Country Life November 2014

Country Life

Gardening • CL2 Dairy • CL3 FFA • CL5

Special Section • Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Flora expanding with warehouse

Community

Land owners favor new irrigation districts

LYNDEN — Flora Inc. plans to build a new product and packaging warehouse locally.

The Canadian-based maker of health products has submitted plans to the city to expand its U.S. headquarters, located at 805 E. Badger Rd., with a new warehouse and stormwater retention facility totaling 25,000 square feet on over five acres of land.

Flora has manufactured and supplied herbal products since 1965 when it started North American operations in Burnaby, B.C. The company expanded into the U.S. by opening the facility in Lynden in 1988. At the same time, Flora acquired several acres of farmland to grow its own organic herbs. All stages of production are done in either Burnaby or Lynden, from lab testing to final packaging.

— Tim Newcomb

All harvesting is done for the season and Whatcom County agricultural land can rest in the glow of a sunset on Mount Baker. This is a view of the Hannegan Road farm of Paul and Alene Parish, who say they voted for creating the new South Lynden Watershed Improvement District.

(Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

County Council action could make them effective for 2015

By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com

WHATCOM ­— The voting of agricultural land owners has apparently created four new irrigation districts in the county.

Ballots counted last week by the Whatcom County Council office — in an election separate from the Nov. 4 general one — turned out overwhelmingly in favor of forming the entities.

These were the preliminary vote counts: Drayton (north of Custer) — 1,876 Yes, 44 No Laurel — 1,692 Yes, 320 No South Lynden — 2,946 Yes, 406 No Sumas — 3,788 Yes, 330 No The favorable vote needed to be at least twothirds for passage.

The County Council met as a canvassing board for the election on Monday, Nov. 10, to review any questionable ballots, but the final results were to be certified today, Nov. 12. Also, the votes for directors

of each district were processed.

These were the leading five vote-getters to be directors in each district: Drayton — Marty Maberry, Jeff Bedlington, Greg Ebe, Rod Tjoelker, Scott James.

Laurel — Rich Appel, Mike Boxx, Roger Blok, Leroy Plagerman, Jon Maberry.

South Lynden — Jeff DeJong, Ed Blok, Scott Bedlington, Landon VanDyk, Rolf Haugen.

Sumas — Andy Enfield, Brad Rader, Rod VandeHoef, Terry Lenssen, Keith Boon.

For over a year and a half, an eight-member coalition of farmers has been advocating for this step, first of forming individual watershed districts, with a goal of trying to represent the concerns of agriculture together on water issues.

“Time will tell how big a deal this (election) was,” cautioned Marty Maberry, Lynden berry grower and member of the Whatcom Ag District Coalition.

It is very gratifying to see the local ag community unite behind the concept of watershed districts — “getting together on issues that affect us all,” Maberry said.

But it remains to be seen how much farther six districts — counting in the already existing North

Lynden and Bertrand ones — want to go to become a more unified force, he said.

Such joint boards do exist in eastern Washington, but not really yet on the west side.

“It’s something that will take some time to develop, if it develops,” Maberry said.

Still, short of having a joint board, the individual districts can cooperate on plenty of issues and projects, he said. These could include: legal costs, hydrologic expertise, dialogue with regulators, involvement in county water planning steps.

The districts will do more than just manage water rights, and they certainly can’t “throw their weight around,” as some critics have said, Maberry insisted.

They can broadly address concerns of water quality and quantity. Issues facing many stakeholders in Whatcom County are: loss of shellfish beds, the possibility of stronger water-quality enforcement action, and erosion of Nooksack River streambank.

“The whole goal is to work with other groups for win-win solutions. We strongly believe that win-win scenarios are out there, and that’s what we want to concentrate on,” he said. “We have to cooperate with all the other entities.”

Pot farm all organic, outdoors Everson-based farm is organic and all-outdoor, rarities in the industry

By Cameron Van Til sports@lyndentribune.com

EVERSON — With the approval of Initiative 502 in 2012, marijuana-producing farms have sprouted up across the state. One of the most recent to receive its license and begin production is NW Organic See Organic on C5

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Country Life 2 • Wednesday, November 12, 2014 • lyndentribune.com | ferndalerecord.com

Mt. Baker FFA support event at logging show grounds Saturday DEMING ­ — The Mount Baker FFA Booster Club hosts a dinner and benefit auction on Saturday, Nov. 15, starting at 5 p.m. in the Deming Logging Show Museum on Cedarville Road.

