jefferson county farm tour guide 2010 - leora l. stein

Sunday 10 -‐ 6pm

Sept. 19th

wsuEXTENSION

JEFFERSON COUNTY

Supplement to the Port Townsend & Je!erson County Leader

2010 Farm Tour Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader

By L. Katherine Baril Director, WSU Je!erson County Extension

I n 2002, most folks in the county said that agriculture here was dead. In the Chimacum Valley and on the

infamous Egg and I Road there were three or four dairies and some livestock. Basically, a drive through the valley would reveal no new equipment, and little activity in the "elds. Farmers were reluctant to have their land zoned as agricultural, because housing develop-ment was seen as a better option. This, on the "nest soils, and in an area that can grow beautiful food year-round.

Today, in 2010, Jefferson County is recognized statewide as one of the most successful models in a new era of local food and farms. This year alone, Mt. Townsend Creamery, Mystery Bay Farm and Pane d’Amore bread all received na-tional recognition as best in their "elds. Local wheat – including six acres of ex-perimental research – is being harvested. Schools are serving local, grass-fed beef for lunch. Visitors support local, seasonal menus. There are new farms, new cider-ies, a new farm internship program, and record sales at the Food Co-op and the Port Townsend Farmers Market.

In January, the state hosted 250 work-ing farmers at Fort Worden. In November, over 700 farmers will attend the State Tilth Conference. And in December,

WSU, Fort Worden, Bon Appétit, Cascade Harvest, and local farmers and suppliers will hold a Puget Sound Cascade Harvest Coalition conference. Also, AmeriCorps volunteers at OlyCap are raising new gardens.

WSU “Cultivating Success” business classes have helped 45 new business start-ups. Local growers are working with researchers from Organic Seed Al-liance and WSU on a new organic seed industry in the county. Team Je!erson provides one-on-one business support

to food and farm businesses and Jef-ferson LandWorks connects farmers to land and capital.

As a community, we are coming together as neighbors to grow commu-nity gardens. Over 1,000 4-H youth are learning life skills and leadership. FIELD farm interns are working hands-on with master/mentor farmers, and learning they not only need to know about seeds, but also about cash #ow.

Can Jefferson County feed itself? That’s the real question. As bridges and

ferries fail and there is increasing con-cern about corporate food safety, there are real local challenges.

Is there enough acreage and good soil set aside in the county land-use plan to ensure local food security? Is the priority on food or housing? Can we "nd ways to process local meat and add value to food in commercial kitchens? Can we act fast enough to protect local protein? Shell"sh? Fisheries? Large tracts of land for wheat, grains and livestock? Is there a willingness to pay reasonable prices for local food?

To use water wisely? To fund pro-grams, like WSU Extension, that have served this community since1914 and grown the local food economy?

When you sit down to eat your food from your local food shed, you decide!

Celebrate the eighth annual WSU Farm Tour! Visit the farms, delight in our local food and laugh out loud!

WSU Farm Tour 2010

Katherine Baril

SATURDAY ONLY September 18, 1pm to 5 pmTour the Community Gardens in “Grow Your Own” tour. See the map and list of gardens on page 8.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY September 18 & 19, 10 am to 4 p The Fiber Farms are open to the public. See page 9 for details.

SUNDAY ONLY September 19, 10 am to 6 pm (some close at 4 pm) 8th annual Farm Tour brought to you by Washington State University Extension of Je!erson County , the Food Co-op and Je!erson County Farmers Market. See map on pages 6 & 7 for the list of farms on this year’s tour. For details, visit our website www.je!erson.wsu.edu

SUNDAY ONLY September 19, 10 am to 6 pmVisit six of the farms by bicycle on the Tour des Fermes. See page 8 for details www.ptbikes.org

EVENTS CALENDAR

FARM TOUR CENTRALFarm Tour information: 10 am - 2 pmLocated this year at the Chimacum Farmers’ Market

Stop in at thePort Townsend Farmers Market Uptown at Lawrence and Tyler streetsSATURDAYS 9 am to 2 pm Uptown at Tyler and Lawrence Sts.www.ptfarmersmarket.org

Chimacum Farmers’ MarketChimacum crossroads - where SR 19 meets Center road.SUNDAYS, 10 am to 2 pm May 16 through October 31, 2010www.chimacum.org

FARM TOUR RULES: No pets. No smoking in farms. Please supervise your children. Use good judgment when exploring and obey all signs and directions. Dress for the weather.

Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader 2010 Farm Tour

By Brwyn Gri!n, Food Co-op outreach/education manager

We live in pivotal times.Maybe every generation

feels this way, but evidence shows faster changes to the face of planet earth than at any other time in the history of hu-mankind. Earth’s fragile harmony is constantly shattered by human behaviors. Earth is over four billion years old. Homo sapiens have been on the planet a mere 200,000 years.

In our short existence, humankind has drastically and quickly changed the face of the earth, successfully colonizing every possible habitat, pushing out other species with which we are intimately linked. Less than 10,000 years ago, agriculture gave birth to cities and civiliza-tions, and since then the face of our planet has been deeply altered by a culture of extraction and depletion, a culture generally ignoring the evidence that all life is linked.

Remember when litter was our biggest fo-cus? When faced with overwhelming statistics, making a commitment to purchase certi"ed-organic, fair trade, locally produced food is simple in Jefferson County; one small step toward making changes in our human behavior

that, if adopted by the majority, would make a vital di!erence to our planet. In addition to our thriving consumer cooperative, the Food Co-op (owned by over half the local population), Jef-ferson County has one of the most successful farmers markets in the country, as well as other stores that o!er local and organic options.

