Tony Overman/The Olympian
Organic farmer Bob Meyer says he has no problem selling all of his produce each year. "My problem is having enough produce to sell," Meyer said. He bought his 20-acre farm in 1988 for $3,000 per acre. Adjacent property is now selling for nearly four times that much. "I can't afford to buy that for farming," Meyer said. "I'd never make my money back."

Down on the farm

Agriculture lacks support to thrive, board finds

LORRINE THOMPSON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published January 28, 2002

THURSTON COUNTY -- If you grew up when television shows ran in black and white (or you watch a lot of reruns), you might think of farming like this:

A farmer works long days growing one crop on a lot of acres. He or she harvests that crop and takes it to one location for processing and distribution.

The farmer collects one check and goes home to get ready for next year.

Well, television shows are in color now, Thurston County has three times the population it had in 1970, and county farmers have been evolving for years to ensure their survival.

The trouble is, public perception and policies regarding agriculture are stuck in the good old days, and that hinders the survival of farming in South Sound, farmers say.

It also puts the future of farming in question, they say.

"There's not much reason for people to go into farming," said Jeff Van Lierop, a third-generation Thurston County farmer.

"What a farmer has to do today is very different from what my father had to do," said Van Lierop, whose 350-acre farm now specializes in turf grass.

In hopes of boosting the chance that agriculture will continue in Thurston County, a committee of farmers and other agriculture experts spent 2001 examining barriers to agriculture in Thurston County.

The committee has produced a report listing the major barriers, as well as suggestions for policies and programs that would help county farms continue to be viable.

The committee is now working on ranking the recommendations so county officials can consider implementing some of them.

The central barriers fall into four categories -- public opinion of farming, loss of affordable farmland, lack of economic opportunities for small farmers and difficulty obtaining water rights.

"It's important for people to realize that agriculture is an asset in the county, and we need to treat it like an asset," said Bob Meyer, who owns 25 acres of farmland in south Thurston County.

"It's nice to get vegetables that were picked that day or the day before," Meyer said.

Agriculture in Thurston County is evolving from the large, traditional farms growing traditional crops into smaller farms growing specialty crops that they often market and distribute themselves, farmers say.

"The name of the game these days is, get yourself a niche," said Meyer, who grows organic vegetables and berries and sells many of his crops at the Olympia Farmers Market.

"Surprisingly, there are a fair number of folks making a living on five or 10 acres," Meyer said. "They may not be living as city folks do, but they're comfortable. And happy."

Because of regulations, however, it might be difficult for farmers to sell their specialty crops directly to the public, and nearby neighbors may complain about traffic, noise and smells.

"We each have to deal with our own challenges," said Fred Colvin, who owns a 500-acre cattle ranch near Tenino and also works on a dairy farm near Tumwater.

"The face of agriculture is changing, but it's still viable," he said.

Meyer said he believes agriculture will stay viable in Thurston County if some attention is paid to the committee's report, and if some changes are made.

"Agriculture has got to be a priority," he said, "just like new houses are a priority."

Public support

Community understanding and support of agriculture is the key to helping farms and ranches thrive, according to the committee report.

Why would people oppose farming?

"We have adversaries out there," Van Lierop said.

"You might have people who object to the smell or the dust. They'd rather see the property go native and be a buffer to development."

The growing population in rural areas creates more clashes between farmers and residents, Meyer said.

"Neighbors crowd around you and complain every time you spread manure or when you want to operate machinery before 9 a.m.," he said.

That kind of public perception does not help in the creation of supportive programs and policies, the farmers say.

"It's kind of a not-in-my-back-yard thing," Van Lierop said. "People need to be a little more realistic. ... We can't have our cake and eat it too."

Committee recommendations on public education and outreach include:

-Installing displays at the Farmers Market highlighting South Sound farms and farmers.

-Establishing a Farmlink program that would link farmers with farmland in Thurston County.

-Collecting current information on the number and types of farms and forestry operations in the county.

-Creating an agriculture page on the Thurston County Web site.

-Possibly having a regional forum in 2002 for organizations interested in agriculture outreach.

