The Face of Traditional Agriculture is Changing. My Vision for an Extension Program to Keep Diverse Agriculture Competitive in the Skagit Valley.

By

Don McMoran

“I know no way of judging of the future but by the past.”

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794)

The History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire

Let’s begin with Geology

Geology- A science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks.

This science can help us determine how the Skagit Valley was created 14,000 to 18,000 B.P.

Geology of Skagit County

Scientist have discovered that the Puget lowlands were invaded by continental ice sheets at least four times.

Hypothetical Skagit River Delta 10,000 BP

The creation of soil Most of the soil

landscapes in Skagit County are typical of glacial landforms and thus are either related to glacial deposits or to glacial scour of bedrock. It is this soil that brought life to the Skagit Valley as we know it.

Native American

Native American habitation in the Skagit Delta is documented as far back as 5000 years ago.

Discovery

Spanish explorer Jose Narvaez sailed through Guemes Channel in the summer of 1791, and described a shallow bay.

Shortly after the Spanish visit, the English Sea Captain George Vancouver mapped the sound.

By 1795, Spain relinquished its claim on N.W to the British.

Meanwhile…

In 1792, Robert Gray claimed the Oregon Country for the United States.

In 1846, the Oregon Treaty was signed by the United States and Great Britain establishing the boundary between Canada and the U.S. along the 49th parallel.

Settlement

Trappers were the first European inhabitants of the region, between 1800 and 1835

The Point Elliot Treaty

The tribes and bands of Coast Salish people grouped together as "Swinomish" were parties to the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855, written by Issac Stevens.

This treaty gave Native Americans reserves of land, or reservations and made way for pioneering settlers.

Washington territory pioneers   Sam Calhoun was one of four

brothers who emigrated to the Northwest. Sam made quite a mark on the Swinomish flats as one — maybe the first — of the permanent settlers on what became mainland Skagit county ~1863

Sam Calhoun

Sam was familiar with diking marshland from his childhood days in Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick

'Here,' I said to myself, 'is a country within range of my vision that will support a million people. Here is my home where I shall spend the remainder of my life.'

Calhoun

In 1869, Sam went to Whidbey Island and brought back men, horses and a primitive machine to thresh their crops.

Calhoun harvested 1,200 bushels of barley from 21 acres, so the delta began showing just what could be produced.

Whitney, Sisson, Tillinghast and others R.E. Whitney, E.A. Sisson, A.G.

Tillinghast and others heard the news of the barley crop and soon began planning to migrate to Skagit County

Diking of Padilla The work was discouraging enough at

first. The company, together with Trimble, Highbarger and Allen, constructed three miles of dike and several expensive dams across sloughs. They used seventy thousand feet of lumber and paying forty dollars a month for men. During the winter of 1873-74, four of these costly dams went out, the salt water was let in and cultivation was delayed another year

Dissolving Whitney, Sisson and Company After farming the ground for several years,

the partnership divided. Whitney kept the ground that is now owned

by the Department of Ecology. Sisson retained the property to the South of

the Demonstration Farm. This land remained in the family until 2007 when it was sold to the WA State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Farming with Steam

In 1876, Sam Calhoun purchased the first steam thrashing machine in Skagit Valley.

In 1877, Whitney Sisson and Company purchased their first steam powered thrasher.

What happened to Tillinghast

After farming in the Bay View area for a few years, the Pennsylvania native moved his seed production operation to La Conner.

Catalog Marketing

Skagit Valley Seed Production

By the 1920s seed production in the Skagit Valley had grown dramatically. In 1925 local farmers produced a million pounds of open-pollinated cabbage seed.

Trouble in Paradise

By the time harvest began in the summer of 1942, Skagit County farmers knew they were in trouble.

The rows of cabbage and beets they’d planted to produce seed had been attacked by a virus, and looked wilted and sick. The yield was less than half the amount they’d expected, which was bad news for the many small family farms counting on the income from the valuable cash crop.

Science to the rescue

James Hulbert helped lead the grass-roots lobbying and fundraising effort that first brought scientists to Mount Vernon.

These scientists discovered the need for crop isolation and rotation.

Where WSU is today in the Skagit Valley WSU extension- Agriculture and Natural Resources

(Commercial, Small Farms, Forestry, Pest Board, Master Gardeners and Beach Watchers) 4-H-youth, Family Consumer Science (Food Sense and Ideas for Living), Forestry, Volunteer Opportunities and Beach Watchers.

WSU Northwest Research and Extension Center (NWREC)- 8 million dollar remodel in 2006. Scientific research on Skagit Valley agricultural products (Entomology, Plant Breeding, Small Fruit Horticulture, Vegetable Horticulture, Vegetable Pathology, Vegetable Seed Pathology, and Weed Science).