The Food Co-op, your year-round farmers market, o!ers organic and sustainably pro-duced foods and products, but we are also an educational organization. Working with our local farmers market, WSU Extension, Local 2020, Northwest Earth Institute, Tilth Producers of Washington, Northwest Natural Resources Group, Jefferson County Farm to Schools Collaborative and other organizations, we’re providing education toward more sustainable options for our community, honoring the knowledge that all life is linked and change is good.

Recognizing that food and farmers are in-separable, in the past two years the Food Co-op has donated $17,500 to Organic Seed Alliance to fund research aimed at helping local farm-ers increase production and pro"tability. The co-op was a partner in helping a #edgling Port Townsend Farmers Market get started and con-tinues to o!er support. We have also funded the WSU Farm Tour for many years and, as a partner in Je!erson LandWorks Collaborative, the Food Co-op has helped to secure farmland trusts, providing a more secure local food shed.

For over 38 years, our co-op buyers, in all departments, have looked carefully at the prod-ucts they choose to sell, seeking those made in

alignment with our mission and principles. The co-op currently sells products made or grown by over 130 local vendors, de"ned as sourced from Je!erson, Kitsap, Clallam and Island coun-ties, and has the only WSDA-certi"ed organic produce department on the Olympic Peninsula.

Our food is important and so is the con-sciousness of linkage. Farmers, educators, local producers and shoppers combine to make a di!erence. Become an owner of the Food Co-op and take a step toward more sustainable living for an initial payment of only $7 and additional capital investments (CI) of only $2 for every month you shop until your CI reaches $100, a paid-in-full ownership.

Our owner-members play an active roll by supporting their store. One small step, working to-gether, can add up to significant c h a n g e w h e n change is so deep-ly necessary.

Join us in supporting our local economy Our menu features:

LOCAL NORTHWEST Salmon, Halibut, Clams, Mussels & Oysters

SHORT’S FAMILY FARM - Beef from RED DOG, COMPASS ROSE AND

SPRINGRAIN FARMS

A LOCAL FAVORITE FOR 30 YEARS AND COUNTING!

Just great food!

We proudly supportthe ! elds, farms & families of

Je" erson County.

9122 Rhody Drive, 360-732-0107, chimacumcorner.com

chimacum corner farmstand

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Our local Food Co-op: Making a di!erence

Brwyn Gri!n


1977 to 2010

SUPPORT YOUR

LOCAL COWS!

627 & 631 Water Street, Port Townsend360-385-1156

Open daily: 10am to 10pm www.elevatedicecream.com

Celebrating 33 years!Celebrating 33 years!Fresh Ice Cream made right on our premises using hormone-free dairy ingredients.

Fresh Ice Cream made right on our premises using hormone-free dairy ingredients.

8577

PheasantHill

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By Will O’Donnell director of Port Townsend and

Chimacum farmers markets

Amongst the clanking and hissing of espresso machines across the Northwest, in the pages of the

Seattle Times and in food blogs aplenty, people are talking about Chimacum. This isn’t the first time Chimacum farming has attracted attention; in the mid-1940s and early 1950s, much of the nation knew about a couple of small farms and their attempts to grow food and make a living near the Chimacum Valley. Published in 1945, the novel The Egg and I obscured some of the particulars of place, but its descriptions of Chimacum farm life sold more than a million copies within the first year of publication and launched a series of popular films.

It’s about time for a new novel. I am thinking of something like Eat, Hay, Love. Maybe Crystie Kisler of Finnriver Farm can write it, as Keith Kisler has just greatly expanded his haying operation. It could document the newfound pleasures of hard work , commitment and family, connecting a 21st-century Chimacum farm

to the world. Actually, Crystie already does this in a wonder ful blog cal led the “ F a r m w i f e D i a r i e s .” R e a d t h e “Farmwife Diar ies” at f innr iver.com.

It’s fitting that the current story of Chimacum farming be told on a blog. For in the years since The Egg and I , so much has changed. Agriculture in Chimacum for much of the last 50 years of the 20th century focused on steady commerc ia l izat ion , whether i t was forestry, dairy or shellfish – the dominant industries. By the end of the century, the dairies were dying out and farmers were not getting a fair return from Darigold. Many of the farms stopped production and only a handful of dairies are left.

When I arrived in Jefferson County, excitement around local food had just begun to blossom. But most of it was taking place within Port Townsend city limits, centered on the farmers market and the Food Co-op. That center of excitement is now growing and shifting south, back to the valley. In the last few years the Port Townsend Farmers Market has swelled with a growing number of Chimacum farms, like Finnriver Farm, Red Dog Farm, Sunfield

Farm, Wild Harvest Creamery, Solstice Farm, Eaglemount Farm and more.

Chimacum agriculture is rebounding from the brink. Look at the transformation of the local dairy industry with the Bishop Dairy Farm going organic and gaining the first contract with Organic Valley on the Peninsula. Roger Short and his son, Kevin Short, converted their dairy operation to grass-fed natural beef, a highly demanded product. The picturesque Brown Dairy and historic Glendale Farm have new futures as economically viable agricultural operations through working with the Jefferson County LandWorks Collaborative – a partnership of farmers, environmentalists and economic development interests that work together with landowners to help new farmers start and maintain their agricultural business and ensure working land is maintained as such for perpetuity.

More transformation is under way. Two years ago, the Chimacum Grange launched its own Chimacum Farmers’ Market. This year, I was part of helping it move and grow to its new location at the Chimacum crossroads. The market has tripled in size with 30 vendors attending every Sunday

from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., May to October.In the fall the same crossroads location

will be home to a new store being launched by Malcolm Dorn and Phil Vogelsang. And as the back wall of the store says, it will feature food from here, from Chimacum – the heart of an ever-growing food and farm economy of Jefferson County.

