07/25/2006: "SJC To Host Regional Agricultural Summit"

San Juan County Agricultural Resources Committee (ARC) has been invited to co-host the next North Puget Sound Agricultural Summit meeting, scheduled for August 31.

Susan Robins, Chair of the ARC came before the County Council last week to request $1,500.00 to be applied to the cost of the preparation, facilitation, and follow up of the meeting. Robins told the Council that the majority of the funding will be coming from Skagit County, but that ARC formally requested approval of $1500 to aid in the costs of putting on the summit. As per Kevin Ranker's request (the Council liaison to the committee), Robins submitted an invoice to the Council for the requested amount..

Ranker was absent from the meeting (he had been formally excused for a planned trip), and while both Chair Lichter and Myhr were supported of the work being done by the ARC, they asked Robins to submit an agenda and a budget for the meeting to the Council prior to their discussion of the request. This would also insure that Ranker will be present for the discussion when he returns.

Portions of the report submitted to the County Council follow:

The Summit participants will examine the serious issues facing agriculture in the 5-county North Puget Sound region, and to decide on a regional strategy with which to deal with them. Overall, the biggest challenge to agriculture is to retain viable farms and the businesses that support them.

So far, most counties apply agricultural zoning and land protection strategies, but little economic development effort has been focused on agriculture. As a result, agriculture does not receive the same level of public funding that habitat and recreational programs receive. The benefits of meeting are to engage in a discussion about, and formulate, a regional approach to the issues confronting agriculture while incorporating the economic development initiatives that have lately developed.

There is a trend for new federal funding to be targeted at collaborative regional efforts. The August 31 meeting will include participation by the 5-county elected officials, the heads of the counties' agricultural committees and other invited guests of those committees, and include three major agenda items:

(1) A farmer panel on farmland preservation and why an "Office of Farmland Preservation" would be desirable at a state level
(2) A presentation by the executive director of the recently formed Northwest Agricultural Business Center
(3) A farmer panel on business and marketing needs of farmers

Also, a discussion on legislative proposals or packages will be held, and a consensus requested on whether or not the group should continue examining state policy issues that affect agriculture, or should it focus only on the needs of the 5- county region, or some of both?