Already, the demand for homes, shopping centers and businesses has swallowed up much of the farmland in other Western Washington counties. And since farming's heyday in the 1940s, Skagit County has lost roughly a third of its farmland to urban sprawl. As growth continues to push Burlington and Mount Vernon closer together and make the two cities bulge at the sides, residents are increasingly worried about what might happen to the farms. And when they look down the Interstate 5 corridor, they're even more concerned. Among the many efforts to try to save what's left is an additional property tax, passed in December by the county commissioners.
Backers hope they're acting in time.
Without them, farming tends to lapse into the more marginal uses of pasture land and hay growing, as it has in King County. Nelson said the county now is studying strategies to promote more farming. All rights reserved.