CHIMACUM FARMERS’ MARKETLocated at the Chimacum crossroads (Rhody Drive & Center Road).Open Sundays, 10 am-2 pm. mid-May through October.

Chimacum: Eat, Hay, Love

Will O’Donnell


800-800-1577 ourfirstfed.com

Cultivate your life. Loans for every dream.

Member FDIC

By Bonnie White, OlyCAP Community Support Services

C om-mu-ni-ty (ke-myoo-n-te), noun. Sharing, participation and fellowship. A group of neigh-bors who look out for each other’s interests.

Ac-tion (ak-shun), noun. Organized activity to ac-complish an objective.

Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) has worked hand-in-hand with the people of the North Olympic Peninsula since 1966, providing support when needed and promoting self-su"ciency when possible. We are one of nearly 1,000 community action agencies across the country, all united in #nding local solutions to addressing issues of poverty among our neighbors.

Action is our middle name – at least one of them. We administer a diversity of programs and enterprises, encompassing early childhood education, energy and emergency services, employment support, housing, and food and nutrition. You’ll #nd our sta! and volunteers working in communities, from Port Townsend and Brin-non, to Port Angeles and Forks.

BASIC NEEDS, FIRSTDid you know that in Je!erson County alone there are

approximately 3,679 people living at 100 percent of the federal poverty level, and that, on average, 50 percent of the kids in our schools receive free or reduced meals?

And that on any given week, 1,800 individuals receive food from our community food banks? That is why food security is one of our biggest concerns. Our emergency food distribution program delivers more than 500,000 pounds of food annually to 15 food banks and feeding programs across the peninsula, including all food banks in Je!erson County.

We are happy to be a link in this essential chain; it helps us to understand the needs in our community. The feedback from food bank recipients has been loud and clear: They need more access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Our response over the past #ve years has been to initi-ate VISTA and AmeriCorps projects, focusing on increasing the amount of local fresh food available to low-income people in our community. We worked with the Port Townsend Farmers Market to help it gear up to accept food stamps and our senior nutrition sta! has diligently distributed hundreds of market vouchers to senior citizens.

With the help of John Gunning of Colinwood Farm, the Master Gardeners and some dedicated and generous volunteers, we were able to start the OlyCAP Pea Patch on Rhody Drive in Port Hadlock. We are in our second growing season, with a total of 34 plots available for families to grow their own food. Scholarships are available for those unable to a!ord the $50 annual fee.

In addition, we have set aside #ve plots for local food banks, last year donating a total of 250 pounds in assorted veggies. For those interested in winter gardening, there are still some plots open!

SHARE THE HARVESTOlyCAP also does its best to support local glean-

ing efforts. We partner with the Olympic Gleaners

by providing volunteer insurance, storage in our Glen Cove warehouse and delivery service to Brin-non, Quilcene, the Tri-Area and Port Townsend.

This season, our local food access VISTA volunteer, Leora Stein, is especially reaching out to all you home and community gardeners to share your bounty by donating to your local food bank. You can deliver directly to the food bank on Wednesday mornings or on any day to OlyCAP at 803 W. Park Ave., Port Townsend (in the business park, behind Goodwill). Also, if you are a Port Townsend Farmers Market shopper, why not purchase a little extra and drop it in our Share the Harvest shopping cart located at the front of the market? We’ll make sure it gets to the food bank.

Thank you so much for remembering your neighbors in need. We’re very open to creative ideas about other ways we can be of service. Please feel free to call me any-time at 385-2571 ext 6307.

OlyCAP: Sharing the harvest

Bonnie White


Colinwood Farm

JOHN GUNNING & JESSE HOPKINS1210 F Street Port Townsend,WA [email protected]: Farm lies half a

block east of the intersection of San Juan Avenue and F Street. Park near the farm stand.Colinwood Farm has been producing certi#ed organic fruits and vegetables since 1989 and runs a 24/7 self-serve farm stand open all year. Come see 40,000 square feet of greenhouses which will help farmers John and Jesse move into year-round local food production. Java Gypsy’s van will be set up, so stop by for co!ee.

Whiskey Hill Goat Dairy

DIANA DYER & FAMILY360-385-34072333 Cape George Road Port Townsend WA [email protected]

Directions: Located on Cape George Rd, $ mile north of Hastings Avenue. Look for gravel driveway on the west side.Whiskey Hill Goat Dairy produces artisanal aged cheeses and %uid milk from raw goat milk. We also produce a cow milk cheese. The milk is sold in quart and half gallon sizes. We raise purebred Nubian and French Alpine dairy goats for replacement and breeding stock for other dairies. Come and tour the goat barn, milking parlor and cheesemaking room. We will have several cheeses for sale as well as soaps and lotions. The goats are eager to meet folks and love to be petted!

Wildfire Cider

NANCY & STEVE “BEAR” BISHOP220 Pocket Lane Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-379-8915 [email protected]#recider.com

Directions: Heading south on Cape George Road, turn right on Pocket Lane immediately before the Beckett Point “y”. Wild#re Cider is the #rst driveway on the right.Wild#re Cider is Washington’s only certi#ed organic hard cider. The orchard was planted in 2004 with around 900 cider trees speci#c for our #ve varieties of cider. Come and tour the orchard, taste the ciders and walk our apples’ path from orchard to glass. We will have guided ecological and self-guided tours throughout the day with cider sampling and cheese pairing all day long. The vinegar room will also be open for tasting, with tours of our barrel aged, Orleans-style organic apple cider vinegar production.

