~ Cooperative Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. ~

March 2003 Volume 1, No. 2

Food, Farm, & Natural Resource Systems

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Organic Farming Continuesto Expand in Washington

David GranatsteinSustainable Agriculture Specialist

WSU CSANR

When I worked on an organicfarm in Okanogan County duringthe 1970s, organic farming repre-

sented a very small sliver of American ag-riculture. It was not clearly defined be-yond the preference for natural tech-niques and materials and the avoidanceof synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Soiland its organic matter were, and con-tinue to be, central concerns. Informa-tion on organic production was limitedand often anecdotal. All of this relegatedorganic farmers to the fringe of Wash-ington agriculture.

Mainstreaming Organics

Much has changed in the ensuing de-cades. Organic farming and processingmethods have been codified by laws andvarious certification organizations. TheWashington State 1985 Organic FoodProducts Act established the OrganicFood Program within the WashingtonState Department of Agriculture (WSDA).This program certifies organic productswithin Washington State. National de-mand for organic foods grew steadilyduring the 1980s and accelerated to 20-30% annual increases during the 1990s.This market growth accompanied an in-crease in organic farm acreage nation-ally.

Washington State experienced more thana six-fold increase in organic acreage pro-duction in less than a decade (Figure 1).Organic farming proved to be a biologi-cally viable approach to farming and inmany cases a more profitable one forgrowers.

With expanded production, organic ag-riculture moved into the mainstream.Many farms and food businesses ven-tured into organic to experiment and di-

In This IssueARTICLES

Organic Farming Continues to Expand in Washington.....................1Bat houses for IPM - Benefits for Bats and Organic Farmers..............4Institutional Sales for Small Farms: A New Marketing Opportunity....6Nontimber Forest Products & Biodiversity Conservation in the US.....7

RESEARCH & EXTENSION HIGHLIGHTSDirect Seeding.............................................................................8

AROUND THE REGIONFood for Thought Café..................................................................9

REVIEWS The Hoophouse Handbook: Growing Produce and Flowers

in Hoophouses..................................................................9Growing For Market....................................................................10

EVENTSThe Sustainability Forum..............................................................10National Organic Agriculture Standards - Satellite Broadcast...........10Coordinated Resource ................................................................10Management (CRM)...................................................................10Sustainable Natural Resource-Based Enterprises Symposium...........10Food Safety Farm to Table ..........................................................10Sustainable Land Application Conference.....................................10National Source Water Protection Conference...............................11

RESOURCES California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

Program (SAREP)............................................................11Plant Disease Titles Translated......................................................11Exploring Agriculture Sustainability................................................11Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC)..........................11Labor Management.....................................................................11Ag Help Wanted: Guidelines for Managing Agricultural Labor........11Agricultural Internet Marketing Guide...........................................11The Overstory – Agroforestry in Action..........................................11NW Direct Seed Conference........................................................11Watershed Information ...............................................................12Network: Watershed Atlas............................................................12Amber Waves.............................................................................12Sustainably Grown Produce Higher in Anti-Oxidants?....................12One Stop Site to Comment on Federal Regulations........................12

ANNOUNCEMENTSGraduate Assistantship - Cornell University...................................12New Farmers Market in Edmonds, WA........................................12

FUNDINGCooperative State Research, Education, & Extension Service..........12

versify their markets. Organic farmsare no longer primarily small acreage,labor-intensive operations run bypeople with a particular philosophi-cal view of agriculture. Large-scale,highly mechanized organic farms de-veloped in Washington and have in-creased the demand for products, sup-port, and services (e.g., research, ex-tension, promotion, marketing).

Washington’s Organic Sector

Growers and others in the organic sec-tor have indicated the need for pub-licly available statistics about organicfarming. Since Washington State Ag-ricultural Statistics Service currentlydoes not break out organic farmingas a separate category, I recently com-piled some statistics that illustrate thestatus of organic farming today. Fig-ure 2 portrays the reported acreage oforganic farms by county as of July2001, while Figure 3 shows the num-

Sustaining the Pacific NorthwestFood, Farm, & Natural Resource Systems

This quarterly newsletter provides a discus-sion forum for people working towardscommunity-based sustainable food, farmand natural resource systems using inter-disciplinary oriented research and practi-tioner knowledge.

This is a joint newsletter of the WSU Centerfor Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Re-sources, the WSU Food & Farm ConnectionsTeam, the WSU Small Farms Program andthe Water Quality Management Team.

Editorial Staff:

Douglas M. StienbargerChair / WSU ANR Extension faculty11104 NE 149th St., C-100Brush Prairie, WA 98606-9565stiendm@wsu.edu

Cindy Murray-ArmstongAssistant to Director, WSU CSANR7612 E Pioneer WayPuyallup, WA 98371-4998(253) 445-4626murrayc@wsu.edu

Carol Miles, Ph.D.Agricultural Systems, WSUVancouver Research & Extension Unit1919 NE 78thVancouver, WA 98665-9752(360) 576-6030milesc@wsu.edu

Marcy Ostrom, Ph.D.WSU Small Farms Program7612 E Pioneer WayPuyallup, WA 98371-4998(253) 445-4514mrostrom@wsu.edu

Bob SimmonsChair / WSU Water Resources Faculty11840 Hwy 101 N.Shelton, WA 98584-9709(360) 427-9670 x396simmons@wsu.edu

Sustaining the Pacific Northwest1 (2) Page 2

Figure 1Organic Acreage - Washington

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

(est.

)

Figure 2 - Organic Farms & Acres (2001)Farms (in transition) - Acres (in transition)

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ber of farms with certi-fied land or in transi-tion status. These num-bers only reflect thosefarms certified by theWSDA Organic FoodProgram. While thisprogram conductsnearly all the certifica-tion within the state, itdoes not include exemptgrowers (sales <$5000/year) or growers that donot rely on certification

for their local, direct marketing.

Most organic production (acreage) inthe state occurs in the irrigated areasof central Washington. Grant Countyboasts the largest amount of certifiedacreage, while Yakima County has thelargest number of certified organicgrowers. Organic farming thrives inwestern Washington as well, growingfrom a 1988 total of 33 certified or-ganic farms to 142 today. While acre-ages are smaller in western Washing-ton, an expanding number of farm-ers are doing quite well there, manyutilizing direct marketing outlets.These farmers often realize a highervalue sales per acre than their coun-terparts in eastern Washington.

Which Crops Are Going Organic?

