Agriculture in the Southwest Region

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AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION
IN COMPARISON TO WASHINGTON STATE
(Clark, Cowlitz, Gray’s Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, Wahkiakum Counties)
In Percent of Respondents unless otherwise noted

Marketing Methods Used in 2001 (percentage using each strategy)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Wholesale Buyers, Brokers	35.35	47.40
-	Grocery Stores	5.10	6.40
-	Growers’ Cooperatives	10.31	25.73
-	Farmers’ Markets	12.24	8.28
-	Direct Sales (Catalogs/Internet)	12.63	8.54
-	Community Supported Agriculture	4.12	1.79
-	Roadside Stands/Farm Stores	11.34	12.19
-	U-Pick Sales	11.34	6.83
-	Food Cooperative	4.17	2.31
-	Production/Marketing Contract	7.22	14.36
-	Institutional (schools, etc.)	2.08	1.88
-	Restaurants	4.12	3.32
-	Retained Ownership	1.04	6.60
-	Other	45.00	29.31

Farm Products Grown/Produced in 2001 (percentage growing each commodity)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Fresh Vegetables	9.90	10.05
-	Fresh Fruits	16.83	28.16
-	Fruits/Vegetables for Processing	5.94	10.53
-	Grains	1.98	17.15
-	Hay	37.00	28.60
-	Ornamentals (Flowers, Bulbs, etc.)	14.85	7.31
-	Eggs and/or Poultry	4.95	4.51
-	Dairy Products (milk, cheese)	3.96	2.98
-	Cattle and/or Cows	47.47	34.92
-	Hogs	2.00	3.15
-	Sheep	5.00	3.32
-	Goats	1.00	2.21
-	Value-Added Products (jams, etc.)	4.00	2.05
-	Other	21.21	16.62

Strategies to be Attempted in 2002-2004 (percentage choosing each strategy)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	More Direct Marketing to Consumers	27.18	25.13
-	Diversify Products Grown on Farm	14.56	23.85
-	Explore Greenhouse Production	12.62	6.39
-	Add On-Farm Packing/Processing	0.00	4.86
-	Join Producers’ Cooperative	0.97	5.45
-	Market Directly to Stores/Restaurants	6.80	7.16
-	Use Product Labeling (e.g. “green”)	3.88	5.88
-	Other Strategy	23.30	17.21
-	NO RESPONSE	58.25	60.14

Farming Practices Used in 2001 (percentage using each practice)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Crop Rotation	12.77	32.06
-	Vegetative Buffer Strips	36.17	18.28
-	Reduced Tillage	17.20	21.50
-	Direct Seeding/No-till	7.53	13.79
-	Intercropping /Companion Planting	6.45	7.19
-	Cover Crops	11.96	23.02
-	On-Farm Composting	29.03	21.45
-	Apply Compost/Organic Materials	39.36	27.27
-	Fertilize at Agronomic Rates	40.22	49.82
-	Mulch Using Organic Materials	23.33	18.51
-	Use Manure as Fertilizer	59.14	42.40
-	Water/Soil Moisture Monitoring	12.22	32.47
-	Soil Conservation/Erosion Control	39.13	43.32
-	Soil Nutrient Testing	20.65	45.83
-	Release of Beneficial Predators	5.49	9.52
-	Pheromones	2.27	15.18
-	Monitoring Pest Populations	31.52	42.37
-	Intensive Rotational Grazing	26.09	22.16
-	Tillage for Weed Control	23.08	37.81
-	Precision Agriculture with GPS	4.60	6.89

Attitudes Toward Marketing and Farm Policy (percentage of Those Who Neither Agree nor Disagree are not given)
		Southwest Region		State-Wide
		Agree	Disagree	Agree	Disagree
-	Labeling products as “Grown in WA” would benefit producers	69.56	7.60	77.22	5.63
-	Biggest threat to my farm’s viability is falling prices	56.99	19.36	73.86	12.68
-	Free Trade Agreements will help my farm be profitable	13.19	47.25	21.91	45.50
-	Government-supported agriculture programs should be targeted to small/medium farms	62.36	18.28	68.23	14.39
-	“Buy Local” campaign could increase consumption of local products	55.92	18.28	57.22	13.82
-	Maintaining family farms is important to County’s future	83.87	5.38	86.60	4.82
-	Need is greater than ever for Public Ag. Research and Extension	49.47	13.98	63.79	11.45
-	Private Agribusiness can replace most University Research and Extension	11.83	48.39	13.03	56.38
-	In-County consumers should have more local foods made available	58.07	5.38	57.08	6.32
-	Direct Marketing is effective for keeping farms viable in my county	65.59	4.31	60.96	11.09
-	Significant demand exists for organic ag. products in Washington	54.35	11.96	39.43	23.18
-	Extension programs benefited my farm business	46.24	20.43	59.05	14.21

Level of Involvement in Farm Related Organizations from 1999-2001 (percentage of Those Who Are Not Involved are not given)
		Southwest Region		State-Wide
		Somewhat	Very	Somewhat	Very
-	Farm Bureau	17.39	3.26	21.53	3.63
-	Commodity Commission	0.00	1.15	8.86	3.41
-	Grange	13.48	4.49	13.53	2.93
-	Growers’ Association	11.83	10.75	24.67	12.43
-	Growers’ Cooperative	6.74	5.62	18.95	11.62
-	Farmers’ Market Association	2.33	4.65	6.80	3.59
-	Other Farm Organizations	3.33	1.11	2.94	3.60

