Agriculture, more “essential” than ever

WSDA Communications

Agriculture and the businesses that support it are essential.

Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee intensified our state’s coronavirus response with a statewide, Stay Home, Stay Healthy order to suspend all non-essential activity. Inslee called on people to stay home and for businesses to close, except for essential activities and services.

Though the spirit of the mandate is clear, some workers and business owners are still unsure if the directive applies to them and if their activities are viewed as essential.

For the agriculture industry, here’s what it means to you.

Agriculture and supporting businesses remain open

If you work or do business in food and agriculture – farming, ranching, food processing and production, food distribution; or you work in a business that supports agriculture, like pesticide application, fertilizer distribution, or veterinary care – then you can continue to operate.

Our basic needs, including the need for food, drink and other agricultural products have not changed. Washington is committed to keeping the food supply chain open and operational -- especially during the current crisis.

This is why “Food and Agriculture” is identified in the Governor’s Essential Business list.

Keeping the food moving helps in the fight
against coronavirus.

New guidelines to help stop COVID-19

During these extraordinary times, essential businesses that remain in operation must do their part to protect workers and fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus by implementing social distancing and sanitation practices.

To help, WSDA has been sharing guidelines for the agriculture industry to help protect workers so they can safely fulfill their essential function. Those resources, for food processors, storage warehouses and packing houses, are available on the WSDA website coronavirus webpage, many of them in English and Spanish.

Keeping food on the shelves

Deliveries to grocery stores are continuing at a steady pace and farmers, ranchers and food processors are producing plenty to meet our needs. By maintaining the food supply chain and safe conditions for workers, we can ensure that store shelves will not go empty and the public can ride out this storm.

WSDA remains committed to ensuring that Washington’s agriculture industry continues to thrive for the benefit of those in the agriculture community, and those of us who depend upon them.

WSDA’s COVID-19 Response

Chris McGann
Communications

As the situation around novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in our state continues to develop, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has been coordinating and deploying a multifaceted response to ensure staff and public safety.

Our efforts are also geared toward maintaining continuity of service to the fullest extent possible given the current public health concerns and logistical challenges.

WSDA, along with most other state agencies, is arranging for as many employees as possible to work from home, or telework. This may result in temporary changes in the way WSDA staff communicate and interact with clients and stakeholders. In some cases, it may require rescheduling of inspections, training opportunities or other services.

Adapting to the situation

During the course of this pandemic and the corresponding changes, some disruption is inevitable.

We ask for your patience and understanding that any operational changes are rooted in our agency’s goal of protecting public health.

Everyone benefits from being flexible, working together and supporting each other as we make the rapid adjustments necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In the days and weeks to come, we will have more specifics about how the COVID-19 response will affect each of WSDA’s divisions. We apologize for any inconvenience.

What we know now

To minimize confusion and answer some of the questions you may have about how COVID-19 affects WSDA, we have coordinated with our local, state and federal partners, to create and compile resources to help food producers, processors and distributors, as well as livestock and pet owners. Links to this information are available on our website, where you’ll find a COVID-19 resource page.

General COVID-19 information

For general COVID-19 information, please refer to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus page for the most current recommendations on COVID-19
• If you suspect you have COVID-19 or have been exposed to it, follow the recommendations of the Washington State Department of Health.
• Information on COVID-19  is also available in Spanish and other languages.

Prevention practices for food pantries 

State and federal health officials currently recommend taking preventative steps to reduce the spread of viral respiratory diseases in food pantries. These steps include the hygiene recommendations that apply to the general public, such as frequent hand washing and avoiding close contact with others.
They also call for processes specifically aimed at food pantries, including alternate delivery systems such as drive-through pickup and pre-bagging produce to reduce the amount of food touched by multiple clients. Here is a fact sheet with more information about best practices for food pantries. [PDF].

