This will be the first blog on this topic as we bring FarmLink WA into the arena of farmland preservation.
When I say “preservation” I don’t mean like in a museum. As our motto declares “ensuring farmland is actively farmed”, it is our goal to connect farmland owners and commercial farmers so that land can continue to be farmed (or brought back into production) so that it provides that business opportunity to farmers, keeps the land active for the landowner and for the benefit of the community.
One difference between our organization is that we will provide an honest assessment of why our farmland is disappearing or is being transferred or stalled in non-farming status.
I live in Enumclaw where so much of our land is being turned into estates on acreage. There are technically restrictions on the number of houses on each 5-, 10- and 20-acre parcel and that only means that those with the funds can buy valuable, farmable acreage and build a large estate house on it.
When a new, large, expensive house is build on farmland, its value goes much higher than the land is actually worth for farming.
In the photo, you can see that a road is being built right down the middle of the farmland to accommodate a house, cutting through some of farmland.
What can I do about it?
Support our work!
Farmland access is the biggest hurdle for farmers and if you volunteer with us (we are looking for a couple more board members!), lend financial support and more importantly, spread the word amongst farmland owners, we can help save farmland and keep it farming for generations.