Solace Farm

February 21 – Women in Agriculture Conference –in Colville at the WSU Extension office on Saturday,

February 21 – Making Sense of Marketing, so you can put your best boot forward! It’s more important than ever to be able to talk about it positively and with passion, no matter what you grow or how you sell it. Join us for an engaging, interactive day and learn who your audience is, what they want to know about your farm and what tools are best for you. Registration fee is $30 but there is a $25 early bird special between January 10 and February 13; includes a light breakfast, lunch, handouts and tools you can use.

Ivy Nelson

Extension Coordinator

WSU Stevens County Extension

986 S Main, Suite D

Colville WA 99114

Phone: (509) 684-2588

Fax: (509) 684-9790

http://stevens.wsu.edu

Spokane-Pend Oreille County FSA Updates

Spokane-Pend Oreille County FSA Office

8815 E. Mission Ave. Ste. B

Spokane Valley, WA 99212-5039

Phone: 509-924-7350

Fax2mail: 855-843-1173

Acting County Executive Director:

Brent Reitmeier

Acting Farm Loan Manager:

Chris Werner

Program Technicians:

Lorri Anderson

Betty Diedesch

Kay Kjack

David Olson

Next County Committee Meeting: Jan. 15, 2015 at 9:00 am

2014 Farm Bill Producer Meeting Reminder

A producer meeting has been scheduled to discuss the newly created farm programs under the 2014 Farm Bill. Staff from the local FSA Office will explain program details as they relate to producer's options under the new farm programs. Yield updates, crop base reallocations, Price Loss Coverage (PLC), and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) will be some of the topics discussed. In addition, staff from the WSU Extension Office may be available to provide training on the web based producer tools that can be used to help producers make important program decisions. Please mark your calendar for the following producer informational meeting:

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 9 am.

(Fairfield Community Hall at 304 East Main Fairfield, WA 99012)

Special accommodations will be made upon request for individuals with disabilites, vision impairment or hearing impairment. If accommodations are required, individuals should contact the county FSA office staff in person or by phone.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is seeking stakeholder input on 2015 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funding priorities.

Your input will be considered as WSDA sets funding priorities for the 2015 grant cycle. Please note that Washington’s funding is contingent upon federal funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

Please complete and return the attached form by January 19th and email to [email protected]

Thank you for taking the time to provide your input! Please share this request with others who may wish to provide their feedback. For additional details about the SCBGP, please visit http://agr.wa.gov/Grants/SCBGP.

Best Regards,

WSDA SCBGP Staff

Leisa Schumaker

Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Acting Administrator

Washington State Dept. of Agriculture

360-902-2091

[email protected]

Vannesa Blanton

Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Agreement Manager

Washington State Dept. of Agriculture

360-902-1894

[email protected]

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOR

VALUE-ADDED PREPARED FOODS

Geared to small scale producers of preserves, sauces, dressings

and vinegars, snacks, baked goods and other value-added products

DATE: Monday, February 2, 2015

TIME: 9:00am to 4:00pm

LOCATION: Spokane, WA (exact location TBD)

FEE: $95, general admission (pre-registration is required)

Lunch, beverages and course packet included.

INSTRUCTORS: Fred Berman, Project Manager, NABC

Girish Ganjyal, Food Processing Specialist, WSU

This workshop will provide the region’s small scale prepared food producers with up-to-date information and technical knowledge of the food product development process for the specialty food industry and how to bring such products to market - targeted to start-up entrepreneurs and food product developers.

Students will be walked through the various steps from concept development to the market. There will be an emphasis on the factors to be considered for scaling up the product from the kitchen to commercial production. Numerous examples will be provided to illustrate the steps and end goal. Along with the aspects of product development, the course will cover product cost calculations, with real-world business examples.

Thank you for your support and Happy Holidays to all,

Fred

Fred Berman - Project Manager

[email protected]

Solace Farm’s Small Flock Shearing Day

A Professional Shearer, Martin Dibble, will be available to shear your small flock of Sheep or Angora Goats at $6 per ewe - $7 per ram or goat animal.

There will also be Demos on Skirting and on Fiber Prep for Processing as well as Felting and Spinning.

We are presently reserving time slots on April 12th. The cost to reserve your time slot is $15 prepaid with the completed form below.

We ask that you keep your animals dry (under cover if weather demands) and withhold feed the morning of the shearing. This makes for a much less stressful experience for your animals. Remember to bring bags to put your fleece in and cash to pay the shearer.

We have a covered holding pen to maintain your fleece dryness. Your animals will be kept separate from other flocks as we will only have one flock at a time in the holding/shearing area. Please bring adequate help to load and unload your animals from your truck/trailer. We ask that you arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time so we can stay on schedule with all the loading and unloading etc...

To reserve your time slot we will need to collect from you $15 payable by check or pay-pal and the following information:

Your name___________________

Phone________________ Email____________________

Number of Sheep to be sheared _____

When they were last sheared _____

Are they a down or wool breed?

Feel free to call 509-276-7160 or email [email protected] with any questions. We look forward to seeing you and having a day filled with fiber and

friends

Rob & Sandra Willford

www.solacefinnsheep.com

YOU ARE INVITED

This is an invitation to another catered dinner meeting about forming an Inland Northwest Grower’s Cooperative. We will be meeting on Thursday March 20th from 6-8pm at the Gonzaga University Herak Room in the McCarthey Athletic Center just north of Spokane Falls Blvd on Cincinnati St.