Information for pet and livestock owners

There are currently no restrictions on livestock trade or animal movement due to the COVID-19
response, nor is there any evidence of pets or other companion animals spreading or becoming sick from the virus.

Continued vigilance about hygiene and biosecurity are the top recommendations for people who come in contact with domestic animals. Here is a fact sheet with more information about animals and COVID-19 [PDF].

Produce safety

Produce does not appear to be a likely transmitter of COVID-19 infection. However, the current outbreak is a timely reminder to adhere to food safety practices to protect the workers and the public from diseases.

Reviewing your operation’s health policies, encouraging sick employees to stay home, increasing hand hygiene, and making sure hand-washing stations are properly stocked help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and many other diseases. Here is a fact sheet with more information about produce safety. [PDF].

Best Practices

All WSDA departments are adhering to the best practices that apply to everyone during this episode -- frequent hand washing; watching for symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath; staying home if sick; and limiting social contact.

Stay up-to-date about additional precautions and news by checking our COVID-19 resource page. 

Taste Washington Day celebrates farm fresh food in schools statewide

Christopher Iberle
Regional Markets

First Lady Trudi Inslee visits with students in the Cordata
 Elementary school garden, supported by Common Threads.

Imagine all the all the good things you could do if people got together to connect school lunchrooms with local farms that grow the food.  You could:

• Feed thousands of school children with nutritious, local foods. 
• Teach students about where their food actually comes from. 
• Connect farmers with a growing local market.
• Begin to bridge the gap between our urban and rural communities.

First Lady Trudi Inslee visits with students in the Cordata
 Elementary school garden, supported by Common Threads.

Here in Washington, partners and advocates for children’s health and education, agricultural business vitality, farmland preservation, environmental protection, and poverty alleviation have made that vision a reality with farm to school -- and it’s flourishing.

Today’s Taste Washington Day event brought a wide-ranging group of people together – everyone from school lunchroom staff to Washington State First Lady Trudi Inslee - in celebration of the farm to school collaboration.  

Preparing red peppers for Taste
Washington Day lunch at
 Bellingham Public Schools. 

“Taste Washington Day is a great way for students to make the connection between farmers and the healthy food that is critical in helping them to learn, grow and develop,” said First Lady Trudi Inslee. “It’s also is a fantastic opportunity to spotlight the hundreds of crops we have here in our state and to recognize the people who grow them.”

Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation for the day recognizing the values of school meal programs and the contributions made to them by Washington state agriculture.

WSDA Regional Markets works with dozens of partners to help connect farmers with school districts. Working with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Washington School Nutrition Association, they coordinate the annual Taste Washington Day promotion of farm to school connections. This year more than 40 school districts statewide served a Washington grown meal to help celebrate how Washington farmers provide food for schools year-round.

Farmers statewide participate in Taste Washington Day

The Washington Apple Crunch!

Eighty-seven farmers signed up to take  part in this year’s Taste Washington Day and partnered with a school to provide seasonal, local ingredients for breakfast or lunch, or visit a school for lunch. About 240,000 students at 43 participating schools ate a locally-sourced meal, learned about Washington agriculture, worked in a school garden, or did other farm to school activities.

Many schools also did a “Washington Apple Crunch” to celebrate one of Washington’s top crops, by simultaneously crunching into farm fresh apples all across the state at noon.

"We love the rich impact that community food systems offer our society”, said Eric Abel, owner of Bellewood Farms which sells to multiple districts in Whatcom County. “We believe it's important children learn how food gets to the table. By selling to schools, we hope kids will discover the difference that ‘local’ can have—providing fresh food, great taste, improved nutrition, all while supporting farms in the local community in which they live."

First Lady Trudi Inslee joins the celebration

Students, teachers and staff in Bellingham Public Schools welcomed a few special guests for their Taste Washington Day events. First Lady Trudi Inslee visited Bellingham Public Schools’ (BPS) new Central Kitchen, which is serving locally sourced, scratch-cooked meals across the district.