Attitudes Toward Farming and Environmental Issues (percentage of Those Who Neither Agree nor Disagree are not given)
		Southwest Region		State-Wide
		Agree	Disagree	Agree	Disagree
-	Environmental Regulations have negative impact on farming practices	71.00	11.00	74.26	12.52
-	Farmers’ Contributions to land stewardship are appreciated by public	26.53	46.94	28.60	53.51
-	Environmental Risks of GMOs are not well understood	72.16	8.25	69.18	8.04
-	Farmers should be paid for participation in wildlife programs	79.79	5.05	73.78	9.35
-	Local Gov’t should restrict non-ag. development in key ag. areas	64.64	12.12	65.82	19.02
-	Land should be farmed to protect long-term productive capacity	60.60	9.09	59.31	19.16
-	Consumer Concerns about GMOs outweigh overall benefits of their use	37.37	25.25	27.66	35.64
-	If a GMO were available in one of my commodities, I would try it	37.50	26.04	41.75	25.69
-	To protect against urban sprawl, ag. land restrictions will be needed	37.37	43.43	43.57	43.22
-	Farmers should be compensated if restricted from selling ag. land	79.00	7.00	81.03	9.97

Information Sources Accessed by Farmers During 2001 (percentage of Those Who Do Not Access a Particular Source are not given)
		Southwest Region		State-Wide
		Once or Twice	>Twice	Once or Twice	>Twice
-	Other Growers/Farm Managers	36.84	32.63	27.70	45.52
-	Private Consultants	7.70	6.60	15.62	17.74
-	Commodity/Grower Associations	15.22	8.70	26.06	17.79
-	WSU Co-operative Extension	25.54	12.77	36.25	18.97
-	Farm Supply Dealer/Ag. Business	42.10	21.05	30.77	46.65
-	Farm Newspapers/Magazines/etc.	24.21	37.89	30.18	45.65
-	State Department of Agriculture	14.13	1.09	24.66	8.64
-	Farm Bureau	11.95	4.35	15.52	7.66
-	Natural Resource Conservation Svc.	16.67	2.22	18.24	7.51
-	Banker/Financial Consultant	7.69	2.20	16.86	10.66
-	Legal Consultant	5.55	3.33	18.43	7.27
-	Television/Radio	8.80	4.40	14.58	10.69
-	Internet	16.67	14.44	16.93	25.26

Farmers’ Current Moderate and High Priority Information Needs (percentage of Those Not Indicating This Need are not given)
		Southwest Region		State-Wide
		Moderate	High	Moderate	High
-	Soil Fertility Management	43.18	30.68	39.68	33.97
-	Farm Product Diversification	29.55	30.68	36.23	30.43
-	Non-Chemical Pest Management	32.58	29.21	32.98	26.96
-	Biotechnology, including GMOs	19.28	6.02	28.44	12.76
-	Marketing Approaches	25.84	28.09	32.41	42.14
-	Regulatory Changes	26.37	28.57	30.58	37.87
-	Helping New Farmers get Started	28.89	30.00	29.75	26.01

Size of Farm Operations in 2001 (in average number of acres)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Acres Owned and Operated	76.47	287.06
-	Acres Rented and Operated	20.35	273.25
-	TOTAL ACRES OPERATED	97.43	561.41

-	Acres Certified as Organic	0.72	2.55
-	Acres in Transition to Organic	0.61	1.82
-	Acres Managed Organically but NOT Certified	21.45	19.49

Percentage of Farmers Who Use Following Types of Labor on Their Farms in 2001 (percentage utilizing each labor type)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Non-Paid Family Members	75.61	61.08
-	Paid Family Members	33.33	40.88
-	Interns or Apprentices	0.00	2.25
-	Non-Family, Seasonal, Temporary	43.68	59.05
-	Non-Family, Year-Round, Permanent	13.64	28.11

Percentage of Farmers With Selected Background Characteristics (percentage with each characteristic)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Parents farmed during own childhood	69.00	71.59
-	Worked full-time, non-farm job before farming	83.17	76.05
-	Currently operates parent’s farm	31.68	42.03

Self-Description of Size of Own Farm (column totals 100 percent)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Small	89.11	75.39
-	Medium	9.90	21.48
-	Large	0.99	3.13

Distribution of Farms by Total Farm Receipts in 2001 (column totals 100 percent)
		Southwest Region	State-Wide
-	Less than $2,500	23.53	11.33
-	$2,500 to $24,999	49.02	35.40
-	$25,000 to $49,999	13.73	10.80
-	$50,000 to $99,999	5.88	9.65
-	$100,000 to $249,000	3.92	15.13
-	$250,000 to $499,999	1.96	8.23
-	$500,000 or more	1.96	9.47

AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION IN COMPARISON TO WASHINGTON STATE (Clark, Cowlitz, Gray’s Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, Wahkiakum Counties) In Percent of Respondents unless otherwise noted

AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION
IN COMPARISON TO WASHINGTON STATE
(Clark, Cowlitz, Gray’s Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, Wahkiakum Counties)
In Percent of Respondents unless otherwise noted