Building a stronger, more just & transparent democracy
Building a stronger, more just & transparent democracy
Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, introduced a bill to amend standards placed on agritourism facilities.
Farmers across the state say regulations are getting in the way as they develop products they can sell directly to the public.
From pumpkin patches to u-pick berry farms, the impacts are real, a state panel was told Jan. 16.
"Without the agritourism industry to supplement our income, we wouldn't be able to make it," said Robby Rutledge, owner of Rutledge Family Farms in Tumwater.
To carve out common sense rules, Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, introduced Senate Bill 5055.
The bill establishes new zoning laws for all farms, which in turn would lower property taxes. The bill also allows farmers to repurpose areas of land unsuitable for agricultural use and remove commercial standards now in place for agritourism. It would also allow agritourism venues to receive beer and wine licenses.
Hilary Jensen, president of Jensen Farms in Kittitas County, said the state issued a cease-and-desist order in October 2016 during the height of her pumpkin selling season. The order said the farm was operating illegally because buildings were approved for residential use only. Jensen had to apply for a commercial building permit and retrofit the buildings to sell pumpkins legally.
"It cost $6,000 to do all that at a time when I was only open eight to 10 days out of the year," said Jensen.
Keith Stocker, president of Stocker Farms in Snohomish, said this year his family could not have survived off the commercial market price for blueberries. If Stocker had sold to canneries they would have received 68 cents a pound. Instead, with a u-pick operation at the farm, they were able to make $3.25 a pound.
According to the Washington State Department of Commerce, agriculture and food manufacturing operations support more than 171,000 jobs in the state of Washington. The industry is responsible for over $21 billion in revenue each year.
Jensen said she believes the state should be hands-off and less restrictive so counties can decide what they want their agritourism landscape to look like.