The proportion of certified organicacreage in the state by crop type is il-lustrated in Figure 3, with vegetables,

tree fruit,herbs, andforages asthe leadingsegments.

1 (2) Page 3 Sustaining the Pacific Northwest

to higher net returns. Withongoing research, cost sav-ings are anticipated in thenear future, especially for fruitthinning. As conventionalapple production shifts tomore IPM and biological con-trol, the difference betweenorganic and conventionalmay decrease.

Growers have several motiva-tions to try organic farming.

With low prices for most farm com-modities, certified organic productsmay offer increased returns. Organicfarming can be viewed as a risk man-agement strategy, diversifying markets,reducing the impact of the loss of pes-ticides due to regulatory changes, andreducing liability for worker exposureor contamination. In addition, recentchanges in Federal farm policy mayprovide funds to growers using envi-ronmental conservation practices, suchas organic farming. While most re-search results are inconclusive aboutthe influence of organic farming onthe quality of food products, growersand consumers are increasingly report-ing positive experiences with organicfoods.

As more growers try organic produc-tion, many of them find that certainpractices adopted to meet the organicrules apply across the whole farm. Ifrequently hear about this “trickle-down” effect from growers and fieldconsultants. Examples include the useof compost and increased reliance onnatural biological control. Thus, asagricultural research addresses moreorganic issues, all growers stand to ben-efit.

CSANR’s Role

Public agricultural institutions are re-sponding to the increase in organicfarming. WSU CSANR surveyed WSUfaculty about their involvement in re-search and education projects thatwere directly useful to organic grow-ers. Over 50 faculty responded thattheir programs directly benefit organicgrowers, especially in pest manage-ment and soil management. The resultsof this study can be viewed at http://c s a n r . w s u . e d u / r e s o u r c e s /OrganicReport.pdf.

The original mandate of CSANR wasto support research and education onalternative practices, many of whichform the foundation of organic farm-ing. CSANR submitted funding re-quests to enhance WSU’s capacity tosupport the needs of growers inter-ested in organic and otherbiointensive approaches. Fundingwould set up organic experimentalland for major crops at WSU researchlocations, support the developmentof organic seed production in the re-gion, explore organic weed controlmethods for annual crops, and exam-ine the effect of production practiceson food quality.

Funding would also support research,extension, and development of newundergraduate programs in organicand biointensive farming.

Looking Ahead

Researchers estimate that organicfoods might eventually expand to 10-15% of total food sales. Price premi-ums will influence the expansion, aswill the continued shift of conven-tional farming to more sustainableapproaches. It is not inconceivablethat for certain crops organic produc-tion could become the norm if pro-duction costs are equal to or less thanother systems. Increased investmentin research on organic farming wouldmake this more likely. Central Wash-ington is ideally positioned for or-ganic farming of many commoditieswith its combination of a semi-aridclimate and irrigation water. Thus,organic farming, or whatever itevolves into, will likely influence ag-riculture in our state for years to comeand may offer Washington agricul-ture a measure of increasedsustainability, both environmentallyand economically.

Originally printed in Agrichemical and En-vironmental News, July 2002, No. 195.

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These statistics illustrate two very dif-ferent organic farming sectors. Largescale farming in eastern Washingtonaccounts for most of the organic acre-age (82% of certified acres, 98% of tran-sition acres) and a majority (66%) oforganic growers. Average organic acre-age per farm is about 92 acres in east-ern Washington compared to 40 acresin western Washington. However, in-cluding exempt growers and organicgrowers who chose not to be certifiedwould certainly increase numbers forwestern Washington. It will be impor-tant to understand the differing re-search and education needs of thesetwo groups of organic growers.

For some crops, organic production re-mains low, such as organic grain pro-duction in the dryland regions of east-ern Washington where participationis minimal. In other crops, organicacreage comprises a significant por-tion of total production. For example,in 2001, 6500 acres of certified organicapples in Washington represent about4% of the state’s total apple acreage.Organic pears on 1300 acres repre-sented about 5% of total pear acreage.Washington’s organic apple acreagerepresents about 38% of the organicapple acreage in the United States and21% of worldwide acreage. However,the expansion of organic apple pro-duction here and abroad increasescompetition and changes market dy-namics. Some varieties have experi-enced price declines as growth in sup-ply exceeded the growth in demand.

Grower Perspectives

Based on recent studies from Washing-ton State University, organic apple or-chards can produce the same yield andquality as a conventional orchards,but at a 10-15% higher cost. Premiumprices for organic apples generally lead

Figure 3Organic Acreage by Crop Type

Other, 6%

Nuts, 0%

Pasture, 9%

Livestock, 0%

Pears, 3%

Stone Fruit, 2%

Vegetables, 24%

Herbs, 11%

Grapes, 3%

Grains/Dry Beans, 11%

Hay, 14%

Berries, 1% Apples, 16%

Sustaining the Pacific Northwest1 (2) Page 4

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Bat houses for IPM - Benefits forBats and Organic Farmers

Mark and Selena KiserBat Conservation International

Reprinted from Organic Farming ResearchFoundation, Winter 2003, Number 12.

Bats are helpful to farmers becausethey consume large quantities of in-sect pests, but many bat species aredeclining due to loss of roost sites.Farmers can help bats by providingnew roosts in the form of bat houseswhile at the same time benefiting frombats’ pest reduction services. Ten or-ganic farms in central California wereselected in 2000 as installation sites forbat houses, to initiate the first phaseof an integrated pest managementproject: to test bat housing preferencesand determine optimal design andmounting strategies for this region.

Objectives

The first objective of this study (PhaseI) was to establish bat houses at 10organic farms in California. Larger, ex-perimental bat house designs were in-stalled at five of these sites for testingpurposes. The second objective (PhaseII) will be to determine the degree ofimpact that bat house-roosting batshave in reducing crop pests.

Materials and Methods

Four wooden bat houses were installedat each site, and five of the sites alsoreceived a plastic insulated bat house.The wooden houses had four cham-bers and were built by Swetman En-terprises of Madison, Virginia (540-948-4146). External dimensions were32" H x 18" W x 5" D. Wooden houseswere patterned after the nursery housefrom The Bat House Builder’s Handbookpublished by BCI. The experimentalplastic insulated models were eight-chamber “Condo” houses with a com-mercial-grade stucco coating inside andout, built by Maberry Centre BatHomes of Daingerfield, Texas. Exter-nal dimensions were 23" H x 19" W x11 ½” D.

