08/25/08 Organic dairy and grain Farm Walk next Monday

Washington Ag August 25, 2008 Your invited to explore the Methow Creamery near Twisp, Washington next Monday, Labor Day for a Farm Walk. Ron Vander Yacht and Elise Knight own the small scale dairy operation that features 30 cows and eight hundred acres of organic grains and hay. Vander Yacht says they direct market their Grade A organic milk and cream. Vander Yacht: "Yeah, we direct market all the way from Federal Way to Spokane. All just word of mouth. People at the Spokane store come and pick it up and we have an apple grower who delivers to the Tacoma stores." Organic grains are also sold off-farm and they include soft white wheat, hard red spring, emmer, barley and oats. Grains are rotated with alfalfa in the irrigated operation and Vander Yacht says he doesn't have any weed problems. Vander Yacht: "Dockage will be under two-tenths percent always. We just don't have any weeds." Vander Yacht is willing to share his forty years of farming knowledge on that Farm Walk September 1st from noon to 3:30 at 287 Twisp Winthrop East County Road 2 ½ miles north of Twisp. The cost is ten dollars for Tilth Producers, 15 dollars for non-members. I'm Bob Hoff. Details about all Farm Walks are available at www.tilthproducers.org and www.smallfarms.wsu.edu. The Farm Walk is sponsored by Tilth Producers of Washington and the Washington State University Small Farms Team.