Faculty Advisor

Ed Weber Dr David Wallin

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 2025

Keywords

Internship

Abstract

Northern Whatcom county sits in the floodplain of the Nooksack river making the soil very fertile, and it has been farmed since European settlement of the area. While working this job I met a blueberry farmer, Kevin, who’s great grandpa had grown up farming in the area. Kevin himself is in his 70s. But when Kevin was growing up much of the area was dominated by small dairies. Farming and ranching has become increasingly unprofitable across the nation over the last century, and agricultural communities have increasingly consolidated from many small operations into larger farms. This story has played out in Whatcom county. It became unsustainable to have small dairy herds, so farmers often sold their land, or switched to growing berries. Berries have to be frozen in roughly 24 hours, so the opening of nearby processing plants made growing berries for the frozen market possible. The climate of the region also plays a role. Two types of raspberries are grown for different purposes. Trailing raspberries are more delicate, more flavorful, and are grown for fresh-market, the type of thing you would buy in a grocery store. Caning raspberries are hardier, less flavorful, and often grown to be frozen. Whatcom County’s (relatively) cold winters make growing trailing raspberries economically impractical, but it is an ideal climate for canning varieties. All told, the agriculture that we see today in Whatcom County is a result of many complicated and interdependent variables. Before my internship, I wasn’t aware of any of this, but through meeting growers and asking questions, I have come to have a much better understanding of how different forces shape agriculture.

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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