From Farm To Table: A Lively Conversation

 

Above: The Flaming Eggplant Cafe at The Evergreen State College is a worker collective that isn't afraid to walk the talk on several issues. The cafe, which is open to everyone, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday, and accepts only cash - not debit or card cards.

 

The college uses Bank of America as their banker and creditor. A poster at the cafe says, "Aside from evading millions of dollars in taxes a year and preying on the working poor with sub-prime mortgages, one way Bank of America makes its money is through transaction fees...as a result of this predicament, we will remain a cash-only service until an acceptable alternative presents itself...."

 

From Farm To Table: A Lively Conversation

by Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A diverse panel of six local food and beverage producers met at the Thurston County Fairgrounds for a couple of hours on Wednesday night, but it was clear they could have gone on all night. The speakers not only succeeded in forging new alliances amongst each other, but helped the audience gain a whole new appreciation for just how hard, but rewarding, it is to get local food to local tables.

The event was sponsored by the Olympia Lacey Thurston Visitors Convention Bureau, the Port of Olympia, and the Thurston County extension of Washington State University. About 50 farmers, community members interested in local food sustainability issues, and elected officials listened as the panel members discussed their businesses, their challenges, and future prospects.

Panelists included Jeff Schilter of the Schilter Family Farm, Mike Johnson of Johnson Berry Farm, Tom Bloomfield of Chelsea Farms, Will Taylor of Acqua Via Restaurant, Sara Rocker of the Flaming Eggplant Cafe at The Evergreen State College, and David White of Whitewood Cider Company. Each one expressed a deep passion and persistence for the continued success of their company.

Schilter Family Farm

Schilter Family Farm is most visible, the spacious 180 acre land you see on the right as you go north on I-5. Their pumpkins, clearly visible in fall, are great advertising. A former dairy farm, the Schilter family found that they could not continue to compete with the world market, especially after the Nisqually Valley flooded in 1996.

"We were looking for things we could do that would allow us to continue farming...." said Schilter. Pumpkins came first, then to extend the season, they started planting strawberries, raspberries, and sweet corn. Then, they brought in cherries and peaches from Eastern Washington, and started planting flowers and making hanging baskets.

Now, they are successfully "celebrating the four seasons" and have Christmas trees. "It has worked out well for us...it's a real benefit to have customers come out in October, then have them come back in December....Our focus is agritourism, the experience of it. Sure, you could go to Costco, but we provide a farming experience - bring the kids. A grocery store can't replicate that. For us, it's building memories with families, a connection with the consumer."

Johnson Berry Farm

Jim Johnson, a third generation berry farmer, started selling berries at age nine, and is now best known for his family stall at the Olympia Farmer's Market and his roadside farm stand on Wiggins Road. In addition to his property on Wiggins Road, he leases 20 acres in the Nisqually Valley. He described his brief foray in providing berries to Top Foods.

"They were just beating us down, also getting berries from California and Argentina. I have no idea how those guys get product to market for $2.99 - it's crazy." Expressing his appreciation for the Olympia Farmer's Market, he said, "If I didn't have that market, I don't think that I'd be farming. The rent, for what they charge, is amazing. There could be a lot more markets." He added that he is aware there are parking issues at the market downtown. He would like the market to be open more days and longer hours. 

In a theme that was echoed by other panelists, there could be more markets on Olympia's Westside, Lacey and Tumwater. "Fifteen organic vegetable farmers all growing the same thing - they're killing each other - the competition is crazy," said two panelists.

Johnson said he doesn't think he wants his business to get much bigger but wouldn't mind offering more to restaurants. "In my business, I guarantee my berries for 24 hours. A California berry? Shoot, it's good in the refrigerator for a month! So if they want them, I'll give them a deal and deliver it whenever you want."

Above: This Johnson Berry Farm jam is a favorite in our household. Watch out! It's hot!

The segue was perfect. Two panelists were restaurant staff in charge of food purchasing.

The Flaming Eggplant Cafe

Sara Rocker, a staff member at The Evergreen State College for the student-run Flaming Eggplant Cafe, is also a co-founder of the successful Westside Farmer's Market that operated on the grounds of Gloria Dei Church this last season.

