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CapitalPress.com
November 2, 2018
People & Places
Urban farmers make it work in residential area
Capital Press
Established 1928
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Mike Omeg
Cory Bollinger
Jeff Rogers
Scott and Dixie
Edwards farm close
to their customers
By DON JENKINS
Western
Innovator
Capital Press
LONGVIEW, Wash. —
For more than 25 years, Scott
and Dixie Edwards have
farmed where you wouldn’t
expect it.
They have 7 acres two
blocks outside Longview in
a residential neighborhood at
the foot of a big hill named
Mount Solo. There’s a church
up the street, and Wal-Mart
and McDonald’s are close by.
In this case, the farm ben-
efits by being near people.
Scott Edwards, 64, and Dixie
Edwards, 66, are tapping into
the desire that some consum-
ers want to buy locally and
eyeball their farmer and the
farm.
Beginning after the Fourth
of July and continuing into
mid-fall, the Edwardses de-
liver boxes of fruits and veg-
etables to customers each
week. In the box is a letter
written by Dixie Edwards
with cooking tips. “If you
have never roasted zucchini,
it is worth a try,” she advised
in July.
Other customers come to
the farm to pick up produce.
They are young and old and
in-between. A requirement
appears to be the willingness
to try different vegetables.
“We do a little bit of ev-
erything,” Scott Edwards
said. “You have to be into
eating healthy.”
Nursery first
They started the farm
and a native-plant nursery
in 1993. The nursery brings
in more money. The couple
Scott and Dixie
Edwards
Occupations: Owners of
Watershed Garden Works, a
farm and native-plant nurs-
ery in Longview, Wash.
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Dixie and Scott Edwards stand in a greenhouse planted to garlic at their farm in Longview, Wash.
They’ve found a niche selling directly to customers.
reports, however, that after a
quarter of a century, the food
operation is catching on.
“Farming was always
more of a lifestyle than a busi-
ness, and now it’s becoming
more of a business,” he said.
“It’s finally becoming profit-
able.”
For years, they sold pro-
duce and plants at weekend
farmers’ markets in Longview
and Astoria, Ore. Loading and
unloading goods was physi-
cally hard, and working the
markets left no time to rest
from the week’s labors. “It
was a killer,” Scott Edwards
said.
Five years ago, they started
selling food to members of an
Episcopal church who signed
up to receive weekly boxes
of fruits and vegetables. After
two years of that, they looked
to expand into community
supported agriculture.
The business didn’t grow;
it exploded. Organizations in
the private and public sectors
got interested. More than 50
employees at the local com-
munity college signed up for
shares.
“It was too much,” Scott
Edwards said. “Everything
was good. It was just stressful
as heck.”
The interest from institu-
tions in participating in com-
munity sustained agriculture
waxes and wanes, making
planning difficult, they said.
The past two years have been
smoother. More customers
are coming to the farm to buy
produce, and it’s best when
the shoppers come to them,
they said.
‘Rural Eden’
Scott Edwards grew up in
Longview. He and his wife
farm land that has been in the
family since 1962. His parents
bought it to farm, raise cattle
and rent out the house on the
property. Scott Edwards said it
was his second home growing
up and calls it a “rural Eden
on the outskirts of town.”
Dixie Edwards also lived
in Longview as a girl until
her family bought a farm near
Stella along the Lower Co-
lumbia River and not far from
Longview. They went to the
same high school, two grades
apart, and were married in
1988. Scott was working for a
conservation district in Kitsap
County, while Dixie worked
in water-quality programs for
the county and later a public
utility district.
In 1989, they rented
land in Kitsap County for
a native-plant nursery and
a few years later moved to
Longview and opened their
business, Watershed Garden
Works, which combined the
nursery with an organic farm.
“This was our way back to the
farm,” Dixie Edwards said.
