The Face of Traditional Agriculture is Changing. My Vision for an Extension Program to Keep Diverse Agriculture Competitive in the Skagit Valley.

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The Face of Traditional Agriculture is Changing.
My Vision for an Extension Program to Keep
Diverse Agriculture Competitive in the Skagit
Valley.

• By
• Don McMoran

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I know no way of judging of the future but by
the past. Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) The
History of the Decline Fall of the Roman Empire
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Lets begin with Geology

• Geology- A science that deals with the history of
  the earth as recorded in rocks.
• This science can help us determine how the Skagit
  Valley was created 14,000 to 18,000 B.P.

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Geology of Skagit County

• Scientist have discovered that the Puget lowlands
  were invaded by continental ice sheets at least
  four times.

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Hypothetical Skagit River Delta 10,000 BP
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The creation of soil

• Most of the soil landscapes in Skagit County are
  typical of glacial landforms and thus are either
  related to glacial deposits or to glacial scour
  of bedrock. It is this soil that brought life to
  the Skagit Valley as we know it.

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Native American

• Native American habitation in the Skagit Delta is
  documented as far back as 5000 years ago.

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Discovery

• Spanish explorer Jose Narvaez sailed through
  Guemes Channel in the summer of 1791, and
  described a shallow bay.
• Shortly after the Spanish visit, the English Sea
  Captain George Vancouver mapped the sound.
• By 1795, Spain relinquished its claim on N.W to
  the British.

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Meanwhile

• In 1792, Robert Gray claimed the Oregon Country
  for the United States.
• In 1846, the Oregon Treaty was signed by the
  United States and Great Britain establishing the
  boundary between Canada and the U.S. along the
  49th parallel.

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Settlement

• Trappers were the first European inhabitants of
  the region, between 1800 and 1835

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The Point Elliot Treaty

• The tribes and bands of Coast Salish people
  grouped together as "Swinomish" were parties to
  the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855, written by Issac
  Stevens.
• This treaty gave Native Americans reserves of
  land, or reservations and made way for pioneering
  settlers.

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Washington territory pioneers

•   Sam Calhoun was one of four brothers who
  emigrated to the Northwest. Sam made quite a mark
  on the Swinomish flats as one maybe the first
  of the permanent settlers on what became mainland
  Skagit county 1863

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Sam Calhoun

• Sam was familiar with diking marshland from his
  childhood days in Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick
• 'Here,' I said to myself, 'is a country within
  range of my vision that will support a million
  people. Here is my home where I shall spend the
  remainder of my life.'

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Calhoun

• In 1869, Sam went to Whidbey Island and brought
  back men, horses and a primitive machine to
  thresh their crops.
• Calhoun harvested 1,200 bushels of barley from 21
  acres, so the delta began showing just what could
  be produced.

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Whitney, Sisson, Tillinghast and others

• R.E. Whitney, E.A. Sisson, A.G. Tillinghast and
  others heard the news of the barley crop and soon
  began planning to migrate to Skagit County

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Diking of Padilla

• The work was discouraging enough at first. The
  company, together with Trimble, Highbarger and
  Allen, constructed three miles of dike and
  several expensive dams across sloughs. They used
  seventy thousand feet of lumber and paying forty
  dollars a month for men. During the winter of
  1873-74, four of these costly dams went out, the
  salt water was let in and cultivation was delayed
  another year

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Dissolving Whitney, Sisson and Company

• After farming the ground for several years, the
  partnership divided.
• Whitney kept the ground that is now owned by the
  Department of Ecology.
• Sisson retained the property to the South of the
  Demonstration Farm. This land remained in the
  family until 2007 when it was sold to the WA
  State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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Farming with Steam

• In 1876, Sam Calhoun purchased the first steam
  thrashing machine in Skagit Valley.
• In 1877, Whitney Sisson and Company purchased
  their first steam powered thrasher.

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What happened to Tillinghast

• After farming in the Bay View area for a few
  years, the Pennsylvania native moved his seed
  production operation to La Conner.

