As the managers of more than 14.5 million acres, or 33 percent of the total Washington land base, farmers play a critical role in protecting and maintaining critical natural resources and wildlife habitat areas.  However, in the face of pervasive development pressure, expanding environmental regulations, and falling farm profits, farmers sometimes feel that they unfairly bear the burden of society’s increasing environmental awareness and that the general public poorly understands or appreciates their ongoing stewardship efforts. This fact sheet examines farmer views on current land use and environmental policies based on the recent results of a WSU/UW 2002 statewide farmer poll.

When surveyed, only 28 percent of farmers responded that they felt the public appreciated their contributions to land stewardship. Of these, only 8 percent agreed strongly that the public appreciated what they were doing. In contrast, 54 percent did not feel that their stewardship efforts were appreciated by the public and 18 percent were uncertain about what the public thought.

Reflecting the diversity of Washington agriculture, farmers were often split in their assessment of the best directions for public policy, although in some areas there was clear agreement. For example,farmers were nearly united in their opinion that the current regulatory structure is problematic for farming in their region. More than 75 percent of farmers agreed that environmental regulations negatively impacted farming in their counties, while only 12 percent disagreed with this statement.  The proportion of farmers who felt that environmental regulations were hurting local farms were highest among farmers in the northwest region of the state.

While most farmers perceived that unchecked urban growth was a problem, they were somewhat divided on how best to confront the issue.  The majority, 67 percent, agreed that local governments should take action to restrict development in important agricultural areas. This sentiment was even stronger among farmers near urban areas. However, when farmers were asked about the need to accept restrictions on their ability to sell land in order to prevent sprawl, opinions were sharply divided. Just over 43 percent agreed that farmers would need to accept some restrictions on their ability to sell land while an equal percentage disagreed. Relatively few, only 13 percent, were undecided on this issue. 

On both land use and environmental issues, there was relatively widespread agreement among farmers that they should be compensated by society at large when they took actions that benefited the public at a cost to themselves and their ability to remain profitable. Just under 81 percent agreed that they should be compensated if they were restricted from selling land for development. Similarly, around 74 percent of farmers agreed, 45 percent strongly, that they should be compensated if they participated in public wildlife and habitat protection programs. This sentiment was strongest in the Northwest. Only 9 percent of farmers disagreed with this idea.  Thus, from the survey a fairly clear picture emergesof farmer preferences on environmental policies and regulations.  While a minority of farmers did feel that their land stewardship efforts were appreciated by the public and that they should continue to provide these services regardless of any compensation, most farmers would like to see more public appreciation and support for theirstewardship efforts. They would prefer to see public policies that reward and encourage good farming practices, rather than have to negotiate an increasingly complex and restrictive regulatory framework.

This preliminary draft was compiled by Dr. Marcia Ostrom, Small Farms Program Director and Assistant Professor, Washington State University. For more information, please contact: mrostrom@wsu.edu, 253-445-4514. This research project was funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Washington Farming and the Environment Project. For more 2002 survey results and details see: http://www.crs.wsu.edu/agsurvey/index.html