There will be croquet, apple pressing and fresh apple juice for the kids. Half Moon Farm will bring beautiful %ower bouquets,

and we will have a selection of apple-based delicacies along with fresh locally roasted, organic co!ee from Sunrise Coffee Company. Choose a table or a blanket in the orchard and enjoy the bucolic sights, sounds and smells of an organic orchard almost ready for harvest. We look forward to seeing you here.

Sunfield Farm

NEIL & VERITY HOWE111 Sun#eld Lane Port Hadlock WA 98339360-385-3658sun#eldfarm.org

Directions: Located on SR19. Look for driveway located between Circle and Square Auto Repair and Fiesta Jalisco Restaurant.

Sunfield is a pioneering nonprofit organization with a broad community-building mission. Inspired by the ideas of the early twentieth-century philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner, Sun#eld o!ers a Waldorf school and educational programs in sustainable land stewardship that take place on our 81 acres of #elds, forest, and wetlands. Visitors will have opportunities to enjoy a horse cart ride around the property (compliments of the Arsulich family), take a farmer-led tour of the gardens and the biodynamic composting system, visit the farm animals, and observe milking and wool processing demonstrations given by 4-H students. Farm

products will be for sale, the school’s classrooms will be open, and children’s singing will be ringing through the #elds. As part of&the&Sun#eld Farm&tour,&Northwest Natural Resource Group will be&there to&tell people about&the&100-year commitment&Sun#eld has made to&manage its forestland&in a way that helps&people&living in the&Northwest reduce their&carbon footprint.&&They will also&take folks on a walk through the forested hillside surrounding the work-ing farm to explain a bit more about the science of how a forest helps reduce carbon emissions.

Mystery Bay Farm

RACHAEL VAN LAANEN & SCOTT BRINTONPO Box 285Nordland, WA 98358 360-385-3309 [email protected]

mysterybayfarm.comDirections: From SR 19, head east into Port Hadlock. At

the 4-way stop, go east on Oak Bay Road 1/2 mile and turn left onto Flagler Road, following signs to Marrowstone Island. Stay on Flagler Road, crossing Indian Island, and follow to the Nordland Store – halfway up Marrowstone – looking for 72 Beveridge Lane. Follow signs and instruction to parking.Mystery Bay Farm is a family run, micro-goat dairy on Marrowstone Island. We are equally committed to the long-term health of our soils and to the exceptional quality of our products. Our ecological farming practices turn a diversity of plants into cheese. Since our goats “are what they eat,” we judiciously monitor their food. In turn, they provide high quality milk with undertones of our maritime climate. We only substitute their varied pasture with local hay (which we cut during the peak of seasonal protein levels), seaweed and organic grain. Come see examples of rotational mixed forage grazing, tour our cheese-making facility and see our milking process. Cultivated Palette (Brassica) will be o!ering a delicious farm fresh lunch. Stop by for a bit to eat.

SpringRain Farm & OrchardJOHN G. BELLOW360-732-0127

187 Covington Way, Chimacum WA [email protected]/

Directions: From SR19 heading south, take a left turn onto Covington Rd. Look for signs. From SR19 heading north, take the #rst right after HJ Carroll Park.SpringRain Farm & Orchard has been designated as prime agricultural land since the 1920s. We are proud to steward some of the land Chimacum Creek %ows through and we have worked with Je!erson Land Trust to protect the riparian area and the farm from development. At SpringRain, we focus on the production of heirloom apple varieties, Asian pears, blue-berries, strawberries, red, yellow, purple, and black raspberries, youngberries, saskatoons, boysenberries, currants, gooseberries, jostaberries, lingonberries, as well as poultry and Hair sheep (Ka-tahdin’s). We have an ecological approach to farm management and are certi#ed organic by the WSDA. Come visit us and try the SpringRain Challenge – a treasure hunt of activities for all ages!

Red Dog Farm

KARYN WILLIAMS360-732-0223406 Center RoadChimacum, WA [email protected]

reddogfarm.net

Directions: From the intersection of SR19 and Center Rd, turn south onto Center Rd. Follow ' mile to #406. Make a right into the driveway and head for the red barn. Settled& in the fertile Center Valley, Red Dog Farm boasts gor-geous views, salmon-bearing Chimacum Creek frontage, and prime growing conditions. We are certi#ed organic and grow over 150 di!erent varieties of vegetables, berries and %owers. Our produce is sold locally at farmers markets, our 10-month long CSA program and through various retailers and restaurants. Organic Seed Alliance partners with local farmers to study which varieties grow best in Je!erson County. &This Red Dog Farm is collaborating with OSA to evaluate varieties of carrots, beets, corn, and broccoli. &These crops are being developed for organic farmers as part of the Northern Organic Variety Improvement Collaborative, of which OSA is a partner. Red Dog Farm is operated by owner&Karyn Williams along with her talented crew including Emily Truitt, Jay O’Connor, Chandra Wright, Cristi Christensen, Sebastian Edgerton and Dorian Curry.Visit Red Dog onthe Farm

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FIBER FARM TOUR

Tour Des Fermes


Tour and be treated to a tour of the #elds by one of the fabulous crew members, locally made bagels by Bagel Bob, a scoop of seasonally-inspired Elevated Ice Cream,&live tunes&by Meredith, The Solvents, and African drumming, and fresh farm produce available at our farm stand. Bring the whole family for a day of fun, but please leave your dogs at home!

