Letter to Rep. Nethercutt: BiOAg program at WSU
March 11, 2003
Representative George Nethercutt
U.S. House of Representatives
223 Cannon House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Nethercutt:
Thank you very much for your efforts to secure funding for the Organic and Biologically Intensive Agriculture (BiOAg) program at Washington State University (WSU). We are confident that this program will be of significant benefit to growers across Washington state, as well as to Washington’s environment and rural and urban communities. These federal funds are the first to be secured for the BiOAg program, and as such they are key to getting the program off the ground. We were also glad to see that the perennial wheat project at WSU was funded as well.
We greatly appreciate the key role that you played in securing funding for the BiOAg program. We also very much appreciate the efforts of your staff, particularly Jack Silzel, on behalf of the BiOAg program throughout the prioritization and appropriation processes. Thank you again for your support of the BiOAg program and for your commitment to organic and sustainable agriculture. We look forward to continuing to work with you to build the BiOAg program in the coming years.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Rice, Director
Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network
Jeff Herman, President
Washington Tilth Producers
Chrys Ostrander, Organic Farmer, Chrysalis Farm at Tolstoy, Davenport, WA
Vice President, Washington Tilth Association
Vice President, Washington State Farmers’ Market Association
Alec McErlich, Director of Agricultural Research and Development
Small Planet Foods, Sedro-Woolley
Tracy Wolpert, Chief Executive Officer
Randy Lee, Chief Financial Officer
PCC Natural Markets, Seattle
Goldie Caughlan
Member, National Organic Standards Board
Kim Leval, Interim Executive Director
Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Policy Analyst, Western Field Office, Center for Rural Affairs
Angela Hill, NW Field Organizer
Organic Consumers Association
Mary Embleton, Executive Director
Cascade Harvest Coalition
Chris Curtis, Director
Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, Seattle
Marlene Allen, Market Master and Manager of Daystall Programs
Pike Place Market, Seattle
Bob Gregson
Past Chair, King County Agriculture Commission
Jeff Schahczenski, Executive Director
Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
Reverend Paul Benz, Director
Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington
Steve Smoot, President
Spokane Tilth
Steven M. Sakuma, Owner
Sakuma Bros. Holding Company (Consists of 3 separate entities; Sakuma Bros.
Farms, Inc., Sakuma Bros. Processing, Inc., & Norcal Nursery, Inc.)
Roger Wechsler
President, CF Fresh
Owner Rootabaga Country Farm/Samish Bay Cheese
Rick & Marilyn Lynn
Rama Farm, Bridgeport
Anne Schwartz
Blue Heron Farm, Rockport
Darrell and Susan Larson-Kinzer
Kennydale Farm, Renton, WA
Mary L. Robinson
Lisabuela Farm, Vashon
Margie and Kasey Bell
Third Rock Farm, Deming
Walt Kloefkorn
Walt’s Pastured Poultry, Springdale
Merrilee Runyan
Member, Vashon Island Grower’s Association (VIGA)
Big Dog Lavender Farm
Rick and Lora Lea Misterly
Quillisascut Farm, Rice
Amy Bogaard
Hogsback Farm,Vashon
Luke Woodward
President, Sno-Valley Tilth
Owner, Oxbow Organic Farm, Carnation
John Browne
Judd Creek Nursery, Vashon
Margaret Hoeffel
Blue Moon Farm, Vashon
Nana Simone
Simone Integrated Pest Management Consulting
Barry Lia, Magnolia Dairy ACRES
Bob Gillespie, PhD
Faculty, Science Department
Wenatchee Valley College
Melissa Young, Producer/Director
Moving Images Video Project
Mark Musick, Seattle
John Fawcett-Long, Seattle
Alan Shank, Mukilteo
Eileen Duffy, Seattle
Helen Gable, Seattle
cc: WSU President Lane Rawlins
CAHE Dean James Zuiches
ARC Director Ralph Cavalieri
CSANR Director Chris Feise
Federal Relations Director Kristi Growdon