Snohomish County farms shrink, but there are more of them

SNOHOMISH — In less than an hour, Petrina Fisher can walk all four acres of her Snohomish farm, scanning rows of cabbage, fennel and specialty orange cauliflower for any pesky issues.

Skylight Farms’ small scale makes it easier to use sustainable practices, Fisher said.

“When you’re working on a small scale you don’t need to take industrial steps like using lots of chemicals,” she said. “It’s more artisanal.”

The future of growing food in the United States is not looking good. Many farms are struggling to make ends meet as prices rise, the population of farmers continues to age and farmland gives way to development.

Snohomish County is not immune to the pressure piling up against farms everywhere. But counter to state and national trends, at least one segment of the Snohomish County farm community appears to be thriving.

From 2012 to 2017, the number of farms in the county actually grew, fueled mostly by a surge in the number of small farms, those coming in at 10 acres or less, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture.

The number of farms in Snohomish County rose from 1,438 to 1,558, of which 99 were under 10 acres. Meanwhile, farmers grew more acres of harvested crops.

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