On the menu: salmon cakes, bean salad, pilaf with
 farro, apples, and milk.

The Central Kitchen is a facility years in the making, with support from BPS administration, school board, food service staff, students and parents, Whatcom Farm to School, WSDA Farm to School, Whatcom Community Foundation, Common Threads, and other local partners. The new scratch cooking kitchen and menu allows BPS to use a wider variety of seasonal ingredients from Washington farms. On the menu for Taste Washington Day were salmon cakes with Lummi Island Wild salmon and Cloud Mountain Farm Center onions, pilaf with farro from Bluebird Grain Farms and beets from Joe’s Garden, farm fresh apples from Bellewood Farms, and a local cabbage and kale on the salad bar.

First Lady Trudi Inslee tours Bellingham Public Schools'
Central Kitchen with Director of Food Services and
Executive Chef Patrick Durgan on Taste Washington Day.

Mrs. Inslee also visited Cordata Elementary to see food and agriculture educators from Common
Threads giving lessons in the garden. Produce from the 19 school gardens supported by Common Threads is also served in cafeteria salad bars during the school year. To top off the visit, Mrs. Inslee visited the new Sehome High School to tour BPS Career and Technical Education (CTE) sites related to food and agriculture education.

School market in Washington State

The USDA Farm to School Census estimates that Washington school districts spend more than $17 million on Washington grown foods each year. But this only makes up about 9% of an average school’s food budget. There’s plenty of opportunity to grow the school market for Washington farms - especially in a state that grows over 300 different products, many available year round.

Keith Carpenter from Lummi Island Wild, Chef Patrick Durgan
 from Bellingham Public Schools Central Kitchen, Eric Abel from
 Bellewood Farms, Chris Iberle, WSDA Farm to School Specialist,
 Mataio Gillis, Bellingham Public Schools Central Kitchen, fisher
 Ellie Kinley from Lummi Nation, and First Lady Trudi Inslee
 visit Sehome High School’s CTE kitchen classroom.

For smaller and direct marketing farms, schools can be a particularly meaningful market that provides a regular, larger volume buyer.  Many farmers find it personally rewarding to know their food is being eaten by people in their local community.  Farmers selling to schools also make an impact by teaching kids about agriculture in urban and rural districts of all sizes, and helping schools put nutritious, fresh meals on the tray for students each day. About half of school districts in the state participate in farm to school in some way each year.

“Local agriculture plays an important role in Child Nutrition Programs in Washington State”, said Leanne Eko, Director of Child Nutrition Services at OSPI. “Learning about where their food comes from and getting to taste local foods in school meals promotes lifelong healthy eating to our children and supports local farmers.”

Modernizing the Livestock Inspection Program

Jodi Jones
Animal Health Program

A new law for WSDA's brand program goes into effect this summer. 

Last month, Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation intended to restore financial solvency to our Livestock Inspection Program (LID).

The program, which has roots dating back to the 1860s, is entirely funded by fees paid by the livestock industry and receives no state general fund dollars.

But in recent years, the program has been in financial crisis. The inspection fees it relies on are set in statute and had not been adjusted since 2006. Over time, rising costs outpaced fee revenue.

The livestock industry worked with the Washington State Legislature to develop a new fee structure to fully fund the program. Here are some of the major program changes taking effect this summer.

Program changes

The LID Program provides asset protection and theft deterrence for the livestock industry through inspections, verifying ownership documentation, and issuing a clear "title" to the new owner. We conduct proof of ownership inspections at five critical points:

• At change of ownership.
• At out-of-state movement.
• When offered for sale at a public livestock market.
• When delivered to a USDA slaughter facility.
• When delivered to a certified feedlot.

The new law

• Expands the Livestock Identification Advisory Committee from six to 12 members.
• Modifies livestock inspection fees.
• Allows WSDA-certified private livestock inspectors to perform livestock inspections.
• Expands the Electronic Cattle Transaction Reporting (ECTR) system for dairy cattle to all cattle.
• Takes effect July 28, 2019.

