Group Offers Face-To-Face Look At Organic Farming, Processors

Aiming to teach people more about organic agriculture - and expose a few stereotypes - a group is offering a ground-level view of organic farms and processors in a series of tours this summer.

Two of the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute tours will run through Eastern Washington and North Idaho, visiting local farmers and others having a go at the small but growing organic food industry.

Participants will have a chance to learn about a variety of issues in organic production, including marketing, labor and pending legislation, said Nancy Taylor, sustainable agriculture director for the institute.

“This is an opportunity for people to meet face-to-face and really see what the production involves,” said Taylor.

Organic farming, which uses a minimum of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, accounts for only about 1 percent of the food Americans eat. Idaho and Washington are among only a handful of states with statesponsored organic certification programs.

Many consumers, farmers and researchers don’t understand what it means to grow food organically, said Taylor, who inspects and certifies organic farms for the state of Idaho.

“One of the stereotypes is that everybody is out there going broke - whoever has tried it can’t stay in it long - and they’re a bunch of just granola hippies out there,” she said.

The $15-per-person tours are supplemented by a grant from Patagonia Inc., a sportswear company marketing a line of clothing made from organically grown cotton.

The Aug. 12 North Idaho tour will take in the Sandpoint Farmers Market, the Dodi and Tom Sykes Farm, the Sundance Roasting Company and the Talache Apple Company. It will include a lunch of organic fruits and vegetables.

The Aug. 26 Eastern Washington tour will begin at the Spokane Marketplace, have an organic brunch, and visit the Yesterdays Farm in Deer Park and Willow Wind, a producer and processor of potatoes, hay and onions in Ford.

Other tours will take place in Central Idaho on July 29, Southern Idaho Aug. 5, Western Washington July 22 and Central Washington Sept. 16. For more information, call the institute at (208) 882-1444.

, DataTimes