Grazing cattle are helping conserve the prairie
Using conservation grazing, we're able to strategically graze prairie habitats to get rid of excess grass and create the right environment for native plants to grow and thrive.
Prairie Appreciation Month
May is Prairie Appreciation Month, and we have a lot of appreciation to share for the prairies in Thurston County.
Long-Term Viability Of Agriculture In Thurston County
The long-term preservation of our agricultural lands is important not just to provide our community with the benefit of a strong local food system, but for all of the other benefits these lands provide to our community as well.
Colvin Ranch Day 2025
Come join us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our NRCS conservation easement. We'll have live music, food, ranch tours, wildflower walks, and fun activities for kids.
Agriculture is more than just farmers
It takes a whole network of people, businesses, and infrastructure to get food from the field to your fork. Here's a snapshot of the agriculture-related people and businesses in our region who all contribute in some way to making it possible for us to sell the best grass-fed, grass-finished beef in our region.
Community Engagement in 2024
At Colvin Ranch, our mission is to take care of the land, animals, and people in our community. We accomplish this through conservation practices that enable us to produce healthy, high-quality meat for our community, while helping native plants and animals flourish alongside our livestock. In 2024, our focus was on community engagement. Here's a quick snapshot of what we accomplished with our small but mighty team.
A Conservation Legend
Over the past 20 years, we've worked closely with Marty Chaney, a pasture management specialist with NRCS, on the implementation of our grazing plans. I don't know whether it was by luck or chance that we ended up with Marty in our corner of the field, but it was certainly our good fortune.
Conservation Grazing At Violet Prairie
Since I was nine years old, I would look out my bedroom window every morning and dream about grazing cattle on the hill across from the ranch, on land that was originally part of our family's historic homestead in the 1850s. Today, that land is part of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Violet Prairie Unit, and I'm grateful to be working with them to help restore the native prairie here using conservation grazing with our cattle as a management tool.
Resources for Ranchers
If you're want to learn more about ranching in Southwest Washington, there are a lot of really great resources available to help. We have a pretty great ranching community here with people who care a lot about the work, and we'd love to see more folks get involved!
Harvesting Resilience
Thurston County is emerging as a prime destination for visitors seeking culinary farm-to-table experiences rooted in sustainable agriculture and our local food movement.
Eat Local Month With The Thurston County Food Bank
September is Eat Local Month in Washington, and while we often think about eating local when it comes to shopping at farmers' markets or dining at locally-owned restaurants, we want to recognize those working to make fresh, local food accessible to everyone in our community.
Slow Food Greater Olympia
At the recent annual meeting for Slow Food Greater Olympia, it was inspiring to spend time with the advocates, chefs, farmers, brewers, bakers, and backyard gardeners who are all contributing to a culture of delicious local food.