The Flaming Eggplant Cafe is a worker collective that started when students were tired of a lack of healthy options by corporate providers. Students wrote their own business plan and held a vote to successfully pass a one-time student fee of $125,000 to support its start-up. They voted on the name and opened on Red Square in 2008. Able to seat 85, they are now located in the student activity building. Rocker says the restaurant works with 30 vendors and students learn basic restaurant skills, produce identification and use with the development of a seasonal menu.

"We are very deliberate on knowing how far food comes to us, with over half coming from within 20 miles of the college." Calliope Farm, for example, is within five miles of the college. "For them to be so close reinforces a relationship - it's more than just a transaction."

Rocker said she is looking forward to seeing how local and seasonal she can go with the restaurant, and is working with CoFed, a national coop network of student collectives. She said the college is also producing graduates who are seeking jobs in local food, thus creating a whole new workforce.

Above: A map at the Flaming Eggplant cafe shows exactly where its food is coming from.

 

Acqua Via Restaurant

Acqua Via Restaurant chef Will Taylor wore a Kirsop Farm T-shirt, "stained with local food" and perhaps gave everyone the biggest lesson of all: persistence pays off. Taylor is a busy guy, doing his part in keeping his restaurant running smoothly, and said there is often a disconnect between the restaurateur and the producer of local food.

"Genine (of Kirsop Farm) would always call me and after a couple years, it paid off." Now Taylor buys most of his produce from Kirsop in what is clearly a win-win situation.

"Her marketing persistence was smart and influential. Other vendors, I never hear from them again. Building a relationship is really hard - she was willing to come deliver to me - you can't find that with big companies. Sure, it's easier and faster to go through a 1-800 number, but it's all the same crap all the time. We're not buying everything local, but I am trying and we make the effort to call each other, so hey, if you're four blocks away at the farmer's market and you're about to close up for the day, give me a call!"

Taylor said he is interested in hearing from local protein producers as well, and will start getting one cow a month butchered to his specifications from Thurston County's Colvin Ranch.

Above: Fresh Kirsop Farm cauliflower at Acqua Via Restaurant on Thursday.

Whitewood Cider Company

David White of Whitewood Cider Company is a third generation Washingtonian and began his journey with cider around 1999. Like many other panelists, he used plenty of humor in his presentation, and described how he built his specialty alcoholic beverage business from scratch.

White now has a cider processing plant on Rich Road off Yelm Highway and a cider blog, www.oldtimecider.com, documenting his journey of what he was tasting and experiencing. He has since been featured in national beverage magazines. White's apples are locally sourced, with contributions from Lattin's Country Cider Mill on Rich Road in Olympia, and from the farm of Jim Goche' in northeast Olympia.

Pressing apples is a slow process, and White pressed 300 gallons in 2012. Up to 80% of his cider was sold locally. White says his intent is to stay small, but he has more heirloom varieties coming in early January, and the small cider business category is poised for rapid growth. "It's an up and coming beverage," says White.

After the presentation, Goche' was pleased that his Friendly Grove Farmwas mentioned - it provided over a ton of apples to Whitewood Cider. 

"It was a great year for apples and they were extra sweet and juicy...I am looking forward to trying the cider when its ready. It's wonderful to work with an artisan like Dave," said Goche' after the event.

Goche' added that the panelists offered some useful tips about how to market locally-grown produce and work with local restaurants. He said that he especially appreciated the comments of Acqua Via Chef Will Taylor. Goche' said that the farm has sold raspberries and chestnuts to Acqua Via in the past but then took a laid-back approach to marketing so as not to be perceived as a "pest".

"Based on the comments this evening, however," he said, "it's clear that chefs are busy and local growers have to be persistent in marketing their produce to local restaurants."

Lucas Patzek, director of the Washington State University Thurston County Extension office, served as moderator, and wrapped up the lively conversation by saying that there are many options and opportunities. 

"We're at the point we need to be more deliberate, speak to growers and potential buyers, and partnerships will develop...I feel pretty good that things will move along...."