Tickets including dinner are $25 per person.

As of Nov. 4, $11,000 worth of items had been donated, said FFA advisor Todd Rightmire.

The evening will include a silent auction, live auction, bucket raffles, dessert auction, and a deck of cards drawing for a gun.

Proceeds of the auction will support many Mount Baker High School student FFA activities: going to state FFA Career Development Events, National FFA Convention, State FFA Convention, Washington D.C. Leadership Conference, animal projects at the Lynden Jr. Livestock Show and Sale, rotation animal projects, and help with the new FFA barn beginning construction next summer.

A complete list of items can be found at: http://mbhs. mtbaker.wednet.edu/pages/ Mount_Baker_Senior_High/ Departments___Programs/ FFA/Boosters_Parents/Booster_Auction_Info_Forms.

For more information, contact Rightmire at 3832085.

Ag show/small fruit conference coming Dec. 4-5 LYNDEN — The fourth annual combined Washington Small Fruit Conference and Lynden Ag Show will be on Dec. 4-5 at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds.

The conference brings together researchers, farmers and policy makers presenting on topics of new research, emerging issues and novel ideas to be taken back to farm or business.

Topics include: water issues, precision agriculture, fertility and irrigation, organic and fresh-market production, personnel management, spray technology, pest management, pollination, and pesticide safety and handling.

The ag show puts on display the varied equipment needed in local agriculture, plus many booths for vendors and organizations.

Lunch is served as part of two days of registration.

Again this year, a catered social hour follows the program on Thursday evening.

Co-sponsors are Washington Red Raspberries, Washington Blueberries, WSU-Whatcom County Extension, Whatcom Farm Friends and the Whatcom Ag Monthly.

For more information, go to: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ ag/edu/sfc/.

In Bloom

Finishing the gardening season strong

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By David Vos

Having recently turned the page on another month, we’re in the homestretch of another year — and as you finish up the last of your gardening tasks for the season, here are a few tips to ensure a good end to this year and start to the next.

It’s time to label your plants. As perennials grow in popularity and variety, more of the plants in our gardens simply disappear over winter, leaving us trying to remember what we planted where. Right now, before your perennials die back completely for winter, mark the location and variety of each of your perennials with plant labels. Doing so will make it easier to divide or move your plants in early spring to make way for others.

It’s also time for that much-loved autumn pastime: yard cleanup. After you’ve labeled your perennials, you can cut back any that have already died down for the year. As our first frost arrived this week, the short days and cool nights have caused many plants to go dormant for the season; many more will follow soon.

Pruning back perennials isn’t a difficult task — many can be cut right back to the ground — but some varieties lend themselves to beautiful winter color and should be left alone until spring. My favorite plant that fits this rule is heuchera, or coral bells. With their brightly-colored leaves through spring and summer, heuchera are beautiful enough, but many varieties take on even more vivid shades in the winter months, so don’t touch them until spring and enjoy the show!

As for other plants around your yard, while it’s generally safe to prune in the fall and winter, I typically wait until early spring to trim the shrubs in my yard.

Even the hardiest plants can suffer some winter damage in the event we have a harsh season ahead, so rather than create wounds on the plants in my yard before winter, wait until after the worst chance of a deep freeze is past to prune. Doing so will also allow you to prune off any branches or foliage that

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The one major exception I make for pruning this time of year is roses. Because rose canes (branches) can get brittle in cold weather — thus making them susceptible to damage in windy or snowy conditions — it’s a great idea to prune them back halfway sometime in November. In February you can more selectively prune to shape your plants for the coming year, but for winter the job is entirely utilitarian, so chop away.

After you’ve finished raking your lawn for the season, take note of what you still may need to do to keep your grass healthy through winter. If moss has begun to take hold once again, apply a dose of ferrous sulfate to kill it and keep it from choking out your grass over winter. If you haven’t yet applied your fall fertilizer, it’s still safe to do so — in fact, with the warm temperatures we had for much of October, the timing is perfect to apply it anytime this month.

Finally, if you haven’t yet planted bulbs for next spring, it’s not too late to do so. As mentioned above, October was particularly warm this year, so our soils have finally cooled down in the last few weeks, providing ideal conditions to plant. Daffodils in particular offer carefree, deer-resistant color for years to come, so visit a local nursery and browse what bulbs might be right for your yard.

