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The Genuine Skagit Valley campaign has been granted a certification mark from the United States Patent and Trademark office Patsy Martin, executive director of the Port of Skagit, announced Feb. 9. Agricultural products and agricultural services from the Skagit Valley can now be certified as to their origin by this federally registered mark. The Port has advanced toward this goal for almost 10 years. They worked with the Washington State Department of Commerce to have Skagit Valley designated an Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ), focusing on...
“In 1960, all the people in Washington (state) could fit into King County today. That’s how much we’ve grown.” Director of Skagit County Planning and Development Services Hal Hart was addressing the 50 participants in the sixth annual – and first virtual – Skagit Ag Summit. The Jan. 29 event’s 16 presentations focused on water, opportunities and threats facing agriculture and economic viability and development. Threats first. While the pressure of growth and development on agricultu...
But not as lengthy as the campaign to secure for women the right to vote, a decades-long fight whose leadership ranks in Washington state included the daughter of a pioneer La Conner family. Linda Deziah Jennings, 1869-1932, is being honored now for her many contributions to the women’s suffrage movement, which ranged from speaking engagements, authorship of persuasive magazine articles and the editing of a thematic cook book whose popular recipes shared pages with voting rights essays. In o...
Moonlight and pumpkins set the stage for the first-ever Locals Night at Gordon Skagit Farms last Thursday. A first-quarter moon loitered over the barn. Tea lights illuminated a display of green speckled swan gourds. Lighted pumpkins spelled “Gordon’s”. La Conner High School graduate Parker Rivas unloaded purchases from carts in the weigh station. Georgia Johnson whipped up complimentary chocolate Cointreau crepes. Owners Todd and Eddie Gordon mingled with after-hours guests. The small but appre...
La Conner-area farmers used Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other measures to keep COVID-19 out of their workforce. Many also embraced the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to stave off financial problems. Funds could be used to cover payroll, rent and utilities over a 24-week period. The Hedlins, on the town’s east edge, credit the PPP program with facilitating a quick pivot from field crops to row crops. “We had to go from some big grain contracts to ramping up produ...
MOUNT VERNON — This announcement would not be possible without the amazing generosity of the Co-op’s member-owners. At the outset of COVID-19, we heard the same question from several of our member-owners: “How can we help?” In response, management made it even easier for Co-op member-owners to donate their annual patronage refunds (dividends) to Community Action’s Skagit Food Distribution Center (SFDC). We were able to donate over $10,000 to support the Distribution Center’s ongoing work to feed the hungry in our community! The SFDC is t...
Mother Nature was good to La Conner-area farmers this year. “It was a perfect summer,” said Dean Swanson of the Swanson Family Farm. A wetter spring and early summer warmth meant seeds could germinate and young plants could get established without irrigating. “The crops got a really good start,” said Ray de Vries of Ralph’s Greenhouse. Swanson grew “the best corn we’ve had all year” with no irrigation. Unless there is an early freeze, he will be picking through October 20. A “super long” be...
Locally baked bread is again available in La Conner. You can buy 1.75 pound “Skagit Wheat” sourdough loaves and a variety of cookies from Rachael Sobczak in Gilkey Square 4-8 p.m. Friday during the Shop Local Shop Late. This pop up sales event is typical for Sobczak’s Rachael and Bread company, which she likens to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or farmers market model rather than a brick and mortar store. But more unusual than her pre-order subscription purchasing system is the heart of her bread recipe: the 100 year-old sourd...
The Snow Goose Produce Stand has been named “Best Roadside Stands” by lifestyle guru Martha Stewart’s magazine. “It’s a nice honor for us and the valley,” said Snow Goose founder Mike Rust, “but it came completely out of the blue. We don’t know who inspected us, or when.” The owners heard the news from the grandmother of Jacqueline ‘Jacq’ Perry, who manages the stand’s Fir Island Road gardens. After seeing the July-August 2020 issue of Martha Stewart magazine, she called to ask Jacq, “isn’t this the outfit you work for?” “We were skeptical at...
July started with 0.4” of rain the first three days, but that was a tease. There was almost 0.2” more on the 9th, and that was it: 0.6” rain for the month. After a whisper of wet on the 11th, the skies turned blue. There has not been measurable precipitation in 25 days. Rainfall was 10% below the month’s average rainfall of 0.67” in this century. Still, this was only the tenth driest July this century. Less than 0.60” rain has fallen nine years, with six years below 0.11”. Seven of the 10 dri...
Pioneering in Washington territory was no place for shrinking violets. Men and women labored side by side to take advantage of the opportunity that the new western land could offer. Self-sufficiency was the necessary characteristic for successful pioneers. Due to the prevalence of illnesses and accidents, there was a need for everyone in the family to pitch in to survive in the late 1800s Washington state. Maybe in part because of the more equal distribution of the workload, the idea of women’s suffrage was not as shocking to the pioneers in t...
Snee-Oosh area resident Sue Nagel and La Conner High alum Virginia Good-Vlahovich have invested much time and energy into helping combat food insecurity in Skagit County. Those efforts paid off in a big way – with a public tribute from former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates July 17. Gates passed out “Challenge Coins” bearing his name and a national seal to honor their volunteer work at Helping Hands Solution Center in Sedro-Woolley, the largest direct emergency food provider in Skag...
