Category: Farmer Notes

That fast, rising at 5 seems late while 8 in the evening seems early to the table.  June’s long light resets my clock year after year, and seemingly without notice.  The energy field shifts and across the countryside everything is busy.  The full Strawberry Moon is coming up, then the solstice arrives and things will stall, before more slowly tipping the other way by the month’s end.

Most years, June is our wettest of the spring/summer months.  However, this doesn’t appear to be the case this year and we sure could use some good rains.  With all the surface recharge from a wet last fall, then the early snowpack, the hills remain fairly green even as the blossoms of balsamroot and lupine fade.  That will change soon I believe, and the browning of summer will likely take hold for real.

Our winter peas here at the farm are blossoming and I just finished mowing them down so we can grow them out a bit longer.  I try to keep a cover crop cycling as long as possible if I am not cropping grain that year.  This fixes more nitrogen in the soil and adds biomass, or green manure to the surface.  I may plant winter grains toward the end of the summer, or wait until next spring so the more prolonged growth on the peas the better.  I will turn them under toward the end of the month.

All the other crops are in, and the long light of June will kick some real growth spurts off.  Our first hot weather is upcoming.  So far, 80’s have been the highest temps all spring so that, too, has been a bonus.  But, here comes summer!

The grain cleaning line and milling line have been busy, and we have been doing a lot of shipping these past weeks.  One of the nice things for me has been occasionally meeting some of our walk-in customers I get to help and visit with.  This is really enjoyable for me.  At times I can  feel pretty removed from our customers.  Please keep dropping by, and I hope I happen to be in the packaging area when you do!

Here is a poem I wrote called Evening Birds.  It is from my newest collection of writing entitled “Colors” .  You can find it here at the Farm, on our Bluebird website, Trail’s End Bookstore, or at White Birch Books In New Hampshire.

 Evening birds now

 

Late May arrivals

 Reminding us despite ninety degrees

Spring holds fast here to the foothills

 

Evening hummingbirds, thrush, warbler, vireo

As the last sun turns purple

Over distant and jagged peaks-

A breeze kicks up.

 

Evening spring birds grow in chorus

Dusk pushing down the ridges

Over the valley fields,

Heavy along the creek.

 

Evening birds as we finish, finally

Sowing all our seeds

An ancient dog nearby

Who still perks up- recognizes us

When we finish

Soiled head to toe.

 

Evening birds… so right

Reminders I’ve so much to write

Of hope I’ve not forgotten

These past seasons

Front and center

Of a different play entire.

 

Evening bird song in late May

So sweet it prevails

Above the travails

As the wind wails

And heat and frost and squalls

Singing of what is faithful

And true.

Congratulations to all the graduates!  Go forth with zest, be brave, respectful and I wish you the very best.

Yours 

Farmer Sam

 

A finer April I can’t recall.  With a brilliant, boundless blush of Arrowleaf Balsamroot flooding the green foothills and birdsong filling the air against a snowy backdrop of the North Cascades, one has to pause and pinch just to confirm it is real.  Beauty at the start of May – a beauty only Mother Nature herself could conjure up.  She never ceases to amaze.

As the mountains thaw and the streams and rivers swell I am reminded once more how this specific hydrology affects the soil profile here in the valley long after the last snow patches have disappeared.  This May, all the vernal pools are filling to the brim and the hidden lives within are coming forth.  Most notably the evening cacophony of various frogs.  Such the pleasant sound  this lullaby of spring, health and purity.  The earlier spring birds have arrived and most are either nesting or working that way fast.  It won’t be long into this month of May before we see the tanagers, orioles, buntings, chats…  perhaps the first fledglings from resident robins, as well.  Stay tuned.

Early April gave us a little rain before drying off from there.  However, with all the moisture recharge the fields are in good shape as is the rest of the countryside.  The winter peas have awakened and begun to steadily grow.  On the home field here at the Farm, we have a thick, lush winter pea crop.  These peas will likely go to flower in June and that is when we will turn them under to set the stage for either a fall seeded, or next spring’s grain crop.

Our partners out on the prairie are beginning to roll and currently they are seeding spring peas into their glorious soils built up over many years of their Regen practices.  The Schmaltz Family continues to be a leader in Regenerative Organic Agriculture, and continues to push the limits of what is possible not only in crop nutrient density, but harvest volumes as well.   As always, we are very grateful to have their support.  Here in the lower Columbia Basin Lenwood Farms already has all their peas planted and soon will be onto plating einkorn.  Most of you already know the high quality of these grains we process to order, and ship out of Bluebird both near and far.

Yes, we have been doing a fair bit of shipping lately!  The flour mill stays busy, we are dehulling another lot of emmer as I write, and our supply of goods is solid until harvest.  Being founders  in the domestic “ancient grain” movement, we learned early on not to promise more than we can deliver.  As the years go by – 20 this year! – we recognize all the more how important it is to be consistent.  When I say this I’m talking about consistent service, consistent quality, consistent improvement.  We love feedback, and welcome any suggestions on how we can improve anything.  We may not always be able to accommodate, but our customers are always paramount, whether a large account or small.  

With the continued and increased push back against criminalizing prevalent herbicides such as glyphosate – now on a state by state level in many cases –  we feel most fortunate to have taken the organic path from the beginning.  Of course, the ancient wheats Bluebird is known for: emmer and einkorn, have been perfect for this path.  We will see how much traction the MAHA movement gets?  Regardless, you can rest assured that nothing much is different at Bluebird than it was when we began.  Custom milled tasty, nutritious, uncontaminated grains from our farms to your plate remains our credo.  We feel honored.

