One of the greatest threats to farming in America is the rapid loss of farmland to commercial and residential development. Urban sprawl and population growth, combined with low commodity prices and increasing costs have left American farmers struggling to survive, and thousands are going under each year. According to one survey, fifteen percent of US farmland was lost between 1982 and 1992.

The Skagit Valley in Washington is renowned for its world-class tulip festival, and its extraordinarily rich and beautiful agricultural landscape. Skagit County is the only county along the Puget Sound corridor without a major urban center, and the only fully functioning farming landscape left in the region. But with Seattle to the south and Vancouver, British Columbia to the north, the pressure is on to convert Skagit farmland to housing or commercial developments. One Skagit valley farmer, whose farmland is valued at $4,000 per acre, was recently offered $200,000 per acre by a developer, contingent on getting the land rezoned for commercial development.

A growing number of farmers, residents and concerned stakeholders have joined forces however, to counter that pressure. Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland (SPF) is a grassroots organization dedicated to the preservation of farmland and the protection of farming as a way of life.

SPF operates as a land trust, which equips them with a powerful set of tools for conservation. Farm owners can permanently protect their farmland from the pressures of development by relinquishing their development rights to the land trust, usually by selling a "conservation easement" to the land trust. SPF buys farmers' right to develop, providing a payoff they can use to improve their business and, in the long run, a tax break if the land would have been worth more as development.

Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland is not your typical preservationist environmental organization. By policy, its Board of Directors is made up of a majority of active farmers, people who have both a philosophical commitment and an economic stake in the long-term future of agriculture. Executive Director Bob Rose, once a farmer himself, says "We have a very simple mission, but one that is very complex to implement. We have to help people understand that simply saving farmland isn't sufficient to save farming in the Skagit Valley. What good is farmland if the farmers can't make a living?"

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Farms are businesses that have many requirements to remain viable." SPF has developed the concept of a "four legged stool of farmland protection." Their land trust represents only one leg. In addition, the four legs include community support, economic viability, and agricultural infrastructure. Bob explains that "if one leg is broken, farms can still have some stability, but we try to pay attention to all four at once."

"As a community-based organization, SPF recognizes that a successful protection strategy depends upon a strong core of public opinion and community support in favor of farmland protection. SPF has demonstrated broad and deep community support for farming." To build this support, they have distributed 13,000 bumper stickers with the slogan "Pavement is Forever - Preserve Skagit Farmland," and a volunteer puts signs up around the county announcing the crops grown in roadside fields. "When you see the bumper stickers everywhere," Bob remarks, "it gives you a strong sense of hope and camaraderie."

In 1996, SPF and the local Economic Development Association commissioned an Elway Research poll that revealed 82% of residents thought the county should do more to protect farmland. A full 90% recognized the importance of farming for the economy, wildlife habitat and open space. As a result of this survey and other SPF research and advocacy, the County Commissioners voted that same year to impose a property tax increase and establish the Farmland Legacy Program, which educates and purchases development rights from willing farmers. So far, about 1000 acres have been saved with the program.

Addressing the third leg of the stool, economic viability, means working towards regulatory stability and providing marketing support. To this end, SPF has become deeply involved in the protection of salmon. Regulators are talking about wide buffers that would take 40-50% of some farmers' land out of production. Such a move would bankrupt many farms, and encourage transfer of those lands to developers or large corporate agribusiness, with accompanying environmental, social, and economic impacts. SPF argues that farmers have been stewards of the land for generations, and are improving their practices all the time. "Farmers and viable farm businesses can be more attentive to the needs of salmon and the landscape than any of the other potential users that will replace them."

SPF is looking for a marketing vehicle that can support viable farming businesses, one that can capitalize on the Skagit's reputation as a very special place. Several farmers are already selling into larger natural food chains, such as Larry's Markets in Seattle, by working with the Puget Sound Fresh Campaign. That effort uses "point-of-purchase" education and marketing to send a message to the consumer: "Here is a superior product, produced in a way that sustains rural farming communities." This type of marketing is increasingly effective nationwide.

The fourth leg of farmland protection is agricultural infrastructure. As farms go out of business, the suppliers that depended on their purchases leave the area. Without ready access to suppliers of equipment and agricultural inputs, as well as storage and research facilities, remaining producers must travel farther and pay more to meet their basic requirements.

Once again working with the Economic Development Association and the County, SPF helped fund and perform a feasibility study for a controlled atmosphere storage facility. Such a facility is needed to help address a specific problem of the apple industry in the valley - the apple maggot. The facility would be able to store a number of products in addition to apples, helping local growers to cut costs and increase product quality. Currently, apple growers are spending thousands of dollars each year to transport and store their apples at facilities in eastern Washington across the Cascade Mountains.

SPF recently scored a major victory when they secured 25 acres on behalf of Washington State University's Agricultural Research Station, which is slated to become the main center for crop research in western part of the state. "The research done there by the University is how our farmers stay smart, whether dealing with nitrate leaching or determining the right cultivar for this particular area. We are always looking for that competitive advantage, and we need research to stay on top. Also, if a new disease shows up, or a disease becomes resistant to the controls you’ve been working with, the station is there to investigate the problem and provide solutions to farmers."

Rose sums up their approach: "There are many ways to save lands for agriculture. As long as the job gets done, we try to be as collaborative with other players as possible. We see ourselves as a catalyst brokering conversations between the key players. The bottom line is, to have a fighting chance we have to pay attention to all four legs of that stool - protect the land from development, keep a strong core of public support, assure that farmers can make a living, and maintain and enhance infrastructure for agriculture. With these four approaches, we believe that over time we will protect and enhance our farming community."

Bob Rose
Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland
PO Box 2405
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Tel: (360) 336-3974
spf@anacortes.net

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