Short’s Family Farm

ROGER & SANDY SHORT1594 Center Valley Road Chimacum, WA 98365

[email protected] shortsfamilyfarm.comDirections: Located 1.5 miles south of the intersection of SR 19 and Center Road. At the Chimacum 4-way stop, turn south on Center Road. Follow to #1594. Turn right (west) into driveway and follow signs to parking.The Short family has been farming the same 450 acres of Chimacum Valley since 1945. Come see their most recent endeavors: raising USDA certified grass-fed beef and producing over 6,000 yards of compost and magical soil for local gardeners. Tour the composting facility, learn about the composting process and order some “Magic Dirt.” Roger and family will be showing o! their beef retail business and will be available to discuss the necessity of good pasture maintenance for raising healthy beef and preserving the health of our watershed.

Finnriver Farm

KEITH & CRYSTIE KISLER, JANET AUBIN & JEFF HORWATH62 Barn Swallow Road Chimacum, WA 98325

info@#nnriverfarm.com #nnriver.comDirections: From the intersection of SR 19 and Center Road, follow Center Road south 2.7 miles to Country Meadow Road. Turn right (west) onto Country Meadow Road. Follow until road splits – follow to the right, past houses and park at the barn.Finnriver is a 33 acre certi#ed organic family farm, orchard and artisan cidery, committed to creating deep-rooted and fruitful connections to the land, our wild and human neighbors, and to our community. We grow an assortment of berry crops, mixed vegetables, heirloom apples, as well as o!ering a “sustainable staples” CSA program. We keep honey bees, raise layer and meat chickens and now grow a variety of grains in #elds throughout the county. Stop by and try our bike-powered grain mill, or taste a variety of ciders for $5 in our brand-new tasting room. Dented Buoy Pizza will be on-site selling wood-fired pizza and Harmonica Pocket will be providing live music for your enjoyment.

Bishop Dairy

THE BISHOP FAMILY2691 Egg & I RoadChimacum, WA 98325 360-774-0582

Directions: Drive south on Beaver Valley Road. Turn right on Egg & I and go 1/4 mile. The farm is on the left. Park near the barn and house.Come visit the historic Bishop Dairy, home to a local legend and lore – as well as organic milking cows. For more than 100 years the Bishops have farmed these 525 acres which inspired Betty MacDonald’s famous book, “The Egg & I.” Come do a self-guided tour of the farm and learn about their certi#ed organic practices. Plus, meet three generations working together to preserve this important piece of Je!erson County’s agricultural heritage.

Wild Harvest

CreamerySUZANNE TYLER734 Windridge Road Chimacum, WA 98325360-732-0771

[email protected] wildharvestcreamery.com

Directions: Located just o! West Valley Road. From the north on SR 19, turn right (southwest) onto West Valley Road. Travel south 2.8 miles. Turn right (west) on to Windridge Road. Follow steep gravel road up the hill to the top and follow instructions to parking.Wild Harvest is a diversi#ed, sustainable family farm supplying our local community. We employ rotational grazing systems that harness the complementary nature of our livestock. We raise both dairy goats and dairy sheep and make cheese during our 10-month milking season. We also o!er whey-fed pork, heritage turkeys and free range duck and chicken eggs. During the fall and winter, when we are not milking, we host day-long workshops in cheese making, lambing and kidding, animal husbandry, and other topics. Please come by for a milking demonstration, and see our newly hatched chicks and ducklings. There will be young goats to pet, too.

Ananda Hills Farm

JENNIE WATKINS553 Embody Road Port Ludlow, WA 98365 [email protected]

Directions: Heading south on SR 19, travel 1.5 miles past Egg & I Rd. Turn right on Embody Rd.Ananda Hills Farm is tucked away in the hills above Beaver Valley. Jennie Watkins and her crew raise Shetland sheep, organic eggs and an organic vegetable garden. During the farm tour she will be selling washed and dyed %eeces, felted soaps, handspun yarn and a small selection of produce from the garden. Beth Johnson from In Season Catering will be o!ering soup and salad made with farm fresh vegetables and a blackberry cobbler, for under $10.00 per person. Andy Driscoll from Plum Wild Farm will be selling wool roving and hand-crafted jams and jellies. Heidi Parra from The Artful Ewe will bring spinning wheels and drop spindles from her shop. Marcia Adams from RainShadow Farm will be selling naturally dyed roving and yarn made from local wool. Emily Reudink from Wild Season Botanicals will be o!ering her handcrafted herbal salves and tinctures. Wool from the farm will be used for children’s craft activities. The focus here is on natural, organic and “hands on” experiences for all, including space for spinners and knitters to sit and enjoy their craft along with the view of Beaver Valley and sheep.

Taylored Fibers

BARRY & LINDA TAYLOR 360-732-41091671 Dabob RoadQuilcene, WA 98376Taylored#[email protected]

Directions: Take Center Valley Rd past SR 104. Take the #rst left on Dabob Rd, then to #1671 on the left.

Barry and Linda Taylor raise an assortment of sheep bred for wool and for meat on 10 acres of property&that is shared with two horses and a llama.&Visitors will have the opportunity to view equipment at work, and to learn more about how raw %eece is turned into beautiful dyed roving. Janice Speck will be there selling her imaginative %at felted accessories.&Beth and Kevin Hansen will also be at Taylored Fiber selling wooden electric

spinners. Frances Clements Fawcett will bring her unique felted creations.& Kim Thomson who creates felted dolls, felted vessels and& felted wall pieces& will be at Taylored Fibers on Sunday. Haden Starbuck will be selling hand-crafted jewelry, glass, pottery, hand-spun yarn, and hand-felted and hand-woven wearables.& Lewis Harmon Polizza will be selling his unique Harmony Skincare products specially formulated for #ber artists and gardeners. This year, the Taylors are also welcoming Amelia Read Garripoli who will give a class on wheel mechanics and learning to spin on spindles at their farm during the tour.& Space is limited, call (360) 582-0697 or [email protected] to RSVP.

