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closeWhen it comes to the murky, complex issues of farmland preservation, it's important to have farmers and the community on the same page before putting together solutions. A recent survey by Whatcom Farm Friends seems to indicate that's the case.
More than 600 farmers, land owners and community members responded to a survey sent out earlier this year, meant to gauge basic knowledge and interest level regarding local agriculture issues. Pouring over the numbers, Paul Grey was encouraged by what he saw.
"What the results tell me is people get that agriculture is important to the economy and the community," said Grey, who became executive director of Whatcom Farm Friends a year ago. "Public involvement is crucial to getting solutions, and now we have a good baseline to work with as we go forward."
Going forward will mean four public forums in October and November. After the public input, Whatcom County officials will make decisions on which tools would best be used to tackle some of the challenges to land preservation, including urban encroachment, access to water and having homes built on farmland. Regulations already are in place, but this latest program will help deal with some spots that are getting overlooked, Grey said.
"This won't solve the whole problem, but we'll be able to attack the farm areas most vulnerable to land conversion," Grey said. "The goal is to save 100,000 acres of ag land so we can maintain it as an industry, not let it collapse. I think most people here want to prevent what happened in places such as Kent valley, where farmland has been replaced by large warehouses."
It's not a simple matter of just preserving land for agriculture, however. For farmers, the property they own is often viewed as their own retirement plan, and they don't want to give away the flexibility of what they can sell it for and at what price.
"The land is a farmer's biggest asset, so we have to be respectful of that," Grey said. "It certainly makes it complicated."
The survey asked a variety of questions, including the importance of agriculture in the local economy. Among farmers, 84 percent said it was either the most important or one of the most important contributors, while 77 percent of community members felt the same.
Participants also were asked about a variety of farmland conservation tools that can be used and what level of understanding they had. Farmers, not surprisingly, had the highest percentage of understanding, but there were also a significant number of community people who said they understood concepts such as down zoning and purchase development rights programs.
With the survey completed, the public forums in the coming months will be important because the process is moving quickly. The staff at Whatcom Farm Friends is very motivated to have tools in place; Whatcom County is close to that 100,000-acre threshold and they don't want it to fall below that level because it is tough to get it back.
For details on the survey, visit www.wcfarmfriends.com and click the "Public Involvement Plan Information" link.
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