Meetings to focus on farming's future

For nearly a century, his family has plowed, planted and harvested land in the Snohomish River Valley, a tradition that spans 14 generations. Over the years, Bailey has seen considerable change in the county's agricultural landscape.

Higher production and urban development cutting into arable land have affected the traditional model of the family farm.

"We have already lost a lot of farmland," said Bailey, who with his family runs a 400-acre farm of mostly Holstein dairy cows and vegetable crops. "We are losing farmland now. It's time that the county takes an active role rather than paving over it."

To this end, Snohomish County government is working with farmers and others to protect the county's fertile farmable land, while identifying economic opportunities to sustain a robust agricultural industry for the next 100 years and beyond.

Last October, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon unveiled the Agriculture Sustainability Project, a grass-roots initiative to strengthen and grow the county's agricultural economy, ensure a quality and thriving food supply and support existing farming operations.

"We have some of the most fertile farmland in the state," Reardon said.