Autumn’s short days and wet weather are a great excuse to stay inside, but as we near the end of another year, now is the time to finish strong.

David Vos is the general manager of VanderGiessen Nursery in Lynden.

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Country Life 3 • Wednesday, November 12, 2014 • lyndentribune.com | ferndalerecord.com

MiElkE Market

What goes up will come down, even milk prices

By Lee Mielke lkmielke@juno.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the October benchmark Class III milk price at $23.82 per hundredweight (cwt.) on Nov. 5.

That’s down 78 cents from September, but $5.60 above October 2013 and $2.88 above California’s comparable Class 4b cheese milk price. It equates to about $2.05 per gallon.

That puts the 2014 Class III average at $22.83, up from $17.81 at this time a year ago and $16.98 in 2012.

Class III futures prices portend more drop to come. The November contract settled Nov. 7 at $21.86 and December at $19.18. That would put the year’s average at $22.45, which is still way up from $17.99 in 2013 and $17.44 in 2012.

The October Class IV price is $21.35, down $1.23 from September, $1.18 above a year ago, but the lowest Class IV price since November 2013. The 2014 Class IV average is now at $23.01, up from $18.66 a year ago and $15.56 in 2012.

The National Dairy Products Sales Reportsurveyed cheese price used in calculating last week’s milk prices was $2.2914 per pound, down 5.6 cents from September. Butter averaged $2.5255, down 32.7 cents. Nonfat dry milk averaged $1.49, up 1.8 cents, and dry whey averaged 65.25 cents per pound, down 2 cents.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced its October 4b cheese milk price at $20.94 per cwt., down $1.45 from

September but $4.12 above October 2013. That pulls the 2014 4b average to $20.57, up from $16.17 at this time a year ago and $15.16 in 2012.

The 4a butter-powder milk price is $21.51, down $1.21 from September but $1.51 above a year ago. The 4a average is now at $22.93, up from $18.44 a year ago and $15.18 in 2012.

Milk prices will continue to fall, following dairy product prices. While cheese and butter have strengthened seasonally, the handwriting is on the growing bulk tanks.

And don’t look for exports to bail us out any time soon. The Nov. 4 Global Dairy Trade auction saw the weighted average for all products slip 0.3 percent, after inching up 1.4 percent in the Oct. 15 event. The price index has pretty much seen declines since reaching its high on Feb. 4.

The Tuesday dip was led by a 9.2 percent drop in cheddar cheese, which was also down 1 percent in the last event. Buttermilk powder was next, down 6.9 percent, following a drop of 3.8 percent last time. Butter followed, dropping 4.1 percent after jumping 3.9 percent last time. Rennet casein was off 2.2 percent, following a 5.3 percent decline last time. Anhydrous milkfat was down 1.6 percent, which was up 7.4 percent last time, and skim milk

powder was down 1.2 percent, following a 3.6 percent decline last time.

GDT skim milk powder, at $1.1005 per pound U.S., is down from $1.1169, while the whole milk powder average at $1.1439 per pound U.S. is up from $1.1354 in the last event. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Grade A nonfat dry milk price closed Nov. 7 at $1.16 per pound.

FC Stone’s Mary Ecklund said, “The key takeaway is there is no nervousness on behalf of buyers. Volumes dropped off, but buyers are able to pick away at lower levels as they desire without having to put up much of a fight against competitive bids. The larger trend lower remains intact.”

Meanwhile, U.S. dairy exports, which drove domestic prices to record highs in midSeptember, have fallen to their lowest level in 18 months, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Data show U.S. exporters shipped 137,220 tons of milk powders, cheese, butterfat, whey and lactose in September, down 16 percent from a year ago and down 9 percent from August, the lowest monthly volume since February 2013.

Volumes have fallen since March when an all-time record volume of 200,143 tons was shipped. Shipments averaged 176,000 tons a month through the first eight months of this

Pruning for the future

year.

This decline was triggered by several developments worldwide. Supply and demand triggers have put U.S. exports at a clear disadvantage, says the U.S. council, and milk supplies have increased significantly in Europe and Oceania. Meanwhile, China buying has slowed and Russia has instituted a ban on products from Europe and others.

