Local farm groups say the Whatcom County Council didn’t follow state law when they updated some rules for farms late last year.
They’re asking the state to review the county’s new “Critical Areas Ordinance” passed in December.
Farmers say the county didn’t give equal consideration to the negative effects the regulations could have on an already-dwindling local agriculture land base, including one that says farmland that lies fallow for five or more years cannot be utilized as agricultural land for farming going forward.
Leslie Honcoop is President of the Whatcom County Farm Bureau and says this requirement may actually hurt the environment by encouraging land conversion for development and other non-farming uses.
She says additional regulation at this time adds strain to local dairy producers, many of whom are already working at a loss due to persistently low milk prices.
A link to the text of the Whatcom County Critical Areas Ordinance update can be found here.
You can hear an interview with Leslie Honcoop on KGMI’s Farming Show here.