Agriculture in the Southeast Region of Washington

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AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTHEAST REGION
IN COMPARISON TO WASHINGTON STATE
(Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla, Whitman Counties)
In Percent of Respondents unless otherwise noted

Marketing Methods Used in 2001 (percentage using each strategy)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Wholesale Buyers, Brokers	37.08	47.40
-	Grocery Stores	2.30	6.40
-	Growers’ Cooperatives	60.23	25.73
-	Farmers’ Markets	2.30	8.28
-	Direct Sales (Catalogs/Internet)	9.09	8.54
-	Community Supported Agriculture	0.00	1.79
-	Roadside Stands/Farm Stores	6.82	12.19
-	U-Pick Sales	1.14	6.83
-	Food Cooperative	3.41	2.31
-	Production/Marketing Contract	32.58	14.36
-	Institutional (schools, etc.)	2.27	1.88
-	Restaurants	1.14	3.32
-	Retained Ownership	4.55	6.60
-	Other	15.12	29.31

Farm Products Grown/Produced in 2001 (percentage growing each commodity)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Fresh Vegetables	9.09	10.05
-	Fresh Fruits	2.30	28.16
-	Fruits/Vegetables for Processing	7.95	10.53
-	Grains	69.32	17.15
-	Hay	23.86	28.60
-	Ornamentals (Flowers, Bulbs, etc.)	0.00	7.31
-	Eggs and/or Poultry	2.27	4.51
-	Dairy Products (milk, cheese)	0.00	2.98
-	Cattle and/or Cows	25.00	34.92
-	Hogs	4.55	3.15
-	Sheep	3.41	3.32
-	Goats	3.41	2.21
-	Value-Added Products (jams, etc.)	2.30	2.05
-	Other	25.00	16.62

Strategies to be Attempted in 2002-2004 (percentage choosing each strategy)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	More Direct Marketing to Consumers	15.73	25.13
-	Diversify Products Grown on Farm	26.97	23.85
-	Explore Greenhouse Production	1.12	6.39
-	Add On-Farm Packing/Processing	4.49	4.86
-	Join Producers’ Cooperative	3.37	5.45
-	Market Directly to Stores/Restaurants	3.37	7.16
-	Use Product Labeling (e.g. “green”)	6.74	5.88
-	Other Strategy	22.47	17.21
-	NO RESPONSE	56.18	60.14

Farming Practices Used in 2001 (percentage using each practice)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Crop Rotation	74.70	32.06
-	Vegetative Buffer Strips	26.25	18.28
-	Reduced Tillage	58.54	21.50
-	Direct Seeding/No-till	46.84	13.79
-	Intercropping /Companion Planting	2.56	7.19
-	Cover Crops	8.64	23.02
-	On-Farm Composting	5.00	21.45
-	Apply Compost/Organic Materials	8.64	27.27
-	Fertilize at Agronomic Rates	67.50	49.82
-	Mulch Using Organic Materials	11.11	18.51
-	Use Manure as Fertilizer	17.28	42.40
-	Water/Soil Moisture Monitoring	37.50	32.47
-	Soil Conservation/Erosion Control	85.37	43.32
-	Soil Nutrient Testing	67.90	45.83
-	Release of Beneficial Predators	18.99	9.52
-	Pheromones	3.90	15.18
-	Monitoring Pest Populations	39.74	42.37
-	Intensive Rotational Grazing	22.78	22.16
-	Tillage for Weed Control	55.56	37.81
-	Precision Agriculture with GPS	12.66	6.89

Attitudes Toward Marketing and Farm Policy (percentage of Those Who Neither Agree nor Disagree are not given)
		Southeast Region		State-Wide
		Agree	Disagree	Agree	Disagree
-	Labeling products as “Grown in WA” would benefit producers	72.62	5.95	77.22	5.63
-	Biggest threat to my farm’s viability is falling prices	75.58	11.90	73.86	12.68
-	Free Trade Agreements will help my farm be profitable	36.90	42.86	21.91	45.50
-	Government-supported agriculture programs should be targeted to small/medium farms	66.66	14.28	68.23	14.39
-	“Buy Local” campaign could increase consumption of local products	45.58	21.69	57.22	13.82
-	Maintaining family farms is important to County’s future	89.42	4.71	86.60	4.82
-	Need is greater than ever for Public Ag. Research and Extension	67.06	10.59	63.79	11.45
-	Private Agribusiness can replace most University Research and Extension	15.29	61.35	13.03	56.38
-	In-County consumers should have more local foods made available	45.78	9.63	57.08	6.32
-	Direct Marketing is effective for keeping farms viable in my county	53.57	14.28	60.96	11.09
-	Significant demand exists for organic ag. products in Washington	27.06	35.29	39.43	23.18
-	Extension programs benefited my farm business	69.06	11.76	59.05	14.21

Level of Involvement in Farm Related Organizations from 1999-2001 (percentage of Those Who Are Not Involved are not given)
		Southeast Region		State-Wide
		Somewhat	Very	Somewhat	Very
-	Farm Bureau	24.10	4.82	21.53	3.63
-	Commodity Commission	12.82	8.97	8.86	3.41
-	Grange	21.79	5.13	13.53	2.93
-	Growers’ Association	43.90	17.07	24.67	12.43
-	Growers’ Cooperative	39.51	20.99	18.95	11.62
-	Farmers’ Market Association	6.41	2.56	6.80	3.59
-	Other Farm Organizations	2.56	3.85	2.94	3.60

