Checking in on Local Farms

As summer heats up and brings with it fires and droughts, the farmers of northeast Washington continue to tend to livestock, harvest crops, and figure out ways to thrive amid nature’s hurdles.

The Statesman-Examiner checked in last week with a couple of local farmers to see how things are going.

River’s Edge Ranch is located less than two miles from Chewelah and is owned by Jennifer Sather and her husband Ian. The ranch produces grass fed beef, lamb, and goats; eggs and poultry; meat bundles and specialty meats; wool; seasonal produce, and Berkshire cross pork. They also harvest occasional seasonal veggies. The ranch has faced challenges as a result of the weather. “This year has brought us odd weather,” said Sather. “We haven’t had a ton of rain, and the crops are not as plentiful. We’ve had to cut back on what we sell to keep what we need for our stock.

“It isn’t easy being a farmer,” Sather said. “People think that we’re more well to do than we really are. Everything is expensive: the equipment and the animals. Some piece of equipment always breaks down, and parts are hard to come by. We are self-funded. We don’t get any grants or government subsidies.”

Sather’s swather, a machine used to cut and lay crops, recently had a control board go bad. “It’s taken 13 months, and I still can’t find a replacement part,” said Sather. “So, I’m making lease payments on a piece of equipment that doesn’t work. We ended up having to buy another, used swather, which cost us $9,000. The one we’re making payments on that broke down is a $30,000 machine.”

According to Sather, companies won’t service equipment of a certain age. “They want you to go out and buy a new one. I can’t even move the broken machine out of the way. We need a new baler, too, but since we had to replace the swather, it’s on the backburner.”

She added, “Our livestock is doing pretty good. This includes our sheep, goats, and poultry. They are thriving pretty well, despite the fact that things have been on the drier side because of the weather. We did get our hay, just not as much as we would have liked.

“Also, we just had a calf attacked and killed, likely by a bear. Predators are definitely a challenge, and we have been working to beef up protection and put up game cams. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to lose that calf,” Santher said, “but it’s also a significant loss to our ranch. It’s a loss in production. And the feed and time and energy investment in calves is great. Losses affect the herd in overall stress and lack of gain due to predator pressure, so it’s a culminating loss to the ranch. We work very hard towards the safety of our animals. We attempt non-lethal hazing of predators which has been successful up to this incident.

“The Farmers’ Markets are going well this year, though,” Sather said. “We’ve seen an increase in sales across the board. Lots of people have attended the farmers’ markets. And we’ve harvested enough hay for ourselves. Unfortunately, though, we’ve had to cut hay sales to our goat farmer friends”

Front Porch Farm, established in 2003 and located in Arden, is  celebrating a good season. Owner Dee Acheson said he always wanted a farm, and is proud to have founded this first generation farm.

“Now, 25 years later, we have three generations working the farm,” Acheson said, adding that  Front Porch Farms has a diversified selection of products ranging from organic vegetables, hay, and beef cattle. “We have enough to sell at three farmers’ markets as well as provide for our own farm,” Acheson said.

Front Porch Farms operates a store front where it also sells antiques.

“We are doing well. We always do well. We continue to grow over the years. The community is faithful in supporting us.

“This has been a dry year, though,” said Acheson. “But one good thing was that Front Porch Farms has irrigation rights to the Colville River. This was one of my requirements for buying the farm.

“It’s a use-it-or-lose-it kind of thing, though,” Acheson continued. “The Department of Agriculture will confiscate water rights if they are not used.”

He added, “We do have some difficult bugs, and we take care of those with organic spray. We don’t have any elk or wolf problems here yet, and that’s probably because of our open, visible location near the highway.”

Acheson described the struggles Front Porch Farms faces. “Everything,” Acheson said. “When things go wrong, they go wrong all at once on a farm. We have a limited amount of help.” But Acheson and his three generations of family helping out have continued to make Front Porch Farms successful.