PASCI project

Dungeness Organic Produce

november 28, 2003, Sequim WA
by Johanne Pelletier
pictures available soon

Agriculture was at the heart of the conflict that led to a failure of the WTO (World Trade Organization) conferences in Cancun this fall (10-14 of September 2003). In the United States as well, some farmers disagree with the subsidies that are accorded to large agro-businesses in their country. In fact, Nash and his team from Dungeness Farms promote a completely different type of agriculture: local, organic, sustainable, and more human. In a little farm near Sequim on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, we met with people who do much more than grow the best carrots in the world. Here cultivation is local, and exists in continuous resistance to residential development and artificially lowered prices.

The local economy, which was for the most part agricultural, began to change 40 to 50 years ago and farmers began to see a decrease in revenue. As a result, young people coming out of high school were not encouraged to continue on with the family tradition largely because their parents no longer had the ability to make a decent living in agriculture. These changes, felt all over the country, were caused by the Green Revolution that encouraged agriculture on a larger-scale.

More recently, because of a climate that is dryer and sunnier than the rest of western Washington, the region became a very popular retirement destination. Consequently, residential development began to encroach upon the area’s rich farmland bringing with it higher real estate prices.

Nash Huber, a farmer of considerable originality, is devoted to organic farming and has been developing production in the delta over the last 25 years. When the local economy ceased to support the price of prime organic food, or even to support a local gardener, Nash made the decision to expand his operation to the market level. He began to sell in higher quantities in Seattle in order to survive as a farmer. By augmenting production levels, he felt that he would be able to achieve higher goals: preserving farmland under cultivation, involving more people in the project, creating employment and passing on knowledge of the earth.

PCC Farmland Fund – Citizens saving farmland

As Nash’s farm grew to attain a higher market level, his main seller, the carrot, was all the rage at the Puget Consumer’s Co-op Natural Markets (PCC), a Seattle area cooperative. Unable to respond to the demand, he approached the co-op and encouraged them to involve their members in farmland protection and to support their local suppliers. Because agriculture as they practice it isn’t lucrative enough for farmers to buy more land, a way needed to be found to help them increase their production and meet the demand.

It was a significant initiative for PCC to start off the Farmland Fund. With aims towards conservation, the Farmland Fund has become a non-profit organization that buys land and places it under a conservation easement in order to save it from development forever. The organization then leases the land to farmers who wish to cultivate it. This allows local farmers to expand their operations while protecting fertile farmland from the urban sprawl.

A local project: Community Supported Agriculture

A few years ago, Dungeness Farms began a community supported agriculture program for residents in and around Sequim. This initiative furnishes members with quality produce while involving them in the protection of farmland. Individuals wishing to partake in a diversity of veggies all year round are required to pay the yearly amount in advance which obliges them to respect their commitment while helping the farm survive. More than eighty families are now members and their commitment is helping save land in the valley. Every week, the farm gives out a newsletter that talks about the farm, gives seasonal recipe ideas, and offers health tips. The head farmer and his team also offer farm visits and organize a local country fair once a year. These activities allow people to make the connections between what they eat and their environment and help them reconnect with the earth. Through their weekly box of produce they also follow the rhythm of the seasons. The face-to-face interaction that the community project involves creates a more human relationship between the farm workers and the people of the community.

Organic culture, from the bottom to the top of the food chain

Organic farming can be seen as being divided into different levels of operation, from the small farm where everything is done by hand to highly mechanized agricultural operations. Dungeness Organic Farms sits somewhere between the two. The farm employs up to twenty workers and from 6 to 8 in the off-season near the month of March. Nash and his team use tractors and other machinery mostly in order to avoid spending the majority of their time in the fields with a hoe. In fact, what remains a problem to be dealt with are the ever-present insects and plant sicknesses. The toolbox that they have available to regulate the problem has a very limited capacity as they are confined to natural methods with the lowest possible toxicity.

According to Scott, who carries some responsibility on the farm, organic production on a large scale has important and non-negligible impacts. From an ecological point of view, the monocrops with their lack of diversity have negative effects on the soil and its biodiversity, which doesn’t necessarily support a sustainable agricultural system. From an economic point of view, large-scale operations make prices fall, for one because the organic agro-industry is eligible for agricultural subsidies. Smaller operations don’t have the time or the money to fill the numerous requirements associated with subsidy applications. These subsidies are therefore a keystone in the disappearance of small-scale farms everywhere.

Everything starts with a single seed…

For a few years now Dungeness Farms has been producing their own seed in reaction to their suppliers thinning resources and the disappearance of certain varieties from the market. Nash and his team see this as an alarming characteristic of modern agriculture. According to what they say, many disappearing types of seed are heritage varieties that are a result of centuries of selection, and should be preserved for future generations.
In the end, Nash and his whole team dedicate themselves with passion to the preservation of agricultural land under cultivation and to the revival of the rural community. They offer quality organic veggies that are heritage varieties, kept alive for our children. With their overflowing energy and a thousand future projects, we can be sure that the seeds they plant will flourish.

