To survive, farmers trade do’s and don’ts

Jeff Miller started farming in 1987 with little more than a backpack full of seeds and a never-quit attitude.

A chef by training, Miller knew Seattle-area restaurants needed a source of fresh premium baby greens and vegetables.

He didn’t know much else. He learned how to farm through trial and error. Two decades later Willie Green’s Organic Farm is prospering on 55 acres in the Tualco Valley near Monroe.

Miller is opening his operation Monday as part of a farm walk, a chance for others to visit and learn what worked and what hasn’t — straight from the farmer’s mouth. The walks are held all over the state and at different types of farms. The next is planned for a wheat, grain and livestock farm in Pullman. The Snohomish County extension office also holds farm tours as part of its farmer-to-farmer series.

Farm walks were started five years ago by the nonprofit group Tilth Producers and the Washington State University Small Farms Team as a way to get farmers learning from each other, said Jules Riske, a board member for Tilth. Many farmers are moving to organic and sustainable agricultural practices. While their grandparents might have farmed without chemicals a century ago, that knowledge didn’t get passed on. Today’s farmers have to learn to apply new technologies.

The farm walks draw as many as 100 visitors, and anyone can attend, not just farmers. Many own or work on a farm. Some come because they want to know how to make their land profitable. Others dream of buying some farm land.

The farmer usually leads visitors on a several-hour tour and talks about subjects as varied as marketing, livestock rotation and equipment. One Stanwood farmer took his group through his “hall of shame,” a row of implements he bought that turned out to be worthless for his operation. That’s an example of how farmers can learn from each other’s successes and mistakes, said Kate Halstead, a workshop coordinator for Snohomish County extension.

Increasingly, farmers need to be expert in a range of activities their grandparents weren’t, such as marketing and product development, she said. If farmers don’t adapt, they won’t survive.

“Consumers need to be aware of the struggles farmers face,” she said. “Many of the farm lands they drive past in the country are in serious danger of going and becoming housing developments, compost operations, retail rock yards, everything except food. There may come a time we wish like heck we had stepped forward as a society to put our money where our mouths are and save these farms for food production.”

Agriculture is a $126.9 million industry in the county with about 1,600 farms, according to the county Economic Development Council. Agriculture, particularly dairies, used to be the backbone of the county but that’s changing. Today escalating land prices, taxes, regulations and increases in diesel, feed and equipment all conspire to make farming a tough way to make a living.

“Folks are operating on such a slim margin to begin with that the least little oops sends them under,” she said.

The industry is shrinking because farmers may not have any family to pass the land to or their children may not be interested in farming, she said. It’s difficult to find a buyer who can buy land at market rates and afford to continue farming it. The extension office gets calls from farmers who are desperate not to lose their land to development, she said.

“There’s a growing base of young people who want to do that: They want to grow food or have a dairy, to get back to the land,” Halstead said. “Then they realize, ‘Oh my God, no way can I afford that piece of land and farm it and expect to survive.’ “

Farmers must know a lot more than farming and consider new ways of doing business, she said. That may mean turning crops into a product such as pickles or jam. It may mean finding a niche such as growing grass-fed beef. It may mean taking the farm in an a different direction, such as planting Christmas trees instead of raising dairy cows.

For Miller, the owner of Willie Green’s, it means tapping into a speciality customer base. His organic salad greens and vegetables make their way to chichi restaurants, farmers markets and wholesale buyers. When he leads his farm walk, he plans to talk about early season vegetable production.

He tests different varieties of vegetables to find those that offer superior taste, disease resistance and good yields. Since he farms without chemicals, he had to experiment with growing techniques, even adapting tools for his needs. He learned, for instance, that he could make holes in a row for transplanting faster by attaching a peg to a rototiller.

Farming used to be a community venture, one where farmers shared know-how and sometimes equipment and labor, Halstead said. Most modern farmers are far more isolated than their predecessors. Farmers are going to have be willing to change, to talk with another, learn new skills and study in order to survive.

Miller has plans to adapt. He plans to build a rustic barn on the property to rent out as a venue for weddings and other special occasions. He wants to return to his culinary roots and is considering hosting dinners featuring locally-grown food.

And retirement?

“Hopefully, one of my kids will want to take it over.”

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com