The Washington State University (WSU) Clark County Extension’s annual harvest celebration continues its tradition of highlighting small acreage farms and educating property owners of what they could accomplish with their land.
The 24th installment of the annual Harvest Celebration by the Small Acreage Program of WSU Clark County Extension takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, celebrating and highlighting the importance of small-acreage farms close to the urban setting. Go to extension.wsu.edu/clark/2024-harvest-celebration/ to see all the participating farms.
One farm, Serendipity Alpaca Ranch in Ridgefield, will provide an insight on the South American animals to visitors, as well as everything one could accomplish with a similar size property. Pam Conrad, owner of the ranch, is glad to be participating in the small acreage highlight once again.
“We just love the day,” Conrad said. “We just love the people’s interaction. We love sharing about the farm, about what you can do.”
The 5.5-acre alpaca ranch includes a shop featuring items made from alpaca fiber, including yarn, blankets, socks and more. The shop will be in full swing during the event and accompany farm tours that feature information about alpacas and more, Conrad said.
“We teach people on what they can do on small acreage,” she said. “We have 5.5 acres here. So it just kind of shows them what they can do with small property and still take care of the land.”
The alpaca ranch also has a garden, chickens and goats, Conrad said. She loves the independence of farming and will be sharing the possibilities that other property owners can do, as well.
Conrad is a firm believer in the importance of farms being close to the urban setting.
“We can’t get rid of the farms. That’s where our food comes from, and there’s a lot of things that come from the farm that are not petroleum based,” she said. “... We’re just trying to show it doesn’t have to be a big product. Farms can be very small. That’s why we talk about where cottage industries begin. We don’t have to think things have to be big.”
The Serendipity Alpaca Ranch is located at 2630 NE 253rd St., Ridgefield. The alpaca fiber shop is open on weekends and expands to seven days a week during the holiday season. To learn more, visit Facebook.com/Serendipi ty-Alpaca-Ranch.
The harvest celebration will include a range of other farms participants can visit.
Get To-Gather Farm in Washougal, located at 1913 SE 303rd Ave., gettogatherfarm.com, opened with 3 acres of production in 2021. The farm features a diverse offering of fruit, nut and berry orchards on 2 acres; a large chicken run with 45 chickens, two geese and three turkeys; a 1/2 acre production garden; a small blueberry patch of 60 plants; and a test garden where everything is grown to organic standards, the harvest celebration website states. Along with the farm offerings, additional on-site vendors will include Bakehouse Sourdough, Degree Coffee, Green Grocer PNW, Natural Grocers, Nut-Tritious Foods, Shady Grove Farm, Straub’s Snow, Sweet Things Baldi and Windy River Livestock, according to the website release. Soundstage will provide music for a portion of the day. The farm will have a hay wagon ride, chickens to feed, you-cut flowers, a hay bale pyramid, a haunted trail, and lots of produce and value-added products from multiple farm vendors.
Good Year Farms, 29610 SE 23rd St., Washougal, goodyearfarms.com, another participant, is a nursery specializing in plants native to the Pacific Northwest region.
The nursery grows many of its own plants from a range of genetic sources and networks with other native plant nurseries to provide a wide selection. The majority of the harvest celebration festivities will take place in the barn. Visitors will have a chance to meet their assortment of farm animals, as well. Good Year Farms works closely with a number of educational, volunteer and civic organizations to provide applied ecological education to the community, according to a press release. Mooncake Flower farm will have a booth with cut flowers, as well.
Gifts of the Planet Farm, 42117 NW 34th Ave., Woodland, eatlocalfirst.org/listing/gifts-of-the-planet-farm/, is a 2-acre farm with an organic certification growing apples, pears, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and more. Visitors can learn about growing blueberries, apples and pears during the event. There are no restrooms available at this site and no pets allowed.
Gather and Feast Farm, 2706 NE 369th St., La Center, gatherandfeastfarm.com, is a 20-acre farm that grows vegetables and fruit trees to organic standards and raises Scottish Highland cows, goats, pigs and chickens. Gather and Feast Farm will be open for self-guided tours allowing residents to see the garden and many favorite farm animals including Scottish Highland cows.
To learn more about the harvest celebration and the importance of small-acreage farms, view the Reflector’s previous article at thereflector.com/sto ries/annual-harvest-celebration-to-highlight-small-acreage-farms-including-la-centers-gath
er-and,361325.