We tested pole-mounted houses versusbuilding-mounted houses, as well asplastic versus wooden houses, andlight- colored versus medium-coloredhouses. Bats use houses that best meettheir temperature needs, and will move

between different ones as ambienttemperatures change (for example, onhot days, bats may choose light-col-ored houses, and on cool days, me-dium-colored houses).

Two wooden houses at each farm werepainted a light color (off-white) andtwo were painted a medium color (me-dium brown) prior to installation.Plastic insulated bat houses were pre-painted either medium green or lightgray. Two wooden houses per polewere installed side by side (one lighter,one darker) and the other two woodenhouses side by side (one lighter, onedarker) on a building. (Data from theNorth American Bat House ResearchProject shows that pairs or groups ofhouses are more successful than singlehouses.) Plastic insulated houses wereattached adjacent to wooden houseson the same building at five sites. Over-all, 25 houses were mounted on build-ings and 20 houses were mounted onp o l e s .Identifi-c a t i o nnumberswere af-fixed toall housesto enabletrackingo v e rtime.

The owner of Anderson Almonds takesnotes on his newly installed bat housesnear Hilmar, CA.

Three bat houses were installed on abarn at Sierra Orchards, an organicwalnut orchard near Winters, CA. Thehouse on the left is a plastic insulatedmodel, while the other two arewooden nursery models. All three of

the houseswere occu-p i e dw i t h i nt h r e emonths ofi n s t a l l a -tion. They

face east and receive approximately sixhours of direct daily sun during sum-mer.

Mounting sites were selected to avoidafternoon sun exposure to preventoverheating. For this reason, most

houses faced either north or east andwere located north or east of large de-ciduous trees to block afternoon sunfrom the west in summer. Finishedinstallation heights for housesmounted on buildings ranged from 13to 20 feet. For pole-mounted houses,21-foot-long, 2-inch inside diametersteel poles were used.

Following installation, bat houseswere monitored for occupancy. Num-bers of bats and species (if known) foreach occupied house were forwardedto BCI. Other bat house data (habi-tat, farm type, distance to nearest wa-ter, etc.) were recorded at the time ofinstallation and entered for inclusionwith BCI’s 2001 North American bathouse survey.

Project Results

Bat houses at five of the 10 farms (50%)were used by bats within one to fivemonths of installation. A total of 11of 45 houses were occupied (24%),though several others may also havebeen used. Bat houses mounted onbarns (9 of 25, 36%) were used moreoften than those on poles (2 of 20,10%), though observations were lim-ited to less than one full season. Twoof the five plastic houses (40%) hadconfirmed use, indicating the designis acceptable to bats.

Based upon obser-vations, at leasttwo species werepresent. Most wereMexican free-tailed bats (Tbrasiliensis), whilesome werethought to be bigbrown bats (E.fuscus). Yumamyotis (Myotisyumanensis) and/orlittle brown bats (M. lucifugus) andpallid bats (Antrozous pallidus) wereobserved in other previously-installed bat houses in the area in June2001, and could potentially use bathouses installed for this study.Multiple species often inhabit thesame bat house, and as each specieshas different dietary preferences,attracting more than one species to afarm can increase the number of pest

Sustaining the Pacific Northwest1 (2) Page 5

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types consumed. For example, Mexicanfree-tailed bats feed primarily onmoths, while big brown bats mainlyeat beetles.

Discussion

We are encouraged that many of thebat houses were inhabited this earlyin the project, especially consideringthat they were installed in June andAugust. (The logistics of trans porting45 bat houses, poles, tools, hardwareand paint to 10 farms over a sevencounty area was quite challenging.)

Rachael Long, farm advisor with theUniversity of California (Yolo County)

Cooperative Extension,installs two wooden bathouses on a pole barn atFerrari Farms, near Lin-den, CA.

Together with the ownersof Living Farm Systems,Selena Kiser (left), projectassistant for BCI’s NorthAmerican Bat House Re-search Project, installswooden bat houses sideby side on a pole on anorganic farm nearLivingston.

Ideally, bat houseswould be installed bylate winter. Occu-pancy may have beenhigher in 2001 ifhouses had been in-stalled before March,before maternitycolonies are formed.We are also pleasedthat two of the plas-tic houses were used.Monitoring will con-tinue through 2003 todetermine bat prefer-ences for model, colorand placement. It of-ten takes several years

for bats to be attracted and for colo-nies to become established.

Although results are preliminary, bathouses mounted on buildings per-formed better than those on poles. Inthe hot, dry summer climate ofCalifornia’s Central Valley, where dailytemperature fluctuations are great,buildings act as heat sinks and helpto buffer daily temperature changes.Therefore, temperatures inside bathouses mounted on buildings fluctu-ate less than those mounted on poles,which may explain why bat houses onbarns had a higher occupancy rate.Elsewhere, pole-mounted houses do al-most as well as those on buildings.

In Phase II of this study, sites wherebats are attracted will be slated for croppest comparison research by graduatestudents or other researchers. Thestudy will identify the varieties andnumbers of pests being eaten by bats,followed by comparison of pest num-bers and/or damage at varying dis-tances from bat houses. The amountof bat foraging activity over agricul-tural fields and bat-insect interactionswill also be documented. Presence offoraging bats and changes in bat den-sity will be documented using ultra-sonic bat detectors and night visionverification, and pest abundance anddamage will be compared to bat den-sities and distances from bat houses.Additional evidence will come fromcomparison of pest hatch times withthe bats’ activity patterns.

Benefits of Bats

More than half of the 45 species of bats living in the United States andCanada are either endangered or candidates for such status, and many ofthose still considered abundant are also in alarming decline. As was formerlythe case with purple martins and bluebirds, roost loss is an important factorin decline. Millions of bats have been forced from caves and old growthforests by human activities. Many that have relocated to abandoned mineshave been buried during mine safety closures. Others have occupied build-ings from Which they are increasingly being excluded. Bats are not wellequipped to handle these threats because they are the world’s slowest repro-ducing mammals for their size, and they form the largest and most vulner-able aggregations of any vertebrate.

