Celebrate Earth Day: help save farmland

• Shipley Fields update: report on final hearing
• Help save the Bennington Place
• Merchant du Vin
• Annual Report for 2003
• Donor Roster for February 1 — 29, 2004

Shipley Fields update: report on final hearing

(April 2004) — The community group Sequim First filed suit to require an environmental impact statement before Wal-Mart can build a 181,000-square-foot superstore (and a 22-acre parking lot) next door to the Shipley Fields. The location also is over a drinking water aquifer and drains into the Dungeness River. Here is Sequim First’s report:

Dear Friends of Sequim First: February 27 saw us in Thurston County Court, asking for a complete Environmental Impact Study of the proposed Wal-Mart project.

Despite the long drive, more than a dozen of our members were on hand. Things went well, and we were especially pleased that the judge seemed well prepared and asked some good questions. Our attorney, Gerald Steel, made an even better presentation than he did at the first hearing.

This hearing was the result of a year’s hard work. Truly, this is a David and Goliath story. It shows how much people can accomplish when they set their minds to it. Considering how small our area is, a remarkable number of people have contributed time, energy, and money. Our thanks go out to everyone.

We expect a decision within two to six weeks. Meanwhile, we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed.
— Andrew Shogren, V.P., Sequim First

If the judge upholds the City Council’s approval of Wal-Mart’s plan and no other avenue is left for effective opposition, the Farmland Fund will provide an opportunity for everyone who contributed toward a conservation easement on the Shipley Fields to redirect their gifts to other projects. Contributions to help with legal costs can be sent to Sequim First, P.O. Box 431, Sequim, WA 98382. For more information, or to leave a message, call 360-460-4016.

Help save the Bennington Place

In January the Farmland Fund saved another farm — 174 acres in the Walla Walla Valley called The Bennington Place — and leased it to the Huesby Family (www.thunderinghooves.net).

Now we need to raise $250,000 to repay the loan that was necessary for our down payment. Every dollar contributed will be matched by Leona Bronstein and the Quixote Foundation, up to a combined total of $70,000.

For more information about the farm, the leasing family and the challenge match, see The Farmland Fund steps over the mountains to save a new farm, May 2004 Sound Consumer.

Merchant du Vin:

Donates 15¢ on every bottle of organic Pinkus and Samuel Smith beers sold at PCC in April

Merchant du Vin has imported fine beers from Europe to the U.S. since 1978. We are proud to represent two breweries that make certified organic beers: Pinkus-Mueller, from Munster, Germany, founded in 1816, the world’s first all-organic brewery (in 1980); and Samuel Smith, of Yorkshire, England, founded in 1758. All Samuel Smith beers are certified vegan by The Vegan Society. In 1998 Smith added Organic Lager and Organic Ale to its portfolio of benchmark beers.

In the past, agriculture (and everything else) was natural. People grew and harvested food in a way that didn’t have unforeseen side effects on the earth. By the time chemicals and pesticides became common in agriculture, the earth’s human population had grown so enormously that the side effects became enormous as well: weakened or extinct species, poor health in people, imbalance of organisms, and actual alteration of the food crop. If we continue to use chemicals and pesticides in the name of short-term efficiency and profits, we risk creating a dire situation for our planet.

But what could be easier than trying a new beer? Pinkus and Smith Organics are beers of the highest quality; they’re tasty, natural, hand-brewed specialties that will play a part in preserving our planet … and they also will support the Farmland Fund. We urge you to join us in this worthy cause.
— Craig Hartinger, Merchant du Vin

Annual Report for 2003

The Farmland Fund’s Annual Report for 2003 is now available online (PDF). If you’d like a printed copy mailed to you, call 206.547.1222 x140 or email jody.aliesan@pccmarkets.com

The PCC Farmland Fund works to secure and preserve threatened farmland in Washington State and move it into organic production. For more information, see the PCC Farmland Fund web page.