The following sections expire on July 1, 2023

• Livestock Identification Advisory Committee.
• Inspection fees.
• Certified feedlot audit fees.
• Public livestock market inspection fees.

Legislation will be required to extend LID program fees and inspection activities beyond that date.

New inspection fees

Under the bill passed by the Legislature, fees for livestock inspections rose by 10 percent, except the inspection fee for unidentified cattle which are defined as cattle that have a brand that is not recorded to the owner and cattle that are not identified with an official electronic individual identification tag. The fee for unidentified cattle changed from $1.60 to $4 per head.

Details

• The inspection fee for identified cattle is $1.21 per head.
• The inspection fee for horses is $3.85 per head.
• The audit fee for certified feedlots is 28 cents per head.
• A $20 call-out fee replaces the time and mileage fee and will be collected for all inspections.
• The annual license fee for a certified feed lot will be $935.
• Annual fees for livestock markets are $165, $330, or $495, depending on average gross sales.
• The brand-recording fee is increased from $120 to $132.
• Applications to transfer a brand carries a $27.50 fee.
• The transfer fee for "legacy brands," that have been in use for at least 25 years, is $100.

Livestock Identification Advisory Committee

Through July 1, 2023, Livestock Identification Advisory Committee membership is increased from six to 12 members with two members from each of the groups currently represented. No more than two members of the committee may reside in the same county. The committee must meet at least twice per year.

Veterinarian certification and field livestock inspectors

Veterinarians and others who apply to be certified to perform livestock inspections must submit an application and complete training. The bill requires WSDA to maintain a list of field livestock inspectors for at least six geographic regions who are certified to perform livestock inspections.

Training will include:

• Reading of printed brands.
• Reading of brands or other marks on animals, including the location of brands on animals.
• Reading of an electronic ID or other electronic official individual identification of cattle.
• Completion of official documents.
• Review of satisfactory ownership documents.

WSDA may adopt fees to cover the costs associated with providing training. A certified veterinarian or a field livestock inspector is not considered a WSDA employee. Livestock inspection certification of certified veterinarians and field inspectors may be suspended or revoked under certain circumstances.

Electronic Cattle Transaction Reporting System

The use of the Electronic Cattle Transaction Reporting (ECTR) System, which is currently used only to report changes of ownership for unbranded dairy cattle, is expanded to all cattle. The ECTR system may be used to report transactions electronically as an alternative to mandatory inspections. ECTR may also be used to report the inspection of animals that are being moved out of state. Use of the ECTR system for reporting cattle ownership changes or out-of-state movement requires a WSDA license. All cattle that are reported in ECTR must have an official electronic individual identification tag.

WSDA may adopt ECTR application, licensing and reporting fees by rule. Fees must be adjusted by rule to match, as closely as practicable, amounts needed to cover ECTR system costs. If surplus ECTR revenues are generated because a substantial number of cattle owners use ECTR to report electronically, the current ECTR reporting fee of $1.30 per head will be reduced substantially by rule.

Moving toward modernizing cattle identification

On April 10, 2019, the USDA announced a phased transition to increased official electronic identification of cattle until official electronic identification becomes an industry-wide requirement at the beginning of 2023.

Coordinating a reassessment of the new LID program fee structure with the new federal policy is appropriate. Legislation will be required to extend LID program inspection activities beyond the July 2023 expiration. The ECTR fee section for reporting electronically identified cattle transactions does not expire.

Official electronic identification is a step forward for animal disease traceability, food safety, international trade, and the long-term economic viability of the livestock industry.

Expectations and uncertainties

Fee revenues are expected to cover program costs through July of 2023.  The new $4 fee rate on unidentified animals may be an incentive for producers to identify their animals at a lower fee. This creates some fiscal uncertainty because we don’t know which identification options producers will favor most. We do however expect the legislation to increase electronic official identification and help modernize Washington’s cattle identification system, supporting a more robust animal disease traceability program.