Scott Edwards studied
organic agriculture in the
1970s at The Evergreen State
College in Olympia. “Doing
something organic was almost
Education: Dixie Edwards
earned bachelor’s and mas-
ter’s degrees in education
from Washington State
University; Scott Edwards
attended The Evergreen
State College and Clark
Community College.
Family: Two grown daugh-
ters
like crackpot back in the day,”
he said.
The Edwardses say they’re
following organic practices,
but haven’t paid the fees and
filed the paperwork to obtain
certification. They said if they
were marketing to a broader
population they would, but
their customers can see what
they’re doing.
At the farm and nursery,
they employ two full-time and
two part-time workers year-
round, along with a couple of
seasonal workers. Good help
is hard to find, they said.
Many of their customers
are new to the area, they said.
“I think Longview and
(neighboring city) Kelso are
going through a big change,
like a lot of communities
are,” Scott Edwards said.
“There are a lot of possibil-
ities for farmers.”
Friday-Saturday
Nov. 2-3
Farm & Food Expo. Spokane
Community College, Spokane,
Wash. More than 40 classes will
be offered for small-scale farmers.
The Washington State Conserva-
tion Commission’s Office of Farm-
land Preservation is a title sponsor
for the event. Website: https://bit.
ly/2eVxY63
Monday, Nov. 5
Meridian FFA Scholarship Auc-
tion. 5:30-9 p.m. Meridian High
School Career Technical Center,
1900 W Pine Ave., Meridian, Ida-
ho. Join the Meridian FFA Alumni
in raising money for Meridian FFA
Chapter members in the West Ada
School District to attend FFA trips
and seniors to afford college. En-
joy a dinner, raffles, silent auction
and live auction for a great cause.
All auction proceeds directly bene-
fit students of Meridian, Mountain
View, Eagle, Centennial, and Rocky
Mountain High Schools. To donate
an item to the auction, please deliv-
er it to the event location by 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 2.
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
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/
Wednesday-Thursday
Nov. 7-8
Pacific Northwest AGIE Expo
and Tradeshow. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
TRAC Center, 6600 Burden Blvd.,
Pasco, Wash. Among the sched-
uled events are pesticide classes in
English and Spanish, presentations
and drone demonstrations. Web-
site: www.washingtonagnetwork.
com/pnw-agie/
Dairy West Annual Meeting.
Boise Centre, Ninth and Front
streets, Boise, Idaho. Guest speak-
ers Nov. 7 include former U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack,
now president and CEO of the U.S.
Dairy Export Council and a Feeding
America board member; Sara Dor-
land, managing partner at Ceres
Dairy Risk Management; and Alison
Van Eenenaam, University of Cali-
fornia-Davis animal biotechnology
and genomics researcher. A public
showing of the film “Food Evolution”
is slated at 7 p.m. Website: https://
dairywest.com/
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.org
Thursday, Nov. 8
Food Safety Workshop. Hilton
Garden Inn, 1741 Harrison St. N,
Twin Falls, Idaho. Course: Pre-
ventive Controls for Human Food
Course, PCQI certification. Cost:
$150 Website: www.fsnwllc.com
The Science of Overgrazing
and How to Avoid It. 5:30-7 p.m.
OSU Southern Oregon Research &
Extension Center, Auditorium, 569
Hanley Road, Central Point, Ore.
Pastures can take a beating but
only to a point. In this course you
will learn the ecological theory of
pasture plant communities and the
detrimental nature of overgrazing.
Harnessing this knowledge, we will
then discuss practical strategies to
maximize the productivity and prof-
itability of your pasture and reduce
problems with weeds and mud.
This is an intermediate-level class,
so some experience with pastures
will be helpful but not required. This
course will be taught by Gordon
Jones, Ph.D., SOREC Extension
Faculty. Cost: $15. Website: https://
bit.ly/2SexA5H
Friday-Sunday
Nov. 9-11
Oregon Young Farmers &
Ranchers Leadership Conference.
