We Have a New Executive Director!

Tilth Producers of Washington New Executive DirectorFollowing a community wide search, the Tilth Producers Board of Directors has selected Amy Besunder as the organization's new Executive Director. The Board of Tilth Producers decided to search for an Executive Director to help meet the increasing need for education about organic and sustainable farming.  Besunder was selected for her strong leadership skills, her commitment to food security and healthy communities, her extensive background in nonprofit management and fund development and her clear vision of the organization's potential for moving forward with new programs and initiatives.  In her most recent role as Executive Director of North Helpline Food Bank and Emergency Service Center, she designed, implemented, and completed a $5.6 million capital campaign, that enabled the organization to transition from a 600 square foot city-owned office to an 8000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility.  Additionally, she led the effort to triple programmatic capacity and kept pace with a 35% increase in service demands over a three year period. Besunder will be working with Nancy Allen, who will move from Managing Director to Program Director.

Join us for our first farm walk of the year at Gibbs Organic Produce farm!

Farmers Grant Gibbs and Albert Roberts of Pine Stump Farm in Omak will demonstrate a full service tune-up on two Massey Ferguson tractors during this hands-on workshop. An optional one-hour torch, stick and wire feed welding class will immediately follow the farm walk. For more information on this and our other farm walks please Click Here!

We Have A New Website

You may have noticed our chic new look! We've added features such as intern and directory listings, an online library and classifieds. We hope you'll take a look around. Only Tilth Producers members can create listings and access library posts. If you are a current member and have not received your username/password please contact us at: organic@tilthproducers.org or call 206-632-7506. Join Tilth Producers now for full access.

Grateful Food Farms

Valerie Rose, Member of the Month, May 2012

Tilth Producers of Washington May 2012 Member of the Month

Valerie Rose spent her childhood on a 150-acre commodity crop farm in Northeast Illinois. She left for college, and followed up with 12 years in public broadcasting and 12 years in research and health at the University of Washington. Just before Seattle Tilth’s Rainier Beach Urban Farm came to her South Seattle neighborhood in 2010, Valerie moved to Mount Vernon. There she became a Master Gardener and wrote a gardening column for the Skagit Valley Herald. Valerie recently started an exciting new endeavor—leasing one acre of land at Viva Farms, an incubator farm in Whatcom County. On her own Grateful Food Farms, Valerie currently grows snow peas, collard starts and garlic, with high hopes for a hot summer yield of melons, sweet corn and pole beans. Continue reading