Farm Bill update: Nothing new with that, either!  The extension that exists until September will likely get extended – the rocky road to bipartisanship notwithstanding.  Remember the Farm Bill… the $30 billion annual taxpayer handout to largely corn, soy, and wheat farms?  Non-organic remains mandatory criteria for these subsidies.  In other words, the funds go to supporting a variety of unsustainable farm practices – not the least being heavy reliance on chemicals from other countries.  

Alas, cheer up, it’s spring!  Get out and feel the earth, smell the air, listen to the birds.  Nature has heeled us before, we can only hope she will continue to.  I’d say we owe her the utmost of respect and treat her in a healing manner ourselves.  

Yours,

Farmer Sam

Peas, Regenerative Farming, Cover Crop

Our field peas are just emerging—fixing nitrogen and laying the groundwork for healthy soil. They’re sprouting through a thick layer of Einkorn straw left intentionally from last year’s harvest. This straw isn’t waste—it’s a powerhouse. It locks in moisture, shields out weeds, and feeds the living soil web beneath: fungi, microbes, earthworms, and more.

 

April… the month of awakening.  March might be noted as the month of change, however April is the month that leads once the script is flipped from winter to spring.  With the last of the snow receding from the foothills, a menagerie of birds have returned.  Meadowlarks; sparrows; hawks and eagles.  Swallows, robins, jays and yes bluebirds!  To name only a few.  Nothing so brilliant as a handful of male mountain bluebirds flitting about the otherwise drab countryside.  Oh my; it is no less shocking of a sight year after year.  To be sure, one that sanctifies the season.

I know from the years here that a wet late fall, followed by an earlier and solid winter, often gives way to a damp and invigorated spring such as the one that lies before us.  Already spring beauties, yellow bells and bluebells dot the greening slopes.  Soon enough we will see our first balsamroot in the lower valley and then the aspen will leaf-out and from there it will be a flood of daily changes.  I suspect the wind will kick up any day – another harbinger of April in the Methow.  This season for the senses is like no other.  Welcome!  

As we say goodbye to winter and switch out the snow removal equipment for farming tools, I am always amazed how fast the seasons come and go.  This may have something to do with growing a year older myself, but how can a place like this fit 4 full seasons into a year were it not otherwise?  As I walk the fields that were buried in snow only a month ago, I see the winter peas are not only awake, but beginning to color up and grow!  Our soil profile is in terrific shape moisture wise.  The snow pack in the mountains is decent and we will have plenty of moisture for our more user friendly annual crops here at Bluebird.  Bluebird farming partners in the Columbia basin and on the northern plains are also stirring and anxious to begin the farming season.

Our flour mill has been staying busy as the baking season never really ends.  The fresh milled einkorn flour just flies out the door weekly, and we are pleased how well used it is.  As are all of our other whole grain flours, and whole grains themselves.  Inventory is solid, and with planting season around the corner, there is little risk we will run short of your favorite grains and mixes.

The organic food business has grown to be about $70 billion in this country.  It has done so largely unsubsidized.  This speaks volumes to consumer confidence, demand, and choice.  It is estimated that for every dollar invested in organic agriculture, there is a $20 return.  In the next 7 years, this national value is predicted to almost double.  Economy, food security, independence and health are all cornerstones of what organic agriculture has always been.  These are all points the National Organic Coalition – of which I was a guest member of this year – brought to Washington DC the last week in March during our “Fly-in” event.  

Bluebird was asked to participate this year by NOC member PCC Markets, as we are one of PCC’s  suppliers.  Their hope was for a farmer from District 4 to join the cause, as Representative Dan Newhouse ( District 4) sits on the Ag appropriations committee, and has shown support for organic agriculture over the years.  Thus, yours truly jumped on a plane for Dulles airport, DC.

I will say it was a full 3 days.  All of our meetings on the Hill were condensed into one day however, we took a full day to prep, and a full day to debrief.  There were about 25 of us in total, and we broke into sub-groups for most of the meetings.  Our Washington State group consisted of PCC Markets, Seattle;  Nature Path’s Foods, Blaine; the Organic Seed Alliance Port Townsend, and myself from Winthrop.  

Policy, policy, policy.  Each year, US taxpayers hand out roughly $30 billion… yes billion in subsidies to farm business and agriculture.  A whopping $23 million of that goes to the National Organic Program which has to cover label enforcement, research, minimal certification cost share and a host of other things.  Still, organic thrives.  It remains the only growing sector in Agriculture.  

NOC was there simply trying to save what little organic support we have at this point, and did ask for a $7 million increase to and even $30 million.  This was an ask directly to Newhouse, who I felt we had a very good meeting with, as well as several other Senators and Congress members while we were there.  Given the fact that the Farm Bill flounders along on extensions – going on two years now – all of this “discretionary “ spending is at risk.  It may seem like small potatoes, but seed spuds at the very least, to what I like to think will become a much bigger movement.  I think the timing could be ripe.  Organic: Independent, (import free), free market (capitalism), healthy (MAHA).  Making Agriculture Great Again.

I had a dear Uncle who once quipped that there were three basic rules to business: Politics, politics, politics.  Everyone seems to be enthralled with politics these days.  I encourage us all to be civil as we get involved while attempting to move the needle back toward the middle.  One  way to do this is to work with one another on the ideas we agree on, not always the ones we don’t.  This is politics – frustrating as it is at times.

Thank you NOC for inviting me along on this informative trip.  Thanks to all of you conscientious and loyal customers!  I wish you all a healthy spring!

Your farmer, Sam

Ahhh… the mighty month of March.  This year it comes in lamb-like on the coattails of a February wherein we experienced both the coldest, and warmest temperatures of the new year. In truth, February seemed more like March can be with a fierce start but mellow finish.  Following a few -10 degree nights, the final couple days rose above freezing and that fast, March is rolling along with stunning, sunny days and a torrent of bird life as the snowy hillsides begin to soften and south ridges shed their winter blanket.

