Santa’s reindeer cleared to fly into Washington State on Christmas Eve

Dr. Amber Itle
Washington State Veterinarian

 Photo courtesy of Ed and Sonya Benhardt 
Reindeer Express LLC, Rearden, Wash.

Not all elves make toys, some take care of Santa’s team of reindeer. Santa’s head herds-elf, Holly, oversees reindeer husbandry and care at the North Pole. The elves have all been preparing for the big day by taking special care to properly condition the team to ensure they can endure the long flight. The elves work hard to minimize stress by providing reindeer with optimal nutrition, fresh air, clean bedding, and lots of space. Hermie, the elf dental specialist inspects and “floats” all their teeth for optimal oral health. 

Holly is also in charge of making sure all the reindeer health requirements are met before flying around the world. While planning for Santa’s stops in the United States, she checked InterstateLivestock.com to see what each State requires. All the reindeer that cross state lines must meet Washington State import requirements, including a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) issued by an accredited veterinarian and a permit number to move between states for toy delivery. A CVI is a special animal health document that certifies that the animals listed “are not showing signs of infectious, contagious and/or communicable diseases” and have met all the required vaccinations and testing requirements. Santa’s reindeer tested negative for tuberculosis, brucellosis, and meningeal worms and have maintained “free” status in the CWD Herd Certification Program. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph all received clearance to fly into Washington state. 

Washington State Veterinarian Dr. Amber Itle met with Holly to review his CVI paperwork and Santa’s biosecurity plans. Biosecurity plans are used to mitigate risk and limit exposure of Santa’s reindeer to disease by implementing key practices. This is extremely important since reindeer are susceptible to foot and mouth disease, an economically devastating and most contagious disease of cloven hooved animals. Biosecurity practices help to protect the reindeer for disease and allow for business continuity at the North Pole. If Santa’s reindeer get sick, they will not be able to deliver toys, which would have a huge economic and emotional impact on children and parents alike! Furthermore, Santa doesn’t want to be responsible for delivering an animal disease along with toys when he traverses the world. 

Santa’s Top 10 Biosecurity Plan Tips

1. No visitors to the North Pole. 
2. Keep a closed reindeer herd.
3. Perform annual laboratory testing for diseases of concern.
4. Establish a relationship with a veterinarian to oversee herd health and vaccinations.
5. Bring your own reindeer grain, hay, and water for the journey.
6. When traveling, never land on the ground; rooftops are cleaner.
7. Avoid direct contact with wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.
8. Clean & disinfect your sleigh and boots between rooftops, states, countries and when returning to the North Pole.
9. Isolate all reindeer returning from toy delivery for 30 days.
10. Designate elves to care for reindeer who have traveled. 

Make sure to track Santa and the reindeer’s flight path on December 24 using NORAD’s Santa Tracker.  Remember, if you are moving animals across state lines this holiday season to check interstatelivestock.com to meet the interstate animal movement requirements.

Have a safe and happy holiday season from our end of the barn to yours. 

A Washington board game, the holidays, and Paul Harvey

How the true-to-farm-life game saved a family farm and continues to entertain and teach about the trials and rewards of agriculture around the world

Karla Salp
Communications

Original version of The Farming Game
Photo credit: Marylou Krautscheid

Mom picked up our family’s copy of The Farming Game at Cenex in Quincy. I always wanted to be “Roza Ray” or “Sunnyside Sidney” – two of the six Central Washington-themed names of the farmers in the game. The beat-up box and the odd missing piece testify to the fact that playing the board game was a popular pastime in our household. Only during the winter, of course, when the relentless list of farm and garden tasks took a seasonal reprieve.   

Apparently, we are gluttons for punishment.

Unlike Farmville, where there is almost no way to lose and the cows will wait until you come home, The Farming Game keeps it real. The cows get out. Hail ruins your crops. It’s 114 degrees in the shade.

While you can get rangeland, but there is a limit to how much cattle it can hold. High-priced fruit crops are high value but also high risk. Fate throws unexpected twists at the farm dream.

At least the way we played, it also never ended. Like real farmers, we played until we just got tired of it, or we went broke. Whichever came first.  