Water rights

The state's cumbersome system of granting or transferring water rights hinders the creation of new farms and can take active farmland out of production, the committee says.

"Efforts to preserve agriculture as a viable industry are in vain if farmers do not have an adequate supply of water," the report says.

"The committee is especially concerned by the lack of good information about the numbers of water rights and water users in the county."

Some recommendations regarding water rights include:

-Approaching the development of a water-rights market carefully, with emphasis on protecting the ability of farmers to purchase water rights at reasonable rates.

-Strongly supporting state efforts to determine the number of water rights in use in the county.

-Having planners work with farmers when doing water-supply planning.

Farming is "getting pushed out by the cost of the land and the press of the population," Meyer said.

"It's really tough for the young people. It's just about impossible to buy enough land to make it pay to farm," he said.

Continual pressure to build more housing in the country takes land away from potential agriculture use and drives prices up.

The rural housing boom can bring added regulations and costs for farmers, he said.

For instance, the ranch that has been in Colvin's family since the 1850s sits next to a plot of land that developers have been eyeing.

Should a housing development go up next door, Colvin wonders how long it would be before his new neighbors complain about the odor of his 150 cows.

The clash of urban and rural lifestyles "is something our society has to deal with," Colvin said.

Committee recommendations on preserving farmland include:

-When development comes up for review, considering proximity to active agriculture and its impact on farming.

-Supporting efforts of local land trusts to acquire farmland to preserve for use in agriculture.

-Considering the establishment of a resource lands ombudsman at the county who can assist farmers and foresters with permitting and other regulatory issues.

-Training development services staff in farming and forestry issues.

Economics

Although farming is a business, Van Lierop says it's fortunate that most farmers don't think of it that way.

"If people approached farming just as a business, we'd be in a lot worse shape than we are," he said.

From a straight economic perspective, farming is not a good bet, the farmers say.

Which is why economic help and business policies that deal with the realities of farming are needed to keep agriculture possible, they say.

"We need to get people to begin buying the local produce," Meyer said. "We need to get the county and the school district to buy from the local farmers."

Business regulations can demand parking lots and bathrooms and other amenities that can keep farmers from selling produce from their farms.

"There's a thought that we have to operate like a business, but we can't afford to operate like a business," Van Lierop said.

Recommendations on economics include:

-Establishing a county policy that all food and other purchases for county government should be done locally, if possible, with consideration given to quality, supply and price.

-Promoting local agriculture through participation in a labeling program such as Puget Sound Fresh, which puts farm products grown in the region in local stores with a label that identifies them as locally grown and encourages stores to buy local produce.

As hard as it is to make a living in agriculture, and though they worry about the future, Thurston County farmers say they plan to stay with it.

"For a lot of people, farming is not just a business decision. It's a lifestyle decision," Van Lierop said.

For him, it's working outside, maintaining a long family tradition and more.

"It's creating," he said.

Agriculture by the numbers

An agriculture census is taken every five years by the U.S. Census Bureau. The most recent report was written in 1997 but includes statistics back to 1974. Some highlights:

- Thurston County had 832 farms in 1997, compared with 529 farms in 1974.

- The number of square acres dedicated to farms had shrunk to 56,300 in 1997, from 65,211 in 1974.

- Farm size has also changed. While a majority of farms in 1997 were 10 to 49 acres, the majority of farms in 1974 were 50 to 179 acres.

- The value of farmland has jumped to $6,278 per acre in 1997 from $984 per acre in 1974.

- Agriculture products sold for $120.7 million in 1997 in Thurston County, compared with $23.4 million in 1974.

Farm tax change

Farmers are now exempt from paying the state portion of the personal property tax on farm machinery, if the machinery is used exclusively for agriculture purposes. To qualify for the exemption, farmers must submit an Application for Exemption of Farm Machinery. The applications have been mailed to farmers by the Thurston County Assessor's Office. Any farmer who has not received an application can call the office at 360-754-3355, Ext. 6379. Applications are due to the assessor by April 30.

To learn more

A copy of the report on barriers to viable agriculture in Thurston County is available in the Permit Assistance Center in Building 1 at the Thurston County Courthouse. For more information, call 360-786-5490.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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