At first there was a shift in the chickadee’s song, then a handful of robins showed up then the winged parade began for real: blackbirds; juncos, finches, grosbeaks; phoebes; geese and yes, even mountain bluebirds!  All in a week’s time.  Never have I seen the shift so sudden nor so musical.  The pace seems almost frantic.  Coyotes sing throughout the night and sometimes even during mid-day.  Owls keep to the dark woods except one evening just as the sliver of a moon rested atop the Butte with Venus straight above, a great owl soared across the lasting horizon.  The silence and swiftness of that bird sanctified the mood.  I just love this place!

Meanwhile, back at the Farm the main yard has all melted out.  Now freight and grain trucks can come and go more easily as they resupply our field crops, so that in turn we can clean, grade and fresh mill them for packaging and then send them back out to a door near you.  Or maybe your own door?   Our supply remains solid and our thoughts turn toward spring and subsequent plantings.  There remains plenty of snow on the fields here, and I suspect excellent soil moisture this year as we had wonderful late fall rains before the snows that insulated the ground winter-long.  This is so important for planting purposes, plus it will ease the strain on irrigation needs.  Our grain crops are pretty gentle on water-supply.  However, I’d guess there will be good water supply for even the water-hog crops such as alfalfa, too.

I do not like to see winter go yet with the rapidly building daylight and strengthening sun. I can’t help but feel the age-old excitement that spring brings, particularly if one is a farmer.  I will do my best to keep skiing so long as it lasts, but I’ve also begun switching the tractors over from their winter duties of snow plowing and removal.  Now they are ready for farm implements, instead.  By next month the fields will be melted and full of robins.  Did I mention this month’s upcoming full moon is the Worm Moon?  Here’s to all those wageless workers of the soil.

These are strange and interesting times some might agree.   As I’ve been mentioning more in recent notes, policy is very important and current Agricultural policy can use some improvement.  The Farm Bill’s latest extension runs out Sept. 30th, if the federal government doesn’t shut down sooner (Mar. 14?).  With so much rhetoric flying around right now??  It so happens that I’ve been invited to travel to DC the last week in March as part of the National Organic Coalition to weigh in on farm policy, and lobby for strengthening organic farming support.  The organic industry receives very few subsidies and thus, the few that we do receive – such as certification cost share – are very important.  Keep in mind we have to PAY for the USDA’s organic certification label.  And this certification fee is based not on profit, but on gross sales.  In other words, the stronger the sales, the more we pay.  Hmmm.  Such incentives?

Regardless, as many of you know Bluebird has been a voice for organic agriculture for 20 years now, and I’ve been a certified grower for 25.  I believe in what we do as much as I ever have, but also realize the difficulties and realities of all the paperwork involved, and that many small farms can easily become overwhelmed.  Also, there is an increasing temptation by some to “cook” the system.  Therefore, more and more enforcement of the guidelines is needed.

I will be part of a team meeting with State Rep Dan Newhouse, and also with Maria Cantwell’s team and Patty Murray.  Do they have more important things to do?  Well, is there anything more important than our health?

I will report back soon.  Stay tuned!

Your farmer, Sam

Stunning, crisp, cloudless winter days closed out the long month of January.  The holidays are past, daylight lengthens, and the solitude of mid-winter permeates the land.  Deep and star-studded night skies: owls at dawn and dusk; lively chickadees, nuthatches and finches in the brilliant afternoon sun; coyotes throughout.  Hard as winter is on many creatures, I can’t help but love it as much as any other season.  One season, of course, is not the same without the others.

With the late fall rain followed by the snow cycle that lasted until January our soils are cozily tucked in and insulated for the remainder of winter.  Weather cycles tend to last a long time in the Valley here.  Although high pressure with zero at night; teens during the day was the norm for much of January, snow is beginning to fall again here to start the short month of February.  Hard to know how much precipitation we will get out of this incoming cycle, but we remain grateful for what we already have.  This month’s full Wolf Moon is less than two weeks away. Maybe if we are fortunate we will finally get to hear the howl of a wolf from our back steps, to go along with the other nighttime sounds I previously mentioned? 

Here at the Farm we’ve held off running any of the milling equipment most days until late morning or afternoon as equipment always is more fretful once the mercury drops below 10.

Our daily schedule typically shapes out to be packaging and shipping in the mornings, and milling and filling in the afternoons.  So far, we’ve been able to keep up with orders, and the cold will moderate sometime this month I suspect.

I didn’t miss the constant snowplowing and yard clearing last month!  Trucks are able to get in and out of our yard easily now, taking our Bluebird goods far and wide.  Our website continues to be busy and our faithful wholesale customers keep us cranking along on bulk orders.  We are thankful to all.  As more and more folks think about where their food comes from, and look to a consistent, reliable supply of a quality product, I feel we are well staged here at Bluebird to meet this demand.  We have always promoted, and continue to support this sort of food ethic.

Meanwhile, “Big Ag’ is facing many challenges with well known equipment manufacturing companies structuring vast worker lay-offs; meat processing and packing plants closing down; government hand outs in question… uncertain times indeed.  The Farm Bill extension will come up again before spring, and tariff talk could play a significant role in export/import.  While this all feels a long way away from Bluebird as I sit and type these notes while watching the setting sun, “Farm Policy”, I realize, affects us all.   Again, I’m grateful so many of you know the importance of sustainably raised, fresh foods.  Fair labor compensation, community-base decision making, and embracing change is all part of true Regenerative Agriculture.  As we enter our 20th year, Bluebird looks forward to continuing its role on the leading edge of farm to table food.  This was our beginning; this is our future.

Embrace the calm of the season.  Breaking bread around the family table – the friend table – the community table couldn’t be any more important than it is now as we move full-swing into 2025.

