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Sakuma Brothers Farms Richard Sakuma, president of Sakuma Brothers Farms, examines tea leaves in his field in Burlington, Wash.
Photo by Daniel Brunell/AWB
A family holds its ground through thick and thin by Danielle Rhéaume
O
n the west side of Interstate 5 in the farmlands of Burlington, a giant red strawberry on a white fence marks the entrance to the Sakuma Brothers Market Stand. Several yards past the sign, there’s a tidy white-and-green ice cream house, a U-pick stand, and the market stand itself. The market stand is usually open from spring through the end of the yearly harvest, but last year they reopened it on Nov. 30 for their firstever holiday market. Outside the market, there were lush Noble firs and wreaths for sale. Inside, the market offered tasty jams and syrups made from the Sakumas’ very own berries, as well as flash-frozen blueberries, strawberries, boysenberries and tayberries that were picked and processed on the surrounding acreage. “We don’t sell anything we don’t grow or make here,” said Tami Sakuma, wife of Farm President Richard Sakuma, as she stood inside the market on opening day. “Even the packaged products that we sell are related to our farm.” The Sakumas’ most recent and ambitious venture—selling tea—is also tied to their farm. On the five acres directly behind the market stand, Richard Sakuma established first-ever tea plantation on the West Coast.
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Ancestry, adversity and remarkable success The Sakuma family business began nearly a century ago when the Sakumas arrived in the United States as Japanese immigrants pursuing the American dream. After settling on Bainbridge Island and clearing their land, the family began farming strawberries, as well as other fruits and vegetables, which were the sole source of income for the Sakumas’ large family of eight boys and two girls. Even though the land on the island was not ideal for growing berries, they were soon successful at selling their produce at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. “Because of their expertise in farming small fruit, they were approached by a Seattle processor, R.D. Bodle, to relocate to the Skagit Valley to farm,” according to the farm’s Web site. The Sakumas responded to Bodle and in 1935, their eldest son moved to Burlington to begin farming their new land. Each summer, the family would come from Bainbridge Island to help with the harvest, and by 1941 four of the eight brothers were living and farming there. Their efforts supported the rest of the family, who were still living on Bainbridge Island.
Holding their ground The Sakuma brothers have done well, but they, like most farmers, still struggle with land use and property rights issues. Their struggles started long ago when the development of Interstate 5 split their property in two. The freeway not only made their property more difficult to farm, but it also eventually led to the rezoning of a portion of their agricultural land —where their U-pick stand and original farmhouse once stood—into commercial property. Just like that, their property taxes skyrocketed and “land that was originally purchased by the acre, could be sold by the square foot,” according to CEO Steve Sakuma. Then, when a freeway interchange was built nearby, Steve said, “The land became unfarmable.” Eventually, the Sakumas sold a portion of their property and it became a shopping center. Even though the Sakumas received a fair amount of money for the land, Steve Sakuma cautioned that farmers don’t want the value of their land to grow because it makes farming unaffordable. Likewise, he said, the cost keeps younger generations out of farming. In many cases, the temptation to sell farmland for commercial prices is too great for aging farmers to resist. “Once that land is paved, it’s unrecoverable—there’s no turning back,” said Sakuma. Concern about commercialization of farmland has led the preservation organization Steve Sakuma once presided over, Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, to create bumper stickers that read “Pavement is Forever: Preserve Skagit Farmland.”
Photo courtesy of the Sakuma family
Their farm continued successfully until the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare war on Japan and the other Axis powers. Then, in response to wartime concerns about national security, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 in February 1942. Under the terms of the order, some 120,000 people of Japanese descent living in the United States, including the Sakuma family, were to be uprooted from their homes and placed in “relocation centers” for the duration of the war. After their release from internment in 1945 the Sakumas returned to their land, which had been preserved by neighboring farmers, and they continued to grow strawberries, their crop of choice. The farm continued to be family-centered business, with six of the eight brothers forming a partnership. Through hard work and dedication their strawberry production quickly grew to be the largest in Skagit County. Over time, they would become Sakuma Brothers Farm Inc. and expand their business to include Norcal Nursery in Redding and Red Bluff, Calif. Today, cousins—rather than the original sons—manage the farm, which also produces many other berries, as well as tree fruits and vegetables. Norcal houses the Sakumas’ entire strawberry nursery and includes 1,500 acres of farmland. In Burlington, they farm about the same amount of acreage, where they also grow plants in their tissue culture labs and greenhouses. Most of these plants are shipped out to other farms, while the few remaining are planted on the Sakumas’ land. Once these plants begin producing the Sakumas pick the fruit and process it by flashfreezing to preserve freshness. Then they sell it at their market stand or to large grocers like Central Market stores of Town & Country Markets Inc., or they export it overseas. “Because our core business is selling overseas and domestically, we have to keep up with regulatory issues while staying connected to the trade and business community,” said Richard Sakuma. “AWB helps us see what’s on the horizon and strategize.”
The Sakuma family gathers for a photo on their farm in 1939.
