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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 2015)
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 Hermiston family uses farm to give back to community BY MAEGAN MURRAY HERMISTON HERALD The Wick family of Hermiston proves every day that a farm can be more than the crops or livestock it pro- duces. For more than 20 years, the family has used its farm off of Prindle Loop to give back to children in the commu- nity. Shari Wick and her husband, Mike, who inherited the farm from his par- HQWVKDYHKRVWHGVWXGHQW¿HOGWULSVDW the farm. As they raised their own two chil- dren, they also welcomed 10 foster children so that they, too, could expe- rience a consistent family environment and and life on a farm. The Wicks also balance normal farm operations with holding full-time jobs and other activities. Shari Wick has taught in the Hermiston School District for the last nearly 30 years, while Mike Wick has worked in agri- culture, now serving as the manager of the Westland Irrigation District. “It’s been a lot of work, but I CONTRIBUTED PHOTO wouldn’t have had it any other way,” The Wick family poses for a photo. Pictured, from left, is Sam Wick, Mike Wick, Shari Wick and Jadie Wick. The farm has Shari Wick said. been in Mike Wick’s family since the 1950s. FARM BEGINNINGS From humble local beginnings to thriving metropolis Mike Wick said his parents pur- chased the farm when he was 2 years old after looking for a place that had milder winters for their cattle. He said his father was a cattle rancher and farmer and thought that Hermiston would best meet their needs after living CONTIBUTED PHOTO Bill Dean, vice president of sustainability at River Point Farms, holds a clump of onions. Hale Farms and River Point Farms owners prove hard work pays off BY MAEGAN MURRAY HERMISTON HERALD The next time you are in a Subway, Chipotle or are munching on some chips and Tostitos salsa, chances are good that the onions in those products were grown and packaged by a farm headquartered in Hermiston. River Point Farms, a Hermiston-based opera- tion, grows and packages about 20 percent of the nation’s red onions, along with a large amount of its yellow onions. It supplies 100 percent of Subway’s red onions for 36 weeks out of the year, red on- ions for every Chipotle restaurant in North Amer- ica year-round, yellow whole-peel onions year- round to each Whataburg- er store, which are estab- lishments based largely in the South and Midwest, and provide about 50 per- cent of onions used in Tostitos products, just to name a few. Business, however, wasn’t always booming. The venture started from another farming operation owned and operated by some of the same found- ers as River Point Farms. Bob Hale, one of the owners and founders of River Point Farms along with local farmer Bob Levy, said they started up a farming operation called Hale Farms in 1977 with the idea they would one day earn a successful living. He said they never imagined they would one day turn their very small operation into two thriv- ing organizations they operate today. “I graduated from col- lege in 1975, and we bor- rowed 100 percent to buy the farm, 100 percent to buy the equipment and 100 percent to operate it,” Hale said. “We worked extremely hard for the first 10 years, being driv- en mostly by the fear of failure.” Hale said, in the begin- ning, the goal was to just earn any kind of a profit they could. In those early years, they grew hay, sug- ar beets and grain on their 500-acre irrigated farm in the Butter Creek valley near Echo. “We were just trying to make it,” he said. They supplement- ed their income with off-farming jobs until an adjacent farm came up for sale, which allowed them to double their op- eration and begin farming full-time. As they made connections and built re- lationships that allowed them to grow their busi- ness, they developed a motto that Hale said real- ly allowed them to excel. near Condon, Oregon. When Wick was 13 years old, however, his father came down with viral encephalitis, which put him into a coma for nine years before he died in February of 1977. During that time, Wick’s