 

Cheers, 

Your Farmer, Sam

And the holiday season has begun! This is hard to believe yet as I write this on Thanksgiving weekend I’m quite aware the year is nearing the end-zone and next up is the “Big One”. Like many, I actually enjoy Thanksgiving as much as Christmas. More so, in some ways. No matter, the joy and thankfulness of both sanctify this darker and quieter time of year I love. November.

Blessed and glorious November that, once again, delivered. Big time, giving us the nice, steady rains I’d so hoped for, as these rains softened and opened the soil. Then before the ground could freeze, we received a substantial dollop of first-snow to the tune a foot or so, with more that followed. The snow itself had a lot of moisture in it, as temps stayed barely below freezing. Now we have pliant, soft ground under a beautiful winters’ quilt and this starts a great moisture profile for the next growing season. Thank you, November. My favorite month and perhaps one of the most reliable, like any old friend.

Now the chickadees chime in and the nuthatch crawl up and down the porch beams and winter seems to be settling in as the calendar turns to this final month. It was another fulfilling year here at Bluebird as we still worked out some adjustments and made more efficiencies within our new digs that are already over two years old! Many of you may have noticed that the quality and consistency of our products have remained good as ever. As is our promise, we are just doing more of what we feel we do best: Offering quality foods and punctual service.

Punctual as we can be on our end, that is. Many might have noticed the poor ole’ postal service has been struggling as of late, as have a few other freight companies. We can’t always predict these sorts of things. If you are planning holiday orders please consider giving both us, and you some extra ordering time! We love putting together gifts for so many, but we want to make sure they get to where they are going on time! There are lots of empty spaces out there, still. That isn’t a bad thing.

Thinking of empty spaces, the night skies have been quiet around here lately. If it hasn’t been raining or snowing, there have been some crisp stars and a waning moon. However, I’ve not heard the owls as of late, and the coyotes come and go like usual. To step out and stroll before bed this time of year is a lesson in listening. Deep listening can lead to reflection, particularly when the only sound is one’s own rustling. I remain amazed by Nature.

I am more amazed by Nature all the time, I should say. The sudden and heavy snow is beautiful in my mind, but not all creatures feel this. Most, actually, feel undo stress. Walking up our driveway the other evening several deer were using the roadway and were not anxious to bound out across the snowy fields. I saw where both partridge and quail had moved toward the crabapple tree at the edge of our yard where they’d been scratching away for fruit. Up on the hill above our place, I noticed small partridge tracks weaving among the bunchgrass tips that barely poked above the snow. Not much to eat there, but something at least. Being ground feeders, these poor little birds were having to make fast adjustments. Likely too fast for all to survive. Some silence is lovely; some eerie I suppose. Nature. Resilience. Easy for me to say beautiful.

This time of year we think of Peace on Earth if for some reason we’ve not been thinking about Peace the rest of the year? It is always my wish. And I wish that all of you have had a nice Thanksgiving gathering, and look forward to Christmas as do I. I hope we can all take some quieter moments and think about what we can do for others.

I appreciate all that you customers do for us here at Bluebird as we enter our 20th year! Couldn’t have done it without so many of you and we are most grateful. Here is to your health. Here is to many more years together. More so than ever, we truly do rely on one another.

Merry, Merry and I’ll be in touch with you next year!

Your Farmer, Sam

I simply can not get enough of fall.  This fall’s weather has been as pleasant as any, perhaps even too pleasant.  We did not receive the moisture I’d hoped for in October, though the final couple days promised storms.  Still, it would be hard not to have liked the endless fine, cool nights; the mild, sun-dappled days.  This was true most of last month.  The latter leaving songbirds stuck around, well, pretty late!  Now, the greatest month of all is upon us! Summer birds have left, darkening clouds gather, and badly needed moisture is coming in November –  the month of “worsted gray…”

Autumn in the northern prairie couldn’t have been more classic as I made my way through Montana to the Schmaltz Family Farm in North Dakota.  Then north from there to O’Canada.  I’m not a big fan of driving around much, sometimes even just to town!  However, if locked and loaded for a road trip, yee-haw!  The drive from here to ‘there’ is stunning as one travels  along some of Montana’s fine rivers: The Clark Fork; the Madison; the YELLOWSTONE, and on to the wide open prairie.  Western North America has to be one of the prettiest and most varied places on this Earth. 

As always, my visit with the Schmaltz Family was rewarding on many fronts.  We exchanged deeper conversations about food, farming and places.  I got to see how inventive, hard working and successful they have been with their full-scale regenerative farming practices.  Their success isn’t so surprising – since they’ve been at it a dozen or more years now – but these restorative systems are very impressive.  Their crop yields show for themselves, however, it is the noticeable quality that speaks the loudest.  This quality and consistency come only after a great deal of investment and belief in a system that is constantly improving both soils and the food from these soils.  Schmaltz’s farm is now working for itself in this sense.  Still, the critical decision making and planning is all Kent and Blaine.  This is a very involved process, and one that requires having a variety of scenarios since – like with all farming – things often do not go as “planned”!  Gosh it was fun to see, and I couldn’t be more grateful for our relationship.  Oh, we got some solid pheasant hunting in, too!  Much to Clyde’s delight.

Fall is always a busy season at the Bluebird mill as the eating season kicks into full swing.  October was a bit busier than the past few months, and we anticipate November being busier yet.  Soup, bread, yummy side dishes; ‘ tis the season for firelight and hearty foods as the countryside begins to quiet and soon winter’s blanket will settle in.  Our lean, and sometimes mean (not really!) crew here at the Farm are eager to serve up all the good grains and flours for your cozy kitchens.  Brad Baylie who grows our soft Sonora white wheat in Connell, Washington brought in another solid crop for us this year.  This versatile soft flour works great for pie crusts as well as other goodies.

