Top Organic Program & Farm Walk

Just five short years ago Washington State University became the first in the nation to offer students a major in organic agriculture. This spring the Organic Farming Research Foundation released the first Organic Land Grant Assessment Report which measured education, research, and outreach in the federally funded Land Grant System. Among the top six institutions assessed by the OFRF was WSU, which met all eight of the assessment's organic program criteria. To date, WSU is the only university in the country to offer a four-year, science-based bachelor of science degree in organic agriculture.

THORNTON: So, this is an L.- Star. It’s grown on M26 root stalk. These trees are around ten years old, and we’re going to talk a little bit about doing summer pruning to improve fruit quality.

That’s Tom Thornton, owner of Cloud Mountain Farm & Nursery during a summer apple tree pruning demonstration. July 23 Cloud Mountain Farm & Nursery near Everson, Washington will host the sixth Tilth Producers and Washington State University Small Farms Program sponsored educational farm walk. Thornton will guide attendees through his twenty acre farm where he grows vegetables, tree fruit, and grapes, along with over 1,000 varieties of fruit plants and woody ornamentals. CM Farm offers workshops and seminars throughout the year for beginning and existing farmers, as well as hosting a public fruit festival. The farm walk is open to the public. Pre-registration is recommended. For more information or to pre-register visit www.tilthproducers.org.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.