Food in the News/ by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor
A glimmer of good news for the hardest working folks of all, small farmers, in a Seattle Times article called “Small Farms Sprout in State.”
On the plus side:
The numbers of farms in Washington rose 6% between 2000 and 2008 (though total acreage in farming has shrunk.)
90% of farms are owned by individuals or families.
Net farm income is higher than it’s been in nearly 20 years.
The number of farmers markets has more than doubled since 1998.
The increased interest in local foods among consumers is credited with helping some small farms survive.
On the other hand, in most farm families, at least one member of the family works another job for income and benefits that farming doesn’t provide. Also the average age of farmers is increasing, and when farmers retire their children are often not interested in taking over the farm.
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