Country Life A8 • lyndentribune.com • Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Appel Farms opens new cheese-making plant
IN BLOOM
Faber company calls it ‘one of a kind’ building
Gardening resolutions for the new year For as enthusiastic about gardening as I am, I’ll admit I find winter a wonderful season of refreshment with few gardening tasks. And this year, for the first time in several, we’re experiencing a real winter, complete with cold temperatures and snow. That said, spring isn’t far away, and as you make New Year’s resolutions, now is a great time to set some goals for your gardening endeavors in the year to come. Here are my top four gardening resolutions for 2017. First, take time each week to pull some weeds. Not only is the time spent outside good for your health, but you’ll also stay better in tune with what’s happening in your garden. Maybe you’ll discover that a flowerbed isn’t getting enough water, or you might notice bugs starting to attack the foliage of some perennials. And of course, the saying “One year’s seed, seven years’ weeds” rings true. Left unchecked, weeds that go to seed end up creating far more work down the road than if you’d taken time to pull them early on. Second, mark your calendar early in the year to treat your plants for diseases. Like weeds, diseases can be difficult to control once they’ve begun to spread, so watch for issues early on, especially with susceptible plants. Fruit trees and roses are particularly at risk, so it’s wise to spray in late winter with a dormant spray to kill fungus spores as well as insects that may have overwintered. Preventative spraying can eliminate a season’s worth of headaches! Third, make it a goal to keep up with the pruning and trimming of the plants around your yard. Ideally, your landscape would require little to no major pruning each year — manicured hedges and fruit trees being major exceptions — but even the most experienced landscape designers can make the mistake of choosing plants that get too big for their space or are simply planted too close together, requiring regular pruning. In any case, while it’s work to prune each year, doing so will keep your landscape healthy and extend the life of your plants. Once overgrown, many shrubs (especially evergreens) reach a point at which severe pruning would disfigure or even kill the plants. So, unless you want to tear out and replace
FERNDALE — Appel Farms moved its cheese operations in December into a new 12,800-squarefoot production and coldstorage facility, positioning for future growth while increasing the farm’s efficiency and food security. “We can grow a tremendous amount without running out of room,” said John Appel, who runs the cheese production operations while his wife Ruth directs retail and marketing functions. Faber Construction of Lynden built the unique pre-engineered steel building at 6605 Northwest Drive. It incorporates an exo-skeleton technique, placing steel columns on the outside, while using insulated metal panels for exterior walls, coolers and the freezer. This creates an uninterrupted interior wall around the perimeter, increasing efficient use of the space, according to Rick Faber, company president. The building must be capable of reaching a wide range of temperatures. Some blast freezers can get below 0 degrees while in-dairy production coolers are expected to get as low as 37 and incubators as high as 108 degrees. Faber calles the Appel Farms cheese plant “a your shrubs every ten years, set aside some time to keep up with pruning this year. Finally, it will be awhile before we start to feel the heat of summer, but make it a goal to water your lawn when the days get long and the mercury climbs. This is not to say you need to keep your lawn green. While I enjoy the feel of soft, cool green grass underfoot on a warm summer day, I understand not everyone can afford a green lawn or wants to mow all summer. Regardless, it’s still worth it to water at least twice a month. Even though a twice-amonth watering schedule won’t keep your lawn green through July and August, it will at least keep the roots of your grass alive, and that will be enough to ensure your lawn greens up again in autumn. So, while it may be cheap and easy to skip the watering altogether, remember that it’s anything but cheap and easy to replace your lawn when it doesn’t recover after a dry summer. As you make your resolutions for the new year, don’t be afraid to ask an expert at a local nursery for advice to reach each goal. From pruning to spraying to watering, there are a lot of variables that can determine the level of success you’ll achieve, so if you’re unsure, ask — gardening experts love to help. Enjoy the fresh start a new year brings to your garden! David Vos is general manager of VanderGiessen Nursery of Lynden.
one-of-a-kind facility” in the northwest Washington dairy industry. Appel Farms began cheese production 30 years ago in an 800-squarefoot building on the farm founded by John’s late father Jack Appel and his mother Audrey. They added on and took over adjacent buildings to accommodate growth until the family was convinced a new building was necessary. Cheese production currently uses more than half the milk from the farm’s 600-cow dairy herd, which is managed by Rich Appel, John’s brother. In mid-2016 Appel Farms began producing havarti, parmesan and maasdammer cheeses, adding to a product line that already included gouda, cheddar, quark, feta and paneer. The new building includes a window for viewing gouda production, although interested visitors should call ahead for times. John Appel said steady growth led to this expansion, but the family isn’t taking all of the credit. “God has blessed us even despite some of our decisions,” he said. The Cheese Shop, the retail arm of Appel Farms, is adjacent to the new production facility and open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call the store at 360-312-1431 or visit www.appel-farms. com.
John Appel is the cheesemaker, while his wife Ruth runs The Cheese Shop retail outlet. (Courtesy photo)
MiElkE Market
Class III price averaged $14.87 in 2016, lowest since 2010 Benchmark milk prices in California and the Federal Orders ended 2016 in different directions. The December FO Class III price is $17.40 per hundredweight (cwt.), up 64 cents from November, $2.96 above a year ago and the highest Class III since December 2014. That is 81 cents above California’s comparable Class 4b price. It equates to $1.50 per gallon, up from $1.44 in November and $1.24 a year ago. The 2016 Class III average closed out at $14.87, down from $15.80 in 2015 and $22.34 in 2014, and it is the lowest annual average since 2010. The Class IV price is $14.97, up $1.21 from November but 55 cents below a year ago. Its 12-month average is
$13.77, down from $14.35 in 2015 and $22.09 in 2014. California’s December Class 4b cheese milk price was $16.59 per cwt., down 86 cents from November but $3.69 above a year ago. The 2016 average is $14.27, down from $14.47 in 2015 and $19.93 in 2014, and the lowest since 2010. The 4b trailed the FO Class III price by an aver-
age of 71.6 cents in 2016, ranging from a high of $1.39 in May to a low of 19 cents in June. But the November 4b price topped the FO price by 69 cents for the first time since December 2009. The 2016 lag average is down from $1.33 in 2015 and $2.41 in 2014. Cash dairy prices start 2017 mixed. Cheddar block cheese closed the first Friday, Jan. 6, at $1.67 per pound, up a penny in the week shortened by the New Year’s holiday and 21 cents above a year ago. The barrels closed at $1.5750, down 2.5 cents on the week but 3.5 cents above a year ago and 9.5 cents below the blocks. Butter gave up 4.75 cents New Year’s week, falling to $2.22 per pound, but is 18.5 cents above a year ago.
Cash Grade A nonfat dry milk closed at $1.0525 per pound, up 3.25 cents on the week, the highest spot price since March 4, 2015, and 31 cents above a year ago. The Northwest Dairy Association made these price projections for the Class III price and Pacific Northwest blend price: Month Class PNW III Blend Dec. $17.40 $16.40 (current) Jan. $16.60 $17.00 Feb. $17.20 $17.15 March $17.30 $17.35 April $17.40 $17.50 May $17.50 $17.60 June $17.65 $17.70 July $17.75 $17.80 Lee Mielke, of Lynden, is editor of the Mielke Market Weekly. Whatcom County has about 100 dairy farms.
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