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Catalog Marketing
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Skagit Valley Seed Production

• By the 1920s seed production in the Skagit Valley
  had grown dramatically. In 1925 local farmers
  produced a million pounds of open-pollinated
  cabbage seed.

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Trouble in Paradise

• By the time harvest began in the summer of 1942,
  Skagit County farmers knew they were in
  trouble.The rows of cabbage and beets theyd
  planted to produce seed had been attacked by a
  virus, and looked wilted and sick. The yield was
  less than half the amount theyd expected, which
  was bad news for the many small family farms
  counting on the income from the valuable cash
  crop.

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Science to the rescue

• James Hulbert helped lead the grass-roots
  lobbying and fundraising effort that first
  brought scientists to Mount Vernon.
• These scientists discovered the need for crop
  isolation and rotation.

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Where WSU is today in the Skagit Valley

• WSU extension- Agriculture and Natural Resources
  (Commercial, Small Farms, Forestry, Pest Board,
  Master Gardeners and Beach Watchers) 4-H-youth,
  Family Consumer Science (Food Sense and Ideas for
  Living), Forestry, Volunteer Opportunities and
  Beach Watchers.
• WSU Northwest Research and Extension Center
  (NWREC)- 8 million dollar remodel in 2006.
  Scientific research on Skagit Valley agricultural
  products (Entomology, Plant Breeding, Small Fruit
  Horticulture, Vegetable Horticulture, Vegetable
  Pathology, Vegetable Seed Pathology, and Weed
  Science).

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Skagit Valley Ag today

• Mind Map

Dairy
Vegetable
Meat
Fruit Berries
Skagit Agriculture
Ornamental
Small Farm
Seed
Hay/Straw Grains
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Cows
Cows Goats
Vegetable
Vegetable
Feed
Feed
Dairy
Dairy
Fruit Berries
Fruit Berries
Skagit Agriculture
Ornamental
Ornamental
Commercial
Organic
Seed
Seed
Hay/Straw Grains
Hay/Straw
Meat Eggs
Meat Eggs
Small Farm
Small Farm
Agritourism Agritainment
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Broccoli Cauliflower Peas Potatoes
Cabbage Leaks Lettuce Snap Peas
Apples Strawberries Raspberries Blueberries Blackb
erries
Apples Raspberries Blueberries Blackberries
Milk
Milk
Grass
Grass
Cows
Cows Goats
Corn
Corn
Vegetable
Vegetable
Feed
Feed
X mas trees Nursery stock Tulips Daffodils Iris
Dairy
Dairy
Fruit Berries
Fruit Berries
Sunflowers Dalais
Skagit Agriculture
Ornamental
Ornamental
Commercial
Organic
Seed
Seed
Hay/Straw Grains
Hay/Straw
Meat Eggs
Meat Eggs
Small Farm
Small Farm
Cabbage
Grass Cabbage Kale Mustard Rutabaga Spinach Swiss
Chard Beets Turnips
Hay Straw
Hay Straw Wheat Barley Rye Oats
Shellfish Beef Chicken Turkey Eggs
Horses Alpacas Lamas Goats Sheep
Beef Turkey Chicken Eggs
Horses Alpacas Lamas Goats Sheep
Agritourism Argritainment
Retail BB/Hotels Market Stands
Pony Rides
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Vander Kooy Kuipers Moe Boon VanderVeen Jensen We
sen Miller Lagerland
Hughes Smith Morrison Nelson Wallace Knutzen Jung
quit Jensen Erickson
Dykstra Mesman Welshler Gothberg
Meritt Sakuma Youngquist Entrikin Anderson
Producers
Johnson De Vries
Cows
Cows Goats
Sakuma
Vegetable
Vegetable
Feed
Dean Roozen Degoede Hayton Birenger
Dairy
Dairy
Fruit Berries
Fruit Berries
Dubar
Skagit Agriculture
Ornamental
Ornamental
Commercial
Organic
Seed
Seed
Hay/Straw Grains
Hay/Straw
Meat Eggs
Meat Eggs
Small Farm
Small Farm
Osborne
Hulbert Sorensen Christianson McMoran Morrison Nel
son Thulen Johnon Loman Lee
Temborg Duffy
Taylors Blau Peth McRay Draper V. Dynes
Neff Johnson Hughes Hulbert
Langs Hinton Dali Lama Ferris Gibson
Johnson Vojorkovich
Spaude- Larson
Agritourism Agritainment
Sakuma Ovenell Schuh
Langs
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What do Skagit Valley Farmers need to do to
survive?

