“The people that live here really care about our farming community and are continuing to support them, and it’s just a beautiful and delicious thing to experience.” – Maressa Valliant, Marketing Coordinator at Sustainable Connections. It’s a growing trend – people love to connect with local farms and the people ...
Mariposa Farm: Everson, WA. Photo by FotoMataio In July 2020, Sustainable Connections and Eat Local First announced a new resource to bring farmers and consumers together. The Eat Local First Washington Directory allows food lovers across the state to keyword search for specific products, markets, community supported agriculture (CSA) locations, restaurants and breweries, and even ...
Bizzare weather twists are causing many challenges for berry growers in Whatcom County this year. Besides a high amount of the crop being lost to rot, the strawberry season was cut short because the weather turned pickers away from working. Now as raspberry season unfolds, Randy Kraght of Barbie’s ...
Photo Credit: Lynden Tribune This year has been a strange year for a number of reasons with many challenges due to Covid-19 and economic changes. Whatcom County red raspberry growers faced yet another curveball with heavy rainfall as their harvest got underway. As June came and went, strawberry farmers ...
Jewel Plagerman was crowned as the 2020 Whatcom County Dairy Ambassador in a virtual coronation in April. Each year a new Dairy Ambassador is chosen to represent the local dairy community, focusing on education, promotion, and advocacy. Through a series of interviews and competitions, the Whatcom County Dairy ...
It’s a great time to be in Whatcom County as all the produce begins to ripen. In this midst of a strange season, agriculture changes in some ways, but not all. Mike Boxx, owner of Boxx Berry Farm in Ferndale, shares an enthusiastic announcement on the farm show that ...
While Whatcom County residents celebrate their advance to Phase 2 of the Safe Start COVID response, our farmers have been scrambling to source personal protective equipment and adapt their procedures following yet another change to safety rules from the governor’s office. Effective June 5, Phase 2 allows businesses which had ...
Henry Bierlink, Washington State Red Raspberry Commission Director joins Dillion Honcoop on the Farming Show to share the feats of the raspberry industry. For quite some time, the raspberry market has been struggling with trade issues. Despite the struggles in agriculture with Covid-19, the red raspberry crop this year looks ...
Whatcom County is the largest producer of red raspberries in the world, producing over 60% of the U.S. crop. Most local raspberry growers freeze or process their berries. This allows them to ensure that the raspberries are picked at the peak of ripeness, for maximum flavor and juiciness. However, there ...
Is hemp farming part of the future of farming in Whatcom County? Mike Douma, former dairy farmer, sold his cows and is trying out hemp farming. “Our family has been dairying for over 50 years,” Douma said. “In Whatcom County it’s tough to dairy and make money.” The Douma family ...
