American Farmland Trust and the Maryhill Museum of Art of Goldendale, WA partnered to present the first ever Sustaining Change on the American Farm: An Artist-Farmer Exchange. Twelve artists were selected to live on twelve farms located across Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

• Creating the state's first Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements (PACE) program, which, though not funded this year, provides a launching pad for AFT work.
• Requiring that local and state governments exercise a preference for local produce in purchasing decisions.
• Requiring retailers to label fruits and vegetables as "U.S.-grown" or "Washington-grown," where applicable.
• Authorizing additional trust authority so estates can place conservation easements on a decedent's property (the law previously had been unclear on this matter).

AFT developed Farm-City Forums with the US Conference of Mayors to bring together rural and urban leaders. The forums explored how farms and cities depend on each other for survival and how rural and urban residents can partner to improve the whole community's quality of life.

Local citizens are now taking steps to implement recommendations from the forums. In Pierce, forum participants have created 12 task forces to improve the quality of urban and rural life through such efforts as supporting a local PDR program and addressing regulatory barriers that make it difficult for farmers to sell directly to the public. Another task force is working to create a new high-volume farmers' market at the state's largest transit center, a project in which AFT could play a role in outreach and fiscal sponsorship.

In Snohomish County, forum participants called for a strategic plan to guide the economic development of local agriculture, and the regional office will submit a proposal to help complete this plan.

Contact Us
Pacific Northwest Office
Don Stuart, Pacific Northwest States Director
104 West Meeker, Suite A
Puyallup, WA 98371
(p) 253-446-9384 (f) 253-446-9388
dstuart@farmland.org