Going Forward

We will be closely monitoring how producers respond to the new fees and reforms to make sure program expenditures don’t exceed program revenues. We are hopeful that the new fee structure will provide sufficient revenue to bring the livestock inspection program back to solvency.

Email LivestockID@agr.wa.gov for questions on the new fees.

Schools, farms and partners make Taste Washington Day 2018 a success

Chris Iberle
WSDA Farm to School & Value Chains Specialist

Sam Bowhay from Ralph’s Greenhouse talks with students
 about growing golden beets at Taste Washington Day 2018
at Highline Public Schools 

The 8th annual Taste Washington Day took place at 43 school districts statewide on Oct. 3rd and other days throughout October. At least 212,000 students ate seasonal, Washington grown lunches and learned more about local food and farms through their district’s participation in Taste Washington Day. It was a great way celebrate and kick off National Farm to School Month.

More than 70 Washington farmers participated

Farmers provided everything from apples to beef to cabbage to milk for school lunches across the state. Governor Inslee’s Taste Washington Day Proclamation recognized the quality and diversity of Washington’s agricultural products, and how the National School Lunch Program encourages students to eat nutritious foods by providing affordable meals with ingredients grown on Washington farms.

Students pose with staff from WSDA, OSPI, WSU,

Highline Public Schools and local farmers at

 Taste Washington Day 2018

Apples were crunched

Many schools including Enumclaw School District, Grandview School District, Oak Harbor Public Schools, and many other districts held big “Washington Apple Crunch” celebrations on Oct. 3. Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Oakesdale FFA, and other organizations joined students across the state to “crunch” into their locally grown Washington apples all together at noon, making a crunch heard ‘round the state.

Taste Washington Day at Highline Public Schools

WSDA and OSPI Child Nutrition staff visited Highline Public Schools to eat a local lunch with students, farmers, and community partners. At Evergreen High School, students from FEEST talked about how they work with their school food service to support healthy eating options for students. The menu included a salad dressing developed by FEEST students, featuring Washington grown blueberries.

WSDA Director Sandison visits with FEEST students

 at Highline Public Schools at Taste Washington Day 2018

At Seahurst Elementary, students were wowed by giant leeks and beets brought by Sam Bowhay from Ralph’s Greenhouse, whose bunched carrots were served fresh and roasted at lunch with white bean and chicken chili. Shepherd’s Grain provided flour for some tasty whole wheat rosemary rolls, and Dairy Ambassador Abby Zurcher from the Washington State Dairy Council shared photos and stories with students about how fresh milk gets from the cow to the carton. Candida Goza from WSU King County Extension SNAP-Ed talked about how they educate students on food and nutrition, and garden volunteer John Feeney gathered students from the New Start High School Shark Garden to share about how working in the garden and growing produce improves their learning experience.

Local lunches were served

Many thanks of course to every single one of the 43 school districts and cafeterias that participated in Taste Washington Day. Some school districts’ events are happening later in National Farm to School Month in October, and into November.