Skagit Valley Ag today

Mind Map

SkagitAgriculture

Dairy Vegetable

Ornamental

Seed

Meat

SmallFarm

Fruit&

Berries

Hay/Straw&

Grains

SkagitAgriculture

CommercialOrganic

DairyDairyVegetable Vegetable

Ornamental

Seed

Small Farm

Small Farm

Meat&

Eggs

Meat&

Eggs

Ornamental

AgritourismAgritainment

Cows

FeedFeed

CowsGoats

Fruit&

Berries

Fruit&

Berries

Hay/Straw&

Grains Hay/Straw

Seed

SkagitAgriculture

CommercialOrganic

DairyDairyVegetable Vegetable

Ornamental

Seed

Small Farm

Small Farm

Meat&

Eggs

Meat&

Eggs

Ornamental

AgritourismArgritainment

Cows

FeedFeed

CowsGoats

MilkGrass

BroccoliCauliflowerPeasPotatoes

Grass

Corn

Milk

Corn

CabbageLeaksLettuceSnap Peas

Fruit&

Berries

Fruit&

Berries

Hay/Straw&

Grains

ApplesStrawberriesRaspberriesBlueberriesBlackberries

X mas treesNursery stockTulipsDaffodilsIris

Grass CabbageKaleMustardRutabagaSpinachSwiss ChardBeetsTurnips

ShellfishBeefChickenTurkeyEggs

HayStrawWheatBarleyRyeOats

HorsesAlpacasLamasGoatsSheep

Retail B&B/HotelsMarket Stands

BeefTurkeyChickenEggs

HorsesAlpacasLamasGoatsSheep

ApplesRaspberriesBlueberriesBlackberries

SunflowersDalais

Hay/Straw

HayStraw

Seed

Cabbage

Pony Rides

SkagitAgriculture

CommercialOrganic

DairyDairyVegetable Vegetable

Ornamental

Seed

Small Farm

Small Farm

Meat&

Eggs

Meat&

Eggs

Ornamental

AgritourismAgritainment

Cows

Feed

CowsGoats

Vander KooyKuipersMoeBoon VanderVeenJensenWesenMillerLagerland

HughesSmithMorrisonNelsonWallaceKnutzen

JungquitJensenErickson

DykstraMesmanWelshler

Gothberg

JohnsonDe Vries

Fruit&

Berries

Fruit&

Berries

Hay/Straw&

Grains

MerittSakumaYoungquistEntrikinAnderson

DeanRoozenDegoedeHaytonBirenger

HulbertSorensenChristiansonMcMoranMorrisonNelsonThulenJohnonLomanLee

TaylorsBlauPethMcRayDraper V.Dynes

NeffJohnsonHughesHulbert

LangsHintonDali LamaFerrisGibson

SakumaOvenellSchuh

JohnsonVojorkovich

Spaude-Larson

Sakuma

Dubar

Hay/Straw

TemborgDuffy

Seed

Osborne

Producers

Lang’s

What do Skagit Valley Farmers need to do to survive? Decrease cost/usage of

consumables– Equipment and parts

– Land

– Labor

– Fuel

– Fertilizer

– Chemicals

– Utilities

Increase value of product– Increase Price of

Product

– Higher yields

– Value added

How can WSU extension help decrease production costs Lower equipment costs and parts by using

them less. Example: no till. Utilizing technology to reduce labor needs. Reduce the need of petroleum fuel burning

trucks and tractors by using new technology such as bio-fuel.

Decreasing production costs

Lower fertilizer costs utilizing nutrients created by agriculture and other industries.

Partnering with other agencies- Farmland Legacy, Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, The Nature Conservancy, SCD, NRCS, FSA, EDASC and others.

Decreasing production costs

Chemical costs can be decreased by scientific research locating better chemicals with cheaper costs. More work is needed in the field of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the Skagit Valley.

Utility costs can be decreased through alternative energy and energy created through biomass production.

Increasing product value

Commercial Farmers/Rancher can ask for more money for their product.

WRONG ANSWER!!! Brokers/Consumers will purchase the product from another location.

How do we add value to a product?

Super premium product- Example, fine wine. Niche Markets- a focus or targetable part of the

market. Marketing- Consumers will pay an added 10%

premium for green label. Direct Marketing- Eliminating the middle man. Brand loyalty Farmers can tell their story. Value added products- Cucumbers to pickles.

Increasing the amount of the product Increase yields- making more with

less/higher efficiencies through technology.

Education

Organizations and agencies like WSU and Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland have done a great job on getting the word out that Agriculture is important to the Skagit Valley.

4-H and FFA are excellent tools to teach students about agriculture. However these tools are not for everyone.

Education

WSU extension meeting the needs of Hispanic population According to a recent article in the Skagit

Valley Herald, “One in every seven U.S. residents is Hispanic, and that will increase to nearly one in every four.”

Migrant workers have needs that must be addressed here in Skagit County.

Encourage the hiring of bilingual extension agents.

In Closing

Much like the Pioneers that came to the Skagit Valley over a hundred years ago, now is the time for Skagit Valley Agriculture to take risk and use new innovative technology to do better job with current products, market what we have and create new crops, markets and products for the future.

Motto

WSUExtension

SkagitCounty

Science Education

Research

Family

Partnerships

Technology

Marketing

Innovations

WSU ExtensionHelping today’s agriculture for tomorrow’s future.

Bibliography Education Urged to Integrate Hispanics, Skagit Valley Herald. Associated

Press. March 1st, 2006. Schmidt, R. E. Seeds, Skagit Valley’s Growth Industry, Skagit Valley Herald. November 28th

2005. Pierzga, K. Soil Survey of Skagit County Area, Washington. September 1889. Klungland,

M., McArthur, M. Skagit Valley Agriculture 2004 Bridging the 20th and 21st Centuries.

Youngquist J.,Sakuma S., Royston R., Bondaudi K.,Tabaer F. et al. http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/History/Gibbon.htm http://skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/11/24/news/news01.txt http://skagit.wsu.edu Historical Material used in this presentation courtesy of the

Skagit County Historical Museum Library Collections.

Questions?