Loss of bat habitat poses a particular problem to agriculture because bats areprimary predators of vast numbers of pests that cost American farmers andforesters billions of dollars annually. For example, Brazilian (Mexican) free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiiiensis mexican from central Texas alone consumeapproximately two million pounds of insects nightly, a large proportion ofwhich are corn earworm moths (a.k.a. cotton boliworm), the most damag-ing agricultural pest in America. In Indiana, a colony of just 150 big brownbats (Eptesicus fuscus) consumes sufficient cucumber beetles each summer toprevent egg laying that would produce 33 million of their rootworm larva,another costly pest. Without adequate habitat, however, bats are unable tofulfill their vital roles in keeping insect populations in check

Recent studies show that the most common bat house occupants, big brown,little brown, and free-tailed bats, can be extremely beneficial to agriculture.An organic farmer in Oregon who attracted 600 little brown bats to bathouses reported elimination of a previously serious corn earworm problem.Not only do they consume pests including corn ear worm, armyworm, andtobacco budworm moths, but their mere presence can have an effect oninsects. It has been documented that moths listen for bat ectiolocation soundsand avoid areas within 150 feet of where they hear even one bat.

The Bat House Project has already developed many successful bat house de-signs, but these models may not necessarily meet the needs of farmers. Mosthouse only small numbers of bats and large designs are often too costly formost farmers to build or purchase for large colonies. In this study, BCI testeda newly-developed larger design, both inexpensive and lightweight, along-side conventional designs. These new houses are based on the latest researchand are built by Maberry Centre Bat Homes. They can accommodate 500 to800 bats (depending on species) In a space of approximately four cubic feet.— Mark & Selena Kiser

Sustaining the Pacific Northwest1 (2) Page 6

The North American Bat House Re-search Project is a program of Bat Con-servation International. BCI is a non-profit organization dedicated to con-serving and restoring bat populationsand habitats around the world. OFRFproject report: No. 99-44, awarded Fall2000. 13 pp., including bat housemounting diagrams.

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Institutional Sales for SmallFarms: A New Marketing

Opportunity

Kelli Sanger, CoordinatorWSDA Small Farm and Direct

Marketing Program

Family farms across the nation are be-ginning to sell their products directlyto institutions, including K-12schools, colleges and hospitals. Sellingto institutions presents an opportu-nity for small and medium size farmsto sell larger quantities to a few cus-tomers, while receiving higher pricesthan on the open market. Institu-tions are increasingly interested in pro-curing local, sustainably produced,and organic foods due to customer de-mands for high quality and freshness.

Institu-t i o n a lsales canprovidea stablem a r k e te v e nwhen in-clementweathera f f e c t sy o u rproducts a l e sthrougho t h e r

channels, such as Farmers Marketstands. Institutions purchase theirproducts in large quantities at whole-sale prices, typically 30 to 40 percentbelow retail prices. These institutionsmay require liability insurance fromall their food suppliers, includingfarms. They usually receive deliveriesat least once or twice a week and of-ten pay for products once a month,not upon receipt of goods.

Market Specifics for Institutions

K-12 Schools. A WSDA survey of Wash-ington K-12 schools shows that 77%of schools are interested in purchas-ing more local foods, especially fruitsand highly perishable foods that areeasy to serve (e.g., apples, pears mel-ons, and tomatoes), or foods they can-not access through traditional chan-nels, but which are popular with stu-dents (e.g., strawberries, raspberries,etc.). Schools often plan their menusa month in advance. They are underpressure to provide meals at low costand they set their school lunch pricesonce a year.

Colleges and Universities. Colleges andUniversity food services can be self-op-erated by the college or run by a cor-porate food services managementcompany. Food services serve mealsto students, staff, and faculty duringthe school year, and also provide ca-tering services year round for confer-ences and events held on campus.College populations are more awareof organic foods and the issuesaround them, so food service compa-nies that cater to this population maybe the most responsive sector for or-ganic and sustainable producers to ap-proach. These institutions usuallyhave flexible pricing systems for theirfoods, and so can often pay a higherwholesale price for quality foods.

Hospitals. Hospital food services servepatients, staff, and visitors at theircafeterias. Similar to university foodservices, they can be corporately man-aged or self-operated, and they servemeals from their kitchen year round.

What’s going on in Washington?

Washington institutions are startingto purchase foods from local produc-ers. In the Seattle area, the Univer-sity of Washington will conduct a pi-lot in their cafeterias, serving localfood from area farms in 2003. Addi-tionally, Bastyr University currentlypurchases organic foods from areafarms, and also serves foods from theirorganic farm. In Olympia, The Ever-green State College food service, BonAppétit Management Company, of-fers organic food in their main din-ing hall and showcases local farm pro-duce by hosting local farm dinners

monthly. These dinners afford farm-ers and food service personnel thechance to work together and formworking relationships. The OlympiaSchool District serves salad bars madewith 50% organic foods in two elemen-tary schools and plans to increase theamount of local food served.

In Eastern Washington, Spokane Tilthreceived a grant from the Kellogg Foun-dation to study and identify the bar-riers to and opportunities for servinglocally produced foods in SpokaneCounty colleges and universities. Out-comes from this project will be releasedin April 2003.

Strategies for Selling to Institutions

Collectively market locally produced foodsto institutions through an association orcooperative. Food service directors havelimited time available to order fromfood vendors. Approaching buyers asa group reduces time and coordina-tion required for food buyers and chefswhile supplying a diversity of freshfoods to institutions. It also reducestime and effort by individual produc-ers.

Schedule an appointment with the foodservice director or general manager of theinstitution to discuss purchasing your farmproducts. Food service directors,supervisors, or general managersusually order food for theirinstitutions. Food service directorsoften do not know where to look forlocal farm products. Bring informationabout your farm and your products(i.e., product and price lists, samplesif available). A brochure or flyer thatdescribes your farm and emphasizes thebenefits of buying from you can behelpful, while also providing yourcontact information for futurereference.

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Sustaining the Pacific Northwest1 (2) Page 7

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Be open with food service directors aboutthe safety of your food products. Foodservice directors at K-12 schools arevery concerned about microbial con-tamination of foods. They may beconcerned about manure applicationsto your fields because of possible e-colicontamination. A good way to assurefood service directors of your prod-ucts’ safety is to follow the FDA’s GoodAgricultural Practices Guidelines andhave a documented plan of your farm-ing practices.

Network with local non-profit organiza-tions to promote locally produced foods andcoordinate farm-to-school, farm-to-collegeand farm-to-hospital programs in yourarea. Local non-profit organizationscan work with institutions to show-case locally produced foods and helpyou network with interested food ser-vice directors in your area.