Old Tarboo Farm

DANA NIXON781 Old Tarboo Road Quilcene, WA [email protected]

Directions: Follow Center Rd south towards Quilcene. Half a mile after crossing under SR 104, turn left on Dabob Rd. Follow for 2 miles to Old Tarboo Rd and turn right. After crossing bridge, look for parking signs on your right.Old Tarboo Farm, near Quilcene, is owned by Jim Smith and Teri Hein and managed by Dana Nixon. This certi#ed organic farm produces vegetables and fruits for customers at the Port Townsend and Chimacum Farmers Markets, local restaurants, and grocery stores. Come to the 100-year-old barn for a tomato tasting or to purchase farm fresh veggies, have a tour with Dana or one of her apprentices or take a self guided tour around the #elds, pond, and greenhouses.

Compass Rose Farm

BEV FAIRING & KATEEN FENTER 360-901-9100 1463 West Uncas Road Port Townsend WA [email protected]

Directions: follow SR 20 West to the intersection with U.S. 101. Turn left onto 101, travel 1.5 miles then turn right onto West Uncas Road at mile post 284. The farm is the 4th driveway on the right.Compass Rose Farms sits on 40 beautiful acres bordered by Snow Creek.& We love to produce wholesome, healthy food in a beautiful setting! We raise grass hay, Icelandic sheep, garden vegetables and honey bees. Come visit the farm and enjoy a walk through the woods and out into the hay #eld, or help press cider from apples harvested in the heirloom orchard next door. The garden will have vegetables available for U Pick.& Try your hand at washing and carding wool or just watch our experienced spinners creating yarn. The farm blacksmiths will have the forge up and running for viewing. Make sure you take a hay ride and say “Hello” to the sheep and llamas before you leave.

Jacob’s Fleece

JAN GILLANDERS693 Big Leaf Lane Quilcene, WA 98376

jlgillandershorseand#ber.com [email protected]

Directions: Take Center Valley Road into Quilcene to intersection with U.S. 101. Turn right on U.S. 101 and go 1.5 miles and turn left onto Wildwood Road. From Wildwood Road take the #rst right on Big Leaf Lane (gravel road) and follow to farm on left.

Jacob’s Fleece Farm is a little o! the beaten track but well worth the adventure. Located on 40 acres in the hills above Quilcene, Jan’s %ock is primarily made up of Jacob sheep. Jan sells roving and yarn that she has hand-spun from her own wool, as well as raw %eeces. There will be ongoing weaving, spinning and knitting demonstrations. Karen Rose will be selling %eeces and custom spun and dyed yarn made from her llamas and alpacas. Ann Norton will be selling woven items for you and your home. Mary Gese will be bringing her mixed media art and jewelry. Mary Brackney from Wildwood Farms will be there with her many varieties of jams and jellies.

Serendipity FarmCHRIS LLEWELLYN141 Cemetery Road Quilcene, WA 98376360-765-0263

[email protected] serendipityfarm.orgDirections: Take Center Road south, turn right on U.S. 101 north for .6 miles. Or heading south on U.S. 101 turn at the large Serendipity Farm sign onto Cemetery Road. Serendipity Farm is 1/4 mile down Cemetery Road on the left side. We have plenty of parking.Serendipity Farm is a sustainable and family-run farm, home to three generations of farmers. Our goal is to combine agriculture, recreation and conservation to bring you quality food produced as sustainably as possible. We are also running a sustainable horse boarding facility with managed pastures and a composting system to bene#t the growing area. We invite you to bring the entire family to the farm tour. Tour our growing areas, new composting building and equestrian areas. Let the kids pick out a pumpkin in the #elds and carve their names in it so it can continue growing until Halloween. Take a pony ride or ride in a pony cart. Watch horse demonstrations – natural horsemanship in the morning and jumping lessons in the afternoon. Watch our new Weeder geese in action, visit our hens and ducks. Our new farm stand will be open for you to purchase produce, jams, pestos and eggs; soup, salad, and pesto pizza will be available. Sit in our yard and enjoy the view and the activities.

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18 Farm Tour Central is at the Chimacum Farmers’ MarketChimacum crossroads - where State Route 19 meets Center Road.

Open 10 am – 2 pm Stop by for information and directions

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Our Community GardensGrow Your Own Tour

Saturday, Sept. 18 from 1 pm to 5 pm

C ome experience the gardening movement that is taking Jefferson County by storm! Local 2020, a major supporter of community gar-

dening and food resiliency, counts a whopping 25 community gardens in Jefferson County! Saturday, Sept. 18 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. is your opportunity to visit seven gardens and learn more about them.

Visit the OlyCAP Pea Patch, which grows hundreds of pounds of food for the food banks, or the Grant Street Elementary School Garden, which serves as an enriching outdoor classroom for learn-ing about growing food and nutrition. Don’t forget to stop by the Dry Land Farm Project to learn about

how WSU researchers are working with volunteers to reintroduce western Washington wheat varieties to the Olympic Peninsula.

Also not to be missed are the neighborhood community gardens. If you’ve ever wondered what a community garden looks like, are interested in starting one or want to be inspired, this free, self-guided tour is for you!

1. Dundee Hill Community Garden, located on the corner of Hastings Street and Sheridan Street

in Port Townsend.2. Wayward Farm Neighborhood Garden, at 23rd

and Kuhn Street in Port Townsend.3. RoseWind Community Garden, found on

the corner of Umatilla and Haines streets in Port Townsend.

