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…
The first year of the pilot Evergreen Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program recently concluded in Snohomish County. Through this NABC program, farm-fresh and locally-grown fruits and vegetables were delivered weekly to multi-subscriber drop sites within Everett city limits. Fresh produce was supplied from Snohomish and Skagit farms to subscribers employed by Providence Hospital Colby Campus…
NABC will receive 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 in rural…
NABC has been awarded a third round of $175,000 in grant funding to support the development of agricultural cooperatives throughout the northern Puget Sound region. The funding comes through the USDA Rural Development Department and its Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) Program. Established as a Rural Cooperative Development Center in 2010, NABC will continue to…
Last Wednesday, 283 campus events were held nationally to celebrate the second annual National Food Day, and 21 of those were in the NW — not bad for a region which just kicked off its Real Food Movement a year ago! Since July 2011, the Northwest Agriculture Business Center has been partnering with the Real…