Eagle Crest Resort, 1522 Cline
Falls Road, Redmond, Ore. Open
to Farm Bureau members ages
16-35, the conference is geared
toward young people interested
in improving their leadership and
communication skills, learning
about the most important issues
impacting Oregon agriculture,
gaining business tips from experts,
networking with peers, and having
fun. Website: https://oregonfb.org/
yfrconference/
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
relationships and sharing best
practices for growing a healthy food
system The speakers will include
Mai Nguyen, 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 women working in agricul-
ture. Website: www.tilthalliance.org
Wednesday-Saturday
Nov. 14-17
Monday-Wednesday
Nov. 12-14
Thursday-Friday
Nov. 15-16
Idaho Cattle Association’s
Convention and Trade Show. Sun
Valley Resort, Sun Valley, Idaho.
On the agenda is a presentation by
Celia Gould, ISDA director, and the
Idaho Beef Council will update cat-
tle producers on checkoff programs
during lunch. https://bit.ly/2yKgRya
Tuesday-Wednesday
Nov. 13-14
Washington Farm Bureau An-
nual Meeting. Yakima Convention
Center, 10 N Eighth St., Yakima,
Wash. Among the speakers will
be André-Denis Wright, dean of
the College of Agricultural, Human
and Natural Resource Sciences at
Washington State University; Brian
Hodges, senior attorney at the Pa-
cific Legal Foundation; and Caro-
line Lobdell, executive director and
clinical law professor at the Western
Resources Legal Center. Website:
https://bit.ly/2ObTgge
Tuesday-Thursday
Nov. 13-15
Willamette Valley Ag Expo. Linn
County Fair and Expo Center, 3700
Knox Butte Road E, Albany, Ore.
The Expo features 250,000 square
feet of exhibits, seminars, antique
farm equipment and the unique
Dine Around Oregon progressive
dinner. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tuesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednes-
day and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday.
Website: http://wvaexpo.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 14
Big Idaho Potato Harvest Meet-
ing. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Shoshone-Ban-
nock Hotel and Event Center, 777
Bannock Trail, Fort Hall, Idaho.
The meeting brings industry lead-
ers together for a single post-har-
vest event to discuss the growing
season, field trends and forecasts,
and research. Website: https://bit.
ly/2IPifUY
Wednesday-Thursday
Nov. 14-15
Pacific Northwest Vegetable
Association Annual Conference.
Three Rivers Convention Center,
7016 W Grandridge Blvd., Ken-
newick, Wash. A pre-conference
workshop on grower producer safe-
ty and a meeting on integrated on-
ion pest and disease management
will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 13.
The main conference will take place
on Wednesday and Thursday. Web-
site: www.pnva.org
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
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Corporate Officers
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Chief Operating Officer
Tri-State Grain Growers Con-
vention. Sheraton Airport Hotel,
8235 NE Airport Way, Portland,
Ore. USDA Special Trade Counsel
Jason Hafemeister, USTR Chief
Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud
and a grain export market panel are
among the many events featured on
this year’s agenda. Website: www.
wawg.org
Washington State Grape Society
Annual Meeting and Trade Show.
Church of the Nazarene, 500 N. Elm,
Grandview, Wash. Thursday lunch is
included in registration. Cost: $80
Website: https://www.grapesociety.