Attitudes Toward Farming and Environmental Issues (percentage of Those Who Neither Agree nor Disagree are not given)
		Southeast Region		State-Wide
		Agree	Disagree	Agree	Disagree
-	Environmental Regulations have negative impact on farming practices	79.07	11.63	74.26	12.52
-	Farmers’ Contributions to land stewardship are appreciated by public	29.07	59.30	28.60	53.51
-	Environmental Risks of GMOs are not well understood	79.76	8.33	69.18	8.04
-	Farmers should be paid for participation in wildlife programs	79.76	11.63	73.78	9.35
-	Local Gov’t should restrict non-ag. development in key ag. areas	77.91	16.48	65.82	19.02
-	Land should be farmed to protect long-term productive capacity	61.90	21.42	59.31	19.16
-	Consumer Concerns about GMOs outweigh overall benefits of their use	29.42	47.06	27.66	35.64
-	If a GMO were available in one of my commodities, I would try it	49.40	22.89	41.75	25.69
-	To protect against urban sprawl, ag. land restrictions will be needed	50.59	37.65	43.57	43.22
-	Farmers should be compensated if restricted from selling ag. land	74.12	16.47	81.03	9.97

Information Sources Accessed by Farmers During 2001 (percentage of Those Who Do Not Access a Particular Source are not given)
		Southeast Region		State-Wide
		Once or Twice	>Twice	Once or Twice	>Twice
-	Other Growers/Farm Managers	26.25	53.75	27.70	45.52
-	Private Consultants	27.50	13.75	15.62	17.74
-	Commodity/Grower Associations	43.75	27.50	26.06	17.79
-	WSU Co-operative Extension	48.75	25.00	36.25	18.97
-	Farm Supply Dealer/Ag. Business	29.63	59.26	30.77	46.65
-	Farm Newspapers/Magazines/etc.	45.12	41.46	30.18	45.65
-	State Department of Agriculture	24.36	17.95	24.66	8.64
-	Farm Bureau	12.65	12.66	15.52	7.66
-	Natural Resource Conservation Svc.	35.45	21.52	18.24	7.51
-	Banker/Financial Consultant	29.48	15.38	16.86	10.66
-	Legal Consultant	41.25	7.50	18.43	7.27
-	Television/Radio	20.00	20.00	14.58	10.69
-	Internet	22.50	33.75	16.93	25.26

Farmers’ Current Moderate and High Priority Information Needs (percentage of Those Not Indicating This Need are not given)
		Southeast Region		State-Wide
		Moderate	High	Moderate	High
-	Soil Fertility Management	33.33	44.05	39.68	33.97
-	Farm Product Diversification	33.33	41.67	36.23	30.43
-	Non-Chemical Pest Management	22.89	24.10	32.98	26.96
-	Biotechnology, including GMOs	25.93	25.93	28.44	12.76
-	Marketing Approaches	28.74	54.02	32.41	42.14
-	Regulatory Changes	32.93	37.80	30.58	37.87
-	Helping New Farmers get Started	40.24	20.73	29.75	26.01

Size of Farm Operations in 2001 (in average number of acres)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Acres Owned and Operated	1,006.36	287.06
-	Acres Rented and Operated	763.22	273.25
-	TOTAL ACRES OPERATED	1,754.82	561.41

-	Acres Certified as Organic	11.08	2.55
-	Acres in Transition to Organic	2.91	1.82
-	Acres Managed Organically but NOT Certified	4.08	19.49

Percentage of Farmers Who Use Following Types of Labor on Their Farms in 2001 (percentage utilizing each labor type)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Non-Paid Family Members	57.14	61.08
-	Paid Family Members	53.42	40.88
-	Interns or Apprentices	1.67	2.25
-	Non-Family, Seasonal, Temporary	55.56	59.05
-	Non-Family, Year-Round, Permanent	29.69	28.11

Percentage of Farmers With Selected Background Characteristics (percentage with each characteristic)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Parents farmed during own childhood	87.21	71.59
-	Worked full-time, non-farm job before farming	67.82	76.05
-	Currently operates parent’s farm	66.67	42.03

Self-Description of Size of Own Farm (column totals 100 percent)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Small	47.13	75.39
-	Medium	45.98	21.48
-	Large	6.90	3.13

Distribution of Farms by Total Farm Receipts in 2001 (column totals 100 percent)
		Southeast Region	State-Wide
-	Less than $2,500	7.32	11.33
-	$2,500 to $24,999	17.07	35.40
-	$25,000 to $49,999	10.98	10.80
-	$50,000 to $99,999	9.76	9.65
-	$100,000 to $249,000	32.93	15.13
-	$250,000 to $499,999	10.98	8.23
-	$500,000 or more	10.98	9.47

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AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTHEAST REGION IN COMPARISON TO WASHINGTON STATE (Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla, Whitman Counties) In Percent of Respondents unless otherwise noted

AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTHEAST REGION
IN COMPARISON TO WASHINGTON STATE
(Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla, Whitman Counties)
In Percent of Respondents unless otherwise noted