HeraldNet, WA
11-30-07
Conference in Lynnwood challenges farmers to break new ground
By Sarah Jackson
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD -- Climate change, gourmet local food and new ways to farm all
came together Thursday when 600 farmers, residents and public officials met at
the Lynnwood Convention Center for Snohomish County's largest farming
conference yet.
The fourth annual Focus on Farming not only drew attendees from throughout
the state, it also attracted people all ages, including 14 students from the Monroe
High School chapter of the Future Farmers of America.
"I thought it was really neat to find out what's going on in the farming community,"
said 17-year-old FFA member Christina Leid.
FFA adviser Anne Lowe wanted the students to network and to expand their
horizons as the next generations of farmers.
"I'm so pleased," she said. "It's one of the more valuable days I've spent with my
students."
Energy and its role on and off the farm was the topic of the day.
Keynote speaker Fred Kirschenmann urged farmers to start thinking about
cutting back on energy and fuel now, before oil prices hit $100 per barrel or,
perhaps, one day, $250 a barrel.
"Everything that farmers use is based on a petroleum economy," he said. "It's
going to particularly hit farming hard."
Kirschenmann, a North Dakota organic farmer and fellow at Iowa State
University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, received a standing
ovation from about half the audience after his speech.
"Most of us don't like change. We'd rather be comfortable in what we are doing,"
he said. "Imagine what kind of future we could have that's better than the one we
have now."
Snohomish farmer Neil Landaas, who runs numerous area farmers markets and
his own Flying Tomato Farm, said the speaker gave him a new insight into
energy consumption.
"It was kind of scary," Landaas said. "But it was kind of uplifting as well."
Thursday's event wasn't all doom and gloom about the climate and economics, of
course.
Lunch was a celebration of food produced in Snohomish, Skagit and King
counties, including a creamy squash soup made with produce from a Stanwood
family farm.
"I think the meal was fabulous," Landaas said. "That squash soup was really
good."
Breakout sessions, meanwhile, covered a variety of topics, including how to earn
certified organic status, biofuel crops such as switchgrass and canola, ways to
deal with water and flood issues and even how to safely compost large animal
carcasses.
Ryan Foxley, who manages Little Field Farm near Arlington, attended a session
on how to start a successful community-supported agriculture program, or CSA,
in which farmers sell seasonal shares of fruit and vegetables directly to
consumers.
"You don't have to be in Boulder, Colorado, or Seattle, Washington," said Foxley,
who once ran a successful CSA in a small Wyoming community. "People are
ready for this kind of thing."
Though some participants seemed energized and optimistic during the
conference, John Postema, owner of Flower World, a nursery and produce
operation in Maltby, was pragmatic.
"I think it's great, but I'm always very practical," he said. "What do people get
from it and what are the impacts? It's going to be a long road to profitable
agriculture."