five generations one dream

Kevin Mader has been passionate about agriculture since the beginning. “I love it. As much as I love my parents, my first words weren’t ‘mom’ or ‘dad.' They were combine and tractor,” said Kevin. He is the fifth generation on the family's farm to dedicate his life to growing food. As times change, so, too, do the Maders' farming practices. Steve Mader, Kevin’s father, reflects on how the operation has evolved over the years.

“The land is in better condition now than it was in the 1900s. It’s been a pleasure to watch them take their passion and go with it and change it and do more with it,” said Steve.

The Maders have definitely done more with the farm over time. They grow a wide range of crops, which play a key role in implementing regenerative farming practices. Regenerative agriculture aims to take a holistic approach, so the Mader farm uses crop rotations to benefit soil health and maximize crop yields. For example, lentils have been worked into the crop rotation to help regenerate soils.

Lentils are a legume, making them excellent for incorporating into a crop rotation. Legumes form a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in their root systems. These bacteria form nodules on the roots, which fix nitrogen in the soil and make it available for plants to use. Nitrogen is a key component for not just lentil production but also the production of any crops grown on the Palouse. A field planted to lentils one year can be planted to wheat the next. The wheat crop then can reap the benefits of the nitrogen left behind by the lentil crop the year before.

Once the Maders harvest their crops, they are then sent to the Maders' own cleaning facility, where they are processed and cleaned for direct to consumer sales via e-commerce, managed by Kevin's wife, Sara Mader. "From here, we clean the products from the field, and they work their way through all our systems and down into our small bag line so they can be purchased through our e-commerce site, www.palousebrand.com." said Sara.

It’s a family effort to get their products successfully from the field to the consumer’s table. The quality of the product and care for the customer are most important throughout each step of the process. “Quality is what this processing plant was designed for in the beginning, and quality is at the top of our minds,” said Sara. “We've changed our farming practices over the years based on consumer feedback, and the heart of the brand was really born to connect the consumer to the farmer.” The Maders want consumers to feel good about using Palouse Brand products because they know the crops were raised locally and responsibly. Consumers can put a face to their farmers and be confident that the lentils they are eating are not only beneficial to their own diets but also the land they were grown on.

wagrown.com @wagrowntv

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Feast World Kitchen in Spokane offers a taste of global cuisine through dishes prepared by immigrant and refugee chef partners, showcasing the rich and diverse flavors of their home countries.