SEQUIM — In the thick of the harvest, Nash’s Organic Farm is seeing a small influx of cash.
Farming & the Environment, a Seattle organization seeking to preserve Washington state’s 13.7 million acres of farmland, has chosen Nash’s for the 2006 Vim Wright Stewardship Award.
The prize is $2,500, said FATE executive director Jeff Voltz.
The annual award is given to growers who are providing exemplary stewardship of soil, water, air, and wildlife habitat, he added.
“I am blessed to have a great group of hardworking young farmers working with me,” Huber said when told of his award.
“We need to ensure there is plenty of good farmland for these young folks to farm.”
Nash’s Organic Produce will eventually change from a sole proprietorship to a company owned and operated by its employees, Huber has said in an earlier interview.
Kia Kozun, the farm’s marketing manager, said about 30 staffers work at Nash’s during harvest season from now until December.
That decreases to 15 in the off-season.
Variety of crops
Nash’s farms, on parcels spread across the Dungeness Valley, comprise nearly 400 acres and produce some 150 varieties of row crops, tree fruit and berries.
The crops have been certified organic since the early 1980s.
Nash’s bunch carrots, lettuces, green beans, beets, fresh dill and cilantro are this week’s big sellers, Kozun said.
They’re available as part of the Nash Farmshare program, which each week provides participants with boxes packed with a dozen fresh vegetables and a newsletter containing recipes, for about $20 per week.
The Farm Store, at 1865 E. Anderson Road north of Sequim, and farmers’ markets in Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend, offer Farmshare tickets and Nash Bucks, which give the buyer $400 in store credit for $349.
The Farmshare and Bucks programs “commit people to eating healthfully,” Kozun said.
They also encourage eaters to try vegetables they’ve never tasted.