Changing Stripes to Organic

Veteran organic farmer Nate Jones of King’s Crown Organic Farm and the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides will host an organic field day on Thursday, August 13.

Nate Jones planted his first organic crop of garlic in 1987. Since then, he has developed a diversified organic rotation to include potatoes, onions, sweet corn, squash, melons, wheat, dry beans, alfalfa, and other vegetables.

 For producers considering transition to the organic market right now, Jones’ advice is to have a market in place before planting. “You must have something contracted, regardless of the crop,” he says. Jennifer Miller, Sustainable Agriculture Program Coordinator for the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides elaborates: “For many farmers who are transitioning from conventional to organic, they oftentimes have to build a lot of new relationships with buyers so it might be retail at a grocery store or it might be a farmer’s market booth but it might be a large buyer of organic grains or organic dry beans so they need to do some research ahead of time to identify who they are and make sure there’s a need for the product.”

Registration costs $10 and includes lunch. Interested persons should RSVP by August 10 to Jennifer Miller at (208) 850-6504 or

jmiller@pesticide.org.

King’s Crown Organic Farm is located at 2240 E Maple Dr, King Hill. From I-84, take exit 121 and travel south. Turn east on Frontage Rd and travel ½ mile, through railroad under pass. Turn east at stop sign onto Pasadena Valley Rd, travel almost ½ mile across Snake River. Turn south on Rosevear and travel ½ mile. Turn east on Maple Dr.