Hard times

The game itself really was invented on the seat of a tractor – just like it says on the box. After several years of initial success when they started farming in Central Washington, the Rohrbacher family was struggling to keep the farm afloat when their Goldendale ranch, which normally received over 20 inches of rain a year, received only five inches one year. The next, less than three.

With a third child on the way, the Rohrbacher family’s dream of returning to the land to farm was drying up in the summer of 1979. But that July, an idea sprung up in George Rohrbacher’s mind, cultivated by the smell of fresh-cut hay as he cut alfalfa in the pre-dawn hours.

George Rohrbacher, creator of The Farming Game

The idea – “the crazy idea” his wife Ann said – was to create a Monopoly-like board game about farming to save the family farm. Knowing that the most likely time for board game sales would be the holidays, the family set to work sourcing and assembling the game in time for the holiday sales rush. They literally bet the farm to do it – selling off half of their cows to pay for the board game materials and putting every penny they had into amassing 10,000 games.

Had George not been a natural marketer, that may have been the end of their farm, the game, and their life savings. He did everything from taking the game to farm shows and small-town shops to writing President Jimmy Carter and Paul Harvey, a radio show host popular in many rural communities at the time.

While the President returned a mimeographed “thanks for your letter” note, Paul Harvey did mention the game on his nationally-syndicated radio program. Although the Rohrbacher family never heard it themselves, there was a sudden uptick in sales and customers reporting they heard about the game on the radio.

The Paul Harvey push came just in time. By Christmas, they had a newborn, sold 7,000 games, and had earned enough to keep the farm afloat. Income from game sales continued to support the farm for years.

Beyond the farm

Current look of The Farming Game

The game was an immediate hit in farming communities where George peddled it. The farm families enjoyed the game but also appreciated how it accurately reflected the struggles of real farm life. Soon, teachers also saw the value in the game as a fun way to demonstrate to students how economics and real-world businesses work.

The Rohrbacher family was not the only farm hit by hard times. Increased prices and interest rates – much like today – made farming difficult to sustain, even for families who had been farming for generations. Tractors took to the streets in D.C. At one point, the game was given to every member of Congress to help them understand American farmers’ challenges at the time. George himself would even eventually become a Washington State Senator.

The game has also spread beyond America’s own borders. In 1994, the World Bank flew George to Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union to oversee the translation of the game into Russian. There, the game was used to help farmers understand farm privatization after the end of socialism.

The Farming Game today

The Farming Game has been available for over forty years, now sporting an updated green box as opposed to the original tan. It was adapted for Windows and Macs but the electronic versions appear to no longer be available.

Interest in the game continues, having sold over 350,000 copies. Hard times seem to increase sales according to George – with increases in times of economic downturn and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rohrbacher family was even featured on The Last Archive podcast recently, discussing the game and the impact it has had. (Please note: The podcast contains a small amount of language or subjects that some listeners may find objectionable.)

The Farming Game brings up nostalgic memories for many a farm kid and anyone else lucky enough to have played the game, even though they knew nothing of the hard times that inspired the game, how it saved a family, or just how widespread the game’s impact has been. But now you know…the rest of the story. 

Get the dirt on soil health; SoilCon 2023 registration opens

Danielle Gelardi
WSDA Soil Health Scientist 

Taking soil sample with a soil probe
in young potato field

If soil microbiomes, water conservation, and plant health are your jam, you’ll want to register for SoilCon, a conference covering the latest research in soil health. SoilCon is next February during Washington Soil Health Week, though registration is already open for this virtual opportunity.  

The annual conference is organized by the Washington Soil Health Initiative, a joint effort of WSDA, Washington State University, and the Washington State Conservation Commission to improve soil health in our state. Soil health focuses on how well soils support plants, animals, and people. It also recognizes the living nature of soils and the importance of soil microorganisms. 

Soil sampling in grain stubble

SoilCon is a free, virtual event and will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 14, and Wednesday, Feb. 15. But don’t worry, it shouldn’t interrupt your Valentine’s Day plans; the conference is only held from 8 a.m. to noon each day from the comfort of your home, office, barn, or tractor seat. The theme this year is “Soil Health: Taking Principles to Practice.” Topics will be relevant to agriculture or natural resource professionals, producers, consultants, university faculty and students, gardeners, and anyone interested in soil health.   

