Spudman February 2023 - 13

Richard Pavelski
Richard Pavelski grew up on a
600-acre farm with 300 cows. After
graduating high school in 1967,
Pavelski returned home and doubled
the size of his father's farm. Pavelski's
younger brother also joined the
farming operation, and the brothers
grew frustrated with the inability to
secure much-needed fertilizer.
To solve the fertilizer issue,
Pavelski borrowed $10,000 and two
trucks from his parents and started
his own independent fertilizer and
chemical company.
This company grew rapidly, and
larger companies began asking
Pavelski if he would be interested
in selling. (Definitely not!) But both
brothers now had small children,
|and Pavelski's brother asked
Pavelski if he would consider
coming back to the farm so that
they could help each other.
Pavelski allowed his business to
be put up for sale, and a bidding
war ensued. He received an offer he
couldn't refuse.
Matthew Harris
Matthew Harris is a champion of Washington potatoes. As the
assistant executive director and director of governmental affairs
for the Washington State Potato Commission, Harris works to
overcome technical and policy barriers to ensure a fair regulatory
environment. He also works to educate about the effects of trade,
transportation and regulatory barriers on the Washington potato
industry.
His efforts involve preventing or removing unfair market access
barriers by eliminating or limiting impediments affecting the
sale and use of Washington state's potatoes in local, domestic
and foreign markets. Harris has been involved in the food and
agriculture industry for 22 years, managing regulatory compliance
for agricultural commodity organizations. He holds a B.S. degree
in agricultural economics from Washington State University.
agriculture to schools through
the schools' science curricula. The
program is already in 35 schools.
" Our mission is simple: People
want to know where their food comes
from, and farmers want to share those
stories, " said Pavelski. " We want to
create common ground, where people
can learn more directly from the
industry without taking away from
the important work that must be
completed to feed the growing world. "
More information can be found at
The brothers then bought more
land - now totaling around 30,000
acres - and split it. Pavelski's
daughter and son are now in the
family farming business, and Pavelski
spends his time running the Farming
for the Future Foundation.
Farming for the Future Foundation
will be opening a $40 million
agricultural education center in
August 2023 with the goal of bringing
FFTF.com.
Part of moving forward in farming
is the technology now associated with
it. For tech such as remote sensing,
aerial imagery and satellite mapping,
Pavelski thinks these tools are still in
their infancy, even though he's been
using them for 25 years, because there
is still so much to learn.
" It's catching on now because of how
far farm technology has come. Five
years ago, the cameras were 100 lbs.,
and you just can't get that on a drone, "
he said.
Spudman thanks Yara
for its continued support
of Spudman and our
awards programs.
Spudman.com 13
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Spudman February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman February 2023
