06/05/08 Produce Wins National Acclaim

Produce Wins National Acclaim. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Nash Huber is an ag producer in western Washington. Recently American Farmland Trust chose Huber of Nash's Organic Produce in Sequim, Washington, for its annual Steward of the Land Award. HUBER: Well I was pretty surprised. I had no intimation that something like this was headed our way. We manage a little under 400 acres out here on the north Olympic Peninsula. We do may be 180  200 acres of organic row crop vegetables and the rest of the land is rotated through grain crops; primarily barley, oats and annual rye seed for our cover cropping operations. I addition to a few hogs they ship cool weather produce 10-12 months out of the year due to the unique climate of the area. HUBER: A very special micro-climate. We're probably one of the few areas north of the Salinas Valley in California where you can ship producer 12 months out of the year because we're essentially surrounded by saltwater on three sides of us and we've got mountains on our south side and it gives us a very unique climate. Nash comes from a traditional farm background growing up on a Midwestern grain and dairy farm. HUBER: In fact my family still farms back there in Illinois but I did what a lot of people in my generation. Our parents felt there wasn't really a future in agriculture and agriculture went under huge stresses and changes in the 50's and 60's so I got a degree in chemistry and went to work for a large food processor in the Midwest for a few years and then came back to agriculture. Nash and his wife Patty McManus have been leaders and critical advocates for the preservation of farmland, and are central to a variety of efforts to raise public awareness about the issue. Besides the notoriety the awards will add $10,000 to Huber's pocket. HUBER: It's not the first time I've ever had too much money in my pocket I didn't have a plan for. I've tried not to think too much about it. You know when you get to be my age that's not a lot of money and it is so I don't know what we're going to do with it. I haven't really thought too much about it. I'm going to try and not let it get soaked up by the farm. Established in 1997, AFT's Steward of the Land Award recognizes the American farmer or farm family who best demonstrates leadership in protecting farmland and caring for the environment. American Farmland Trust is a national nonprofit organization working with communities and individuals to protect the best land, plan for agriculture and keep the land healthy. Nash's Organic Produce is the twelfth recipient of this award. You can visit them online at www.nashsorganicproduce.com. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.