What is Community Supported Agriculture or CSA?  Have you heard friends or TV folks excitedly throw these letters around and you aren't quite sure what they mean?  Or maybe you are a “seasoned” CSA veteran already?  Newbies and veterans alike should enjoy this trip Pride of Pierce (http://www.prideofpiercecounty.com/farmvideos.html) took out to the farm to talk about CSA with Terry Carkner, owner of Terry’s Berries in Tacoma.

Tilth Producers of WA is the go-to organization for sustainable farming... providing policy work, cutting edge education-especially at the fall conference, opportunities to tour Washington farms through Tilth farm walks, encouragement to new and young farmers, and an amazing farmer network.

This year's theme was "Organic Agriculture: The Roots of Rural Development." Sessions included integrated pest management, soil fertility, cover cropping, adding value to crops, looking at the possiblilty of electric vechicles for agricultural uses, alternative feed for livestock, helping WSU develop a carbon footprint tool for organic farms, and so much more.
Find out more about Tilth Producers and the conference at www.tilthproducers.org

Pierce county had great grower representaion including Terry's Berries, Tahoma Farms/Terra Organics, Wilcox Family Farms, Cheryl the pig lady, Kelda's Divine Earth Gardening Project, who else have I missed?, as well as Chris Benedict WSU Extension, Doug Collins WSU Puyallup, myself from the District, and other important folks who help support Pierce county ag. Pierce County even has a new representative on the Tilth Board, Kaitlin Hansen who works at Terry's Berries!

The conference weekend was also kicked off with a Friday symposium about growing wheat and grains in Western Washington. At the symposium, farmers and advocates heard from world class wheat professor based at WSU, Dr. Steve Jones, followed by farmers growing grains in Western WA, like Nash, and also malt makers and bakers. Moral of the story- it's totally possible to grow amazing local grains here on the westside that can go right into local bread, flour, beer, and animal feed. The development of more local grain production, markets, and processing infrastructure will be a great movement to watch, with a side effect of healthier local grain supply, healthier people, and stronger local ag economies. People have been growing wheat for more than 10,000 years. It's only in the last 100 that we've forgotten we can grow wheat and grains.

(download)

Click here to download:

Tilth_Producers_of_WA-Conferen.zip (293 KB)

(picture: Pierce County WSU extension agent, giving a talk about livestock feed)

Last Week’s Volcano came out with their annual Best of Tacoma Readers’ Poll.  Terry’s Berries was featured as Tacoma’s Best CSA.  Among other places winning various awards was Dave’s Meat and Produce, Metropolitan Market, Marlene’s Market and Deli, and the Broadway Farmers Market.  Of course these aren’t the only good places to find local produce; for info on these and the other great places in Pierce County to get local food check out our website, www.prideofpiercecounty.com.  For more information on Terry's Berries, check out their website, http://www.terrysberries.com/. 

This past weekend (the 26th and 27th) Wilcox Family Farm hosted a tractor pull and farm day.  Of the many events included a tractor and hot-rod "Cruise In", hayrides, and farm tours.  Also, there was a live band and free Wilcox egg omlettes!  The weather was beautiful and Mt. Rainier stood prominently over the tree tops. 

Wilcox Farm is a 4th generation family run farm that raises conventional, cage-free, and organic eggs.  They are located in Roy, Washington and are Pierce County's largest egg producer.  They are even starting to grow some of their own crops to feed the chickens.  They hold many certifications that show their dedication to the environment, the humane treatment of animals, worker welfare and the quality of their products.  These certifications include Food Alliance, Salmon Safe, Humane Certified and Oregon Tilth Organic.  Head on over to http://www.wilcoxfarms.com to learn more about their local cage-free and organic eggs and where to buy them.  Their next event is "Harvest Fest" this fall, so check back for the date and details.

Tractor Pull and Wilcox Organic Fields in production!

(download)

Click here to download:

VID00031.MP4 (70.31 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

VID00043.MP4 (11.15 MB)

This year, Zestful Gardens (located in the Puyallup River Valley) is offering a new pre-paid farmers market card.  This card can be redeemed at any of their farmers market locations to purchase their wonderful organic produce.  Zestful Gardens subtracts your purchases from the total each time you buy.  They're offering a 10% discount incentive for anything you spend over $50.  So, if you were to purchase a $50 farmers market card, you would get $55 in produce; $100 you would get $110 in produce and for $300 you would get $345 in produce!  You can find Zestful Gardens at the Proctor Market on Saturdays, the Steilacoom Market on Wednesdays, and the Broadway Market on Thursdays.  In season now at Zestful Gardens you can find: crispy snappy snow peas; a plethora of greens including spinach, kale and salad mix; if you're lucky you might even find some late season rhubarb (which go great with strawberries also available for a limited time). To learn more about Zestful Gardens, check out their website: http://www.zestfulgardens.org