Dungeness Organic Produce
1865 E. Anderson Rd.
Sequim, WA 98382

PCC Farmland Fund
4201 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
Ph: (206)-547-1222
e-mail: farmlandfund@pccsea.com
website : www.pccnaturelmarkets.com/info/farmland.html

Translated by Francis Murchison


	Home --> English --> Articles	Dungeness Organic Produce
Dungeness Organic Produce november 28, 2003, Sequim WA by Johanne Pelletier pictures available soon Agriculture was at the heart of the conflict that led to a failure of the WTO (World Trade Organization) conferences in Cancun this fall (10-14 of September 2003). In the United States as well, some farmers disagree with the subsidies that are accorded to large agro-businesses in their country. In fact, Nash and his team from Dungeness Farms promote a completely different type of agriculture: local, organic, sustainable, and more human. In a little farm near Sequim on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, we met with people who do much more than grow the best carrots in the world. Here cultivation is local, and exists in continuous resistance to residential development and artificially lowered prices. The local economy, which was for the most part agricultural, began to change 40 to 50 years ago and farmers began to see a decrease in revenue. As a result, young people coming out of high school were not encouraged to continue on with the family tradition largely because their parents no longer had the ability to make a decent living in agriculture. These changes, felt all over the country, were caused by the Green Revolution that encouraged agriculture on a larger-scale. More recently, because of a climate that is dryer and sunnier than the rest of western Washington, the region became a very popular retirement destination. Consequently, residential development began to encroach upon the area’s rich farmland bringing with it higher real estate prices. Nash Huber, a farmer of considerable originality, is devoted to organic farming and has been developing production in the delta over the last 25 years. When the local economy ceased to support the price of prime organic food, or even to support a local gardener, Nash made the decision to expand his operation to the market level. He began to sell in higher quantities in Seattle in order to survive as a farmer. By augmenting production levels, he felt that he would be able to achieve higher goals: preserving farmland under cultivation, involving more people in the project, creating employment and passing on knowledge of the earth. PCC Farmland Fund – Citizens saving farmland As Nash’s farm grew to attain a higher market level, his main seller, the carrot, was all the rage at the Puget Consumer’s Co-op Natural Markets (PCC), a Seattle area cooperative. Unable to respond to the demand, he approached the co-op and encouraged them to involve their members in farmland protection and to support their local suppliers. Because agriculture as they practice it isn’t lucrative enough for farmers to buy more land, a way needed to be found to help them increase their production and meet the demand. It was a significant initiative for PCC to start off the Farmland Fund. With aims towards conservation, the Farmland Fund has become a non-profit organization that buys land and places it under a conservation easement in order to save it from development forever. The organization then leases the land to farmers who wish to cultivate it. This allows local farmers to expand their operations while protecting fertile farmland from the urban sprawl. A local project: Community Supported Agriculture A few years ago, Dungeness Farms began a community supported agriculture program for residents in and around Sequim. This initiative furnishes members with quality produce while involving them in the protection of farmland. Individuals wishing to partake in a diversity of veggies all year round are required to pay the yearly amount in advance which obliges them to respect their commitment while helping the farm survive. More than eighty families are now members and their commitment is helping save land in the valley. Every week, the farm gives out a newsletter that talks about the farm, gives seasonal recipe ideas, and offers health tips. The head farmer and his team also offer farm visits and organize a local country fair once a year. These activities allow people to make the connections between what they eat and their environment and help them reconnect with the earth. Through their weekly box of produce they also follow the rhythm of the seasons. The face-to-face interaction that the community project involves creates a more human relationship between the farm workers and the people of the community. Organic culture, from the bottom to the top of the food chain Organic farming can be seen as being divided into different levels of operation, from the small farm where everything is done by hand to highly mechanized agricultural operations. Dungeness Organic Farms sits somewhere between the two. The farm employs up to twenty workers and from 6 to 8 in the off-season near the month of March. Nash and his team use tractors and other machinery mostly in order to avoid spending the majority of their time in the fields with a hoe. In fact, what remains a problem to be dealt with are the ever-present insects and plant sicknesses. The toolbox that they have available to regulate the problem has a very limited capacity as they are confined to natural methods with the lowest possible toxicity. According to Scott, who carries some responsibility on the farm, organic production on a large scale has important and non-negligible impacts. From an ecological point of view, the monocrops with their lack of diversity have negative effects on the soil and its biodiversity, which doesn’t necessarily support a sustainable agricultural system. From an economic point of view, large-scale operations make prices fall, for one because the organic agro-industry is eligible for agricultural subsidies. Smaller operations don’t have the time or the money to fill the numerous requirements associated with subsidy applications. These subsidies are therefore a keystone in the disappearance of small-scale farms everywhere. Everything starts with a single seed… For a few years now Dungeness Farms has been producing their own seed in reaction to their suppliers thinning resources and the disappearance of certain varieties from the market. Nash and his team see this as an alarming characteristic of modern agriculture. According to what they say, many disappearing types of seed are heritage varieties that are a result of centuries of selection, and should be preserved for future generations. In the end, Nash and his whole team dedicate themselves with passion to the preservation of agricultural land under cultivation and to the revival of the rural community. They offer quality organic veggies that are heritage varieties, kept alive for our children. With their overflowing energy and a thousand future projects, we can be sure that the seeds they plant will flourish. Dungeness Organic Produce 1865 E. Anderson Rd. Sequim, WA 98382 PCC Farmland Fund 4201 Roosevelt Way NE Seattle, WA 98105 Ph: (206)-547-1222 e-mail: farmlandfund@pccsea.com website : www.pccnaturelmarkets.com/info/farmland.html Translated by Francis Murchison