mother was responsible for all the farm duties while raising her three sons. “The thing that was admirable to me about him and his mother, who was a saint, was that they were able to hold onto this place through all of that,” 6KDUL:LFNVDLG³6KH¿QLVKHGUDLVLQJ GIVING BACK Shari Wick said raising the children while trying to manage the family farm have kept she and her husband busy, but the difference they have made in people’s lives has made all the hard work worthwhile. When their children were in second grade, Shari Wick said she became at- tached to one of her students who was having a rough time at home. After EHFRPLQJ FHUWL¿HG IRVWHU SDUHQWV WKH Wicks took in the student, who was followed by nine others. “They all got to experience farm life SEE WICK/A9 Silverdale Farms cross-breeds hearty sheep variety in Hermiston for decades. Tom Watson worked for Su- perior Farms, purchasing and feeding lambs before they were sent to slaughter, for about 40 years. He served on the board of directors for several years before he retired, and, although the Hermiston operation was sold about “half a dozen years BY SEAN HART ago,” he said the company is HERMISTON HERALD still the largest lamb processor A local couple have years of in the United States with a large experience in the sheep industry facility in California. DQGFRQWLQXHWREUHHGDÀRFNLQ Karin Watson served as the Hermiston as the industry con- secretary for the National Lamb tinues to change. Feeders Association for 23 Tom and Karin Watson, who years before retiring in January. have owned Silverdale Farms She helped organize and pro- in Hermiston for about 20 mote the NLFA Howard Wy- years, have worked with sheep man Sheep Industry Leadership Local couple explain changes to the industry through the years School for 28 years and recent- ly became one of four women to ever receive the association’s Cane of Appreciation for ser- vice to the sheep industry. Even in retirement, they continue to be involved with sheep at the fair and breed a SEAN HART PHOTO VPDOO ÀRFN RI DERXW HZHV This pregnant Texel ewe was each year. about to give birth earlier in SHEARING THE March at Silverdale Farms in INDUSTRY Hermiston. Tom Watson said national policies and trends and inter- the industry, he said, and only national competition have dra- the Superior Farms facility in matically reduced the size of California remains. the national sheep industry in He said about half of the the last 70 years. Ten facilities lamb meat consumed in the on the West Coast processed SEE SILVERDALE/A9 lamb meat when he started in SEAN HART PHOTO ‘It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle’ Ditchen enjoys the business challenge, outdoor office and visible accomplishments of farming BY SEAN HART HERMISTON HERALD Darrin Ditchen controls the 3,000-acre irrigation sys- tem at Golden Valley Farms LQ6WDQ¿HOGZLWKWKHWRXFKRI a button. Ditchen, whose grandfa- ther started Golden Valley Farms in the Willamette Valley, has managed the family business’s eastern site VLQFH KH ¿QLVKHG FROOHJH LQ 1999 and said farmers must evolve to overcome constant challenges. “There’s always new challenges every year,” he said. “The day you think you KDYH LW ¿JXUHG RXW WKHUH¶V a new challenge in front of you. You learn something new every day.” While business expenses, such as fuel and labor costs, SEAN HART PHOTO Darrin Ditchen, whose father started Golden Valley Farms in the Willamette Valley, works on the farm’s eastern site in 6WDQÀHOGZKLFKLVQRZPDQDJHGE\KLVVRQ'DUULQ continually increase, Ditch- en said, the selling price for the commodities grown, such as grass seed at Golden 9DOOH\)DUPVUHPDLQVÀDWRU even decreases. “We’ve had to adapt,” he said. “Usually, farmers adapt by covering more ground, covering more acres with the same amount of people. We have to become more ef- ¿FLHQW,ZRXOGVD\IDUPHUV DUH YHU\ HI¿FLHQWPLQGHG people, at least I am. A lot of my friends are always look- ing for what we can do bet- ter. I think that’s just a good business plan. That’s what we do around here. We’re always looking for ways to LPSURYHDQGWREHHI¿FLHQW´ Ditchen said Golden Valley Farms tries to im- prove each year, and new technology has helped. He said a digital upgrade in the farm’s center-pivot irrigation system has vastly increased HI¿FLHQF\7KHSXPSVVSHHG up and slow down based on water pressure, he said, and every ounce of water is ac- counted for. SEE DITCHEN/8A Amstad Farming Company & Amstad Produce, LLC. GET SPRING READY!! 