FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The PCC Farmland Trust Announces Thundering Hooves Organic Farm Tour in Walla Walla Valley
Seattle, Wash. (February 20, 2007) — The PCC Farmland Trust and Thundering Hooves will be hosting a farm tour on Saturday, March 31, at 1 p.m. for those interested in learning more about sustainable livestock production and farmland preservation.
In 2003, the PCC Farmland Trust purchased the 174-acre Bennington Place in the Walla Walla Valley. This open pastureland, nestled between the Oregon border and the Blue Mountains, is leased to Thundering Hooves, a fourth-generation local family farm. The extended Huesby family works together raising 100-percent grass-fed cattle and pastured poultry finished on certified organic pasture.
The tour starts at Bennington Place, where Joel Huesby will show how integral the soil under our feet is to the quality of his grass-fed, pasture-finished cattle. The land was certified organic in 2005. Stephen Bramwell, a graduate student in the WSU/BioAg program, will also be on hand to explain his Bennington Place research project investigating the effects of low-impact tillage, crop rotations and soil building in organic systems.
Migrating waterfowl call Bennington Place home for a time as they stop over in the seasonal ponds. Visitors will have the opportunity to gaze into the distance and watch the spring calves frolic before heading into town to the Thundering Hooves meat shop, where the Huesbys sell grass-fed beef, lamb, goat and poultry finished on certified organic pasture.
Then, as the sun heads towards the horizon, we will gather at the Valley Chapel, a historic one-room schoolhouse near the Huesby's home farm. In good company, we'll enjoy a brief presentation, socializing and a delicious meal featuring Thundering Hooves sirloin tip roast prepared by the Huesby family. Dinner will start at 5:30 p.m. Costs of the meal are: $15/adult, $6/child ages 5-12, free/children under 5.
To make a reservation for the tour or dinner, please call the PCC Farmland Trust at 206-547-9855, or visit our Web site, www.pccfarmlandtrust.org.
The PCC Farmland Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to preserve Washington farmland threatened by development and move it into sustainable and organic agricultural production. Since its inception in 1999, the PCC Farmland Trust has secured the future of four irreplaceable farms in Washington State.