Total exports were valued at $487.1 million in September, down 16 percent from one year ago. Through nine months, year-to-date sales were $5.62 billion, up 14 percent versus 2013.

Dan McBride of the Northwest Dairy Association made these price projections a month ago for the Class III price and Pacific Northwest blend price: Month Class PNW III Blend Oct. $23.82 $22.60 (current) Nov. $21.50 $21.00 Dec. $19.80 $19.20 Jan. $18.00 $17.80 Feb. $17.60 $17.15 March $17.30 $17.00 April $17.10 $17.10 May $17.10 $17.05 Lee Mielke, of Lynden, is editor of the Mielke Market Weekly and associate editor of DairyBusiness Update. Whatcom County has about 100 dairy farms.

4-H Report

COUNTRY PARTNERS Reporter: Kelly Klem

Daniel Rios works in a raspberry field of Maberry Packing along Birch Bay-Lynden Road on Monday. The work at this time of year is pruning and tying canes for next season. This acreage is in the existing Bertrand Watershed Improvement District. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

Well, October went by in a flash and we’re already being pestered by Christmas songs on the radio and the Christmas ads in the stores.

Over the course of October and up until now, the 4-Hers of Country Partners have kept busy shooting targets, sewing, planning projects, and sharing laughs.

Our club was fortunate enough to receive a cluster of new members and is looking forward to making these new additions feel welcome.

As more and more leaves fall, we celebrated the arrival of the fall season by hosting our annual harvest party where we stuff our faces with treats and play outrageous games that are amusing for 4-Hers big and small.

Those games are almost

just as amusing to watch as they are to play, where on one side of the room you’d have a circle of kids jumping around using everything except their hands to keep a balloon in the air and on the other side there would be 6-year-olds pushing pumpkins across the room as fast as they can with their noses on hands and knees alongside 17-year-old boys. Not only do the kids have a wonderful time, but the adults in the club sure seem to enjoy themselves as well with the continuous cheerful banter that occurs. We share quite interesting and amusing times together.

Country Partners is hosting a live nativity scene open for the public at the Everson Elenbaas store on Friday, Dec. 12, from 4 to 7 p.m. We’d appreciate anyone coming out to view the event that night and to show support. There will be live animals at the event and club members anxious for spectators, so please mark your calendars and try to come out!

WID: Four new local districts take in over 47,000 acres Continued from A1 Partners could include policy makers, tribes, state and federal agencies, water associations, cities and the county.

It is not an option to just let issues fall away unsolved — there must be “more of an ongoing discussion,” Maberry said.

He is grateful too that passage of the four districts, with their boards of directors, gets more farmers and others involved in understanding and working on the difficult issues, he said.

For the creation of the four districts, Maberry espe-

cially wanted to thank potato grower Dale Bedlington, who went around drumming up support, and the Whatcom Farmers Cooperative, which backed the Ag District Coalition effort in many ways, including with a website.

Maberry said he hopes that 20 to 40 years from now Whatcom County farmers can look back to this point of action and say it was key in ensuring their future and the balance of the water resource.

In all, the four new districts take in 47,184 acres, with lines drawn to encompass mostly farmland. In combination with two existing similar districts, Bertrand and North

Lynden, the entities, also known as Watershed Improvement Districts, overlay most of the north central county.

The cities of Lynden, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas and Ferndale are excluded.

The districts — on the basis of extensive law dating back to Washington statehood in 1889 — will be able to assess levies on land to pay for planning and projects to meet water needs. A Whatcom Ag District Coalition, representing large-scale agriculture in the north county, had said that the formation of these districts to get unified on water issues could be considered a make-or-break point for the

future of commercial agriculture including dairy, berry, seed potatoes and nursery stock.

Initial assessments on land in the districts may be at $3 to $5 per acre per year, or $30 to $50 for a 10-acre parcel, said the coalition in May 2014 informational material. However, actual assessments will be determined by each district’s board of directors.

The Bertrand district, which is expanding by 3,311 acres also effective in 2015, has already voted to set an assessment of $4 per acre.

The total acreage now in Watershed Improvement Districts in Whatcom County will

A new look Some interesting-looking cattle, definitely not Holsteins, are occupying a field along Hannegan Road.

They are a mixture of the Watusi breed, originally from Africa, or Texas Longhorn.

Owner Rod DeJong said he winters the cattle at this place after being at his dairy on Abbott Road in summer.

(Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

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be 68,129. This is the breakdown: North Lynden, 6,014 Bertrand, 14,931 South Lynden, 12,993 Drayton, 7,390 Laurel, 8,229 Sumas, 18,572 Voting in this election was based on ownership of land in the agricultural open-space tax reduction classification of the county. Only parcels of 4.5 acres or more qualified, and a

landowner received two votes for every five acres of assessable land within the district.

A goal of the Whatcom Ag District Coalition is that the individual WIDs in the county can together better represent the concerns of agriculture on water issues — “have a seat at the table,” backers say.

To view a map of the four new districts: http://www.wfcoop.com/ag-district-coalition/.

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Country Life 4 • Wednesday, November 12, 2014 • lyndentribune.com | ferndalerecord.com

North-county students excel at national FFA convention MBHS Floriculture team makes school history with third-place finish

By Brent Lindquist reporter@lyndentribune.com

LOUISVILLE — Numerous north-county students found success at the National FFA Organization Convention & Expo, held from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, in a variety of different subject areas.

Mount Baker The Mount Baker High School FFA Floriculture team, consisting of Olivia Piehler, Ruth Pilat, Kendal Schorr and Morgan Zender, placed third in the nation, and was the highest-placing team in Mount Baker history at the national level.

“We had a great time,” coach Tamara Whitcomb said. “They got a chance to meet people from other states and to experience that level of competition.”

The Floriculture team had to identify plants, take a knowledge exam and complete a problem-solving section as well as compete in six

different practicums ranging from a job interview to telephone sales to creating floral arrangements.

Piehler, Schorr and Zender all earned Gold Emblems. Pilat earned a Silver Emblem, and the team as a whole was awarded a Gold Emblem.

Lynden Juan Gavette took fourth place in Prepared Public Speaking, taking home a Gold Emblem.

“That’s really good,” Lynden FFA advisor John Grubbs said. “Fourth in the nation, out of probably 550,000 kids in FFA. He’s one of the top four speakers in the country.”

Grubbs said Gavette spent six to eight months compiling his speech, calling sources all over the country.

His speech touched on illegal immigration and how it affects the United States’ agricultural workforce.

The Lynden High School FFA Agricultural Communication team represented Washington State at the convention, placing fifth overall and earning a Gold Emblem.

Trisha Snydar and Bailee Mulder both earned individual Gold Emblems, and Holly McKinley was a Silver Emblem individual. Snydar was the team’s top-placing

individual at 11th place.

“It’s pretty unique,” Grubbs said. “They’re all in college now, and they came back.”

Lynden’s Farm Business Management team took 14th place, with Katherine Smith placing 10th individually.

She earned a Gold Emblem, and teammates Tyler Eldred, Camille Sharp and Kelsey Hewson earned Silver Emblems. Lynden was a Gold Emblem team overall.

Ferndale

The Ferndale High School FFA Veterinary Science team consisting of Erin Abbott, Kendra Hansen, Emily Harting and Catie Juneau placed third in the nation, with Juneau placing eighth individually and earning a Gold Emblem. Abbott, Harting and Hansen also earned Gold Emblems.

The FHS Agricultural Sales team earned a Silver Emblem, with Elizabeth Hand placing 12th individually. Kirsten Kyllingmark and Hand received Gold Emblems, while Katreyna Garrison and Sophia Gould earned Bronze Emblems.

Ferndale’s was a Silver Emblem team.

Riley Black competed in Diversified Livestock Supervised Agricultural Experience, representing FHS.

Lynden’s Juan Gavette, center, placed fourth in the nation in the Prepared Public Speaking event. (Courtesy photo/John Grubbs)

The Mount Baker High School Floriculture team took third place in the nation at the FFA national convention. (Courtesy photo/Tamara Whitcomb) She took home a Bronze Emblem.

Lynden Christian The Lynden Christian FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management team placed 10th in the nation, consisting of Zach Steensma, Jake Van Berkum, Karibeth Engelsma and Kody Tiemersma. All four were Gold Emblem individuals, and the Lynden Christian FFA team took home gold as well.

Lynden Christian’s Milk Quality and Products team took 11th place, with Brit-

tany Tevelde placing second in the nation individually.

She was a Gold Emblem individual along with team member Ellie Steensma. Brianna Bruneau and Brittany Rutgers were Silver Emblem individuals.