(Photos by Leslie Zenz)

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Forest Understory News

Nontimber Forest Products &Biodiversity Conservation in the

US - A Project Overview

Rebecca McLain & Kathryn LynchInstitute for Culture and EcologyBox 6688, Portland, OR 97220

Thousands of people across the U.S.spend time in the forests harvestingmedicinal plants, floral greens, wildfoods, and other nontimber forestproducts (NTFPs). Forest managers,practitioners and policy makers be-moan the lack of information on har-

vesting these species sustainably. Forexample, data about the density anddistribution of NTFPs and the ecologi-cal impacts of different harvesting lev-els are scarce. Likewise, the economic,political and cultural factors that in-fluence resource use patterns arepoorly understood. NTFP inventoryand monitoring efforts are few andfar between.

To support sustainable NTFP manage-ment while maintaining biodiversity,the National Commission on Science forSustainable Forestry (NCSSF) awardedthe Institute for Culture and Ecology(IFCAE) a $200,000 grant in June2002. The project objective is to ex-amine the links between forest man-agement practices, nontimber forestproducts, and biodiversity in the U.S.

The project consists of five compo-nents:

Interviews with NTFP harvestersin the Rocky Mountain West,the Southeast, the Northeast,the Upper Midwest, and the Pa-cific Coast to synthesize har-vester knowledge about forestmanagement and biodiversity.

Four regional workshops forland managers, policy makers,scientists, buyers, and harvest-ers to discuss participatory in-ventory and monitoring ap-proaches.

Expansion of a state and fed-eral NTFP Management Survey(http://www.ifcae.org/projects/usfs-survey1/index.html) todocument public forest manag-ers’ views on how managementactivities affect localbiodiversity.

Expansion of IFCAE’s free, web-based NTFP Species Databaseused for identifying commer-cially harvested NTFPs in a re-gion.

Expansion of IFCAE’s web-based annotated NTFP Biblio-graphic Database that catalogsreferences on NTFP policy, man-agement, culture and ecology.

IFCAE anthropologists, Kathryn Lynchand Eric T. Jones, began fieldwork forthe 18-month grant in August 2002.Between September and November2002, they traveled through the Rockiesand the Southwest, interviewing har-vesters and forest managers. With thecold weather coming on, they main-tained a southerly route across the U.S.,talking and visiting with harvestersand forest managers in the southeast-ern States during December, January,and February. With spring in the air,the team is now heading north to con-duct interviews in the Appalachians,the Adirondacks, and the Great Lakestates. The IFCAE field team will fin-ish up the study with interviews inWashington, Oregon, and Californiaduring June, July and August.

Field data analysis will be finished inthe fall. To find out more about theproject as it unfolds, take a look at theIFCAE website , where IFCAE posts in-terim reports and information fromthe regional workshops. The finalproject report will post to the IFCAEwebsite in late December 2003.

Highlights from the West andSoutheast Field Work

Managing NTFPs is challenging in partbecause the category “non-timber for-est product” covers so many differentspecies and types of products. Even ifwe exclude such products as fish andgame, NTFPs still include hundreds ofbotanical species and products. In theWest, some of the major products aremedicinal plants and herbs, nativeseeds, native plants for transplanting,post and poles, firewood, and wildfruits and mushrooms. In the South-east, key products include a wide vari-ety of medicinal plants, longleaf pineneedles for landscaping, wild fruitsand mushrooms, turpentine, andgrasses, vines, and barks used for mak-ing baskets, wreaths, and other crafts.

The people who harvest NTFPs also fallinto many, often overlapping, catego-ries. Some of the key categories en-countered over the past six months in-clude:

Subsistence harvesters, who col-lect NTFPs primarily for personal orhousehold use;

Sustaining the Pacific Northwest1 (2) Page 8

Commercial harvesters, who col-lect primarily for trade or for cash;

Healers, who gather products spe-cifically for healing;

Recreational harvesters, who col-lect for pleasure, recreation, exer-cise, or as a hobby;

Spiritual harvesters, who gatherNTFPs for spiritual or sacred en-deavors;

Scientific harvesters, who harvestNTFPs or reserve NTFP gatheringareas for observation or study; and

Educational harvesters, who or-ganize educational workshops andclasses about NTFP characteristicsand gathering practices.

Harvesters we’ve encountered in boththe West and the South vary greatlyin terms of their economic circum-stances, experience and knowledgeabout NTFPs and forest ecology, andtheir values and ethics. Equally im-portant, we have found that NTFPharvesting is an activity and way oflife for people from a wide variety ofcultural traditions. In addition, it isa broad-based activity, with urban, sub-urban, and rural inhabitants alikemaking time in their lives to pick ber-ries, gather mushrooms, and collectmedicinal plants.

In addition to learning about theproducts and people who harvestNTFPs, we are also gathering informa-tion about how managers, harvesters,and other forest stakeholders are in-ventorying and monitoring the im-

pacts of forest management and har-vesting activities on biodiversity, in-cluding NTFP species. We will providedetails of some of these efforts in thenext newsletter issue.

HOW YOU CAN BECOME INVOLVED

The national scope of this project, aswell as the complexities of NTFP har-vesting and management, demand aresearch approach that is as inclusiveas possible. The more people who con-tribute to this research project, thegreater the likelihood that the resultswill be useful for a broad range ofstakeholders. Some of the ways thatyou can contribute include the follow-ing:

1) If you know of any participatory orcollaborative NTFP inventory andmonitoring efforts in the U.S., pleasecontact Rebecca McLain.

2) Participate in the West Coast NTFPworkshop on involving harvesters ininventory and monitoring of NTFPs.The workshop will take place at theWorld Forestry Center in Portland,Oregon on September 4th, 2003. Theworkshop is free, but we ask that youpre-register by contactingktlynch@ifcae.org for the registrationform.

3) If you know of others who wouldbe interested in contributing to theworkshop discussions, please encour-age them to attend.

IFCAE, a 501(c)3 non-profit based in Port-land, Oregon, conducts applied policy re-search on NTFPs in the U.S. Previous workcan be viewed at www.ifcae.org.

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Research & ExtensionHighlights

Direct Seeding

Andy Porter, Walla Walla, Wash-ington Union-Bulletin

(reprinted with permission)

DAYTON - As near-record rainfalldrenched Columbia County last week,county extension agent RolandSchirman saw something he didn’texpect. As Schirman traveled aroundthe county and checked for runoff indraws and gullies, he either found

clear-running water or, in some cases,no water at all. In past years, thosedraws and gullies would have beengushing chocolate-brown water, sig-naling the erosion of soil from fields.Elsewhere in the county, the mud-laden water would have washed outroads and clogged ditches. But thatdidn’t happen, and Schirman andothers credit a quiet revolution infarming which is now keeping tons ofColumbia County topsoil in place in-stead of running into the Tucannonand Touchet Rivers.