Several urban agriculture and agritourism efforts are underway by a wide variety of South Sound non-profit organizations, state, county, and local agencies.

One local non-profit organization is Slow Food at www.slowfoodolympia.org. Community members are also organizing a Thurston County food council. For more information, go to www.thurstonfoodcouncil.org.

For more information about urban agriculture at the city of Olympia, go to www.olympia.wa.gov/city-services/neighborhood or contact Jennifer Kenny, Associate Planner, (360) 753-8031 or jkenny@ci.olympia.wa.us.

Thurston County has several agritourism efforts underway. For more information, go to www.co.thurston.wa.us/permitting/agriculture/agriculture-tourism.html. Commissioner Sandra Romero leads monthly Agritourism Planning Committee meetings. This month's meeting will be held on Monday, December 17th at 4 p.m. at the Scatter Creek Winery in Tenino. The committee is different from the county's Agricultural Advisory Committee.

The Washington State University's Thurston County extension office leads the county's Agricultural Advisory Committee. For more information, go to www.thurston.wsu.edu or 867-2151.
 
Editor's Note: Little Hollywood just wrote an article this week about Tom Bloomfield, manager of Chelsea Farms, the world's third largest geoduck shellfish operation, and did not re-capture his comments here, as they were near-identical to the article I just wrote. Use the search button to find it at www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com.

Above: Acqua Via Restaurant in downtown Olympia on the corner of 5th and Capitol Way.

Shellfish Farmer Tom Bloomfield: A Canary in a Coal Mine

Above: Tom Bloomfield, center, is indeed at the center of managing the third largest geoduck operation in the world at Thurston County's Chelsea Farms shellfish company on Eld Inlet. Crew member Theo Walker is at left.

 

Shellfish Farmer Tom Bloomfield: A Canary in a Coal Mine

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“The shellfish industry is like the canaries in the coal mine – without shellfish, you have no baseline to monitor a healthy ecosystem," said Tom Bloomfield, shellfish farm manager at Chelsea Farms on Steamboat Island's Eld Inlet.

Canaries were used to determine the level of dangerous gases in a coal mine. If there was enough oxygen, the bird in the cage lived and the miners mined. If the canary died, then the miners knew to beat it out of there.

Bloomfield made the analogy as part of his testimony in support of three geoduck farming permit applications by Taylor Shellfish Company and Arcadia Point Seafood at a hearing on November 26 at the Thurston County Fairgrounds.

The applications are being recommended for approval by the Thurston County planning department. The hearing was significant because these are the first geoduck aquaculture applications recommended for approval by Thurston County since 2007. (For the story, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, November 28, 2012, “Proposed Thurston County Geoduck Farming Applications Heard”)

In his testimony, Bloomfield was brief but pointed, explaining his role as a fifth generation shellfish farmer, responding to earlier speakers Susan Macomson and Laura Hendricks, both of whom brought shellfish industry debris. Saying he has spent thousands of hours out on the beach and in boats picking up debris, Bloomfield said it was a frustration that he has never seen Sierra Club members out there doing the same.

In Bloomfield's opinion, the shellfish industry is alive and well: Chelsea Farms is the third largest geoduck shellfish operation in the world, right behind Thurston County’s Seattle Shellfish Company, and Mason County’s Taylor Shellfish Company.

And Bloomfield seems to be one of those canaries in a coal mine, leading the way.

A Day In The Life of Tom Bloomfield, Shellfish Farm Manager

Above: The day begins by hauling up oysters and manila clams out of Eld Inlet at Chelsea Farms.  Here, crew members haul up 50 bags of oysters and 12 bags of manila clams. Bloomfield says oysters breathe water like a fish - and each one filters about five gallons of water a day.

Bloomfield starts his day when it still looks like night, at 4:30 a.m. His crew of eight starts at 7:30 a.m., hauling out black plastic bags of manila clams and oysters from the shores of Eld Inlet. I met him this morning at the more civilized hour of 8:00 a.m., just as two crew members were hauling up 50 bags of manila clams and 12 bags of oysters that will be sorted, rinsed, and packed up today according to customer orders.

