PCC Farmland Trust saves King County farm

by Summer Howe

(PCC Sound Consumer, June 2006) — The PCC Farmland Trust celebrates the preservation of another farm, its third, for organic production in Washington. The 178-acre farm previously was owned and farmed by the Van Ess family.

The farm is in the fertile Snoqualmie River Valley near Ames Creek and now is called the Ames Creek Farm. Adjacent to Ames Creek and the Snoqualmie River, this fertile flood plain is home to an important salmon habitat and may be a site for future salmon habitat restoration projects. The farm has a small pond and two houses. It primarily has been pastureland over the last 40 years and fallow for the past two years.

Ames Creek Farm will provide new acreage for several Snoqualmie Valley farmers known for their exquisite, sustainably grown produce. The PCC Farmland Trust signed papers to seal an agreement with them a short time ago.

Michaele Blakely has been a farmer at Growing Things Farm near Carnation for 15 years and will move her operation to Ames Creek Farm. She has farmed a variety of organic vegetables, fruits, berries, walnuts, poultry, beef, pork and laying flock, which she sells at farmers markets and through her CSA program. Michaele is an active member of the community, serving on multiple boards including the Washington Tilth Association and the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Organic Advisory Board, and as an agriculture commissioner for King County.

Andrew Stout and Wendy Munroe own and run Full Circle Farm, an organic farm in operation since 1996. They grow 75 varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs that are marketed at farmers markets around Puget Sound through their CSA program and retail grocers including PCC, and to some well-known restaurants.

Andrew is active in the farming community, running an apprenticeship program to help the next generation of organic farmers, and serves as president of the Washington Tilth Association. His dedication to land stewardship earned him the King County Conservation District’s Wildlife Habitat “Farmer of the Year” award in 2004, and the 2003 Washington state DNR Green Globe Award for “Leader in Habitat Restoration.” Andrew will be expanding his operation to include acreage at Ames Creek Farm.

Fong Cha and Ma Thao were born and raised in Laos and have been farming in the United States since 1993. They own and operate Shongchaos Farm, where they use sustainable practices to grow a variety of vegetables and flowers that they sell at farmers markets.

Expanding his operation to Ames Creek Farm will give Fong an opportunity to learn about the organic certification process, which he hopes to teach to other farmers of the Hmong community in King County.

We’re proud to be moving another farm into organic production in a partnership with these great farmers.