4. New Song Community Garden, on San Juan Avenue, behind the New Song Worship Center, 3918 San Juan Ave., Port Townsend.

5. Grant Street Elementary School Garden, at 1637 Grant St., Port Townsend.

6. Dry Land Farm Project, by Co linwood Farm, between F Street and Tremont Street in Por t Townsend.

7. Jackman Community Garden, situated at 18th and Jackman Street in Port Townsend.

8. OlyCAP Pea Patch, at 10632 Rhody Drive, Port Hadlock, behind the OlyCAP Thrift Shoppe.

Leave your car at home, tour by bikeThe Port Townsend Bicycle Association presents

the fifth annual bicycling Tour des Fermes on Sun-day, Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. When using the directions below, refer to the Farm Tour map in this guide for an exciting self-guided tour by bicycle!

1. Starting just north of Chimacum on State Route 19 (SR 19), stop at Sunfield Farm.

2. Continue south on SR 19 to SpringRain Farm and Orchard.

3. Turn right on Center Road and visit, in suc-cession, Red Dog Farm, Short’s Family Farm and Finnriver Farm.

4. Turn right on Egg and I Road and visit Bishop Dairy.5. Return to Center Road and either back-track

on your route or continue on Center Road, turning right on Eaglemount Road and right again on West Valley Road.

6. Turn left on Wind Ridge Road to visit Wild

Harvest Creamery.7. Come back to West Valley Road and continue

into Chimacum, stopping at the Chimacum Farm-ers’ Market.

Many farms will have demonstrations, food and produce for sale, and water for thirsty riders. If your bike has a rack, bring panniers to carry the many food items you will want to bring home!

More information is at ptbikes.org.



By Leora Stein FIELD Program coordinator

It is a sweltering July afternoon as I reluctantly leave the air-conditioned comfort of my car. Looking across the beautiful acres of SpringRain Farm and Orchard, I can see a small group of people working on repairing the irrigation in a #eld of newly planted pear trees. As I walk towards them, passing neat rows of saskatoons, boysenberries and jostaberries, I yell out the sweetest words to be heard on a hot day: “C’mon over, everyone! I’ve got popsicles!”

In a few seconds, the treats have been handed out and I’m happily cooling o! among seven people who are dedicating three to #ve months of their lives to learning about sustainable agriculture.

These hard-working farm interns are students of the Je!erson County Farm Innovation, Education and Leadership Development (FIELD) Program, a hands-on agricultural educational course operating in its pilot year. The FIELD Program was created by local farmers, in collaboration with the WSU Extension of Je!erson County, as a way for interns working on local farms to

formally learn about sustainable farming from those who know it best – the farmers themselves.

Every Thursday, the interns learn about an ag-ricultural topic (which could be anything, from soil nutrition, to enterprise budgets and book keeping, to water and irrigation systems) from a farmer at their farm. In this supportive, group-learning environment, FIELD interns gain a comprehensive understanding of sustainable agriculture practices and local food sys-tems from a wide range of perspectives. FIELD interns also apprentice themselves to one farm in particular, providing a place to practice and re#ne the skills they learn during class and, at the same time, contribute skilled farm labor to the farm that is hosting them.

The tangible benefits to the interns of the FIELD Program are many, but equally important is this program’s contribution to the growing sustainable agriculture education movement. All across the country, universities, university extensions, col-leges, nonprofits and farms are training the next generation of American farmers to be successful business people and good stewards of the land. This is especially important considering that the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture 2007 Census of Agriculture reported that half of all current farmers are likely to retire in the next decade. The FIELD Program is wo r ki n g to put our food p ro d u c t i o n into capable hands when t h e t i m e c o m e s f o r the current g e n e r at i o n

of farmers to throw in the hoe.To learn more about the FIELD Program or

to submit an application for 2011, please visit springrainfarmandorchard.com/FIELD.

A New Crop of Farmers

By Marcia Adams

T ucked away in the hills and valleys of Jefferson County are the four sheep farms that comprise the fiber-farm loop of this

year’s Farm Tour. This loop will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Together, these four farms make an important contribution to the economic base of the county, as well as add to our farming atmosphere. Through the sales of raw fleece, spinners’ roving (don’t know what that is? Come on the tour and find

out!), yarn, felt and other finished wool items, these shepherds turn their wool harvest into value-added products that contribute to a sheep farm’s bottom line.

Each farm raises a different breed of sheep: During the tour you will see Shetland, Border Leicester, Jacob and Icelandic sheep. Each breed has its own wool characteristics that are suitable for different end-uses. Kateen Fenter at Compass Rose Farm uses an ancient technique for harvesting her Icelandic wool. Be sure to ask her about it.

Modern textiles, such as polar fleece, Tencel, soy silk and bamboo fiber, are all manufactured and, therefore, are dependent on the oil industry for their creation. And they do not keep you warm and dry like wool.

By contrast, most of the processing of the wool products on the fiber tour is done by hand or is custom processed at small mills like Taylored Fibers in Quilcene (one of the stops on our tour). Jan Gillanders at Jacob’s Fleece hand-spins, hand-knits and then felts some of her finished products, all in the natural colors of her sheep.

Jennie Watkins at Ananda Hills Farm dyes some of her fleeces using natural dyes.

Each, in their own way, contributes to the

sustainability of their farm, our county and our planet. Not only should you buy your food locally, buy your wool locally, as well!

Wild & Woolly

Leora Stein


Local.Homegrown.

In your backyard.The Leader

www.finnriver.com [email protected]

FARM & TASTING ROOM

November-April: Fri-Sun 2-5May-October: Thurs-Mon 1-5

ARTISAN HARD CIDERS FRESH-MILLED ORGANIC GRAINS

617 Tyler St.Port Townsend360.385.1199

150 South 5th Ave.Sequim

360.681.3280

4569 Lynwood Center Rd.Bainbridge Isl.206-780-1902

Now making bread fromNash’s Farm grain,

ground at Finnriver Farm

www.panedamore.com

We Support Our Farmers in Making

a Healthier Community.Live, learn ... be healthy!