56 YEARS DESER T CO BBLER SHOE & BOOT REPAIR Karin Watson holds a new lamb at Silverdale Farms in Hermiston. A ll Brands Leather Goods Ball M itts • Gun Cases Committed to Providing Quality Potatoes from the field to your table. PENDLETON GRAIN GROWERS, INC. SMALL CHANGES ADD UP TO BIG SAVINGS Your member owned, agricultural cooperative serving the communities of eastern Oregon. PGG is a member owned cooperative, focused on providing quality services and products to our members and communities. Contact us for more information about how we can answer any questions about our marketing or supply services. the three boys by herself ... It has meant a lot to our family to still have it.” Mike Wick said the fact that the farm is still in their family means something to him. “I’ll always kind of have that con- nection to it,” he said. After a brief stint playing profes- sional baseball, he returned home to go to school and then take over the family farm. After graduating from Oregon State University with a degree in animal husbandry and farming, he met and married his wife, and they settled down on the family farm, only to have their twins three years later. Until then, Mike Wick had man- aged the farm largely on his own, rais- ing some of his own cattle, while also leasing out portions of the land to inter- ested farmers and cattle ranchers. After the Wicks’ twins, son Sam and daugh- ter Jadie, were born, Mike relied more on leasing out the land than managing it himself as he had less time to ded- icate to the family farm, but that also gave the family an opportunity to reach out to others. Family run and operated for over 55 years 541-567-8540 541-567-2008 120 NE 3rd St., Hermiston Mon-Fri 8am-5pm Striving to remain a positive force in Morrow and Umatilla County Communities 1 (800) 422-7611 www.pggcountry.com IRRIGATION SYSTEM HARDWARE UPGRADES 4&&%]&/&3(:](3"*/ 75906 Threemile Rd, Boardman OR 97818 www.threemilecanyonfarms.com Castle Rock Farming Columbia River Dairy Six Mile Land & Cattle Nozzles, sprinklers and gaskets are just a few of the many small changes that add up to BIG savings on water and energy costs. The Irrigation Hardware Upgrade Program is designed to provide cash incentives to help you save on your power bill. Contact Umatilla Electric Cooperative to check on the eligibility of your new hardware purchases. For more information contact Umatilla Electric at 541-564-4357. IRRIGATION HARDWARE UPGRADE EXAMPLES 1R]]OHV 6SULQNOHUV *DVNHWV 5HJXODWRUV 'URSWXEHV CELEBRATING 57 YEARS OF SERVING AREA FARMS & RANCHES! AN INDEPENDENT FRANCHISEE OF PACIFI C PRIDE THE COMMERCIAL FUELING SYSTEM • Bulk Gas • Heating Oils • Solvents & Kero • Lube Oils in Bulk Quantities • Diesel Fuel • Off Road • On Road • Lubricating Oils HELLER & SONS DISTRIBUTING, INC. 541-567-6582 • 1-800-698-6582 • 615 N. 1st • Hermiston When every dollar counts these days, stop by Elmer’s. We have local familiar faces ready to help you with your irrigation projects. Proudly serving Eastern Oregon & Southeast Washington since 1978 Y O U R F E N C E C O N N E C T I O N FEATURING: Pipe: PVC, galvanized & black fittings; Filters: Clemons, CTC, Gheen; Pumps: Small centricial pumps , Pressure Tanks; Lawn & garden supplies: K-Rain sprinklers & valves; Hand line, Main line, wheel line: gaskets & fittings, pipe cutting & threading Pivot parts; Pivot sprinkler packages: Nelson & Senninger Motors: UMC and US; Wheel Boxes: UMC & Valley Valves: Butterfly, ball, gate, check Automatic control valves: Nelson, Netafim ELMER’S IRRIGATION, INC. "The best little irrigation company in the Northwest" Hwy 395, Hermiston • 541-567-5572 • Fax: 541-567-8721 Emergency service also available Pacific Albus "The Next Generation" Fence Board Locally Grown At The Boardman Tree Farm! (1" Thick Boards Available) 541-667-8191 • WWW . ALLTHATWOOD . COM • 80764 N. Hwy 395 • Hermiston