Register on the SoilCon website and view the complete agenda, which is being updated as plans develop. Speakers include professors from WSU and universities around the country as well as graduate students and postdocs providing short, lightning talks. 

Join us at the conference to learn more about Washington state soil health and visit WSDA’s soil health page to learn more about our work.

Taste Washington Day 2022 – celebrating the farm-to-school connection

Sedro-Woolley School District served

yogurt parfaits with Grace Harbor Farms

vanilla yogurt, Viva Farms blueberries, and

homemade granola at breakfast.

Annette Slonim

Farm to School Lead

Local yogurt and berry parfaits, two-ton tomato sauce over whole grain penne pasta, and baked cinnamon-spiced apples with raisins and are just a few of the dishes featuring local foods and farms served in schools across the state in celebration of Taste Washington Day and National Farm to School Month.

More than 40 schools and childcare centers participated in Taste Washington Day earlier this month, sourcing Washington-grown foods from greater than 50 farmers and food producers. Throughout October, schools and childcare centers featured seasonal foods in school meals, highlighted partnerships with local growers, celebrated the harvest from school gardens and farms, and educated students on the richness of Washington agriculture and local food systems.

2022 Taste Washington Day highlights:

Quilcene school garden.

WDSA staff celebrated with a visit to Quilcene School District to spotlight their fantastic farm to school connections. School lunch, served by high school culinary program students, included a local beef stew featuring meat and vegetables from nearby Short’s Farm, Midori Farm, Graysmarsh Farm, and Dharma Ridge Farm. The youngest students experienced the harvest season by crunching apples in the school garden.

Dieringer School District served Baked Cinnamon-Spiced Apples with Raisins and proudly serves Washington-grown applies, carrots, and strawberries.

Bellingham Public Schools served a local Two-Ton Tomato Sauce over whole grain penne pasta. With support from the WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grant, the school district purchased tomatoes from Common Threads Farm, The Crows Farm, Cedarville Farm, Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad, and Hedlin Family Farms, sourced through the Puget Sound Food Hub.

The Children’s Center at Burke Gilman Gardens celebrated Taste Washington Day with Spooky Squash Bake Kits, a great way to engage the whole family in celebrating and tasting local foods. 

Spooky Squash Bake Kits.

West Valley School District in Yakima celebrated Taste Washington Day with local roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes and Sweetie apples! Fingerling potatoes are a great option because they do not require any slicing or dicing, just roast and serve.

Charlotte Green and Roland Dagdagan
sorting fruit in
Ellensburg.

Charlotte Green, dietitian for Ellensburg School District, and Roland of Dagdagan Farm and Produce sorted melons and peaches for the salad bar on Taste Washington Day. Ellensburg School District visited the Ellensburg Farmers Market to meet local producers and establish new farm-to-school connections. Schools can be a great customer for local farmers, especially at the end of the season when farms may have surplus produce.

Sedro-Woolley School District offered organic Honeycrisp apples from Sauk Farm and served yogurt parfaits with Grace Harbor Farms vanilla yogurt, Viva Farms blueberries, and homemade granola at breakfast.

Melissa Holmes from Pe Ell School District cannot say enough about her staff. 

Pe Ell’s Administration staff served the local fruit. Kyle
MacDonald/Superintendent, Brandon Pontius/K-8 Principal
and Keith Shepherd/HS Dean of Students/AD.

Melissa and her team serve Washington-grown foods on a daily basis whenever possible. Students enjoy all the fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods from many Pacific Northwest local area farms, Eastern Washington farms, and the Olympic Mountain Ice Cream and Sorbet made in Shelton, WA. This year’s Taste Washington Day lunch included a cheeseburger with farm fresh tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and local fruit.  

Carrots at WallaWalla daycare.

Children at the Little Angels Biodome Daycare and Pre-school in Walla Walla harvest and wash carrots from the garden. Little Angels Biodome also partners with Hayshaker Farm to source local foods for the center’s meals.

The Olympia School District’s Child Nutrition Services Department featured foods from area farms and ranches, including their very own Olympia High School Freedom Farm.

The Olympia High School Freedom Farmers is an alternative, experiential block-class program for 

Olympia High School freedom farmer

students were busy harvesting and preparing

crops in preparation for the big day.