It is hard not to think about politics this time of year.  For those of us who voted early we are left to fret.  Once again, things I often fret over never even get onto the political platforms: Environment, education, proactive health care.  These issues are all relevant in many ways, and tied closely to the Farm Bill.  Two years has passed since the last Bill expired and there still is no renewal of a new Farm Bill.  Reelection campaigns are apparently far too important for any issues to actually be resolved during this time.  Meanwhile – daily it seems – I learn of more and more (millions) of chickens continuing to be destroyed.  More recently, right here in the good ole’ Northwest.  And at the same time, an even more potent version of Round-Up (Glyphosate) has hit the market.  This proves that not only is animal husbandry in steady decline, but private enterprise is alive and functioning  – for better or worse – throughout the election season. 

In related news, there continues to be growing concern over the use of glyphosate as a desiccant.  This has prompted many cereal grains and pulse buyers to restrict purchases of crops where this pattern of burn-down pre-harvest remains.  Truth to tell, up in Manitoba where I just was, some pea processors no longer will take sprayed down peas, and oat and barley producers have been told not to use the glyphosate for harvest any more as well.   Now this is some good news!

We have so much to thank the Earth for.  I am glad to see small inroads being made as an effort to better care of it, and as people once did not all that long ago.  She is our Mother, after all, and somehow continues to give us great, great bounty.

Soon, winters’ chickadees will return, the owls’ nighttime voices will deepen, and coyotes are already talking about the growing darkness during the new moon.  Next up, November’s full moon known as the Beaver Moon.  And after, my favorite holiday at the close of the month!  Plenty to be grateful for, indeed.  Please gather ‘round, hold tight, and give thanks together for another year’s food from our always giving Mother.

Cheers,

Farmer Sam

In step, October arrived with the first autumn frosts after a final week of September that hosted several 80 degree days.  We are far enough north here in the Methow where seasons can be prolonged, as well as shift overnight.  A couple frosty mornings and that fast, one is grateful for the woodpile, breads, soups, hot cereals and whatever other foods or drinks that might keep you cozy. Oh, do I love it.  Love September – love October all the more.  Those of you long-time readers of my notes know too well, perhaps, my affinity for fall and the colder months in general.  Bring it on!

Yes, I will miss the summer birds, sights and sounds.  I won’t miss the heat so much, or the dryness plus, new birds have already begun to arrive.  The hummingbirds held out until very late last month – in part because it stayed so warm I suspect.  We still have bluebirds that fledged here in our yard.  However, I noticed around 6 o’clock last evening they are now sharing the birdbath with a flush of gathering robins, as well as chipping sparrows and the last of the flycatchers.  I may have heard the last of the nighttime poorwills, yet I still hear a meadowlark.  As the landscape changes in hues of purple, maroon and gold, raptors soar the winds while the Sandhill cranes have already passed through. Soon there will be flocks of geese and with all this, we sure hope for fall moisture… and a lot of it.

Despite the bizarre 2 inch rain storm we received late August, we’ve scarcely had a drop of moisture since.  We wish for nice, sustained fall rains before the ground freezes and/or it snows.  The rewards of a good snowpack are better realized if the ground is soaked first, and softened and pliant so that spring melt can more easily go into the profile and not run off.  October can be good for these rains, particularly as we get into the latter part of the month.  I have faith. Then, of course, comes the mighty month of November – my most favorite of all!

Here at the beginning of October the cool nights and warm afternoons are not lost on me.  Nor lost on our huge cover crop of winter peas that has thrived and grown up through all the left-behind einkorn straw.  I charged up our pivot irrigation for the first time since June, and applied a dose of cold-pressed fish and beneficial microbes to kick-start the decomposition of that straw while energizing the peas.  It seems as if we can see them growing by the day.  And the resident Canada geese sure are enjoying them.  The field gets the benefit of all this recycling and we have fun observing each day.

Fall orders are picking up and our cleaning line, milling and packing lines are seeing a jump in hours.  Good stuff.  This temperate weather is easier on our lean crew, and our processing equipment.  Ambient atmosphere plays a big part in how grains both clean, and how grains mill into whole grain flour.  Although environmental conditions can add to the challenges of custom milling, these are good challenges, and they keep us tuned into our craft.  Bluebird is located in a good, low humidity climate that is ideal for custom milling. Many of you realize this in the consistency and quality of our products.  These autumn days only enhance this process.

Meanwhile, as of October 1st we hit the second year mark of no renewal of the Farm Bill.  This has become yet another partisan issue with so much at stake.  The one side pushes the importance of the Bill on a variety of levels, not the least of which is the SNAP program.  Another side wants to guarantee continued payouts to the wealthiest farms.  Both sides seem to support continued “biofuel” production which largely means ethanol.  There is no heavier resource dependent crop than corn, and here our government supports the use of this heavily subsidized crop as a gas additive that makes our engines less efficient?? Like with so many things, there is a lot left in the middle of the Farm Bill – a bill that is foreign to so many East of the Mississippi who pay the majority of it.  Likely the bill will get another extension.  Each time this happens it not only costs taxpayers more, but kicks the main issue down the road.  Don’t expect anything to change until after November 5th.  Who knows what will happen thereafter?

Speaking of subsidies, I get to head to the northern prairie this month!  To visit our good friends the Schmaltz family on their recently certified regenerative farm where they farm in complete cycle with Nature and accept no subsidies.  I so enjoy visiting their amazing 5000 acre organic farm, which is surrounded by many very large tax-supported farms.  This does not keep me from loving the autumn prairie.  For a few days I’m going further north into Manitoba – a place I’ve never been.  I look forward to this journey through some of the major small grains production areas of North America.  Every time I take a road trip across parts of our vast country, I learn so much and have more appreciation each time for how fortunate we are here in North America.  We have a major luxury of so many natural resources; we just need to work harder to protect them.

