Sustaining the Viability of Skagit Agriculture
SPF has identified key components to the long term viability of agriculture:
Farmland Protection
Commercial agriculture is not feasible or efficient without large, unencumbered acreage. In the early 1970’s, Skagit County implemented 40-acre minimum lot sizes in order to protect the land base. Programs to sell development rights has led to the permanent protection of farmland for future generations.
Economic Viability
It’s not farmland without farmers. Unless farm operators can make a living from farming, farmland becomes untended “open space” which soon converts to non-agricultural uses. SPF supports regulatory stability and market opportunities for the entire agricultural industry. From specialty and row crops, dairy and livestock, organic and conventional, SPF works to assure that farms of all sizes and types remain viable.
Agricultural Infrastructure
SPF supports policies and regulations that positively impact the complex infrastructure which the agricultural industry is built on– university research, land use planning, dikes, drainage and irrigation, fertilizer and farm equipment suppliers.
Advocacy
SPF’s work involves staying engaged in local and regional policy and land use issues that affect Skagit farmland and agriculture. From working on the Farms, Fish & Flood Initiative, issues related to irrigation and drainage, flood risk reduction, transportation, food access and equity, ongoing economic viability, land use application reviews, permit challenges or working on public policies related to comprehensive planning, SPF’s goal has always been what is in the best interest of Skagit agriculture for the next 100 years.
Community Support
Community support for agriculture, reflected in public policy and opinion, newspaper articles and “coffee shop talk” must reflect a presumption that farming will be a long-term part of the community fabric and landscape, instead of simply a consumptive land base for other uses. A major element of SPF’s work is to continuously engage with the public, community leaders and elected officials on a multitude of agriculture-related issues. Learn more about SPF’s educational and behind-the-scenes tours of farms.
Partnering to Permanently Protect Farmland
Since 2008, SPF has worked to secure private funding to protect farmland within three priority areas.
SPF’s funds are leveraged with public funding through Skagit County’s Conservation Futures Fund and any federal and/or state grants available.
Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program, a public land trust, has raised over $1.5 million to protect over 510 acres along the I-5 corridor and SR20 corridor, with $699,200 coming from SPF donors. Learn more about Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program. If you own agricultural land and would like to apply to the program to permanently protect your farmland, you can download the Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program application here.
This map shows farmland that has been permanently protected from future development. That means that its’ development rights have been removed. Preserving farmland is never done without tremendous collaboration: between the property owner, the donors to Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program, Skagit Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited and private foundations. Many thanks to all who value farmland, our most precious resource.