org/annual-meeting.html
Friday, Nov. 16
Denim and Diamonds Dinner
Auction, 5-10 p.m. Salem Conven-
tion Center, 200 Commercial St. SE,
Salem, Ore. Oregon Aglink hosts
Denim & Diamonds, an awards din-
ner and auction, which raises funds
for the Cultivating Common Ground
initiative, ultimately supporting all of
Aglink’s programs like Adopt a Farm-
er and telling ag’s story. This event
serves to recognize those who have
gone above and beyond in advocat-
ing the importance of agriculture to
the economic, environmental and
social well-being of the state of Ore-
gon. Website: http://www.aglink.org/
event/denim-diamonds/
Third Annual Post-Harvest Al-
mond and Walnut UC IPM Work-
shop. 8-11 a.m. Chico Veterans
Memorial Hall, 554 Rio Lindo Ave.,
Chico, Calif. A panel of Sacramento
Valley IPM and farm advisors will
talk about the latest research, 2018
field observations and discuss key
pest management issues. Website:
sacvalleyorchards.com
Friday-Saturday
Nov. 16-17
Fall Forage Festival. Benton
County Fairgrounds and OSU Old-
field Animal Teaching Facility, Cor-
vallis, Ore. Presenters will include
Glenn Shewmaker, a University of
Idaho Extension forage specialist;
Steve Norberg, a Washington State
University Extension forage special-
ist; Mylen Bohle, an Oregon State
University forage specialist; and Jon
Driver of Farm Credit Services. The
annual Hay King Contest will be Sat-
urday. Website: https://www.oregon-
forage.org or oregonhaygrowers.
com
Tuesday-Wednesday
Nov. 27-28
California Dairy Sustainability
Summit. Sacramento Convention
Center, 1400 J St., Sacramento,
Calif. Learn how California’s dairy
families are leading the world in
sustainable farming, and gain insight
into the policies and technologies
that will continue to drive innovation
and help the industry improve its
environmental and economic future.
Speakers include Karen Ross of
the California Department of Food
and Agriculture, Frank Mitloehner
of the University of California-Davis
and other industry leaders. Website:
https://bit.ly/2OdjFO6
Wednesday-Friday
Nov. 28-30
Washington Small Fruit Confer-
ence & Lynden Ag Show. NW Wash-
ington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front St.,
Lynden, Wash. The Washington
Small Fruit Conference is a three-
day conference with the latest rele-
vant research information delivered
by the scientists performing the re-
search. Lunches each day are pro-
vided. This conference is presented
in association with the Lynden Ag
Show, a trade show featuring ven-
dors serving the small fruit commu-
nity. Website: www.wasmallfruit.com
Tuesday-Thursday
Dec. 4-6
86th Oregon Farm Bureau An-
nual Meeting. Salem Convention
Center, 200 Commercial St. SE,
Salem, Ore. All voting and support-
ing members of Farm Bureau are
welcome and encouraged to attend.
Besides the grassroots OFB poli-
cymaking process, the convention
offers a chance to learn about Farm
Bureau’s programs and priority is-
sues, network, and socialize with
farmers and ranchers from across
the state. Website: https://oregonfb.
org/convention/
Idaho Farm Bureau Annual
Meeting. Boise, Idaho. Idaho Farm
Bureau members gather to learn
about and discuss items pertaining
to agriculture. A session is convened
with delegates making policy coming
from resolutions that generated from
the grassroots of the membership.
The delegates also vote for officers
of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federa-
tion Board.
Tuesday-Friday
Dec. 4-7
California Farm Bureau Annual
Meeting. Hilton San Diego Bayfront,
San Diego, Calif. The California
Farm Bureau’s 100th annual meet-
ing. Website: http://cfbf.com/storage/
app/media/am_assets/2018_AM_
RegForm.pdf
Wednesday, Dec. 12
Mid-Columbia CORE Pesticide
Training. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Columbia
Gorge Community College Lecture
Hall, Building 2, The Dalles, Ore.
Morning topics include glyphosate,
triclopyr and risk assessments. Af-
ternoon topics include an update on
laws and regulations and case stud-
ies and lessons learned. 4 pesticide
credits are available. The class will
satisfy CORE requirements or can
be taken for 4 additional credits.
Lunch will not be provided. Pre-reg-
istration is required. Cost: $15 Web-
site: http://extension.oregonstate.
edu/wasco
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Index
Dairy .....................................11
Livestock ............................. 10
Markets ............................... 13
Opinion .................................. 6
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