Whatcom County farmers Roberto Bermudez and Jose Ramirez met with IWF's Kevin Fullerton to sign up for sunflower growing trials that could start next summer, if a recent grant application is successful. IWF and our frequent partner, Community to Community, joined with feed and fertilizer dealer Merritt Wolfkill on a proposal to the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program that would pay for training, planting, and harvest of experimental organic sunflower crops for participating farmers.

The project will include at least 3 other farmers, who've committed a total of about 75 acres. Sunflowers provide the highest quality cooking oil, and the proposal would help participating farmers market sunflower oil to local restaurants and food processors, then reclaim the used oil to make biodiesel. A portable oilseed crusher and small-scale biodiesel refinery will be made available to process the seeds into food and fuel oils. Bermudez and Ramirez each committed 5 acres of organic land for the growing trials at the meeting shown above. 

Veronica, the young scene stealer, is Roberto's and wife Maria's daughter.