Value-Added Agriculture

Feedback Tally

Wahkiakum County Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee members were asked for feedback about the best ideas they heard at the Value-Added Agriculture Economic Forum. They were asked to list at least five ideas that merit consideration or further exploration. After listing the ideas, they were ranked in preferential order as to what seemed most appropriate for Wahkiakum County, with a rank of “1” being most favorable. The idea may be a type of goods or services produced, financial tools or resources, organizations, networks or partnerships, or other idea.

These were tallied and are listed below in rank-order, after assigning point values to each idea, based on the response. A rating of 1=5 points, 2=4 points, 3=3 points, 4=2 points and 5=1 point. These points were multiplied by the frequency of that particular response. For example, an idea that was listed by two people as their highest priority (1) and by three people as their last priority (5) scored the following points: 2 X 5 + 3 X 1 = 13 points.

STRATEGY / Total Points Received
Niche Products & Niche Marketing (15)

Themes--Buy Local/Fresh Foods/Connection to the Land (8)

Seed Stock—brassica family vegetables, cool-weather crops (3)
Ethnic Vegetables (3)
Nursery Stock Growing (1) / 30

Remove Disincentives & Create Incentives /

Preserve Agricultural Lands

(e.g., tax structure, public policy, land use controls) / 11

Forest-Related Products

(salal, evergreens, huckleberries, Western Red Cedar) / 9
Production of Locally Suitable Crops & Products
Vegetables & fruits suited to micro-climate, “heritage” crops / 8

Agri-Tourism

(activities, ag products, farm buildings, co-op sales outlets, etc.) / 6

Value-Added Animal Processing

(on-site, fresh, flavor) / 5
Form Cooperatives
(organic growers, food stand outlets, marketing, etc.) / 3

0266 Forum Tabulation V-A Agriculture MT 02 03