Hi Everyone,
This is important. Wendy and I are asking you to take a few minutes to read what follows, and to act on behalf of the future of local agriculture.
You all know that we've worked for years to promote the interests of agriculture in our Valley. We have made gains, but we are still hampered by the fact that in our County there is no clear definition of what kinds of land-use are truly "agricultural." It may seem odd that the County has established "Agricultural Production Districts" without clearly stipulating what agriculture is. But that is the case. At one time perhaps everyone just knew what farming is. But now there is pressure to convert farmland to other uses, and the meaning of "agriculture" is being stretched too far.
As a result of testimony present to the King County Council last summer, Council has asked the King County Agricultural Commission to determine what agriculture is, and what the future of farming in our County is. They are doing that at this time, and are seeking input from all "stakeholders" on this issue.
Clearly, we farmers in the Agricultural Production Districts (APDs) are stakeholders. But each of you is a stakeholder too. Everyone in the County has an interest in local food production. So the Ag Commission is seeking everyone's input on how to decide what agriculture really should be (this is a policy decision), and what the future of farming in our valley should be.
Sno-Valley Tilth (SVT), our organization of organic farmers in the Snoqualmie Valley, has asked the Ag Commission to recommend the adoption of a definition of agriculture as "growing practices that result in food for human consumption." We believe that out of the many purposes that land can be used for (i.e. housing developments, industrial parks, recreational facilities, etc.) that on land which lies within the Agricultural Production Districts, the primary use should be endeavors that raise food to sustain human life.
The Board of Directors of SVT has adopted the slogan "food for people" to represent our position. We are asking members of the public to exercise their right to weigh in on this policy issue. I have a Word copy of the SVT's full testimony to the Ag Commission; please email me at jubileefarm.org if you want to read a copy. Please understand that our proposed definition will not affect land-use in our APDs that currently exists, even if it is not a "food for people" kind of endeavor. It will only impact future use of land in designated Agricultural Production Districts.
It is possible that you have already seen something about this on-line. We have gone to the Seattle Food Council and other food-interest groups, environmental groups, conservation groups, social justice groups, and others—asking for their support, and getting it. We are hoping to focus the existing network of support for local agricultural on this initial goal: to have the County establish the fact that in our APDs we need to be about the business of growing "food for people." What we don't need is development, industrialization, and recreational uses of our precious and dwindling farmland.
Each of us who run CSA operations in the valley are writing letters like this to our members. We are asking you to take just a minute—less than a minute—to write a short e-mail to the Ag Commission. Usually in an e-mail writing campaign it helps to make the e-mails personal. But in this case, the Ag Commission is just counting the number of people who write and their main point. So the e-mail can be very simple, something like:
To the Ag Commission:
I am writing to support the farmers of Snoqualmie Valley by asking that King County adopt a "food for people" definition of agriculture. In the future, farming in our County should provide a local supply of food for human consumption, and our APDs should be used for that purpose.
[Your Name]
Send it to: steve.evans@kingcounty.gov
You can say more if you like, but that is enough. You can even copy and paste those very words. But please, please do it. It will make a difference.
Thanks so much,
Farmers Erick and Wendy
PS: If any of you would like to take a further step in supporting our efforts, we would encourage you to become a "donating member" of Sno-Valley Tilth (SVT). Our group is the only local farming organization in King County, and works tirelessly to promote local organic food supply. You can become a "donating member" for just $20. That's not much, and I can tell you money is not squandered in our organization—almost everything is done pro bono! You can do this on-line at http://www.snovalleytilth.org/application.htm.