Washington Is Losing Two Farms a Day. What Happens When They’re Gone?
Washington is famous for its agriculture.
From potatoes and apples to wheat, cherries, hops, dairy and wine grapes, our state produces hundreds of crops and agricultural products that feed families here at home and around the world.
But behind the abundance we see in grocery stores is a troubling trend: Washington is losing farms.
According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, Washington had 35,793 farms in 2017. By 2022, that number had fallen to 32,076—a loss of 3,717 farms in just five years.
That averages out to more than 740 farms a year—or roughly two Washington farms every single day.
Washington also lost approximately 900,000 acres of farmland during that five-year period.
These numbers aren't simply statistics. Behind every farm is a family, a business, employees, suppliers and a community that depends on agriculture.
And there isn't one single reason farms are disappearing. Farmers have been navigating a combination of rising costs, labor challenges, regulatory requirements, volatile markets, weather and water uncertainty, development pressure and shrinking margins.
For some operations, the question is becoming increasingly difficult:
Can we afford to keep farming?
The Cost of Growing Food Keeps Rising
Farmers purchase many of the same things other businesses do—fuel, electricity, insurance, equipment, parts and labor—but agriculture also requires fertilizer, seed, crop protection products, irrigation, specialized machinery, storage, transportation and significant amounts of land.
Those expenses add up quickly.
In 2022, Washington farms generated approximately $12.8 billion in agricultural sales. But farm production expenses totaled more than $11 billion that same year. USDA reported that only 34% of Washington farms had positive net cash farm income in 2022.
Higher sales, in other words, do not necessarily mean higher profits.
When the cost of producing a crop rises faster than the price a farmer receives for it, there is less left to reinvest in equipment, employees, land and the next year's crop.
Labor Is One of Agriculture's Biggest Challenges
Agriculture is labor intensive, and Washington farmers have faced significant changes in labor costs and requirements.
Labor availability, wages, overtime, workers' compensation, housing and regulatory compliance all affect the cost of getting food from the field to consumers.
At Washington's 2024 Agricultural Viability Conference, participants identified worker compensation costs, including insurance and overtime, as a leading workforce challenge. Rising minimum wage and labor availability were also among the most frequently identified concerns.
Unlike many businesses, however, farmers cannot simply pass every additional expense along to their customers.
Farmers often sell into commodity markets where prices are determined by broader domestic and global supply and demand. A farmer's cost to grow a crop can increase substantially without a corresponding increase in the price received for that crop.
Regulations Carry Costs, Too
Farmers operate within an increasingly complex regulatory environment involving labor, worker safety, water, environmental protection, energy, pesticides, transportation, food safety and other requirements.
Many of these rules serve important public purposes. But compliance also has a cost.
A new requirement may mean additional paperwork, employee training, equipment, consultants, recordkeeping or changes to farming practices.
Large operations may have employees dedicated to compliance. A small family farm may have the owner handling those responsibilities after spending the day working in the field.
When multiple requirements and costs accumulate, the financial impact can become significant—particularly for farms already operating on narrow margins.
Water and Weather Add Another Layer of Uncertainty
Washington agriculture depends heavily on reliable access to water.
Drought, reduced water supplies, changing snowpack, irrigation restrictions and extreme weather can affect how much farmers are able to plant and harvest. Heat, frost, wildfire smoke and other weather events can damage crops or reduce yields.
Farmers have always dealt with weather. What makes the challenge especially difficult today is dealing with unpredictable growing conditions while many other production costs are also increasing.
A farmer can spend an entire season investing in a crop without knowing exactly what yield, market price or weather conditions will be waiting at harvest.
Global Markets Matter in Washington
Washington agriculture doesn't stop at the state line.
Many of the crops grown here depend on domestic and international customers. Trade barriers, tariffs, changing market access, currency fluctuations, international competition and geopolitical events can affect demand for Washington agricultural products.
Those forces are largely outside an individual farmer's control.
When markets disappear or become less competitive, farmers can't simply stop growing overnight. They have land, equipment, employees and long-term investments tied to their crops.
Farmland Is Disappearing, Too
The number of farms isn't the only thing declining.
Washington had approximately 13.9 million acres of farmland in 2022, down 6% from 2017. At the same time, the average farm increased in size by 5%.
Development pressure, land values and competition for land can make it difficult for existing farms to expand and for young or beginning farmers to purchase their first ground.
Once productive agricultural land is converted to another use, bringing it back into food production can be difficult—or impossible.
Who Will Be the Next Generation?
There is another challenge that can't be measured simply in dollars: succession.
The average Washington agricultural producer was 59.3 years old in 2022, according to USDA.
For a farm to remain in agriculture, someone has to be willing and financially able to take it over.
Families may want to pass the farm to the next generation, but younger farmers must look at land prices, equipment costs, financing, regulations, labor availability and potential returns and determine whether farming provides a viable future.
Keeping farms economically sustainable today is directly connected to whether Washington will have farmers tomorrow.
What Do We Lose When We Lose a Farm?
When a farm disappears, we lose more than acres and production.
We can lose generations of agricultural knowledge. Local jobs. Customers for equipment dealers, trucking companies, seed suppliers and other rural businesses. Open space. Food production capacity. And another family whose livelihood was tied to feeding people.
Washington's 32,076 farms are also overwhelmingly family operations. USDA reported that 94% of Washington farms were family-owned and operated in 2022.
That makes the decline in farm numbers something that reaches far beyond agriculture.
The Future of Local Food Starts With Farmers
Consumers understandably want affordable food. They also want locally grown food, open spaces, strong rural communities and a dependable domestic food supply.
Those things begin with economically viable farms.
Washington agriculture remains an enormous part of our state's economy and identity. Agriculture and food processing support more than 164,000 jobs, and Washington continues to be one of the most diverse agricultural states in the country.
But that success shouldn't make us complacent about the warning signs.
Losing roughly two farms a day between 2017 and 2022 should cause all of us to think about what it takes to keep farming possible in Washington.
Because once a farm is gone, getting it back isn't easy.
And the question isn't simply whether Washington will continue to produce potatoes, apples, wheat, cherries and the many other foods we're known for.
The bigger question is:
Will the next generation of Washington farmers be able to afford to keep growing them?
The future of local food depends on the answer.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