The change has been the replacementof traditional tillage-reliant farmingwith direct-seeding techniques. Inyears past, farmers tilled fields to con-trol weeds and prepare the seedbed.But that method created soil condi-tions which prevented water from pen-etrating. The result was that when aheavy rainfall hit, the water wouldwash off, carrying the topsoil with it,like pouring a cup of water on a heapof flour. The water runs off, carryingthe top layer of flour with it insteadof soaking in. But direct-seed farm-ing maintains what are known as“macropores” and existing root sys-tems. This allows water to infiltratethe soil. The result is moisture soaksin instead of running off.

A key factor that has allowed produc-ers to make the transition to directseeding has been the ability to tailorherbicide usage to manage weed andvolunteer crop growth. With propertiming the application of environ-mentally friendly products prior toseeding has allowed the crops to be-come establish and be highly competi-tive with later emerging weeds. After anumber of years of sustained use ofdirect seeding growers report that someof the weed that were a major prob-lem in an aggressive tillage system areof minor importance.

The switch, which has been a volun-tary effort by county farmers stretch-ing over the past ten years, has been amajor player in stopping erosion, saidSkip Mead, a farmer and member ofthe Columbia Conservation District.Investment by growers to transitionto direct seeding has been significantin that previously used equipment isincapable of properly placing seed

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Salal Scale

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when planting the crop. The new seed-ing equipment, along with the powerunit required to pull this equipment,can easily top the $250,000 level. Pro-ducers have also taken on added in-come risk in that often the sequenceof crops grown in field to make a di-rect seed system function properly(crop rotation) requires the plantingof crops with a much lower incomepotential.

About 80 percent of ColumbiaCounty’s 180,000 acres of cropland arenow being farmed by direct-seeding inone form or another, Schirman said.With the efforts of local conservationdistrict Columbia County is the firstarea of Washington to have this levelof implementation of direct-seedingby growers. Although they knew thetechnique helps control runoff anderosion, last week’s results astoundedeveryone, Mead said.

“It just blows us away,’’ Mead said ashe viewed pictures taken by Schirmanafter the Jan. 31 - Feb. 1 storm. Ditches,which in the past would have beenclogged with mud, were dry and run-off from other areas practically non-existent. Tom Bensel, ColumbiaCounty road superintendent, said if asimilar heavy rain had occurred aboutten years ago, road damage from run-off and mudslides would have beennearly catastrophic. “It would havetaken three to five days...just to get adirty goat path to everyone’s door,’’he said. Finishing the cleanup and re-pair would have taken “the majorityof the spring and summer mainte-nance season.’’ Bensel estimated thecost to the county would have been“just under half the total yearly bud-get for road maintenance, just to re-pair unanticipated damage.’’

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Around the Region

Food for Thought Café

As reported by the January edition ofthe Portland State University campusnewspaper, The Vanguard, the Food forThought Café recently opened in thebasement of Smith Memorial StudentUnion and offers a menu devoted to

local, organic agricultural products.The article quotes co-manager JesseEngum:

“We are interested in a number ofpriorities in setting up the menu,”Engum said. “Firstly, we feel that thebest food is that which comes fromwhat is seasonally, locally and or-ganically grown or raised. To thisend, we’ve designed the menuaround winter crops such as roots,squash, wintergreens and productsthat can be preserved with appro-priate technology such as beans andcorn. In the spring, we will changethe menu completely, responding toorganic produce that will becomeavailable then. Our menu willchange four or so times per year inthis fashion. We believe that localand seasonal food is a strong basisfor a healthful diet and a sociallyresponsible economy. We do makesome concessions to accommodateour local interests. For example, cof-fee isn’t grown locally on a com-mercial basis, but it’s a very largepart of our local diet and business.To offset the detriment of purchas-ing something like this, we strictlybuy coffee that is shade grown, cer-tified organic and traded at threetimes the economic standard for fairtrade certification. It is roasted lo-cally and in small batches byStumptown Coffee Roasters, anddelivered to us each week, the daythat it’s roasted. Aside from the poli-tics of food production, we believethat food must be made from fresh,quality ingredients. All of the foodwe prepare is made 100 percent fromscratch. We don’t use any pre-madesauces, dressings or spice mixtures.We soak beans, lentils and peas,and mix our own seasonings fromindividual raw ingredients. We be-lieve that people can taste the dif-ference and will be much healthierfor it. Of course, we are on a collegecampus, so the food must be inex-pensive enough for a student to buy.Portland is an amazing city forfood. With this in mind, we feelthat people’s palates here are morediscriminating than to tolerate thefast-food options otherwise avail-able on campus. To respond to thedietary needs and interests of peopleon and around campus, we’ll en-

deavor to offer plenty of wheat-free, vegan, low gluten, lacto-ovovegetarian and omnivorous foodoptions. These will be expressed inpastries and deserts, salads, soups,sandwiches and main entrees.“

To view the full article, visit The Van-guard.

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Reviews

The Hoophouse Handbook:Growing Produce and Flowers inHoophouses and High Tunnels

Lynn Byczynski, Editor

Unheated, unlighted and uncooledhoophouses have long been usedthroughout the world to extend theseason and improve the quality of veg-etable and flower crops. Hoophousesare made of metal or PVC hoopsplaced directly in the soil in the fieldand covered with a single layer ofpoly. Most hoophouses have light-weight ends that can be removed orrolled up and roll-up sides that pro-vide passive ventilation. These low-tech hoophouses are often referred toas high tunnels or cold frames, par-ticularly by the greenhouse industry,which manufactures them as over win-tering shelters for container plants.Hoophouses enable farmers to: growcrops earlier and later in the seasonthereby earning income during oth-erwise unprofitable times of the year;

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grow delicate or heat-loving crops thatwould not thrive in a cool or windyenvironment; and increase the qual-ity and yield of many crops.

Part I of the Hoophouse Handbookcontains articles about vegetable andcut flower production that highlightthe many ways that farmers are prof-iting from production in hoophousesin the United States. Part 2 discussesbuilding a hoophouse, includingwhere to buy kit structures, how to de-termine which structure is best for dif-ferent uses, and tips for construction.Farmers will also learn the down sideof hoophouse production and strate-gies for overcoming these obstacles. In-cluded in the handbook is universityand farmer based research that showswhat crops do well in hoophouses. Thisresearch is still evolving in the UnitedStates, and the results will vary con-siderably depending on location andclimate. To get the most out of ahoophouse, farmers are encouraged totry techniques from similar climatezones, keep records on production andprofitability, and adapt techniques asappropriate. If farmers in Kansas areable to grow some crops all winterlong in unheated hoophouses, the op-portunities are simply waiting to besown in the Pacific Northwest.

