Apples to Wheat ~ #WAFarms
Be sure to visit our page every week as we update information and highlight farms and activities!
Check out our stories below and find out what some of our clubs and members are doing to participate.
Do you have an activity, recipe or story to share?
May is National Hamburger Month.
Fire up the grill for some burgers, especially when made with local grown beef.
Check out this great recipe from The Washington State Beef Commission
Maplewood-smoked Bacon Beer Burger.
If you make one, send us your story and photo. We'd love to hear from you.
Contact information
Carol Roberts CFA Chair: cjroberts55@hotmail.com
Carolyn Williams PR Chair: craewill@comcast.net
Check out our stories below and find out what some of our clubs and members are doing to participate.
Do you have an activity, recipe or story to share?
May is National Hamburger Month.
Fire up the grill for some burgers, especially when made with local grown beef.
Check out this great recipe from The Washington State Beef Commission
Maplewood-smoked Bacon Beer Burger.
If you make one, send us your story and photo. We'd love to hear from you.
Contact information
Carol Roberts CFA Chair: cjroberts55@hotmail.com
Carolyn Williams PR Chair: craewill@comcast.net
Did you know?
Why do farmers spray?
Did you know that wheat and crops can get sick just like us? Crops can develop funguses, and be invaded by weeds and pests, which weaken the plant and lower production.
Just like your yard, they must prevent the weeds and pests that encroach in their fields to ensure that the
wheat plant lives a healthy life.
So just as we treat our yard, or get vaccinated to prevent an illness, farmers do the same thing with approved crop protection tools and only small amounts of them.
Farmer Spotlight May 3rd
Tower Rock Ranch
Since 1883 Tower Rock Ranch (Mansfield, WA) has been an active cattle operation. Environmental sustainability is a daily goal and cattle management practices keep water, natural habitat and wildlife top of mind.
They received the 2023 Environmental Stewardship Award.
"Everything we do when we get up in the morning, is pointed at making sure that we leave things better than we found them." Being good stewards of the land and caring for cattle simply goes hand in hand.
Tower Rock Ranch
Since 1883 Tower Rock Ranch (Mansfield, WA) has been an active cattle operation. Environmental sustainability is a daily goal and cattle management practices keep water, natural habitat and wildlife top of mind.
They received the 2023 Environmental Stewardship Award.
"Everything we do when we get up in the morning, is pointed at making sure that we leave things better than we found them." Being good stewards of the land and caring for cattle simply goes hand in hand.
Our Stories (click the photos to enlarge them and links are in blue)
Cindy Kadinger, WFRW's Membership Secretary, recently ordered some products from Bluebird Grain Farms located in Winthrop. This family owned farm specializes in organic ancient grains. Cindy made bread from the Paysaten Wheat Flour and chicken and rice pilaf soup from the Potlach Pilaf she ordered and said it was delicious. It really does look good. Thanks Cindy for sharing your story! Meet McKenzie DonTigny who owns Billie's Diner in Airway Heights. Her moto says it all Farmers First - Community Centered. In keeping with the moto, the diner serves food from ingredients sourced locally from farmers and ranchers including Vets on the Farm. It is a popular place for our military stationed at Fairchild AFB. Carolyn Williams, WFRW's Public Relations Chair and this project's co-chair invited a friend to eat at Billie's Diner recently and met McKenzie. Carolyn said both McKenzie and her diner are charming and welcoming and serve a big and delicious breakfast or lunch. The Billie's burger was so juicy and tasty, she couldn't put it down, so she ate the whole thing! Thanks for sharing your story Carolyn! Learn more about Billie's Diner.
Ponderosa Republican Women of Spokane County invited representatives from the Heroes Garden at the Spokane Veterans Outreach Center to attend their April lunch meeting. This garden offers veterans and their families a safe and nurturing place. The greenhouse is currently growing a variety of plants. The club took up a free-will offering during their meeting to help support the garden.
Thank you Ponderosa Republican Women for Caring for America! |
Apples to Wheat Activities and Resources (links in blue)
Please visit often as these will be updated as crops and seasons change. Farmers Markets are opening for the season. Find one in your area, use these links: > Find a Farmers Market > Farmers Markets in WA > Eat Local First Farmers Markets Learn the Apple Varieties grown in WA state. Do you have a favorite? Eat Local First - A WA food and farm finder to connect you with local farms and producers. Recipes from WA State Beef Commission Recipes from WA grown crops Recipes from Dairy Farmers of WA Download the Ice Age Floods Ebook from WA Wheat Foundation and learn how they affected agriculture and wheat production in WA. Learn about Senate Republican's Cultivate Washington Agenda Agriculture blogs from Washington Policy Center's Center Agriculture Director, Pam Lewison, who is also a farmer. Mountain States Policy Center on Agriculture Subscribe to The Crop from the WA Farmland Trust Tour a WA farm Legislative Highlight So Washington Lost a Farmer! "WPC's Center for Agriculture Director Pam Lewison's recent special to The Seattle Times, "WA is losing farms and food-producing land. Does anyone care?", touched a nerve in many parts of Washington. For some it tapped into frustrations they have with state policy and policymakers who seem divorced from the realities to agricultural work and keeping a farm alive during difficult times (and times are almost always difficult in one way or another in farming). For others, it was confirmation of broader disconnect between what those in power and the experiences people have every day. And finally, Lewison tapped into the American appreciation of farming as a rugged, noble, difficult way of life-- and the fear that it might be lost to future generations." |