We’re pleased to announce that Fred Berman, formerly at the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), will be joining NABC’s team of professionals on June 3! “Fred’s passion for food systems work coupled with his many years of experience as a farmer, a small business owner, and as an agricultural professional with WSDA will be a perfect fit toward the…
Washington hospitals are leading the nation in sustainable food procurement. Fresh local food purchasing is good news for patients, doctors, and of course — farmers! After four grueling days in labor with her first child, Kathy Pryor’s best friend gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy. Because of the long and difficult delivery,…
On Monday, April 15, NABC joined farmers, chefs, and food producers from around NW WA at Bow Hill Blueberries (Bow, WA) to discuss opportunities for regional food hub development in the region. Susan and Harley Soltes, owners of Bow Hill Blueberries, hosted the gathering. Susan and Harley recently bought the farm, formerly Anderson Blueberry…
NABC provides technical assistance to multiple regional food hubs. Together, these partnerships are simplifying and supporting the process of getting good, local food from farm to plate through online sales platforms to facilitate sales, and a physical aggregation and distribution facility to overcome logistical challenges. Local food systems research nationally and regionally shows that one of…
The Whatcom Community Foundation has committed to provide a “matching fund” loan of up to $65,000 to support the North Cascades Meat Producers Cooperative (NCMPC). The funding comes at an integral time for the cooperative, which is currently seeking to raise membership equity and open a USDA-inspected meat processing business to serve the North Puget Sound…
In November NABC announced new funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide technical support for existing agricultural processors and to incubate new processors of agricultural products in Northwest Washington. Known as the Northwest Washington Agricultural Processing Initiative, the goal of the program is to utilize long-term strategic business planning to improve economic conditions…
Glendale Shepherd is part of the third generation farm owned by the Swanson family, located near Clinton on Whidbey Island, Washington. The first Island Brebis cheese was sold in August 2012 at the Bayview Farmer’s Market, and since then it has gained popularity and can be found at gourmet shops and farmer’s markets throughout the…
The Northwest Agriculture Business Center entered into an agreement this winter to provide marketing and administrative services to the Northwest Cider Association (NWCA). The plan includes helping establish systems such as financial management, connecting cider apple growers with cidermakers, developing sponsorships, membership recruitment, and marketing to help the organization manage the expected growth. The NWCA…
Starting in January 2013, NABC is reprising our very popular TVA (Transition to Value-Added) Product workshop series. Supported by a USDA Value Added Producers Grant, this workshop series offers comprehensive, business oriented classes for farmers, ranchers, and nursery/greenhouse operators to provide the tools and know-how necessary to develop and launch a new value-added product into…