Please RSVP to me if you can make it to this meeting by Friday March 14th so that we can have an accurate head count for the catered dinner.

At this meeting we will have the working group, that has been meeting for several months, report out on their activities thus far. We have primarily been working on both outreach and structure.

We will then invite some interaction from everyone on what structure you feel would serve the cooperative and its members best.

Finally, we need to make a strategy for moving forward. Key pieces of this are:

-Building support for the co-op from growers in the region

-Recruiting growers to attend the April meeting to celebrate and decide if the co-op is a go/no-go

-Answering the key questions about the co-op that still need answering

-Accessing the resources we need to make this happen

-Creating a timeline for incorporating and launching the co-op

I have attached a draft flier to this email that has great info on it that you can use to invite other growers you know. The date for the April meeting/party is still TBA.

Also, if you have not already taken 5 minutes to fill out this survey about the cooperative, please do (Link below), and pass it on. This will help us gauge interest and better understand your needs.

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gHMQh0sjinIBZHP9alc-4HW-G7qeF8GY4R_o_9r4dFw/viewform" target="_blank">http://https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gHMQh0sjinIBZHP9alc-4HW-G7qeF8GY4R_o_9r4dFw/viewform

 We invite you to attend our next meeting on March 20th from 6 to 8 pm, to share what we have done so far and gather your input on how to build a producer-owned cooperative that would meet your needs. Email [email protected] for more information.

What we do: We are a group of area producers in the process of forming a cooperative in the Inland Northwest.

Goal: To allow producers in the Inland Northwest to access markets and services that they cannot access individually.

For example:

o High volume orders for institutions (hospitals, school districts, universities)

o Meeting requirements those institutions have for vendors such as

o Shared liability insurance policy

o Shared GAP plan

o Cost savings from increased efficiency of shared resources

o Business services

o Equipment

o Labor

o Shared business services such as marketing, accounting, business-planning etc.

o Better information about market demand (through communication with institutions) and ability to better plan out growing seasons to meet that demand

o Developing a regional brand and/or certification that showcases the quality of food produced in the Inland Northwest

We invite you to attend our next meeting on March 20th  to share what we have done so far and gather your input on how to build a producer-owned cooperative that would meet your needs. Email [email protected] for more information.

March 22, 2014

Sowing Seeds Gardening for Fun

Held at the Community College in Colville

Session Two: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Pruning Fruit Trees... Learn the art of pruning

fruit trees, how to improve fruit production

and quality, and help your trees live up to their

full potential. What will you do with all those

apples and pears? Instructor Jim McGinty is a

WSU Master Gardener Veteran.

Introduction on to Drip Irrigation… Come learn

about the basic principles of drip irrigation: how

drip works, why you might consider using drip,

where drip works best, and how to make drip

work for you. We’ll discuss the physics of drip,

how to plan and install your system, and how

to keep it running. Instructor Jeremy Cowan,

Regional Extension Horticulture Specialist with

WSU Extension.

Hypertufa Planter… Make a small planter out

of cement and peat moss. Learn the art of

transplanting. Participants will get two pots.

One you make and one previously made that

you will transplant plants into. Instructor,

Mary Sety, WSU Master Gardener. This class

has a material fee of $10. Limited to sixteen

par�� cipants.

Harvest Baskets... Come ready to work. Make

your own harvest basket. This basket can be

used for gathering and washing produce from

your garden. Instructor Sandi Everson, a WSU

Master Gardener. This class has a material fee

of $10. Limited to sixteen participants.

Session One: 9:05 am - 10:30 am

Edible Forest Gardens … explore how

integrating perennials of all sizes into gardens

expands and diversifi es productivity, beauty and

habitats. Principles of agro-forestry, ecosystem

relationships and permaculture design will

boost your ability to create your own edible

forest garden at any scale! Instructor Gloria

Flora, Executive Director, Sustainable Obtainable

Solutions.

Spraying your Fruit and Ornamental Trees...

Learn when and how to spray your fruit trees

and other ornamental trees. Will discuss IPM

strategies, timing and products to use on trees.

Also will discuss calibration and how to read and

understand pesticide labels. Pesticide Credits

applied for. Instructor, Aaron Brown, WSDA

Pesticide Specialist.

Hugelkultur and Other Water Wise Gardening

Techniques... This presentation on will explore

hugelkulture (woody beds) and other gardening

practices to limit your use of water. Some topics

covered will be the way water works in our

landscapes, the use of swales, keyline design,

and irrigation  on techniques. If you are interested

in lowering the amount of water that you use

in your garden, this class is for you! Instructor,

Amber Jimenez, WSU Master Gardener.

Harvest Baskets... Come ready to work. Make

your own harvest basket. This basket can be

used for gathering and washing produce from

your garden. Instructor Sandi Everson, WSU

Master Gardener. This class has a material fee

of $10. Limited to sixteen participants.

Persons with a disability requiring special accommodation while

participating in this program may call WSU Stevens County

Extension, 509-684-2588. If accommodation is not requested in

advance, we cannot guarantee the availability of accommodation

on site. Extension programs and policies are consistent with

federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination

regarding race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age,

disability, and sexual orientation. Evidence of noncompliance may

be reported through your local Extension office.

March 25 – Soil Testing for Farmers – don’t guess, soil test! This two-part class will introduce farmers and ag producers to basic soil science, teach correct soil sampling procedure and assist in the analysis of the lab results to develop a nutrient management plan. The first class will be held at the WSU Extension office, 986 S Main. Cost is $10 per farm, which includes a soil test valued at $35.