For over 100 years, Washington State University (WSU) has been connecting with you, your neighbors, and your community through our Extension programs. Every day, Thurston County Extension works to extend the university’s knowledge—addressing real-world issues to help find new opportunities for our farmers, natural resource managers, families, young people, and business leaders to become successful and thrive. WSU Extension Thurston County is the agricultural advocate for the Craft Brewing & Distilling Center Hub.

WSU Extension Thurston County provides research-based information and educational programs to farmers, consumers, decision-makers, and others involved in the South Puget Sound food (and beverage) system. WSU Extension is a founding partner in the Craft Brewing & Distilling Center Hub in Tumwater and Thurston County, Washington.

Background

Thurston County’s farmland is rapidly disappearing. Between 2002 and 2007, the acreage of actively farmed land has dropped nearly in half – from 74,420 acres to 38,718 acres. Since the mid 1950s, when Thurston County was primarily farmland, the County has lost over 75 percent of its working agricultural lands.Though the land area dedicated to agricultural activities has been steadily eroding, agricultural production it is still of significant importance to the County’s economy. The total market value of agricultural production in Thurston County is about $118 million from 1,288 farms, with crops accounting for approximately 42% of the total and livestock and poultry the remaining 58% (U.S. Census of Agriculture). These figures are greater than that of all adjacent counties.

Programs and Classes

Find all the local initiatives like farmer workshops (topics such as hoop house construction), craft brewing and distilling barley trials, a rotational grazing research initiative to co-manage for critical species and livestock production, farm nutrient management planning, and more on our website. WSU Extension Thurston County was a key partner in developing the Cascadia Grains Conference, hosted in our community since 2015.

Contact

For updates, you can sign up for our e-newsletter contact ), or visit our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/thurstonextension/) or visit WSU Thurston County agriculture program website at http://extension.wsu.edu/thurston/agriculture/.

Stephen Bramwell, Extension Director and Agriculture Faculty
bramwell@wsu.edu
(360) 867-2161