Olympia High School students. The farm offers a hands-on, outdoor and community-based educational model is for students who thrive when they can apply academic learning to relevant community and environmental issues. Students were busy harvesting and preparing crops in preparation for the big day (pictured here).

Taste Washington Day meals featured items ranging from chili made with grass fed beef, muffin bread made from zucchini, salad bar items including carrots, celery, and cantaloupe, and crisps made from blackberries and blueberries.

Washington-grown foods on the
lunch trays at Pe Ell School
District is a regular occurrence. 

The Olympia Child Nutrition Services Department is using funds from their WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grant to buy foods produced by local farms, ranches, school gardens, and food producers to strengthen local agriculture, improve student health, and promote regional food systems awareness.

Thank you to all the schools, farms, and community partners who celebrated Taste Washington Day and National Farm to School Month this year! Farm to school connections continue throughout the year in Washington, follow or tag #wafarmtoschool on your preferred social media platform to find out or share what’s happening.

Want to connect with others involved in farm to school or early learning? Join the Washington State Farm to School Network! Learn more and sign up at www.wafarmtoschoolnetwork.org

Chief Leschi Schools celebrates the Washington
Apple Crunch with apples from Sterino Farms.

.

For more information about WSDA’s Farm to School Program, visit www.agr.wa.gov/farmtoschool or contact Annette Slonim, Farm to School Lead, at 206-714-2757 (calls/texts welcome) or aslonim@agr.wa.gov.

More photos from Taste Washington Day 2022

Pe Ell School District staff serve up locally grown food. Pictured: Kendra Arrington / Assistant Cook, Ryan Holmes / Dishwasher, Thomas Justice / Life Skills Student, Taylor Toepelt / Life Skills Student and two lifetime assistants, Tory Duncan / Librarian and Angela Holmes / Substitute Cook / Custodian.

Students in Yakima enjoyed roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes
and Sweetie apples. 

Organic Honeycrisp apples from Sauk Farm.

Bellingham Public Schools served a local Two-Ton Tomato Sauce over whole grain penne pasta. 

WSDA awards $8 million to improve fairgrounds across the state

Brand new animal pens awaiting
assembly at the Evergreen State Fair.

Amber Betts
WSDA Communications

Prize-winning hog, best-in-show apple pie, blue-ribbon stuffed chicken, and the area’s largest squash are some of the awards seen at your local fair. You know the one? Yes, you do.

The moment you think of the local fair you begin to smell the scones, elephant ears, the animal barns, and the unique atmosphere of fun, comradery, and family. However, you might also remember the aging facilities, the concrete block bathrooms that have seen better days, and the bleachers that are somehow, still standing.

Capital improvement grants to the rescue

Washington State Department of Agriculture and the Washington State Legislature recognize the importance of Washington’s fairgrounds. During the pandemic, county fairs were used as vaccination centers; during wildfires, fairs are used to shelter people and livestock; and during the summer months, fairs educate the public about the importance of agriculture in our lives and to our state’s economy.

Arena at the Ferry County fairgrounds. 

 Since 2003, the legislature has helped fairs in their mission by awarding around $2 million each biennium for health and safety improvements to fairgrounds and facilities. In 2021, they emphasized the importance by awarding a whopping $8 million, enabling us to fund 78 projects across the state.

Fair organizers were able to submit applications for projects equal to or less than $250,000, for capital improvements.

What is a capital improvement?

A capital improvement is addition of a structural change or restoration of some part of the property that will improve the health and safety of fair goers.

Pierce County fairgrounds project.

What were the projects?

WSDA is funding 78 projects at fairs across the state.  Some projects are large and are part of even larger projects on their grounds. The smallest grant awarded was $5,500 for the installation of new sheep pens and barricades at the Pierce County Fair. To date, 15 projects are complete. Most of the rest are on track to be complete by May 31, 2023.

Projects include upgrades to electrical systems, upgrades to ventilation and filtration systems, replacing drain fields for restrooms, remodeling or constructing restrooms, repairing asphalt on fairgrounds, upgrades to livestock barns and ag buildings, reroofing, adding heating and air conditioning, and many others.

 If the legislature chooses to include funding to the fairs program in the next capital budget, the program will distribute grant applications for fairs next July. Check our website for future grants and for the full list of 2021-23 grant recipients.