With Halloween up-coming, try not to get spooked by the heavy rhetoric that comes on an election year.  Try and keep things in perspective, hard as that may be at times.  Most of us want peace and want everyone to get the chance to thrive in a respectful manner- no matter where they are from.

Cheers to Fall,

Farmer Sam

 

school kids looking at soil health, Bluebird

Sam talks with with the Chelan Middle School agricultural class about soil health during a recent fieldtrip to Bluebird Grain Farms.

 

Most years I find myself sighing in relief when the mellow month of September finally rolls around, bringing with it the cooling nights and shorter days as summer’s growing season winds down.  Indeed, September is the busiest harvest month when one considers the various fruits, grains, and vegetables that are gleaned here under clear, mild eastern Washington skies.  However, aside from the first week or so of August, most of last month felt like September!  Truth to tell, a couple nights were down in the 40’s and a very unusual rain fell that left 2 inches of moisture across the countryside.  Never before had this amount of precipitation been recorded here in the valley not just for the date, but for the entire month of August!

Dawn; I now hear chickadees again, robins, bluebirds, but hummingbirds seem to be staying on longer than years past?  Chickadees generally are a sign of autumn.  Hummingbirds are often gone by September.  June this year was May; July was August; August was September.  What all this means and how  September will shake out, I’ve no idea.  Beautiful…? 

Even though all of our Bluebird crops are harvested, we will still take the clear, hot weather as it will likely be the last for the year.  As I noted in August notes, our harvest right here at Bluebird was earlier than ever as I harvested the einkorn in late July.  The standing straw left behind had the understory of winter peas clinging tight and I’d considered rolling the Gleaner back out, then harvesting them.  However, I would have done so simply to clean up the seed for planting as our fall cover.  Instead, I hooked up the heavy off-set disk and in two passes, knocked all the stalks flat and spread the peas about in the process.  This was the first tillage I’d done to this field since spring of 2023.

By knocking out the peas and turning down the straw, my hope was to have a nice environment for the peas to germinate up through the mulched field.  Better, perhaps, than if I’d tried to direct drill them into the standing straw.  When the bizarre rain came I knew we’d soon know what sort of cover crop we’d have.  Here on the first of this month I’m pleased to report we’ve a wonderful, mulched in crop of winter peas and volunteer einkorn!  To which I will apply a good dose of cold pressed liquid fish fertilizer and composting microbes.  This will speed up the digestion process of the straw.  My goal is to have one big biological, soil feeding combination of available goodies come next spring.  It may be the largest amount of organic matter I’ve ever had to try and convert to soil.  This could be interesting.   Stay tuned. 

Farm partner Brad Bailie in Connell, Washington took off a very nice crop of einkorn last month and as soon as we run the last couple loads of 2023 crop, we will be fresh into 2024 einkorn.  The Schmaltz family just finished emmer harvest  and they have their first Certified Regenified regenerative crop in the bins!  We will be taking that in for hulling and grading at our recently  Certified Regenified Bluebird facility here in Winthrop.  Yes, one more “certification”.  This regenerative certification is one that we feel is now legitimate and we believe in it.  Even the USDA is beginning to put pressure on producers and processors to substantiate their claims on a variety of sales pitches such as “No antibiotics”, “Free Range”, and yes “Rengerative.”  We want you to be confident that we are who we say we are.  A 100% certified organic, and now certified regenerative facility using certified crops.  That’s a lot of certs!

That said, our grain cleaning line was a bit quiet last month.  This can happen in the depths of summer.  Commodity prices themselves have been at a low for the past 10 years, and this can sometimes have an effect even on our small market of specialty grains.  Right now between inflationary costs of operations, a strong US dollar and lower farm gate price-points, those growing under the subsidized system are reminded that Price support and Insurance support is how  they are kept in business some years.  This tax-based funding source is common for most non-organic US farms, however, even these farms remain at risk because here a full year since the last Farm Bill expired.  The expired bill has been on a one year extension which, in turn, is now due to expire.  The House version is still hung up on the House floor.  Good thing for some farms that another support mechanism remains alive and well.  This month the 39th annual Farm Aid concert takes place on the autumn equinox in New York State.  To date, Farm Aid has raised $80 million for family farms in this country.  Go Willie and Company!

Here at Bluebird where we have no price safety net, we’ve kept our prices the same as we try to do no matter how the tides rise and fall around us.  This isn’t always easy, but it seems to be a good way to maintain long-term relationships.  We are fortunate to have such a large repeat customers base.  Thank you.  It was nice to meet some of you at our Labor Day weekend open house.  Brooke and I enjoyed our time with several folks we’d never met before, but that had been buying our products in some cases, for years now! 

Schools are back in session country-wide.  With this comes our local school’s Classroom in Bloom annual party in support and celebration of the amazing garden we have here on school grounds just across the road from Bluebird.  This year marks the 20th anniversary!  CIB helps feed the local students fresh and frozen produce throughout the school year, as they reap the rewards of their very own labor.  CIB is one of the gems of our little valley and I’m proud of all those involved.  I hope to see some of you at the party.

I hope you enjoy the late summer as nights lengthen and deepening shadows flow across the landscape to the easy sound of gathering birds, happy cicadas, and the flutter of just- fading aspen.  September is perhaps the mellowest month of all.  And I love it. 

 

Yours,

Farmer Sam

Following a most pleasant and coolish June this year, July came in and like that and acted a lot more like August.  Mid-month we had 2 weeks of temperatures hovering one side or the other of 100.  The river dropped, the green vanished from the north slopes, and our einkorn totally cured out in those two weeks!  The birds…?

Our resident waxwings hung around the greenery of our backyard, and subtly sung to us even during the heat.  As did the bluebirds, the wrens, the towhees and finches.  However, July is the molting season for many adult birds, particularly the males.  Male birds need to reset their flare and vitality each year, and July is when many species quietly do this.  