Oysters and clams are processed twice a week, and shipped out every day. The shellfish I witnessed coming out of Eld Inlet this morning will be going in vastly different directions - some are in response to specific orders while others are sold wholesale and redistributed to restaurants nationwide.

Chelsea Farms ships its manila clams to San Francisco and its oysters to the East Coast, Chicago, New York and Washington D.C.

Do any shellfish stay here? I asked.

“I used to sell some to Anthony’s restaurant, and some to Elliott’s Oyster Bar in Seattle from time to time, but there’s just not the market here. I do have a call of interest coming in from Walrus and the Carpenter, though, so I’m waiting on them.” Who? What? Walrus and the Carpenter, Bloomfield had to explain to me, but apparently not to the rest of the shellfish eating population, is a premier oyster bar in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

Today, an order of clams will be trucked to California and will be at San Francisco's Fresh Fish the day after tomorrow. Another order is going to Elliott's (a "little order" of 80 dozen), another set is going to Portland, Oregon and yet more are being shipped by air to New York.  Each bag displays a tag indicating the harvest date, location where they were harvested, and other department of health details.

Above: These are Chelsea Farms' "boutique oysters" known as "Chelsea Gems." 

Above: Daniel Bevier, a former logger, was laid off from the timber industry and was hired several years ago by Bloomfield. Bevier gets the job of writing addresses on boxes, in addition to other duties, because "he has the best penmanship," says Bloomfield. This order of manila clams is going to San Francisco.

 

Above: Juan Robledo, left, and Miguel Baltizar rinse mud from the shellfish and cull broken ones from the batch. Bloomfield says shellfish farming is labor intensive, working to stay one week ahead in production and orders.

 

Nearby, a geoduck diver for Chelsea Farms was underwater, harvesting geoducks that will be in China by tomorrow. This aspect of the business is contracted out to a third party.

The diver, wearing a dry suit and gloves, will be underwater for eight hours a day, feeling around for siphon holes in 10 - 12 feet of water. Using a pressurized water hose, a "stinger," to loosen the sand around the geoduck, he'll pull it out, place several in a bag until it gets heavy, bring the bag on board, and go back, repeatedly. This is done by feel alone, working blind, as the silt is constantly stirred up. The diver stays warm in the 49 degree waters because he also wears a polar fleece. "Plus, he's sweating a lot...it's hard work," says Bloomfield.

Today, and everyday, this diver will harvest 700 pounds of geoduck for Chelsea Farms. Bloomfield manages about 80 farms for the company.

As huge as those numbers sound, Chelsea Farms isn't producing all it's capable of right now, Bloomfield says, because of a lack of geoduck seed. Bloomfield buys seed from California, Oregon and Washington, but says "it's really shot right now because of ocean acidification. We're working at half our capacity right now." (Editor's Note - 12/6/12 - see comment section for correction/clarification by Bloomfield of this paragraph.)

Ninety percent of farmed geoduck is sent to Asia.

"It's a commodity market, based on supply and demand. The quality drives the prices, and the quality is graded 1, 2, and 3, with 1 being the best. To be graded 1, they want an exact shell to neck length ratio: the siphon has to be 1 1/2 times the length of the shell. And it has to be blonde, like the color of your hair, not orange or black." It has to be two pounds - anything more or less than that gets graded 2 or 3. The smaller ones are called babies, and the bigger ones have tougher meat. They pay out less."

Bloomfield says divers might get paid about 70 - 80 cents a pound, so if the diver harvests 700 pounds a day, the company might make about $500 a day. That may sound lucrative, but Bloomfield says it's an expensive business to get into, plus paying for the equipment, boat, fuel, and crew members. In general, the business is not for everybody.

"The hours suck, especially in the winter," says Bloomfield. "Your schedule changes every 45 minutes to an hour every day, every other week, because of the tides. Every other week, we work a series of low, low tides at night, then every other week, we're on days. So, we'll start work at, like, 9:30 p.m., work five to six hours, then every day start a half hour later, until we're starting at 2 a.m. Sometimes we're walking around like zombies...." Winter is September through the end of March.

