WSU president visits Island farms

Washington State University President Elson E. Floyd visited the Stockhouse Farm and Two Island Market on Puget Island Monday afternoon to learn about the challenges facing small family farms as they try and cope with a dwindling work force and the ever increasing cost of getting their products to markets.

Floyd toured Stockhouse Farm with stops to discuss growing techniques and inspecting crops.

He said he thinks his tour of rural farms is important in building grass-roots support for WSU’s agriculture programs and for higher education.

“People appreciate having a chance to talk with me. I enjoy it because I can get first hand input about the needs of small farmers.”

The visit was organized by Carrie Kennedy, Wahkiakum County Extension Agent. “The President contacted me about a month ago and asked if we would be available for a meeting,” said Kennedy. “It is his intention to meet the community partners we work with.”

Kennedy said Floyd is interested in how farmers get started and how they organize their farmers market. He also wanted to learn about the Food and Farm Network; how it was started and how Kennedy works with the Wahkiakum Health Department. “He is also interested in our nutrition initiative,” said Kennedy.

Floyd said the WSU Extension program works hard to be a good partner in local economic development. “What we’re trying to do is make sure WSU, especially through our extension centers, are helping with local economic growth in the counties in which we have a presence,” said Floyd, “and we have a presence in all 39 counties in Washington.”

Floyd indicated that he’s about halfway through visiting all the counties in Washington. The purpose of his tour is to talk with local growers about agriculture and brain storm ways for WSU to be more engaged in farming communities.

“For instance we were talking here today about having a portable meat wagon here to help with some of the meat processing needs of farmers like Loren Jennings,” said Floyd.

Floyd said his school won’t be able to fulfill all the farmers’ hopes and dreams but by taking his tour he and his staff will have a better idea of the needs and expectations farmers have. Then hopefully WSU will be able to aid the counties in their economic growth and eventual recovery.

Floyd said he and his staff have found that more and more families are going into small farming. The issue however is the business model, and if it’s possible for a family farm to make a living in these times of costly transportation, high inflation and small returns. “We want to know if small farms can achieve profitability in the long term,” he said.

Floyd said it's obvious the small family farm can’t compete head to head against “mega-farms”, but he said WSU should be able to at least help the family farmer find a way to parley his or her hard work into a business model that works; a way that will at least let them determine their own niche. The research should result in a plan that will also help the small growers recover some of their investment costs, while still making a profit.

Further discussion concerned small farming communities starting co-ops. “What these farming co-ops are able to do is go together to buy things like expensive equipment that perhaps one family farm couldn’t afford. There are also farmers that simply wouldn’t consider that kind of business model,” said Floyd.

Floyd said another real challenge for a new century of farmers is getting young people back on to farms.

“It’s getting them to come back into their communities after they go to someplace like Washington State,” he said. “It’s very difficult and it is becoming a real problem for the future of farming in general.”