One recent morning while taking my early cup on the south porch, I heard a sound I recognized as a familiar water bird but it seemed out of place as we’ve no real nearby water.   For whatever reason, overhead flew a pair of Great Blue Herons?  Both females?  To where I’ve no idea?  Hawks stretch about the morning sky, as they hunt food for their young.  Soon, the young will be hunting on their own.

As the “dog days” of summer settle in for real now in August, most everything is busier in the early morning and evening.  Here at Bluebird, we have adjusted our schedule to the real heat and during the worst of it, fire up our cleaning line and milling line early in the morning.  This not only keeps our grains and flours cooler, but it is far easier on our equipment and equipment operators!  Because we pull ambient air into the processing area when the building side louvers open, whatever the air temperature is outside, it soon becomes the same inside.  In the winter, too!  Our workers are tough.  They labor hard to keep the grains and flours at consistent temperatures, and most of you realize this when you receive them.  High quality is our goal, no matter the weather.

As I hinted earlier, I went ahead and rolled out the old Gleaner harvested our einkorn here at Bluebird a good three weeks ahead of most years.  The inter-seeded peas seemed to give the einkorn a boost, and I was able to cut right over the peas in most cases.  This crop is our original einkorn variety we began growing out 15 years ago, and it revamps our seedstock.     I’ve an awful lot of straw now out there, with dry peas and pea straw left as well.  I will be deciding what to do there, aside from putting down a bunch of liquid fish to kick start some biological activity.  With all the straw,  I will need to manage carefully  making sure I’m giving the soil enough nitrogen and other goodies to turn the straw back into nutritious soil.  This is always a tricky balancing act.  To be sure, this field here will be getting a year off from any sort of grain production, and more cover crops.  South of here, Brad has begun einkorn harvest on his farm, as well as the harvesting of the special and yummie Sonora soft white wheat.  We are beginning to take deliveries of both up here at Bluebird.

In unrelated news; still no new Farm Bill.  This now is almost a year past the last bill’s  expiration.  Partisan politics kill everything, including a new Farm Bill.  It was good to learn that USDA head Tom Vilsack was at the Rodale Institute earlier in July, and was talking about different farming paradigms than what is currently called “conventional.  We know that most current, and too often subsidized practices are not sustainable.  Production of food, as is, has a huge impact on Climate Change.  I’ve read estimates that say food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s carbon emissions.  Yikes!  Gotta’ do better, here.

The good news is:  We know how.  The not so good: Big Ag farm subsidies keep this from happening, wherein the average rice farmer receives $292,000 in government subsidies, soybean farmers $54,000 and the overall average of farm subsidies going to the high income bracket is $450,000.  Meanwhile, the Farm Bill has many important and relevant programs that we need to ensure soon such as SNAP – for retirees and disabled citizens.

Next month school will be in full swing most everywhere.  I have been impressed lately how many schools have been putting more emphasis on real nutrition, and less on junk.  I know this is complicated, and it isn’t always the most affordable path up-front, but where better to spend than on good food for our youth?  If we can keep their minds and bodies healthy then we have accomplished a turning point, perhaps, in education.  Please beware as schools open and many more kids will be in and on the roads and streets.

Sally forth here, as we go full on into harvest.  Reap the bounty our Mother somehow continues to provide us, and never once take this for granted.  Carry on, youth.  We need you to make wise decisions, and bring some unity back to this country.  No pressure!

Yours,

Farmer Sam

 

As fine of a month as this past May was, June might have been even lovelier!  June delivered in a number of ways with shots of moisture, sun and some wind scattered throughout the month.  Never did a day reach 90 degrees.  Here in the semi-desert the cooler, mellow weather of “Junuary” came as a real delight.  Even though this mantra is quickly changing as we head into July, some north slopes remain greenish and streams are just now beginning to settle and clear.  Oh, and did the birds ever love June!    

I may have failed to mention the Wood-Pewee before, but these dandy little birds have made themselves well known around our yard this past month.  Although I recognize them by sight, I’d forgotten their voice – a sweet addition to all the other birdsong that flows each morning now.  Another favorite bird voice of mine is the higher pitched, more subtle Cedar Waxwing.  Both are much quieter than our chatty wrens!

One of the windier evenings I watched a pair of recently fledged Waxwings clinging tight to our apricot tree.  With the most determined of looks they hunkered as gusts tossed about a smaller limb they clung to for dear life.  Indeed.  The next moment they appeared scared to let go not knowing, perhaps, where they’d end up?  My guess is every new day comes fraught with fears for them  – for all wildlife actually.  This simply is another reminder of how fragile and resilient Nature is all at once.

True to form, June was a great month for growing.  With the moderate temperatures and full on Solstice daylight, plants seemed to take off big time.  Here at the farm our companion crop of peas and einkorn shot up and grew two feet in about a week.  Not surprisingly the einkorn out grew the peas and now when we look out at the four foot high einkorn dancing in the breeze, no blossoming peas can even be sighted !  They are down there, however, and adding nitrogen to the grain.

I did irrigate some in June, but all our supplemental water is off for the summer as the grain is full and needs to begin the curing process.  We used a total of about five inches of supplemental water, out of our water right that has a designation of 48”.  Under our more Regenerative farm system and growing less water intensive crops, we use about 75% less water than surrounding farms.  This keeps more water here in our basin, and gives more to the fish and otherwise.  More, too I suppose, for other farmers.  But less compaction for our own fields.  As I’ve mentioned before, water is a leading cause of soil compaction world-wide.  Flooding; heavy storms; supplemental irrigation – over watering is at the head of the compaction line.  Too much of a good thing?  Maybe.  Backwards “water-law”  drives this; a topic for another month.