Deep Roots in the Shellfish Industry

“I was a fish monger in Tacoma. If it smells bad, it’s bad. Fresh fish isn’t fishy smelling. I’ve eaten oysters all over the world, even in Australia. And you know what, they prefer our oysters, because they’re the best.”

A fifth generation shellfish farmer who has been with Chelsea Farms for 10 years, Bloomfield wishes he could just do what he does best – farm – but in this highly politicized and litigious world of commercial shellfish growing, he can’t.

“It’s frustrating. I have to be a politician, a lawyer, and a public relations guy and I’m not the most polished guy,” he says. Bloomfield has a nine year old son, and he says he is not necessarily encouraging him to follow him into the business.

“I studied and received a B.A. in marine biology with an emphasis on fisheries, but then I was a machinist in the aerospace industry, then I was a truck driver…I wanted to get out there first, before I came back.”

His family has deep roots in the area. Bloomfield lent me a book, “The Oyster Was Our World: Life On Oyster Bay, 1898 to 1914,” by Bloomfield's great-great aunt Cora Chase, who farmed Olympia oysters. The beds are now farmed by Taylor Shellfish. The book is available at the Mason County Historical Society. 

I asked him about competition between local shellfish companies for what is limited, and now quite crowded stretches of available acreage along south Puget Sound shorelines. According to the Sierra Club and other sources, a mile along the Nisqually Reach is currently being privately farmed out to commercial industrial shellfish growing operations, as is 40% of Henderson Inlet, 70% of Eld Inlet, and a whopping 91% of Totten Inlet.

Bloomfield downplayed the competition question, saying he’s never worked for Taylor, but his father did, until Tom was five years old. “Taylor is a good player. They’re successful and take pride in what they do.”

Asked about the hearing on November 26 and the shellfish industry debris brought by permit opponents, Bloomfield had strong words and said he could tell exactly whose debris that was.

“Our equipment is unique – we all cut our tubes a little differently, use different colors and diameters, tie off our nets differently…we’re self-policing and deal with it internally…If there’s a problem with someone’s gear, I call them up and say, 'Hey, come pick up your stuff…'" Each shoreline is different and the equipment needs to adapt to that particular environment and stuff can get loose. We don’t want stuff out there – it gives us all a black eye.”

Above: Piles of PVC pipes. Bloomfield says pipes are expensive, costing a little over $1.00 a tube, although there is a discount when purchased in bulk. He says it's in his best financial interest to retrieve his tubes, scrape off the barnacles, throw away broken ones, and reuse the good ones. The black, plastic oyster bags are also reused. He said that the ones I saw in use today are over 10 years old.

 
I asked him how much a property owner can earn by leasing out his or her shoreline for development. He said about 10-15% of gross sales. “They don’t see money until harvest, but some receive payments of $1000 per acre per year, like a rent or lease agreement.” That can add up to big bucks.

But geoducks can take five to seven years to mature after planting, so it seems that can be a long wait for all parties to bring in the big bucks. I asked him about this, since geoducks are especially prized by international markets. The Taylor Shellfish website order form, for example, charges $30 for just one, two pound geoduck.

Bloomfield said that for a long time, he made the same assumption, that geoducks were his cash crop, but, he recently penciled it out and realized that he makes more money, net, per acre, farming oysters than geoducks.

“Oysters mature in one to three years, manila clams mature in two to three years, and like you said, geoducks take the longest. But throw in the cost of labor, equipment, and time, and geoducks cost more.”

Given a shellfish farmer’s hectic schedule that’s dictated by the tides, I thanked Bloomfield for graciously giving me a lengthy personal tour of his operation on Steamboat Island.

“It’s very flattering that people have been so interested the past couple of years in what we do…it’s humbling.” For years, he says his tours have been primarily for Steamboat’s fifth-grade Griffin School students, Thurston County pre-schools and Tumwater’s New Market Skills high school classes.

Now, in what seems to be the story for so many other environmental issues regarding the Pacific Northwest, the whole world is watching. In this case, we'll have to see - like a canary in a coal mine - who ends up the winner of Puget Sound's shorelines.