Locally Grown is the theme of this year’s San Juan County Fair, Aug.18-21.
I talked recently with Candace Jagel, Ag Education Coordinator WSU Extension San Juan County, and Peggy Bill, Agricultural Resources Committee (ARC) Coordinator who, in collaboration with the Ag Guild and Conservation District, have planned this year’s Ag Tent events and exhibits to reflect this theme.
Here’s some of what to look forward to. Check the fair schedule for days and times: www.sanjuancountyfair.org/fair.html
Cooking from the sea, the roadside and the garden:
San Juan Island fisherman Matt Marinkovich will give a salmon filleting and cooking demonstration.
Nick Jones of Jones Family Farms, Lopez Island will talk about starting and operating a shellfish farm, including growing, handling, and marketing of these local products, and will also demonstrate how to cook them.
Waldron Island botanist Dr. Ryan Drum will do a presentation on Edible and Medicinal Seaweed. He’ll toast freshly harvested nori and show how to make seaweed aspic.
From roadside blackberry bushes, fairgoers are encouraged to pick some blackberries, “put on your chef’s hat, and cook up any dish you wish—jam, jelly, pudding, pie,” for the first annual Blackberry Taste-Off. If you’re making jam or jelly, bring it before you’ve canned it.
J. Alphonsine Haslet-Phillips, executive chef of Coho Restaurant, will pick up fresh produce at the Saturday San Juan Farmers’ Market and come to the Ag Tent to show fairgoers how to prepare them.
Jeanne Perry of Vortex Café on Lopez will do a demonstration on cooking with locally grown dried beans, combined with other local produce.
Raising vegetables and livestock:
In the time slot just before Jean Perry’s cooking with beans demonstration, Lopez bean growers will talk about shell and dry bean varieties, growing beans and harvesting beans. Bring your favorite shell or dried beans and share bean questions and stories.
In addition to growing your own beans, consider growing other vegetables year-round. Tom Schultz is offering a session on four-season gardening. Learn about how to use hoop houses and other devices to extend the growing season.
Ken Wood of Orcas and Jan Sandburg on Shaw will bring some of their heritage breeds of chickens and rabbits. “Ken will talk about the need to preserve genetic diversity and the San Juan Islands as an ideal location for this work.”
Caring for pollinators and soils:
Entomologist Dr. Fiona Norris will explain how pollination works and how to protect our pollinators. As she points out, “every third bite of your food is a result of pollination.”
Visit the fair flower display with Fiona and “see like a bee!”
Chuck Natsuhara, National Resources Conservation Service, and Bruce Gregory, San Juan Islands Conservation District will talk about soil testing, interpretation of soil test results, soil quality evaluation, how to use the San Juan County Soil Survey, what soil management and amendments might work best to improve fertility, and how they are applied.
Botanist Madrona Murphy of Kwiaht will present an overview of traditional Native American farming practices from the San Juan archipelago and discuss how we can apply that tradition of sustainable production to growing local food in the islands today.
Learning about ag issues:
State Representative Jeff Morris and State Senator Kevin Ranker will provide an agriculture update from Olympia, talking about what’s going on in the state in agriculture and answering questions.
The Agricultural Resource Committee (ARC), Land Bank and the San Juan Preservation Trust will be soliciting input from local citizens about their priorities and goals for farmland conservation, as well as priorities for other actions to strengthen and restore our agricultural economy. Please stop by and fill out their survey and identify your priorities on the maps.
Madrona Murphy of Kwiaht, will provide some background information on the genetic modification of crop plants, including how GMOs are defined; the technology involved in their production and detection; and potential implications for the future of agriculture in SJC. Bring your questions.t
Finally, in displays throughout the Ag Tent there will be information about sources for locally grown food. Candace and Peggy emphasized that the Ag Tent is a great opportunity for farms and CSAs to market their products. “If you’re not bringing in food at least bring your sign!” And to all fairgoers, Peggy and Candace say: “Bring the food that you’ve grown and display it at the ag tent. It’s not a competition but a celebration of locally grown food.”