A copy of The Hoophouse Handbookcan be purchased from CSANR for $15by contacting Cindy Murray-Armstrong at 253-445-4626. (TheHoophouse Handbook: Growing Produce andFlowers in Hoophouses and High Tunnels.2003. Lynn Byczynski, Ed. Growing for Mar-ket, Lawrence KS, 1-800-307-8949, 58 pp.)

Growing For Market

Published since 1992, this monthlynewsletter for small farmers who di-rect-market produce and flowers hasbecome one of America’s most re-spected publications about high-valuefarming. This newsletter is writtenentirely by people who are farmersthemselves, and provides serious, prac-tical information about every aspectof direct market farming from peoplewho have solid knowledge to share.They share ideas, discoveries, successesand failures. Find out the nitty-grittydetails about suppliers, practices, andpricing.

If you are a fresh-market grower, think-ing of becoming one, or an extensionagent, researcher or teacher workingwith fresh-market growers, Growing forMarket provides information on howto get the best existing markets, andfind the most profitable crops. To sub-scribe, visit on-line at http://www.growingformarket.com/.

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Events

The Sustainability ForumMay 29-31, 2003 ~ Portland, Oregon

This forum represents the collabora-tion of 45 non-profit organizationsand government agencies, offers over130 presentations, panels, and work-shops over three days. This forum in-vites business leaders, community de-velopment professionals, natural re-sources sector practitioners, electedand agency officials, educators, andothers with an interest in sustainabil-ity in the northwest. Seewww.SustainableNorthwest.org for de-tails.

National Organic AgricultureStandards - Satellite Broadcast

The National Organic AgricultureStandards broadcast of March 21st canbe viewed on-line http://caheinfo.wsu.edu from the link“Videostreams.” The broadcast pre-sents the basic requirements of theUSDA’s National Organic Standardsand describes how the new regulationsaffect organic producers.

Coordinated ResourceManagement (CRM)

The Washington State CoordinatedResource Management Task Group of-fers training in small group facilita-tion and organization. A primarycomponent of the training is a pro-cess called Coordinated Resource Man-agement (CRM), a locally led, consen-sus-based process well known for re-solving environmental issues. For fur-ther details see the CRMAP web site.

Sustainable Natural Resource-Based Enterprises Symposium

Mississippi State University (MSU) cor-dially invites you to attend this First

National Symposium on Sustainable Natu-ral Resource-Based Enterprises to be heldon the MSU Campus, May 28-31,2003. The symposium will explore: thecurrent state of knowledge about op-portunities, needs, and implications ofmanaging for natural resources; sus-tainability and profitability on privatelands; and interactions and exchangesof information between natural re-source professionals, managers, educa-tors, agricultural leaders, private land-owners, community leaders, econo-mists, market analysts, agency admin-istrators, and public stakeholdergroups.

Attendance will be limited to the first250 people who pre-register. For in-formation about attendance and reg-istration: James E. “Jim” Miller, (662)325-2619, Fax: 662-325-8750.

Food Safety Farm to Table

The Northwest Food Safety Consor-tium presents the 11th Annual FoodSafety Farm to Table Conference, May28–29, 2003. For details, visit http://safefood.wsu.edu

Sustainable Land ApplicationConference

This conference will be held January4-8, 2004 at the Wyndham Palace Re-sort and Spa, located in Lake BuenaVista, Florida. The conference will ad-dress soil reactions of constituents inbiosolids, effluents, and manures andother non-hazardous wastes. The ob-jectives are to: 1) Review fundamentaland specific reactions of constituentsin non-hazardous wastes (manures,biosolids, and effluents), 2) Improveunderstanding about contaminant re-actions in soils, emphasizing the com-monalties of reactions among wastes,3) Synthesize multi-disciplinary infor-mation and characterize the “state-of-the science”, 4) Identify high priorityand critical research needs, and 5) Pro-mote interdisciplinary approaches tosolving societal problems of waste dis-posal. Visit http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/landapp/.

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National Source WaterProtection Conference

EPA announces this 2003 conference,“Protecting the Sources of the Nation’sDrinking Water: Opportunities for Ac-tion”, which will be held on June 2 -4in Washington DC. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/protect/swpconf.html

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Resources

California SustainableAgriculture Research and

Education Program (SAREP)

Check out the Winter 2003 (Vol. 14,No. 3) issue of the (SAREP) triquarterlynewsletter “Sustainable Agriculture” athttp://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/newsltr/v14n3/.

Plant Disease Titles Translated

The American Phytopathological Society(APS) is a non-profit, professional, sci-entific organization dedicated to thestudy and control of plant diseases.They have several titles available inSpanish translation. View the titlesat http://www.apsnet.org/apspress/email/spanish.htm

Exploring Agriculture Sustain-ability

SARE announces the publication of anew resource entitled Exploring Sus-tainability in Agriculture, whichprofiles sustainable agriculture by pro-viding snapshots of ten different pro-ducers from Oregon to New Jersey whoapply sustainable principles on their

farms and ranches. The 16-page pam-phlet includes a colorful annotated il-lustration of practices used on a modelsustainable farm and a list of hints tohelp consumers make ecologicallyfriendly choices when they buy food.See the bulletin at http://www.sare.org/bulletin/explore/exploring.pdf. SARE is part of USDA’sCooperative State Research, Educationand Extension Service (CSREES). Formore information about SARE’s grantopportunities and resources, seewww.sare.org.

Agricultural Marketing ResourceCenter (AgMRC)

The AgMRC is a USDA sponsored cen-ter for value-added agriculturalgroups. Their web site http://www.AgMRC.org provides detailedinformation on market and industrydevelopments, how to start a business,and information on writing feasibil-ity, marketing and business plans.They are in the process of developingnationwide reference directories forvalue-added agricultural businessesand value-added agricultural consult-ants and service providers. There arecurrently 82 businesses and 178 con-sultants and service providers listed inthese directories.

