A Feasibility Study for Urban Edge Agricultural Parks - SAGE

Public access to private farms under easement with the County is at the discretionof the farmer. For the County-owned acreage, public access is limited due tolimited physical access as well as a requirement that tenants carry $1 million to $2million in liability insurance.Target Producers/CropsThe Indochinese Farm Project evolved from a 26-acre property that had been cultivated for 15years by Hmong farmers who had graduated froma former agricultural training facility. When theParks Department determined that the site wasinappropriate for ball fields, the FPP purchasedthe site and leased it to four to five Hmongfarmers. FPP staff expects to sell the propertythis year to a newly formed non-profit corporationmade up of the existing farmers. However, sincethe FPP bond requires sale to the highest bidder, the tenant farmers may lose theland to a higher bid.Crop production on land in the FPP includes dairies, beef, horse, and other animaloperations, nurseries, turf, hay, silage, berries, row crops, flowers, and Christmastrees. Market trends have been away from dairies towards row crops, as local andorganic produce have found markets in Seattle. In the case of short-term leases onCounty owned property, crops that can realize short-term bottom-line production(e.g., corn, squash) have been pursued.Farming Practices/EnvironmentalConservationAn interview with the program director indicated thatbecause the program was initiated in the 1980s, it wasfocused less on environmental standards then if it had beeninitiated now. However, the program stipulates thatconservation farming must be practiced with no topsoil loss.The Livestock program also addresses drainage and waterquality. The County separately funds a livestockmanagement program with environmental conservationelements.No housing development is included in the program, andexisting residential uses are limited to five percent ofpreserved lands. As the local program is now receivingUSDA funding, this will soon be reduced, with 98 percent ofthe property being required to be kept free of anyDRAFT 1.6.05 70