Thursday, March 28, 2024

Efforts at sustainable agriculture earn award for Rick and Marilyn Lynn

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Rick and Marilyn Lynn had a plan when they planted their peach, apricot and nectarine orchard at the bottom of Dezellem Hill just north of Bridgeport. These days it's called sustainable farming; the Lynns wanted to go the organic route, raising fruit without using synthetic-based pesticides or fertilizers. Because it's a small orchard they decided to market directly to their customers.

That was in 1991. Over time Rama Farms has established a niche; Rick and Marilyn are familiar faces at Seattle-area farmer's markets, and they also sell at the market in Twisp. Their customers have become friends as well as customers. And the Lynns recently were runners-up for a statewide award recognizing sustainable agriculture.

They were nominated for the Vim Wright award by Wade Troutman, friend and fellow participant in the Foster Creek Conservation District. The late Vim Wright believed strongly in sustainable agriculture; Wright and co-founder Stella Leopold started their foundation to "promote the common ground between farmers and environmentalists," Marilyn said. The women believed that farmers and environmentalists "really were one and the same" in what they are trying to accomplish as stewards of the earth, Marilyn said.

There are farming operations all over the state that prove the point, Marilyn said. "Sustainability and stewardship can come on any scale and in a variety of situations," she said.

But Rama Farms is also an example of farming survival in the 21st Century-some adaptation, some innovation and a lot of hard work.

The alpacas are an example of the innovation. The Lynns own 26 acres but have irrigation permits for six. That other 20 acres had to earn its keep too. Marilyn said they decided to use some of that ground to raise alpacas, renowned for their soft silky coat, which spins into soft silky wool. The wool is sold undyed, in the natural alpaca colors of brown, white and gray. The Lynns also sell wool that hasn't been spun into yarn, called roving.

Then there are the rugs. The idea for the rugs dates from this spring and a cold snap, which gave birth to a lot of new ideas. (But more about that later.) The rugs are made from alpaca wool seconds that didn't make the grade for spinning; Rick and Marilyn sent it to a weaving business in Texas. What they got in return were throw rugs that went to market for sale (after the four Lynn children picked out their favorites). It's part of the attempt to use as much of everything as the farm produces, Rick said.

Rama Farms became a certified organic operation in 1993; organic producers are subject to stringent standards and are inspected every year, Marilyn said. All products and practices "that we use on our farm are only from naturally derived sources," she said. There's a list of those sources, and farmers are required to stick to them and have the documents to prove it. Inspectors look at the orchard and every part of farm operation, along with a "very comprehensive review of documents," Marilyn said. That even includes financial records. Inspectors have a profit estimate based on production and size, and the records must "ballpark match" that estimate, Marilyn said. Along with the yearly farm inspection, organic producers are subject to spot inspections at the market. There are federal standards for organic operations, "and it is fraud to use the organic label if you're not certified," Marilyn said.

Organic farming has come a long way since the Lynns got in the business. "When we started, there was a list" of approved products, Marilyn remembered.

"A short list," Rick said. That list has gotten longer and longer as research has progressed, he said.

Even with more products to help out an organic operation requires pulling a lot of weeds and mowing and otherwise maintaining; that's part of the hard work. Rick and Marilyn Lynn market their fruit (and now their vegetables and peppers) directly. That's the rest of the hard work. "The last 13 weeks have been kind of a blur," Rick said.

The Lynns take their fruit to the West Seattle Farmer's Market and the market in the University District every weekend in season, as well as Pike Place Market on weekends and Wednesday. The producers are usually at the weekend markets by 7 a.m., with the market open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and an hour or so to clean up, Rick said. The Pike Place Market is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; that's just a day trip. Every Wednesday.

Their son Ben usually takes fruit to the Twisp Farmer's Market on weekends. Weekdays Rick, Marilyn and Ben are supervising picking and packing. (Packing is done onsite.) The Lynn children, Ben, Nathan, Bethany and Andy, have been an important part of the business's success from the beginning, Marilyn said.

The Lynns have carved out a specific niche for their produce; customers come back year after year, with some people that pre-order and prepay, and are willing to pay a premium price. As a result the fruit is tree-ripe and picked for color, and every peach, nectarine or apricot is evaluated before it goes in the box. Harvest gets pretty hectic; "it's crazy," Rick said.

"But we love our customers," Marilyn said. Their customers want to know where and how the fruit is grown; "the consumer-they want to know who is growing their food," she said. It was partially in response to suggestions from their customers that they built a process kitchen. Their customers liked that fresh fruit so well they wanted the taste year round, but alas, the fresh season only lasts about three months maximum. That's where the kitchen comes in; it's also a way to get more value out of what's produced in the orchard. "Eventually we'll use up every piece of fruit," Rick said.

The kitchen is certified organic as well; currently they're licensed to produce canned fruit and tomatoes, although the kitchen has the potential for expansion. (They've installed food dryers and are experimenting with dried nectarines, apricots and peaches.) "We're taking baby steps," Rick said. There are other possibilities-freezing produce, maybe even jams or jellies someday, but the kitchen will have to be certified for each operation. And each method has a period of trial and error. (Rick said he still has to figure out how to get a label to stick on a frozen bag.)

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