The Opportunity to Invest in Pierce County’s Next Generation of Farmers

For many aspiring farmers, the biggest barrier isn’t passion or knowledge. It’s access to land, tools, training, and a network that can help them succeed. That’s where conservation districts step in.

Across Washington, conservation districts work quietly but powerfully at the intersection of land, water, and community. They help farmers steward natural resources, protect soil and water, and build more resilient local food systems. Just as importantly, they connect people to the resources and relationships needed to care for the land and make a living from it.

In Pierce County, this work comes to life through the Pierce Conservation District (PCD).

Through its Harvest Pierce County initiative, Pierce Conservation District is doing more than supporting farms, it’s building pathways. New farmers are gaining hands-on training through programs like Farm Foundations, learning sustainable growing practices and how to navigate the realities of starting a farm business. Others are cultivating their own plots through the district’s incubator farm, where shared infrastructure and affordable land make it possible to take those first steps.

For many participants, these opportunities would otherwise be out of reach.

The program is intentionally designed to address long-standing inequities in agriculture by expanding access to small local farmers. It’s also rooted in partnerships–with local organizations, educational institutions, Tribes, and farmers themselves–ensuring that solutions are shaped by the people closest to the work.

This kind of collaboration is what makes conservation districts so effective. They don’t operate in isolation; they build networks that strengthen both people and place.

At The Russell Family Foundation, we support this work because it reflects a broader vision for climate and community resilience. By investing in infrastructure, training, and relationships, PCD is helping create a more equitable and sustainable food system–one that can adapt to changing conditions while supporting the next generation of farmers.

But this work depends on sustained investment.

As public funding sources shift and resources become less certain, conservation districts are facing real constraints at the very moment their work is most needed. The demand for training, land access, and support for emerging farmers continues to grow, but the funding to meet that demand is not keeping pace.

There is an opportunity for philanthropy, public partners, and community investors to step in.

Supporting conservation districts means investing in local food systems, climate resilience, and economic opportunity. It means ensuring that new farmers have a pathway forward and that communities have the tools to steward their land for generations to come.

The work is already happening. The partnerships are in place. Now is the moment to ensure Pierce Conservation District can continue, and grow, this critical work in our community.

To learn more, visit https://piercecd.org/