Labor Management

The 2nd Edition of the book LaborManagement in Agriculture: CultivatingPersonnel Productivity is complete andcan be downloaded at http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-la-bor/

Ag Help Wanted: Guidelines forManaging Agricultural Labor

Ag Help Wanted is an educational guide-book designed to assist every personwho currently manages or expects tomanage human resources on farms,ranches, nurseries, dairies, and otheragricultural operations. The book canbe used as a source of ideas for improv-ing management policies or practices,an occasional reference in coping withproblems that arise, or a base for sys-tematic study of human resource man-agement in agriculture. It presentsprinciples, practical examples, regula-tory considerations, and leads to more

references that help equip managersto make choices that are reasonable,legal, and ultimately effective for boththeir businesses and the people theyemploy. See www.agehelpwanted.org.

Agricultural Internet MarketingGuide

USDA recently released a new publica-tion designed to assist agricultural pro-ducers in marketing their products viathe Internet. How To Direct Market FarmProducts on the Internet provides basicinformation to farm direct marketerswho are interested in selling their prod-ucts on-line or using a Web site to pub-licize their farm or products.

Of the estimated 168 million Internetusers 16 years of age and older in theUnited States, approximately half saythey shop on-line. The publicationaddresses issues to be considered be-fore adopting the Web as a marketingtool, as well as tips on how to researchthe Internet market, set up a Web site,and market products on the Web. Ref-erences, largely from the Internet it-self, are cited to enable producers toundertake additional research. Findthe book at http://www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/MSB/internet%20marketingf.pdf.

The Overstory – Agroforestry inAction

The Overstory is a free noncommer-cial e-mail journal. Subscribers areagroforestry practitioners, researchers,professionals, and enthusiasts in over160 countries. Each issue focuses on aconcept for agricultural systems thatintegrate trees and other perennialplants. Recent topics includeEthnoforestry, Urban Forestry, Tradi-tional Agroforestry Systems, GeneticConservation, Farm Forestry,Nontimber Forest Products, andAgroforestry Information Resources.To view past issues, visit http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/osprev.html.

NW Direct Seed Conference

If you missed the 2003 Northwest Di-rect Seed Cropping Systems Confer-ence and Trade Show in Pasco, WA onJanuary 8-10, you can have the next

Sustaining the Pacific Northwest1 (2) Page 12

Submitting articles: Submit articleselectronically to Doug Stienbargerin MS Word or RTF formats. Pho-tos and graphics are encouraged.

Views: The views expressed in thisnewsletter reflect those of theauthor(s) and not necessarily thoseof the sponsoring institutions.

Original articles may be reprinted pro-vided source credit is given.

No endorsement is intended of anybusinesses listed in this publication, noris criticism of unnamed businessesimplied.

best thing to being there — the de-tailed 120-page Conference Proceed-ings. The Proceedings provides an in-depth summary of the speaker presen-tations and is an excellent referenceon new technologies for direct seedcropping systems. The Proceedingsand other Conference materials areaccessible on the Conference Web site.Print copies can be ordered from theWebsite.

Watershed InformationNetwork: Watershed Atlas

This atlas provides a “catalog of geo-spatial displays and analyses of infor-mation and data important for wa-tershed protection and restoration.You can use the catalog by geography,theme, key word, source/organization,and age of source data (under con-struction).” Themes include acid rain,air quality, birds, coasts, drinking wa-ter, endangered species, erosion,floods, lakes, law and legislation, andmuch, much more. Linked sites areannotated and contain contact per-son and email address.

Amber Waves

Amber Waves is a new USDA maga-zine that presents a window into thebroad scope of Economic Research Ser-vices’ research and analysis. The maga-zine covers the economics of agricul-ture, food and nutrition, the foodindustry, trade, rural America, andfarm-related environmental topics.Available on the Internet and in print,it will appear five times a year (in Feb-ruary, April, June, September, and No-vember). The Internet edition changesas new material is added. See http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/.

Sustainably Grown ProduceHigher in Anti-Oxidants?

This is a short article in US NEWSabout a report that says organic foodis higher in antioxidants than con-ventional. Sustainably grown produce(fertilizers, but no pesticides) got thehighest antioxidant ratings. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/health/pulse/archive/030305.htm.

One Stop Site to Comment onFederal Regulations

Regulations.gov is the U.S. Govern-ment web site that makes it easier toparticipate in Federal rulemaking. Thepublic can find, review, and submitcomments on Federal documents thatare open for comment and publishedin the Federal Register, theGovernment’s legal newspaper.

To find Federal Register documentscurrently open for comment, there areGO buttons on the top of every page.The “Submit a Comment on this Regu-lation” link allows one to express anopinion on a specific document. Al-ternatively, comments may be submit-ted directly to the agency through thePDF or HTML version.

Announcements

Graduate Assistantship -Cornell University

Steven Wolf, Assistant Professor, Dept.of Natural Resources at Cornell Uni-versity seeks applications from pro-spective graduate students interestedin conducting interdisciplinary re-search on the NY maple industry. Inthe near future, he is looking for quali-fied and motivated students interestedin an MS in the Dept. of Natural Re-sources. The research questions revolvearound the organization of the NYmaple industry and opportunities tosupport this form of forest farming.The work will require some familiaritywith social science research methods,good writing and communicationskills, and interest in forest manage-ment. (607) 255-7778, emailsaw44@cornell.edu, profile at http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/people/faculty/profiles/wolf.html

New Farmers Market inEdmonds, WA

The Edmonds Museum announces theopening of its new Garden Market indowntown Edmonds. The GardenMarket opens on Saturday, May 10thin the Edmonds PUD parking lot atthe corner of 5th and Bell Street. Thisnew market is farmer/producer based

and is a scaled down version of theSummer Market. There will be 15-30vendors selling nursery stock, veg-etable starts, bedding plants, cut flow-ers, fresh early season produce fromlocal farms, artisan breads, local honeyas well as fresh jams and jellies pro-duced by area farms.The Garden Marketoperates Satur-days, 10 am - 3pm, May 10ththrough June28th.

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Funding

Cooperative State Research,Education, & Extension Service.

The Integrated Research, Education,and Extension Competitive Grants Pro-gram provides funding for integrated,multifunctional agricultural research,extension, and education activities.Funding is announced through a sepa-rate Request for Applications (RFA) foreach program.

Water Quality - closing date: April 21,2003. CSREES contact: MIKE O’NEILL(202-205-5952 or http://www.reeusda.gov/1700/funding/rfaintegrated_03.htm.

Community Food Projects - Closing date:April 14, 2003. CSREES contact: Eliza-beth Tuckermanty (202-205-0241 orhttp://www.reeusda.gov/1700/fund-ing/rfacfp_03.htm).