Click through these links to see just a few of the highlights:
• Anacortes School District served roasted delicata squash from The Crow’s Farm
• Concrete School District served an all-local menu with produce and beef from Sauk Farm, The Crow’s Farm, Boldly Grown Farm, Ovenell’s Ranch, Forest Farmstead, and Blue Heron Farm
• Preschoolers at Puesta Del Sol in Bellevue School District learned about locally grown foods
• Edmonds School District served Washington grown cauliflower, cucumbers, nectarines, apples, and fresh milk to celebrate
• Enumclaw School District celebrated with lunches featuring Washington grown ingredients
• Hood Canal School served corn on the cob from Hunter Farms, and did the Washington Apple Crunch
• LaConner School District held a Taste of the Skagit Week, with vegetables, fruit, and beef from farms in Skagit County in lunches all week long: Viva Farms, Swanson Bros., Pioneer Potatoes, Forrest Cattle Co., Gordon Skagit Farms, and Bow Hill Blueberries
• Lopez Island School District served lunches throughout September sourced from within 50 miles of the school
• Oak Harbor Public Schools, including Crescent Harbor and Olympic View Elementary Schools, highlighted local broccoli and cauliflower at lunch with a Washington Apple Crunch at noon
• Monroe School District featured Washington grown foods on all their salad bars: apple crisp, apples, pears, nectarines, peaches, cucumbers, corn, blueberries, autumn squash and fresh milk Pullman Public Schools served lentil sloppy joes and Korean street tacos with local lentils from Spokane Seed
• South Whidbey School District served carrots, beets, potatoes, lettuce, cherry tomatoes from their very own South Whidbey School Farms, and students in the culinary class made tortellini arrabbiata
• Tommorrow's Hope Child Development at Housing Hope served beef and bean chili with fresh, local salad including ingredients from Caruso Farms, Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center, and Chinook Farms, and did the Washington Apple Crunch
• Willow Public School had a lunch with grass-fed meatloaf, kale salad, roasted carrots, summer squash, and more from farms within 30 miles of the school: Upper Dry Creek Ranch, Hayshaker Farm, Welcome Table Farm, Frog Hollow Farm, and Edwards Family Farm.

Taste Washington Day was organized by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington School Nutrition Association, and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and many regional Farm to School partner organizations.

Mexico mission confirms value of trading partners

Hector Castro
Communications Director

At Guadalajara’s Mercado de Abastos (supply market), the third largest wholesale market in Mexico, countless boxes of Washington apples were stacked neatly in cool, clean stalls.

Many of the boxes containing crisp, plump apples sport labels created by the importers, but also place names familiar to any Washingtonian like Chelan,  Wenatchee, Toppenish, and Yakima.

El Mercado de Abastos, Guadalajara.

“It makes me a little homesick to see all these growing regions I know so well,” WSDA Director Derek Sandison said after touring the bustling market during a recent trade mission to Mexico last month.

At a national level, Mexico is the third largest market for U.S. agriculture products. For Washington, it is our 7th largest ag export market. Washington exported $313 million worth of food and ag products there last year. Mexico is also a primary market for our dairy products and apples, just one reason WSDA joined the weeklong trade mission in mid May with Gov. Jay Inslee and the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle.

Our participation in the trade mission showed how much our state’s ag industry values the important partnerships we have in Mexico. It also let us see first-hand the successes some of our state’s commodity commissions have had in connecting with local businesses as they meet the appetites of local consumers.

Sister state similarities

Director Sandison meeting with officials of the
Jalisco Department of Rural Development. 

In Guadalajara, our delegation met officials with the Jalisco Department of Rural Development, the counterpart to WSDA. Jalisco is Mexico’s most agriculturally productive state and, like Washington, derives a large percentage of its revenue from farming, ranching and food production.

Jalisco state officials expressed great interest in Washington dairy operations and the advanced technology used on many of our dairies. The groups also discussed potential opportunities to exchange ideas that would further strengthen ties between Washington and Jalisco, which has had a Sister-State relationship since 1996.

Robust ag trade

Director Sandison at Mercado de Abastos,
Guadalajara, Jalisco. 

During the tour of the Mercado de Abastos, delegates met several importers who ship large volumes of Washington produce, including apples, pears and cherries in season, for sale to local restaurants, markets and consumers.

The presence of Washington apples, in particular, has grown tremendously since they were first permitted to be sold in Mexico following the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect in 1994.

Washington currently ships more apples to Mexico than any other country.

Scott Kinney, CEO, Dairy Farmers of WA
inspects cheese at a market in Mexico.

The bulk of the trip was spent in Mexico City for tours of local businesses carrying Washington agricultural products and meetings with both U.S. and Mexican government officials. Director Sandison also joined Gov. Inslee in some of his meetings with Mexican government officials.

