Agriculture in Washington State: The Experiences and
Perspectives of Washington Farmers

Results of a Producer Survey conducted in 2002*
(Click here to see the Consumer survey)

Washington county map Urban Puget Sound Washington Agricultural Region Urban Puget Sound Washington Agricultural Region Northwest Washington Agricultural Region Northwest Washington Agricultural Region Southwest Washington Agricultural Region Southwest Washington Agricultural Region Central Washington Agricultural Region Central Washington Agricultural Region East Central Washington Agricultural Region East Central Washington Agricultural Region Northeast Washington Agricultural Region Northeast Washington Agricultural Region Southeast Washington Agricultural Region Southeast Washington Agricultural Region

The purpose of this survey, conducted in 2002, has been to learn more about the diversity of production and marketing practices used by Washington State Farmers. (click here for more information on the survey methodology)

Click on your region of interest, either on the map or the list below, to see how that region compares with the entire state.
Urban Puget Sound Region (N = 167)
King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, Thurston
Northwest Region (N = 199)
Clallam, Island, Jefferson, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom
Southwest Region (N = 104)
Clark, Cowlitz, Gray's Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, Wahkiakum
Central Region (N = 339)
Benton, Chelan, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, Yakima
Adams, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Lincoln
Ferry, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens
Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla, Whitman
Note: Due to the small # of farms, data could not be broken out for counties in the Olympic Peninsula region.
Survey Methods: The data presented on this web site were collected in a survey of agricultural producers throughout Washington State. The primary goals of the project were to investigate the variety of marketing and management approaches being used by farmers throughout the state, and to learn more about farmers’ policy preferences. A stratified (by county) sample was drawn from a list of agricultural property owners that is maintained by the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Four counties that were sites of intense qualitative and quantitative data gathering on agricultural production as well as food distribution and consumption were sampled at a higher rate than the rest of the state. In these four key counties (King, Skagit, Chelan and Grant), three hundred farm households were sampled. In the remaining 35 counties, a ten percent rate of all agricultural property owners were selected for the sample.

Questionnaires were sent out to 3,718 addresses on March 29, 2002. A post-card reminder was sent to all address on the original sample on April 12th, and a second mailing was sent to non-respondents on April 26th. In an effort to reach producers who may have been too busy with farm tasks in spring and summer, a third mailing was sent to non-respondents on November 13th. Overall, 1,201 completed surveys were received. There were also 46 refusals, and 1,047 ineligibles and returns. Ineligibles were defined as those farm households that sold less than $1,000.00 in commodities in 2001, as well as those farm households that had moved, passed away, retired from farming or received more than one survey. If we remove ineligibles and non-completed returns from the original sample, the completion rate is 48.62 percent.

The number of completed surveys received and the completion rate for each region is as follows: Urban Puget Sound Region, 167 completed surveys and a 44.65% completion rate; Northwest Region, 199 completed surveys and a 46.93% completion rate; Southwest Region, 104 completed surveys and a 41.27% completion rate; Central Region, 339 completed surveys and a 46.06% completion rate; Northeast Region, 94 completed surveys and a 42.34% completion rate; East-Central Region, 202 completed surveys and a 41.74% completion rate; and Southeast Region, 89 completed surveys and a 49.44% completion rate. In addition, five surveys were received that could not be identified by region.

*This survey is part of a project conducted by researchers from Washington State University (WSU), led by Raymond Jussaume and Marcy Ostrom; and the University of Washington, led by Lucy Jarosz. The project was supported by research grants from the USDA-NRI and the Kellogg Food and Society Program's Farming and the Environment Project at WSU.

Page last updated: May 11, 2004
Initial: 5/03