Lynden Christian was a Silver Emblem team in Agricultural Technology and Mechanical Systems as well, placing 17th. Clayton Polinder was a Gold Emblem individual, while team members Tim Huizenga, Cole Sump and Dakotah Olcott took home Silver Emblems.

Lynden Christian’s George De Jong was a Silver Emblem individual in the Dairy Cattle Handlers’ Activity competition.

Meridian Meridian didn’t send anyone to compete at nationals, but 2014 Meridian High School graduate Amy Rose Edmondson was awarded a 2014 American Degree.

Nooksack Valley did not have anyone at the national convention.

Lynden’s Agricultural Communications team placed fifth in the nation. (Courtesy photo/ John Grubbs)

Lynden’s Farm Business Management team placed 14th in the nation. (Courtesy photo/ John Grubbs)

Ferndale High School sent teams competing in the Veterinary Science and Agricultural Sales events, as well as individual competitor Riley Black, who competed in the Diversified Livestock Supervised Agricultural Experience event.

Lynden Christian’s Milk Quality and Products team placed 11th in the nation, with Brittany Tevelde (far right) placing second in the nation. (Courtesy photo/Gerrit Van Weerdhuizen)

Lynden Christian’s George De Jong took home a Silver Emblem in the Dairy Cattle Handlers’ Activity. (Courtesy photo/Gerrit Van Weerdhuizen)

(Courtesy photo/Tony Torretta)

Lynden Christian’s Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management team placed 10th in the nation. (Courtesy photo/Gerrit Van Weerdhuizen)

Lynden Christian’s Agricultural Technology and Mechanical Systems team placed 17th in the nation. (Courtesy photo/Gerrit Van Weerdhuizen)

Country Life 5 • Wednesday, November 12, 2014 • lyndentribune.com | ferndalerecord.com

Organic: Flagship Continued from A1 Nursery, an Everson-based business started by friends Julian Pfister and Max Twitchell.

NW Organic Nursery, which became licensed on Aug. 29, isn’t a typical farm — and not just because its crop is marijuana. The local producer/processor is both organic and all-outdoor, both of which are rarities in the industry.

“We’re excited about the fact that we’re one of the only organic (marijuana) farms in the state and one of the only outdoor (marijuana) farms on the west coast of Washington,” said Barry Stieb II, NW Organic Nursery’s director of sales and marketing.

“We felt growing organically was important not only to us, but important to the consumers (too). We feel our end consumer would appreciate an organically-grown

books that aren’t really necessary.

“I think it was ‘Let’s put in a lot of stuff and then slowly backtrack and take what we need to out,’ ” Stieb II said.

In order to receiver a license in Washington state, a producer/processor must apply to the state and prove that it has the land and finances to make the project happen, along with not having a criminal history.

While Stieb II pointed out that NW Organic Nursery was fortunate to have a family farm with open acreage to use, he said they ran into some challenges.

One obstacle was that there were wetlands on the property that weren’t discovered until the last minute.

“We almost switched over to another property,” Stieb II said. “(But we) found out if

NW Organics President Julian Pfister navigates the narrow walkway between gardens. The facility is a producer of recreational marijuana near Everson. (Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com) the wintertime, we can just flip the lights on (when it gets dark).”

NW Organic Nursery is going to have three main products this year, one of which hasn’t been released yet. Stieb II said that in four to six weeks, an all-flower joint

2014

called Black-Eyed Suzy’s will be coming out.

NW Organic Nursery’s two primary products currently on the market are a bubble hash called Bubble Blonde and a hash-infused all-flower joint called Rocket Man Super Joint, which Steib

The Lynden Tribune is excited to once again give our readers the opportunity to join with us this holiday season in helping those families and individuals most in need during these difficult economic times. We are proud to announce that the Readers Care Fund recipients for 2014 are Project Hope Food Bank and the Lynden Community Center Meals Program in Lynden. These wonderful organizations provide invaluable services to our communities and the needs are greater than ever this year.

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Each year we proudly work with the Whatcom Community Foundation, which manages the Lynden Tribune Readers Care Fund. The Foundation processes each gift, provides a ‘thank you’ letter to each donor acknowledging the tax deductibility of their gift and issues grants to the organizations. The Lynden Tribune covers all the administrative costs related to the Foundation’s services. As a result, 100% of each gift to the Fund is passed along to these organizations. Thank you for your time and your consideration of this challenge and I hope you’ll join us in our 2014 Readers Care Fund effort this year.