Back: Amy, Stephanie, Sandy, MelodeeFront: Suzy

1002 Lawrence St., Port Townsend

Free Farm

Local Fresh MilkD!"#$"$%% V&''$(

C)$&*$)(

Visit us Mon.-Sat. 10 am-5 pm360-683-0716

Garden Manure Available!

8487

Eaglemount

1/8


A re you interested in seeing local farms prosper by increasing the amount of food they produce to

feed us all? WSU Je!erson County Exten-sion and Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) are working together to assist local farmers grow a wider diversity of crops, adapt them for local conditions, and begin growing and saving local seed. This year we are partnering with seven farms in Je!erson County, one in Island and two in Clallam Counties to accomplish those goals. We’re even working with local farmers to breed some new varieties for superior perfor-mance on our local organic farms.

Since 2008, OSA and WSU has worked to form the North Olympic Growers Network (NOGN), a group of vegetable growers working together to integrate seed production into their farming opera-tions. We now have seed processing and cleaning equipment available to those farmers as they move into seed and grain production. This year three of the NOGN growers are earning some of their income by contracting with seed companies to

produce organic seed; others are now selling packets of local seed at the farm-ers market.

In 2009 we launched the Northern Or-ganic Variety Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC), a partnership including WSU, OSA, Oregon State University, University of Wisconsin and Cornell University. The goal of the collaborative? Breed and test varieties of corn, broccoli, carrots, peas, and winter squash for optimum perfor-mance on organic farms in the northern tier of the US. This summer "ve local farms are testing these "ve vegetable crops in our local "elds.

Growing for the fall, winter and early spring is the challenge local growers want to meet , to make local food available year around. To this end we’ve partnered with the Food Co-op and the Je!erson County Farmers Markets to identify which crops growers can produce to extend their har-vests into the cool seasons. In 2009-2010 we "eld tested several varieties of each of 10 di!erent vegetable crops, including Swiss chard, spinach, beets, collards, cilan-tro, arugula, radicchio, escarole, endive, and kale. Local farmers got to see which varieties had the best cold-hardiness, both

as a late fall crop after our "rst week of hard frosts hit, and which survive the cold and wet of winters and come back to life in early spring! In the future you’ll "nd more of these crops in our local produce depart-ment right through the winter! OSA also made some breeding selections from the

most cold hardy chards, spinach, and radic-chios, and new farmer breeding projects are just getting started with these plants at Midori Farm, Felix Farm, and Finnriver Farm. We look forward to lots of new cold hardy info on chard, mustard greens, mache, turnips, endive, and radicchio.

What about the grains? Wheat, buck-wheat, quinoa and spelt trials are under-way on three local farms. Dr. Kevin Murphy of WSU is working with Finnriver, The Dry Land Project in the Port Townsend city limits, and Nash’s Organic Produce. Kevin started out as a farmer right here in Port Townsend. Now a wheat breeder at WSU, he is bringing his expertise in small grains back to Je!erson County, bringing us local bread from local grains and introducing alternative grains into our local diets.

From testing dozens of vegetable, grain, and cover crop varieties under the unique challenges of Je!erson County to training farmers in growing seed crops, conducting on-farm plant breeding proj-ects and developing new locally adapted, delicious, cold-hardy vegetable and grain varieties, OSA and WSU are growing our local food movement!

By Helen Curry Sun#eld Education Association

Many hands – both small and large – take care of Sunfield Farm. The 81-acre conservation

farm offers community education pro-grams and is home to a Waldorf school comprised of 80 students in pre-kin-dergarten through grade seven.

During the school year, the grade school students are responsible for dai-ly farm chores, including milking goats, collecting and preparing eggs for sale, working in the gardens, and tending chickens, calves and sheep. Many school children return in the summer months and partake in outdoor camp activities or work with the animals in a 4-H program that culminates at the Jefferson County Fair.

Farm managers Verity and Neil Howe oversee Sunfield’s farming op-erations, including market production, apprenticeship training and Com-munity Supported Agriculture (CSA) management, and guide children and volunteers through a multitude of farming tasks. Sunfield Farm also hosts

a visiting-schools program that offers students from public and independent schools the opportunity to work with the farm animals, tend the gardens and learn about land stewardship.

Over 300 children visited Sunfield Farm during the 2009-2010 school

year. Letters of appreciation received from the students described nursing the baby goats, holding a chicken or finding a worm as highlights of their visits.

Sustainable organic farming prac-tices are essential to the mission

of Sunfield Farm. Students acquire hands-on experience of the farm as a self-nourishing organism by building and distributing compost, providing rotational grazing for the livestock and feeding animals the grains that have been grown on the farm. The farm uses biodynamic farming tech-niques that concentrate on building soil fertility, fostering species diversity and working in balance with nature.

The property’s wetlands and forest serve as a purposeful, extensive cam-pus while providing a haven for wildlife and native species to flourish. Sunfield Farm’s fields, wetlands and forest have been placed in conservation with Jef-ferson Land Trust.

To l e a r n more about S u n f i e l d ’ s p r o g r a m s , please vis it sunfieldfarm.org or call 360-385-5698.

Sunfield grows kids

Grow local: Vegetables, grains and seed for county farmsHelen Curry

By Micaela Colley and John Navazio of the Organic Seed Alliance

John Navazio and daughter

the foodco-op

PORT TOWNSEND

414 Kearney St.Open every day Where farmers gather and share the bounty of the ! elds

WSU FARM TOUR 2010

jefferson county farm tour guide 2010 - leora l. stein

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