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By Cookson Beecher, Capital Press Staff Writer,
October 11, 2002
The annual harvest festivals held throughout Western
Washington in the first weekend of October drew enthusiastic crowds, with
thousands of people enjoying the chance to visit local farms and discover
the abundance of food produced in their area.
Ag leaders say this personal connection between farmers
and consumers is an important tool in cultivating public support for the
survival of agriculture. Among the events' sponsors this year were Washington
State University, the Cascade Harvest Coalition and the "From the
Heart of Washington" campaign.
In King County, farms from Woodinville to Vashon Island
opened their gates to visitors. The City of Carnation, which is experiencing
a welcome surge of small-scale farms, hosted a special harvest luncheon
prepared with food from local farms.
A group of local farmers had their tractors on display.
Local beef farmer Bob Andrealli said he brought his John Deere 870 for
people to see because "they've got to find out what's going on. "They
won't learn unless they ask questions," he said, while a youngster
happily turned the tractor's steering wheel in all directions.
Down at Full Circle Organics near Carnation, visitors
had the chance to look over an abundant display of vegetables grown on
the farm and ask intern Ben Deitle questions about the produce and how
to prepare it.
Nearby at Jubilee Farm, kids were roaming through pumpkin
patches, chefs were cooking tempting dishes made from food grown on the
farm, and visitors were going on horse-drawn and tractor-drawn hayrides
through the well-tended fields. Acting as host and driver for the tractor-pulled
hayrides, farm owner Erick Haakenson delighted passengers by making stops
along the way, going out into the fields and picking cherry tomatoes,
grapes and a watermelon for them to taste. "So many people have never
been out to a farm," he said after the hayride. "This is a wonderful
chance for them to find out about farms near their homes. It's a form
of consciousness raising."
At Cherry Valley Dairy, owner Eric Nelson said visitors
were having a good time as well as picking up a lot of information from
the story boards he posted throughout the farm. "It's our passion
to teach people about farming and agriculture," he said. The dairy
also hosted a barbecue, followed by an old-fashioned barn dance.
Up in Skagit County, about 5,000 people took advantage
of the chance to tour local farms."The drizzly weather didn't stop
them," said WSU extension agent Dyvon Havens. "One
farm had almost a 50 percent jump in attendance." Havens, who visited
every farm on the tour, said the part she enjoyed the most was watching
the kids. "They were having a ball," she said, referring to
activities such as pickle races, pumpkin painting, scarecrow-making and
vegetable art.
In Grays Harbor, WSU extension agent Don
Tapio said the farm tour gave the agricultural community the chance to
showcase the quality, diversity and productivity of local farmers.
Christmas tree growers Ed and Cindy Hedlund provided
a perfect example of that, having recently won the national honor of providing
the White House with a Christmas tree - the second time they've earned
that honor in the past several years. "That validates the quality
that our farmers are capable of producing," said Tapio.
Sasquatch Farm, which produces 25 varieties of organic
garlic, and B.C. Farm, which grows 245 varieties of gladioli, were prime
examples of the county's agricultural diversity.
In Clallam County, a pumpkin farm reported 2,000 visitors
coming through. At Robin Hill, WSU's extension demonstration
farm, people enjoyed pumpkin bowling and gourd golf. Appetites were hearty,
with 170 pounds of spuds dished up as JoJos.
In Clark County, WSU extension agent Gary
Fredricks said farmers reported a steady stream of visitors, although
the misty weather did put somewhat of a damper on the turnout. "Many
of the people said they didn't know small-scale agriculture existed in
their county and that they were happy to learn they could buy locally
produced food," said WSU extension agent Gary Fredricks.
"People were excited to be able to get out and see all of this."
In Pierce County, visitors also expressed surprise by
the amount of agriculture going on in Pierce County. "They said they
were glad to see that local products were available," said Andy Barry,
WSU soil scientist. "And farmers said they
were happy to see the influx of people coming to their farms," he
said.
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