INTERNMENT After the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government moved swiftly to solve the “Japanese problem” on the West Coast of the United States, and in the evening hours of that same day the FBI arrested 2,192 “enemy aliens” of Japanese descent. On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the Secretary of War to order military commanders to designate areas of military importance and to exclude “any or all persons” from those areas. The order also authorized the construction of what would later be called “relocation centers” to house those who were to be excluded. This order resulted in the forced relocation of more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans. The government justified the action based on the perceived danger of espionage, but the decision was also a reaction to general wartime hysteria. More than two-thirds of those interned were native-born American citizens; half of them were children. In some cases, as was the story for the Sakumas, family members were separated and put in different camps. The Sakuma family members who lived on Bainbridge Island were sent far from home to the Manzanar camp in the desert of southern California. Those who lived in Burlington were sent to Tule Lake in northern California. In 1943, when Japanese were finally allowed to serve in the military, the six Sakuma sons who were old enough enlisted. Three joined the segregated all-Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Earning more than 9,500 Purple Hearts and thousands of other awards, the 442nd was the most decorated unit in U.S. history. The other three joined the Military Intelligence Service and served in the Pacific Theater. Even so, prejudice would continue for years to come. Remarkably, the Sakumas’ neighbors did not turn their backs on the family. Instead, they maintained their land until the Sakumas were released and able to return at the end of the war. Mention of their neighbors’ gracious efforts is still common on the Sakuma farm today.
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Juana Prado and Maria De Refugio (right) sort young berry plants in one of the greenhouses at Sakuma Brothers Farms.
Challenges and opportunities through tea
“Next time you’re driving, take a look at all of the farms around I-5— all of them are endangered,” said Sakuma. State regulations might also negatively affect the Sakuma farm. Even though they don’t have any major fish-bearing waterways on their property, Steve Sakuma is concerned. “With one swipe of a regulator’s pen, our drainage ditches or sloughs could be reclassified as fish-bearing waters,” he said. If that were to happen, the Sakumas would lose about 200 feet of farmland on either side of the waterway. Steve Sakuma urges regulators to look at the big picture before they make decisions. “We’re not saying that the sky is falling, but we’re saying ‘Wake up!’ Do you want farming to continue or not? Are you really getting what you want through your regulations?’” Photo by Danielle Rheaume/AWB
Sakuma Brothers premium white tea is offered for sale to visitors.
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Photo by Daniel Brunell/AWB
“A big part of our strategy for success depends on harvest labor for crops,” Richard Sakuma explained. “And one of our greatest challenges is extending our harvest time so the work season lasts longer.” He noted that about 70 percent of their labor force migrates seasonally from Texas and California. “The best way for us to extend the harvest is to diversify our crops.” Growing tea, though it is still on a very small scale at this point, is one of the many ways Sakuma Brothers may achieve just that. It was more than 10 years ago when John Vendeland, former director of diversified agriculture for the Lipton tea company in Hawaii, first approached Richard about growing tea. Vendeland had brought with him a few tea plants that would likely survive the cold winters in Skagit Valley and turn out delicious tea. With these varietals in hand, Vendeland had a dream in mind—to turn Washington into a tea-loving market full of tasting rooms and connoisseurs. The Pacific Northwest, as Vendeland noted, “has become known as a center for beverage innovation.” This is especially true when you note that major beverage companies like Starbucks, Tazo, Stash and Oregon Chai all started in this region. Vendeland’s vision excited Richard Sakuma so much that he agreed to put down an initial $100,000 investment toward the new venture. Just last fall, Sakuma Brothers enjoyed their first modest—yet successful—tea harvest. So far, they are optimistic about the opportunities and challenges that the new crop presents. Richard sees tea tasting as being exactly like wine tasting. “It’s exciting, because you shape your product to consumer preference,” he said. He sees tremendous potential for Sakuma Brothers to diversify their homemade products by combining some of their produce with their tea. “To have a berry grower making raspberry iced tea—with berries and tea they grow on-site—is unique.”
Beyond appealing to their own business philosophy, this idea aligns well with the modern movement to support sustainable family farms. In response to that, the Sakumas are also adopting social and environmental sustainability standards, which not only benefit the environment, but also serve as an excellent marketing strategy since sustainability now equals profit in many markets. Still, as Richard Sakuma explained, there is a lot more to do—especially in the areas of picking and processing. At this stage, they are only processing and selling white tea because, even though all teas come from the same leaves, green and black teas require more processing. While white tea is gaining in popularity due to its exceptionally high levels of antioxidants, green and black teas are far more popular. Because of this, Richard is researching equipment and plans to visit China to do further research. “We need to grow a lot more tea to make an equipment investment worthwhile!” Richard said, laughing. “We’ve got a ways to go with all of this, because we’re down here,” he said, holding his hand about stomach high, “and we want to get up here,” he said bringing his hand to shoulder level. “But, we’ll get there.” Even with challenges in his path, he is optimistic. Through growing tea, Sakuma could change the shape of agriculture in Washington.
Back to the market stand After the first weekend their holiday market was open, Tami Sakuma also had plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about Sakuma Brothers. “Even though we didn’t put out a lot of advertising and the weather was terrible this weekend, we still did really well!” She noted that everything on the farm and at the market stand was on schedule, and that after closing the winter market just before Christmas, they would reopen their normal market on May 15, 2008. Once it opens, it’ll be time again for fresh strawberries, jams and jellies, frozen fruits and ice cream from a local dairy topped with fruit from the Sakumas’ fields. The tea plants will be sprouting fresh leaves on the acreage behind the market, and clear bags of “Premium White Tea,” bearing the Sakuma Brothers logo will fill the open drawers of their tea display. Though their tea endeavor may only be in the beginning stages, it’s solid evidence of the persistent entrepreneurial nature of the Sakuma family.
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