• Decrease cost/usage of consumables
• Equipment and parts
• Land
• Labor
• Fuel
• Fertilizer
• Chemicals
• Utilities

• Increase value of product
• Increase Price of Product
• Higher yields
• Value added

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How can WSU extension help decrease production
costs

• Lower equipment costs and parts by using them
  less. Example no till.
• Utilizing technology to reduce labor needs.
• Reduce the need of petroleum fuel burning trucks
  and tractors by using new technology such as
  bio-fuel.

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Decreasing production costs

• Lower fertilizer costs utilizing nutrients
  created by agriculture and other industries.
• Partnering with other agencies- Farmland Legacy,
  Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, The Nature
  Conservancy, SCD, NRCS, FSA, EDASC and others.

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Decreasing production costs

• Chemical costs can be decreased by scientific
  research locating better chemicals with cheaper
  costs. More work is needed in the field of
  Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the Skagit
  Valley.
• Utility costs can be decreased through
  alternative energy and energy created through
  biomass production.

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Increasing product value

• Commercial Farmers/Rancher can ask for more money
  for their product.

• WRONG ANSWER!!! Brokers/Consumers will purchase
  the product from another location.

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How do we add value to a product?

• Super premium product- Example, fine wine.
• Niche Markets- a focus or targetable part of the
  market.
• Marketing- Consumers will pay an added 10
  premium for green label.
• Direct Marketing- Eliminating the middle man.
• Brand loyalty
• Farmers can tell their story.
• Value added products- Cucumbers to pickles.

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Increasing the amount of the product

• Increase yields- making more with less/higher
  efficiencies through technology.

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Education

• Organizations and agencies like WSU and
  Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland have done a
  great job on getting the word out that
  Agriculture is important to the Skagit Valley.
• 4-H and FFA are excellent tools to teach students
  about agriculture. However these tools are not
  for everyone.

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Education
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WSU extension meeting the needs of Hispanic
population

• According to a recent article in the Skagit
  Valley Herald, One in every seven U.S. residents
  is Hispanic, and that will increase to nearly one
  in every four.
• Migrant workers have needs that must be addressed
  here in Skagit County.
• Encourage the hiring of bilingual extension
  agents.

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In Closing

• Much like the Pioneers that came to the Skagit
  Valley over a hundred years ago, now is the time
  for Skagit Valley Agriculture to take risk and
  use new innovative technology to do better job
  with current products, market what we have and
  create new crops, markets and products for the
  future.

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Motto
Science
Education
Partnerships
Marketing
WSU Extension Skagit County
Research
Technology
Family
Innovations
WSU Extension Helping todays agriculture for
tomorrows future.
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Bibliography

• Education Urged to Integrate Hispanics, Skagit
  Valley Herald. Associated Press. March 1st, 2006.
  Schmidt, R. E.
• Seeds, Skagit Valleys Growth Industry, Skagit
  Valley Herald. November 28th 2005. Pierzga, K.
• Soil Survey of Skagit County Area, Washington.
  September 1889. Klungland, M., McArthur, M.
• Skagit Valley Agriculture 2004 Bridging the 20th
  and 21st Centuries. Youngquist J.,Sakuma S.,
  Royston R., Bondaudi K.,Tabaer F. et al.
• http//www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Hist
  ory/Gibbon.htm
• http//skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/11/24/
  news/news01.txt
• http//skagit.wsu.edu
• Historical Material used in this presentation
  courtesy of the Skagit County Historical Museum
  Library Collections.

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Questions?