Volunteer Cora Seigman sorts through donated items at the Project Hope Food Bank. The bank will be a recipient of the 2014 Lynden Tribune Readers Care Fund, along with the hot meals program of the Lynden Community Center. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

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we were going to do that, we would be put on a waiting list and wouldn’t be able to get a crop in this year.”

They dealt with the issue by reducing the size of their field from 14,000 square feet to 6,800 square feet. However, Stieb II said that NW Organic Nursery plans to get all of the land back by planting native plants and completing other county-approved measures to negate the wetland buffers.

Another challenge for NW Organic Nursery was a 300foot buffer zone that Whatcom County had enacted for all residential areas.

“We had to go and get permission from some of the neighbors,” Stieb II said.

“Some of them were for it and some of them weren’t, so it was an interesting process to work through.”

But Stieb II said that they were able to overcome the obstacles and that, while the wetlands and the buffer zone provided challenges, the quality of the land has been a major benefit.

“The land that we’re on is very fertile ground, and that has shown up in our plant,” Stieb II said. “We’ve grown some really great products, so we’re definitely excited about the coming months.”

With winter approaching, Stieb II said that NW Organic Nursery won’t have another crop in the ground until next summer, due to the fact that it’s an all-outdoor business.

However, that will change next year, when NW Organic Nursery will be become a year-round grower.

Stieb II said that they are planning on using a Dutchstyle hothouse that will create what is essentially a hybrid indoor/outdoor operation.

The hothouse will have supplemental lighting as well as the ability to black-out any rooms.

“It’s something that we’re really excited about,” Stieb II said. “It will essentially be an outdoor, year-round operation operation where we will be using the rays of the sun to grow as much as we can.

“In the summertime, if we want to do an early crop, we can force flower by blacking out the room. Or if want to continue to grow throughout

THC and 56 percent total cannabinoids. That is through the roof.

“We were very pleased with those numbers and are super excited about that. It’s one of our flagship products that we’re really, really proud about.”

ReadersCare

The Kemo strain is an indica-dominant variety grown

by NW Organics. (Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com) product.”

NW Organic Nursery is located on a family farm that’s been around for 25 years and is owned by Pfister’s father, Alex, who is involved with the new business as well. “(Alex) has over 25 years of experience of growing plants,” Stieb II said. “So we definitely feel we have an advantage.”

Stieb II also says the business is fortunate to have Arturo Alvarez as NW Organic Nursery’s lead grower. Alvarez has about 10 years of experience as a grower, beginning in the medical marijuana industry in California.

“We had the opportunity to meet with him and definitely felt he was someone that fit within our company and what we were trying to do,” Stieb II said. “We’re seeing kind of a finished product now and we’ve definitely been impressed with his ability to grow.”

As a producer/processor, NW Organic Nursery isn’t allowed to sell its products, as dictated by Washington state law. “Seed-to-sale” isn’t allowed in Washington state, meaning that a business can’t be on both the retail and the producer/processor sides of the industry.

NW Organic Nursery is currently distributing its products through the retailer 2020 Solutions, which now has two locations. After receiving its retailer license, 2020 Solutions opened its first store on July 10 in Bellingham at 2018 Iron St. Then on Nov. 1, the company opened a second store north of Bellingham at 5655 Guide Meridian Rd. NW Organic Nursery’s products hit the shelves on Nov. 1 as well, but the road to that point was a long one — the business had to wait 10 months to receive its license from the state.

“I know that the state of Washington is doing the best that they can,” Stieb II said.

“We’re really blazing trails.

This is so new to everyone that I think it’s still kind of a work in progress for even the state of Washington.

“Colorado had a licensed medical system already, and so for them, flipping on the switch to retail was much easier. For the state of Washington, we were building from the ground up. There was nothing that had been done like this before.”

Stieb II said that the state is finding certain laws that aren’t on the books should be there, and certain laws on the

II said is different from many of the products on the market for pre-rolled joints.

“A lot are unfortunately made from trim,” Stieb II said. “And it’s just not as high a quality. As an example, our latest batch of Rocket Man Super Joint tested at 38 percent

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Country Life 6 • Wednesday, November 12, 2014 • lyndentribune.com | ferndalerecord.com

Fewer ingredients.

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