PCC Farmland Fund changes name to PCC Farmland Trust
This article was originally published in September 2005
PCC Farmland Fund changes name to PCC Farmland Trust
Aligning with land trusts and the growing demand for organic agriculture
by Stephanie Taylor, Executive Director
The PCC Farmland Fund is pleased to announce that it has changed its name to the PCC Farmland Trust.
As a land trust, this name change accurately reflects our ongoing mission to save organic farmland. It also provides an important alliance with all land trusts nationwide who are battling in their efforts to conserve land.
Land conservancies are under attack by the IRS and the Joint Committee on Taxation, which recently proposed that all landowners making land donations to land trusts should receive a maximum deduction of 33 percent of the current land value. In addition, any landowner who resides on his donated land won’t receive any tax deduction.
These proposals would obliterate the policies currently in place that have allowed successful land preservation for more than three decades. All land trusts rely on the generous donations of lands that are then protected from development in perpetuity. Lands acquired by land trusts include open spaces, parks and recreation, and agricultural lands.
The PCC Farmland Trust, founded in 1999, is a community-supported land trust that works to preserve organic farmland in Washington state. The Trust has saved three farms for organic production and extends its protection to include biodiversity and wildlife, farmers and farming communities. The Trust saves farmland through outright purchases, donated easements and bequests. The land is then leased to farmers who farm it according to certified organic requirements.
Celebrate an organic harvest
Harvest Celebration Farm Tours
Saturday, October 1, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mark your calendars! Saturday, October 1, is Western Washington’s Harvest Celebration Day, and you’re invited to join the fun.
Nash Huber, of Dungeness Organic Produce, began this annual festival in April 1996 when he opened his fields on the Olympic Peninsula to the public. The following year, five farms participated in a countywide farm day the first weekend in October. The rest is history. In 2003, nearly 20,000 people attended events in 12 counties, compared to 9,000 people in 1999.
Nash’s farmstand is just up the road from the Delta Farm in Sequim. For a map and directions, visit www.nashsproduce.com. For more information, visit the Cascade Harvest Coalition’s Web site at www.cascade harvest.org.
Celebrate the harvest with Nash and everyone at Dungeness Organic Produce. Visit the beautiful fertile land we’ve saved for organic farming forever.
Sunfield Farm seeks farmer
A farmer with experience in biodynamics is needed to manage an 83-acre former dairy farm, Sunfield Farm, on the Olympic Peninsula near Port Townsend, Wash. A community-minded farmer with practical skills in market gardening, CSA management and animal husbandry is desired.
Sunfield Farm (www.sunfieldfarm.org) is a non-profit project that will provide food to the local community in addition to offering programs in sustainable agriculture and land stewardship to young people. Grant-funded, full-time position. Please contact Chris at 360-379-4168 or info@sunfieldfarm.org.
Employee matching gift program
There’s a good chance you can have your contribution matched by your employer. Many companies will match gifts even from retired employees and employees’ spouses. It’s easy.
- Ask your company’s personnel or community relations department for a copy of their matching gift form.
- Complete your portion of the form.
- Submit the completed form with your gift to the PCC Farmland Trust.
- We’ll do the rest.
For more information, contact the Farmland Trust at 206-547-9855, or farmlandtrust@pccmarkets.com
A Blessing
I ask all blessings,
I ask them with reverence,
Of my mother the earth,
Of the sky, moon, and sun my father.
I am old age: the essence of life,
I am the source of all happiness.
All is peaceful, all in beauty,
All in harmony, all in joy.
— source unknown
From “In Praise of Fertile Land,” Whit Press, $12.95. 100 percent of all proceeds go to the Farmland Trust. Available in all PCC stores.