|
NABC Client Profile: Knutzen Farm, Burlington
 The two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving are the busiest two weeks of the year for a potato packer. It's the thick of the harvest season, and retailers are clamoring for enough potatoes to serve their customers for the potato-heavy holiday. NABC was lucky to catch up with Konnie McCutchin of Knutzen Farms to learn more about what it means to be a family owned and operated potato farm today. History and Heritage  Knutzen Farms, then called Highland View Farm, was established in 1894 by Konnie McCutchin's great great grandparents, Metta and Jess Knutzen, just off what is now Avon Allen Road in Burlington. Metta, Jess, and their seven - yes, seven! - boys cleared the land, readying it for production. Generation after generation the farm was maintained and expanded. Over 120 years later the farm is still in the family, with 5th generation Knutzen siblings Konnie, Kristi, and Kraig holding ownership and managing the business. What's it like to be a Knutzen family farmer now? Knutzen Farms is a minority owned and operated family business. Brother Kraig manages the fields and production while Konnie manages marketing, food safety and human resources and Kristi manages the finances and sales. Kristi's son Dan, a recent graduate of WSU, is the first member of the 6th generation of Knutzen's to enter the family business. Just as with young Dan, who has now found his way back to the family business, it is highly encouraged that all young Knutzen family members go to college. This family guideline serves a few purposes. Young family members are given an opportunity to broaden their horizons and possibly opt out of the potato farming business if they find a career that better suits them. Alternatively, through higher education family members can gain skills to bring back to the business. Dan, with his new Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness, brought helpful agronomy, production methods, computer, and finance skills to enhance the business' operations. Konnie says, "Every new member of this business has to be adding value".  Konnie graduated from Central Washington University where she studied studio art and design, a background that has proven quite useful for her marketing position at the farm. She's grateful to be able to use her creativity, while also honoring and participating in the family tradition of potato production in the Skagit Valley.
One of the colorful labels on the cases of Knutzen potatoes keeps the family heritage alive: The Highland View label (named after the 1st generation's original farm) serves as the brand for Knutzen's Second Label red, white, and yellow potatoes. What makes a Knutzen potato a Knutzen potato? Beyond the notable family heritage of this farm, quality and integrity are of the utmost importance to the Knutzen family and brands. Konnie will be the first to tell you that high quality is the most important attribute of a Knutzen-grown potato. Even when the family name isn't attached to a potato shipped far and wide and perhaps even aggregated with others, high quality is a priority - an obsession, even - for this family business. The Knutzen business model is unique for a farm of its size in this region. The family oversees all stages of production, and the farm produces, harvests, packs, and ships their own product to buyers. Hands on oversight of every aspect of the business ensures the consistent quality and integrity the Knutzen's Chuckanut Valley, Naturally Healthy (Knutzen's First Labels) and Highland View brand is built upon.  Regionally, The Skagit Valley as a whole is known for the beautiful deep red potatoes. Konnie says it's the unique soil and climatic conditions that contribute to the telltale vibrancy of a Knutzen Red, grown in the Skagit Valley.
The obsession with quality makes sense. When the brand name is your name, and the brand's reputation is by default the reputation of your family (and then stack nearly a century and a half of family legacy on top of that) it's a high-stakes business with which few want to gamble. We've heard a lot about what's old about the Knutzen farm. What's new? While the history of Knutzen Farms is storied, the old adage, "If you're not moving forward, you're moving backward" comes to mind. Change is requisite and inevitable, especially to keep pace in the changing food marketplace. Currently, the Knutzen packing and shipping processes are split between two facilities on Chuckanut Drive and Avon Allen Rd. Konnie hopes that someday soon they might be able to streamline this process and clean, pack, and ship from the same building for greater efficiency. Tapping into her creative drive, Konnie also has hopes of possibly developing value-added products from the famous Knutzen potatoes. Value-added is an industry term referring to the enhancement of raw commodity crops (such as potatoes), improving the value or expanding the existing customer base. Value-added products are the next frontier for agricultural entrepreneurs. NABC offers value-added product development assistance through our Transition to Value Added Products workshop series, and other more customized help funded by the USDA Value Added Producers Grant program. How have you participated in Northwest Agriculture Business Center programs? "I have found the NABC to be a great resource over the years. My first class was the Distilling Class that was offered in 2008. I have since taken numerous classes and used the NABC for grant writing assistance. Dave Bauermeister and his staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable in numerous areas of the Agriculture World. I am also a fairly new board member of the NABC which has been interesting and eye opening to other aspects of agriculture and its issues here in are beautiful corner of the world. I appreciate having the NABC as resource in the Pacific Northwest." As the 6th generation of the Knutzen Family continues to grow and enter the business, more changes will surely come to Knutzen Farms. But the age-old tradition of high quality potato production will always be there. "We do one thing, and we do it really well." Konnie says. It's up to this current generation and the next ones to uphold the integrity of the business, while enhancing it and readying it for the next era of family farming. ~~~ If you would like to sample some of the Knutzen Potatoes, take a drive out on one of Washington States scenic highways known as Hwy 11 or Chuckanut Drive. Knutzen Farms office is located at 9255 Chuckanut Drive in Burlington. For more pictures of our visit to Knutzen Farms, see our Facebook album. | 
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.
Starting in January 2013, NABC is reprising our very popular TVA (Transition to Value-Added) Product workshop series. Delivered in partnership with Sustainable Connections and funded by a WSDA Specialty Crop Block 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 market place!
community representatives are invited to celebrate the holiday season with NABC staff and Board of Directors, and learn more about Northwest Agriculture Business Center programs and services. The holiday-themed open house will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 13, at Northwest Agriculture Business Center (NABC) offices located at 419 S. 1st Street, Ste. 200, Mt Vernon, WA 98273.