Genuine Skagit Valley has launched “Taste Farmstand Fresh” to support Skagit Valley farm stands and farm stores. Shop participating farm stands and sign up for virtual “kitchen inspiration” – free 15-minute Zoom presentations offered by local chefs through the end of August. The sessions allow farm stand patrons to “get a fresh take on fresh foods” by gleaning professional tips and tricks on how to prepare, cook and preserve what is in their shopping basket. Taste Farmstand Fresh’s goal is to keep momentum strong for Skagit farms stores....
By: Sandy Stokes If the dangerous, lawless takeover in Seattle has shown us anything, it is that generations of one-party rule have not been healthy for our state. Our little town is fielding a candidate who can help reverse the trend toward impotent state governance. Bill Bruch is the change candidate – a Republican running for a seat in the state House of Representatives. He has been a La Conner and Skagit County resident for many years and knows the issues we face as homeowners, farmers, small business owners and taxpayers. He has alli...
A new grant from the US Department of Agriculture will equip the Puget Sound Food Hub on Best Road to increase food security for families in northwest Washington. The Food Hub’s 80 member-producers will also benefit. Using funds from the USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, they will supply 3,000 boxes of fresh food a week for the Bellingham Food Bank and other organizations in the northwest Washington food relief system. For 90 days, Viva Farms and Ralph’s Greenhouse will supply 2,000 boxes of their produce, and the Food Hub will prepare...
Will restaurants and breweries open again? What about schools? The export market? While farmers are still grappling with big questions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, “we have to get farming,” says Eddie Gordon of Gordon Skagit Farms. “The growing season is here.” That means moving ahead on plans made last winter – or coming up with a creative workaround. Also important to consider: soil health and crop rotation. Here is what some La Conner-area farmers are getting...
You can work from home, shop from home, and call friends from home. But you can’t farm from home. That’s why La Conner area farmers and farmworkers are adopting new habits as they comply with new rules from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. To protect workers from the COVID-19 virus, agricultural employers must implement an effective social distancing plan, ensure frequent and adequate handwashing by employees, and increase cleaning and sanitation of commonly touched surfaces. Sick workers must stay home or be iso...
“Expected Returns on Most Northwest Ag Commodities Leveling Up” was the optimistic headline of Northwest Farm Credit’s quarterly Market Snapshot in January. The April 2 Snapshot says that in sector after sector, forecasts now range from “variable profitability” to “unprofitable returns”. “It’s all so new and changing so fast, it’s hard to get a clear picture,” said Don McMoran, director of the Washington State University Skagit County Extension. “It’s super clear that people are not buying flo...
The variety of restaurants and coffee shops had a variety of sales volume in the week since Gov. Jay Inslee ordered they cease serving sit-down customers. They are an essential business under Inslee’s Monday declaration telling everyone to stay home, except for a short list of approved activities, including picking up take-out meals, getting groceries and medicines, seeing doctors and getting exercise. Social distancing – keeping six feet distance – is always necessary. Car and foot...
The essential concept to grasp is that the Skagit Valley Food Co-op is more than a grocery store. Owned by their members, co-ops are businesses that serve and reflect their members’ values. Tony White, who took over from retired General Manager Todd Wood last Friday not only understands that dynamic, he freely confesses that long ago he “really drank the Kool Aid for co-ops. I realized the emphasis for communications with members. From that time on I was a true believer.” That lesson was learned in a 1990s master program in co-op manag...
MOUNT VERNON — The age old problems of family succession, product promotion, water supply, innovation, costs, communicating with the public and, of course, weather were session topics at the fifth annual Skagit Ag Summit Jan. 31 at Washington State University’s Northwest Research Extension Center on Memorial Highway. Mike Hughes, of Hughes Farms with land in Conway and Mount Vernon and Alan and Ben Mesman, of Mesman Farm on Chilberg Road near La Conner, shared their experiences of multi-generational farm ownership and management. H...
There was a lot of speculation at the Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA) Saturday night over how artist William Cumming’s mural ended up folded on a shelf in a Breckenridge family barn. Farmers, donors and art-enthusiasts exchanged stories at a celebration of the $500,000 valued mural that is now on exhibit in the museum. Those who knew Cumming – a renowned Seattle painter – could agree that the artist himself would be pleased. In fact, his old friend and former MoNA board member B...
Expect to see more of the orange and green Genuine Skagit Valley logo on produce and food products next year and in the coming years. The one year old certification mark program got a big boost in December, a $348,000 three year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For Skagit Valley farmers to gain more attention for their products as an organized entity, more farmers and food processors have to join the membership marketing program. The grant supports marketing the program to the agricultural community. “A lot of it helps provide f...
Another month, another rain report. Regular readers know – and hopefully come to expect – a first issue of the month summary of the previous month’s rain and temperatures. For the thousands in the La Conner School district who don’t regularly receive a paper, this is a regular feature, as much as school news and sports. Just what is going on with the weather? Inquiring minds want to know. They find that answer in the Weekly News, the place for news about your community. A strong editorial voice is included every week, also. Edi...
As you are reading this article, someone in the valley is painting. Skagit Valley has been fostering the arts for decades and this month FORUM Arts is acknowledging that work, both current and historic. The ‘Locally Grown’ show features a half dozen of those who are painting or have painted in the Valley. The exhibit includes three who have died – Guy Anderson, Jeffrey Thostenson and Clyde Sanborn – while three artists are still painting: Christian Carlson, Margy Lavelle and Dedy Ward. “In putting together the exhibition ‘Loca...
