregon’s Bounty. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Oregon State Capitol, 900 Court St.
NE, Salem, Ore. This event focuses
on the importance of agriculture in the
state and brings a little bit of the farm
to the front steps of the Capitol. Web-
site: https://bit.ly/2QmtO9m
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. Cel-
ebrate Hood River’s harvest season.
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/
Thursday, Oct. 18
Balancing Profitability and Access
in Local Food Systems. 8:30 a.m.-
4 p.m. The Riverside Hotel, 2900
W. Chinden Blvd., Boise, Idaho. In
a state that comprises big ag, small
ag and highly motivated food sys-
tem stakeholders, how can we bring
more locally produced foods into
mainstream markets and strengthen
the economics of small- to mid-sized
farms? This one-day conference will
explore, through an economic lens,
ways to cultivate a local food econ-
omy to create jobs, invigorate small
farms and businesses and keep pre-
cious dollars in our Idaho communi-
ties. Hosted by the University of Idaho
Extension, the conference is made
possible with a Western Sustainable
Agriculture Research & Education
(WSARE) grant. Cost: $45 Website:
https://idahofood2018.eventbrite.com
Saturday, Oct. 20
Preparing for Winter on Horse
Properties Workshop. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation
District, 7175 NE Evergreen Parkway
No. 400, Hillsboro, Ore. Join the Tu-
alatin Soil and Water Conservation
District and Horses for Clean Water
Tuesday-Wednesday
Oct. 23-24
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
Wednesday-Saturday
Oct. 24-27
91st National FFA Convention
and Expo. Indianapolis, Ind. This is
the culmination of the year’s work
for FFA members from around the
nation. Website: https://convention.
ffa.org/schedule/
Monday-Wednesday
Nov. 5-7
2018 Advances in Walnut Pro-
duction Short Course. Activities
and Recreation Center Ballroom,
University of California-Davis. This
course is designed for new and
experienced growers as well as
other industry members interested
in commercial walnut production.
Website: http://ucanr.edu/sites/wal-
nutshortcourse/
Tuesday, Nov. 6
Water Rights Boot Camp. 10
Wednesday-Friday
Nov. 7-9
Weed Conference. Wenatchee
Convention Center, 121 N.
Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee,
Wash. The 68th conference pro-
vides information on all aspects of
weed control and management. It
covers crops of all kinds, turf and
ornamental, vegetation manage-
ment and aquatic. Website: www.
weedconference.orgFriday-Sunday
Friday-Sunday
Nov. 9-11
Tilth Conference. Davenport
Grand Hotel, 333 Spokane Falls
Blvd., Spokane, Wash. Tilth Con-
ference brings together hundreds
of farmers, producers, researchers
and food system professionals for a
weekend of learning, building rela-
tionships and sharing best practices
for growing a healthy food system
The speakers will include Mai Nguy-
en, who grows heirloom, ethnic
grains in Sonoma, Calif., and is the
California Organizer for the National
Young Farmers Coalition, and Audra
Mulkern, the founder of “The Female
Farmer Project,” a documentary
project chronicling the rise of wom-
en working in agriculture. Website:
www.tilthalliance.org
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Index
Dairy ...................................... 8
Livestock ............................... 8
Markets ............................... 12
Opinion .................................. 6
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