Farm bill could mean big boost here

A pending federal farm bill could send millions in grant and loan money to agriculture in Western Washington, said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, who addressed farmers last week during the fourth annual Focus on Farming conference hosted by Snohomish County.

Larsen, D-Lake Stevens, said Western Washington is known for its specialty crops but not for large commodity crops such as corn, cotton and wheat. As a result, it often fared poorly when it came to funding in previous farm bills, the last of which passed in 2002.

But that could change with the current farm bill passed by the U.S. House in July. A separate version with similar programs is under consideration now in the Senate.

Larsen said more money has been included to support specialty-crop growers, and that's good news for this region.

"Agriculture here is extremely unique and diverse compared to Kansas, Iowa, New York or Florida," Larsen said. "It's a bit of a chore to explain [to others in Congress] what agriculture here is like."

Farm production in the Puget Sound region includes beef, dairy products, wine grapes, berries and seeds. Washington state produces 10 percent of all U.S. specialty crops, ranking third behind California and Florida.

Over a five-year period, the new bill could put $1.6 billion into U.S. specialty-crop farmers' hands. That's quadruple what was available to them in the last approved farm bill, Larsen said.

Within that is $365 million dedicated to a specialty-crop block-grant program. States would apply for the grants based on various programs they operate. Money is formulaic, said Michael Dabbs, a legislative director in Larsen's office. Since Washington ranks third in specialty-crop production, it could receive the third-highest amount of funding.

Such a shift is extremely important for the state, said Jon DeVaney, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural-development program.

"Before, most of the funding was for commodity crops," DeVaney said. "We're happy now that the emphasis is shifting."

More farmers are looking for help in making agriculture financially sustaining, DeVaney said. Additional money for value-added products — products made from specialty crops — automatically makes a specialty farmer's product more enticing to marketers. Part of the farm bill offers more of that assistance.

The economic future of agriculture is important to people such as Cadin Feckley, 11, of Arlington, who said his interest in a farming career brought him to the conference.

"I'm sad to think that it's become a lot harder to farm [for a living]," he said, adding that as a result, none of his friends see it as a good career choice.

President Bush has threatened to veto the farm bill — in part because of its overall cost — but Larsen believes there are enough votes in Congress to override a veto.

If the Senate version of the bill is completed this month, as is expected, then the two versions could be reconciled for final passage in January.

If the legislation passes, Snohomish County will work to get some of the funding, said County Executive Aaron Reardon.

"That's how we can help make farming a viable economic component of Snohomish County," he said, adding that increasing local farm products will build up the county's economic competitiveness.

Christopher Schwarzen: 425-745-7813 or cschwarzen@seattletimes.com