Insights gained from all these meetings provided useful information regarding market demands in Mexico, and both the challenges and opportunities that could come from exporting there.

Our dairy industry partners also toured a milk processing plant in Mexico City that demonstrated an attention to quality control rivalling facilities here in the U.S.

Questions about NAFTA
It was during the trade mission that the White House announced its intent to initiate discussions on updating the 23-year-old agreement. The news prompted several questions from local media and Mexican officials. On the whole, there was broad agreement that NAFTA could use updating.

Director Sandison, Gov. Jay Inslee and
Commerce Director Brian Bonlender.

“NAFTA has been good to Washington agriculture, but an update could provide additional benefits,” Sandison said. “Particularly if we stay focused on broad principles around trade.”

The trip would not have been as fruitful if not for the participation of the Washington Apple Commission, the Dairy Farmers of Washington, and the U.S. Dairy Export Council for allowing WSDA to use their representatives in Mexico to coordinate meetings and market tours.

 “Washington currently enjoys good relations with America’s neighbor to the south,” Director Sandison said. “This trade mission confirmed for me that our ties are strong and even more opportunities exist to benefit farmers both in Washington and Mexico.”

Promoting Washington agriculture overseas

Hector Castro

Communications Office

In a small sandwich shop on a narrow Tokyo street, the cashiers and servers now sport T-shirts that say “I love Washington fries,” mementos of a recent afternoon when a few visitors dropped by to share some spuds with surprised customers expecting nothing more than a sandwich.

Gov. Jay Inslee hands out free fries in Tokyo.

The visitors included Gov. Jay Inslee, WSDA Director Derek Sandison, and members of the state’s Potato Commission, all in Tokyo as part of a 9-day trade mission that wrapped up Sept.5. The Governor-led trade mission made visits to Seoul, South Korea, Kobe, Japan and Tokyo. While other industries were also being promoted, the ag delegation focused on blueberries, potatoes, and wine.

Korea and Japan are important countries for Washington agriculture. Japan is the state’s leading market for agricultural exports and Korea the 5^th largest market. Led by Director Sandison, the ag delegates visited the leaders of several key businesses in both countries that import or process Washington agricultural products for local consumers, expressing their appreciation for the trade that is already taking place and interest in greater trade to come.

Again and again, delegates heard the value that consumers place on Washington agricultural products, from the cherries that fly off the shelves of the busy Costco Korea when they’re in season, to the chipping potatoes that can’t keep up with demand of Japanese potato chip processors. Delegates also gleaned information that can help inform marketing decisions later. 

Honey butter chips, a popular
Korean snackfood.

One example, consumers in Korea were recently in a frenzy for a potato chip company's  honey butter flavored chips, with lines for the chips so long, some stores placed two-bag limits on customers. The craze has increased demand for chipping potatoes as competing companies looked for their own flavor angle, and this boost in demand could spell benefits for Washington potatoes in the future. 

The team also met with government officials in both countries to raise market access issues. For blueberries, the goal was pressing for access to South Korea. Fresh Oregon blueberries were allowed into the country beginning in 2012, but Washington is still waiting for similar access.

Frozen blueberries, Costco Korea

In Japan, Washington potatoes are permitted only for part of the year. Washington potato farmers, as well as food processors in Japan, would like year-round access for our spuds.

Dancers at a reception for the
Washington State delegation

Government led trade missions can open doors for delegates that might not be available to them otherwise, providing them a chance to raise trade concerns at the highest levels. The trips also provide opportunities for potential buyers to meet producers and importers, making the kinds of connections that can translate into lucrative business relationships later.

Washington exports about 30 percent of its agricultural products, so keeping markets open and importers happy is important. Trade missions can be an important way to do this. You can track future trade missions, and visits from our overseas customers, at the WSDA International Marketing Program webpage, where all such events are listed.