We care!

2018 Vim Wright "Building Bridges" Award

Whatcom Conservation District is Proud to Nominate Local Farmer for Conservation Award.

Whatcom Conservation District nominated Rich Appel of Appel Farms for his environmental leadership in the Whatcom County agricultural community. On November 27, 2018 he was awarded the Vim Wright ‘Building Bridges’ award at the 2018 annual meeting of the Washington Association of Conservation Districts (WACD) in Kennewick, WA.   

Building a Storage Facility for our Manure
Instead of being stacked on a cement slab or immediately hauled out to the fields,  manure can now be safely stored until it is safe to be used. 
We call this storage facility a lagoon.   These lagoons are more than just a hole in the ground.  They are built with many considerations and specifications.
  • The Sand Cycle
  • The Feed Cycle
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​We use sand as bedding for our cows. It works great! It's clean, comfortable and cool in the summer. Here is a short video of the cycle of sand on our farm.
​Whether it be a commercial fertilizer, their own compost or manure from the neighboring farmer, if a gardener wants a rich harvest, they need to replenish the nutrients taken up by the previous harvest. This is true for dairy farmers as well. Sometimes we need commercial fertilizer but for the most part we have our very own natural fertilizer created by the very cows that we're raising the harvest/feed for. This video demonstrates to you this journey, from feed to fertilizer to harvest and back to feed.