The Role of Large Scale Farms in Skagit Agriculture
Photo: Cedarbrook Studio
In the first of a two part series, we look at the role large-scale farms play in Skagit agriculture. Next month we explore the role of small-scale farms.
Farming plays a central role in Skagit County life, and large-scale agriculture drives the economic engine that makes it go.
The demand from big farms supports the critical infrastructure necessary to maintain a viable agricultural economy and community here that all farmers (and rural living enthusiasts) benefit from. Simply put large-scale farms purchase enough equipment, parts, fertilizers, and the like to support the wide range of businesses and services present today in Skagit.
Theodore Lane, an economist who has studied the Skagit agricultural economy for Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, explained it this way: “The large farms provide a level of demand that attracts infrastructure-type businesses into Skagit County, and since they’re here, they also provide the necessary support to small farmers.”
Besides furnishing the necessary demand for suppliers products, large-scale operations also offer the best bulwark against pressures to convert farmland to other uses.
Understanding how large- and small-scale agriculture fit into and benefit from the larger Skagit agricultural infrastructure helps us appreciate how agriculture contributes to regional well-being.
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Large-scale farming in the Skagit Valley does not resemble the corporate agricultural enterprises found elsewhere. Mainly, these are family farms with generational commitments to the land and community. Generational knowledge and long practice in the fields create a seedbed for success.
Dave Hughes, a co-owner of Hughes Farms, noted that large-scale farming not only requires more land and equipment, but also more management – something that only comes from experience.
These farmers are proud of their work and of the many jobs they provide for local residents. They try to plant crops that will provide year-round opportunities for employees. They are pleased to keep relationships with workers that last decades and provide stability for all parties. They contribute to civic organizations in the valley, as well as to businesses, responding to shifting opportunities.
A generation ago, processors left the valley and farmers shifted from crops like peas and sweet corn to potatoes and grains. Growth depended on being able to sell to the fresh market. Fortunately, Skagit can produce high-quality potatoes and other produce like brussels sprouts, along with vegetable seeds and dairy products. Farmers have been able to tap into the fresh market, including grocery chains, with good results.
Working at this scale helps ensure the agricultural infrastructure is in place to support all Skagit farmers.
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To grow food on this large commercial scale, farmers need sufficient land, labor, water, and favorable weather. They also need access to fuel, fertilizers, and various chemical inputs that help produce the yields farms need to be profitable.
Skagit Farmers Supply continually adapts and provides innovative solutions for farmers. Two agronomy centers in Skagit County, for example, offer full-service options, including custom fertilizer blends, deliveries, and equipment. The staff maintain trainings and certifications to assist growers with regulatory issues. Its size of operation also allows them to maintain inventories much longer than is feasible for most farms.
“We want everybody to be successful,” said Tom Boland the President and CEO of Skagit Farmers Supply.
Being able to supply and support farmers establishes a foundation for the critical mass needed for all of Skagit agriculture. Boland said roughly one-third of the business’s agronomy customers are large-scale farmers (the other two-thirds roughly split between small and medium). This distribution demonstrates the interconnections here and how they allow local agriculture to function.
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The fundamental business of farming, of course, is growing things, something simpler to say than to do. Because of Skagit’s climate, getting fields prepared and crops in the ground must happen quickly, because the times available to plant and harvest are short.
To beat the weather, farmers must be able to buy and repair their equipment. Local implement dealers, like Farmers Equipment Co., help farmers get and maintain their tractors, planters, and other specialized equipment, as well as keeping up with new technologies. The dealerships ensure that farmers are supported during those short seasonal windows in spring and fall.
Especially when breakdowns inevitably happen.
Farmers can obtain relatively quick service and support. There are no three-hour drives to the nearest dealership like farmers elsewhere sometimes face. Without the presence of large agricultural operations, these businesses would transform, shrink, and perhaps disappear.
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The mix of farms all depends on local businesses. They are part of the valley’s “intertwined family,” according to Wylie Thulen, a sixth-generation Skagit farmer with Pioneer Potatoes.
Tony Wisdom, founder and CEO of Skagit Valley Farm, similarly characterized the “delicate agricultural ecosystem in Skagit County,” including the small farmers and large operations and all the businesses that make them functional and successful.
“It’s the mix of small and large that keeps the economy viable,” said Lane, the economist. The larger farmers offer stability; the smaller ones furnish diversity.
Wisdom also believes in a shared fate among farmers. “For any of us to survive, we all have to survive,” he said.
Fundamentally, that means keeping agricultural land itself viable. Stewardship of resources is a high priority for these farms.
Farmers “understand the critical necessity of stewarding the land,” said Wisdom. “It’s foolish to think that a farmer doesn’t care about the land and the environment, because without the land and the environment, the farmer has no livelihood. And the world’s population has nothing to eat.”
The Skagit Valley landscape that appeals to residents and visitors alike depends on farmers. The valley “looks this way because we have maintained it,” Thulen said, “because we have taken care of the lands to look like this, and to provide this incredible space for everybody to live in.”
Large-scale farms and the people and businesses that sustain them help make this landscape what it is. Keeping a critical mass of services in the Skagit viable allows it to continue and remain one of the strongest defenses against development pressures.
By Adam Sowards: info@skagitonians.org