Update on Farm Bill:  No real change as it remains mired in partisan politics.  Remember this is a $1.5 TRILLION spending package we will all be paying for.  One recent version harbors a particularly nefarious rider, as so many bills do.  This one – folded into the horticultural part of the bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee – essentially is a “get out of jail free” card for Bayer Crop Sciences and other chemical companies.  If passed, it grants Bayer legal immunity for all Roundup lawsuits – originally filed against Monsanto before the buy-out.  If passed, those that have filed suits against the chemical giant would now have to do so all over again with little if any chance of finding settlement.  The EPA sticker on the label claims Roundup is “safe.”  Therefore chemical companies would not be held liable for any health issues.  We can only hope clearer minds prevail, and this FB version will not advance.

Not to worry about any of this if you purchase organic, and organic grains from Bluebird in particular!  We’ve been certified organic since the very beginning.  Our farmers, including myself, have all been certified growers for more than 25 years.  And we’ve done so with few, if any, government subsidies.  As “they say” in politics it is a “win-win” for consumers.

July in Eastern Washington is awash in bright light, clear skies, and hot temperatures.  This is the weather that sets the finishing stages for so many different fruits and grains here.  With cereal grains finishing their growth and heading out and pollinating; hot July weather forces plants to reach for the sugars and bring nutrients up to the fruit, be it actual fruit like cherries, apricots, peaches, or grain kernels.  These sugars develop into protein.  These proteins and minerals add up to flavor! 

Our grain is in full pollination.  As I look out the farm office window and watch the tall einkorn sway in the wind like a river, I think of all the thousands of years this wild food has done what it still does today.  We feel most fortunate to work with this grain, and to be able to bring it to fruition by hulling it and screening it into plump kernels, and milling these kernels into aromatic whole grain flour for you.

As we near the 250 year mark of old glory – now just a year or two  away – I feel so indebted to our ancestors and their fight for our independence.  As broken as this country can feel at times, we still have amazing resources, ingenuity, and perseverance.  By and large, we are a food independent nation.  Of our many strengths this, perhaps, is our greatest.  We have enough land to sustain our population indefinitely, if we can just get back to more sustainable and diverse production practices.  Choose good food for the good of your health, and for the good our country!  

Cheers,

Farmer Sam

American Flag at Bluebird Grain Farms

May oh May… a more delightful May than this years’ I can’t imagine.  A few days in the 70’s and  80’s; a few valley rain showers and snow squalls in the mountains; wind and calm, then temps in the 30’s as we leave the month behind.  Quite the variety of weather, alright.  That is what makes Spring here so fun.  Lest I forget the birds!  Chats and buntings; swallows and wrens; orioles and tanagers…  Truth to tell, I could sit all day and watch and listen.

Alas, that would not be of much help to our wonderful crew here at Bluebird Grain Farms.  They’ve been working hard at keeping our systems running smoothly, and shipping out orders nationwide from our little valley.  Our supply of organic grain remains solid as we enter the last quarter before harvest, and we are having a good year entering the final month of the 2024’s front half.  Nothing makes me happier than to hear good things about our grains and flours from a whole host of different customers.  The real kudos go out to all of you who take an interest in food, how it is grown and where it comes from.  Thank you!

All of this year’s crops are planted and growing right along.  The northern prairies have received nice rains, our partners report.  The earlier planted crops here in the Columbia Basin at Brad’s Lenwood Farms are a foot tall now, and cover crops at our own farm are beginning to stretch up toward the gathering daylight.  Wow.  Can we be just 3 weeks from Summer Solstice!  Plants really kick into gear come this time of the year.  Let the sweet, rich juices of June flow.  

Yes, we could use more rain here.  In the past, the month of June often delivered.  The longer we get into the summer months without excessive heat, the longer we can hold off drought if the days are just cooler and cloudier.  Once crops reach a certain growth stage – grain knee high – then the plants themselves harbor moisture and protect the soils.  This is one reason we love the ancient wheats because they grow so tall, and create a shade effect that preserves moisture in their roots.  This function is not dissimilar to trees, albeit on a much smaller scale.  Soil preservation, high organic matter, nutritious food – these are just some of reasons to celebrate the wheats that once were.  

But we’ve brought them back!  We have been touting these qualities for nearly 20 years now and it is exciting to see continued  interest and rising popularity of these time-tested grains.  Their attributes and versatility both agronomically and culinarily continue to engage and teach us as years go by.  I’m guessing this does not change anytime soon.  To quote William Faulkner: “The past is never dead, it’s not even past.”

Our job hasn’t changed either, and that is seeing to it that all of you get these ancient grains freshly delivered on a consistent basis.  This is one way we can improve on our food systems that still remain flawed.  Currently, the FDA and USDA continue to try and sort out the recent Avian Flu mess that is a self-fulfilled prophecy, of sorts, as I mentioned last month.  Feeding our animals the wrong diet – turning herbivores into carnivores – is not sustainable.  Over 4 million laying hens alone have been destroyed and disposed of…  How?  Where?  Will the dairy herds be next?  Yuck.

In related news, remember the Farm Bill?  The last one expired in September of 2023.  I mentioned in last fall’s Notes how we would not see a new bill before the end of the year.  The question is now: Will we see one before the end of this year?  In a lot of ways this delay may be a good thing since it has morphed into a piece of broken and partisen farming legislation.   However, very crucial programs such as SNAP still hang in the balance.  Not so good.

We enjoyed a nice Memorial weekend granary tour here at the Farm.  It is always engaging for Brooke and myself to see new faces, meet new people, have new discussions and teach and learn all at once.  During the whole weekend I kept in mind what the past “holiday” really is about and that is to honor and memorialize those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation of ours.  Yes, it is a great country.  Democracy is far, far from perfect and remains a constant work in progress.  However, I’ll still take it every day.

Here’s to health, decency and peace for the coming summer.

Yours,

Farmer Sam