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About
The Puget Sound Agrarian Commons began with a ten-acre farmland gift on Whidbey Island, and exists to advance food sovereignty and farmland viability in Washington State. In the context of escalating land prices in the region and historically rooted structural barriers to BIPOC land tenure, the Puget Sound Agrarian Commons acts to represent and resource Indigenous and POC collective stewardship goals and land tenure security.
Black Seed Agroecology Farm & Village is the first farm to join the Puget Sound Agrarian Commons. Black Seed is a project of Modest Family Solutions, and grows food to gift and sell to BIPOC communities, facilitates youth agroecology education, and helps to establish economic stability and a dignified food supply chain.
Interactive Map of the Agrarian Commons Get the full experience on Google Earth
Land Acknowledgement
The Puget Sound Agrarian Commons is located on ancestral lands of the Lower Skagit, Swinomish, Suquamish, Snohomish, and other Coast Salish nations, who have lived in relationship with these lands and waters since time immemorial. We honor their elders, past and present and commit to supporting Coast Salish sovereignty in word and action.
Much of this land is unceded and in many cases these territories were stolen, seized, or otherwise acquired through genocidal actions of the state and settler colonizers. The first farm to join the Puget Sound Agrarian Commons is Black Seed Agroecology Farm & Village which is located on Whidbey Island or in one Salish language Tscha-kole-chy. Tscha-kole-chy was ceded to the United States in 1855 through the Treaty of Point Elliott. We recognize the rights and injustices of this treaty and the ongoing legacy here in the Puget Sound.
Despite their participation in the Treaty of Point Elliott, the Duwamish tribe, on whose land Seattle is located, have been denied federal recognition. As a show of solidarity and a small step toward offering compensation, Agrarian Trust makes a monthly payment toward Real Rent Duwamish.
Please visit native-land.ca/maps/territories/puget-sound-salish/ to learn the names and histories of the Coast Salish Nations who live here in the Puget Sound and coastsalishgathering.com to support ongoing organizing.
Legal Statement
The Puget Sound Washington Agrarian Commons is organized and shall be operated exclusively for the purpose of holding title to property, collecting income therefrom, and turning the entire amount, less expenses to the AGRARIAN LAND TRUST within the meaning of Section 501(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). Agrarian Land Trust, the parent corporation of Puget Sound Washington Agrarian Commons, is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) and described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
Community
The Puget Sound Agrarian Commons launched with a ten-acre farm on Whidbey, the largest island in Washington State, located thirty miles north of Seattle. Black Seed Agroecology Farm & Village, a program led by Modest Family Solutions, is stewarding this land in order to support food sovereignty to facilitate youth agroecology education.
Adasha Turner founded Modest Family Solutions as a way to grow her own food after medical complications during pregnancy prompted her to change her diet.
Healing her debilitating medical conditions through food, she began teaching youth how to grow their own nutritious fruits and vegetables, and distributing healthy food through BIPOC communities.
Modest Family Solutions has a unique educational program that provides hands-on, garden-based lessons rooted in science content, permaculture, local food tastings, farmer visits to classrooms, farm field trips, and farm-to-school related family and community engagement. The organization is moving toward their goal of a sustainable social enterprise that builds capacity for the BIPOC community through indigenous agroecology education, career development, and youth entrepreneurship.
Land, History & Community
The Puget Sound Agrarian Commons is rooted in reverence for the continued legacy of communally managed land and seascapes by Lower Skagit, Swinomish, Suquamish, Snohomish, and other Coast Salish nations. The Commons seeks to represent and resource Indigenous and POC collective stewardship in response to escalating land prices in the region and historically rooted structural barriers to BIPOC land tenure here.
While 32 percent of land in Washington State is agricultural, there is enormous room for Washington’s agricultural economy to grow towards sustainable, equity-driven, and community-led farm enterprises. Less than 2 percent of farms are certified organic and just 13 percent of farm products are sold directly to consumers in Washington. 98 percent of farmland owners in Washington state are white.
Since 2000, the average price per acre of farmland in Washington has doubled, and between 2012 and 2017 the state lost almost 1,500 farms. On Whidbey Island (Salish Tscha-kole-chy), where Black Seed Agroecology Farm & Village holds land tenure, there remains significant farmland stewardship, yet existing production is inadequate for community needs. By bringing land gifted by Ms. Caroline Gardner into the permanent affordable tenure of Black Seed Agroecology Farm & Village, the Puget Sound Agrarian Commons acts to secure food sovereignty and farmland viability in this region.
Structure
Model
Local Agrarian Commons Board
FARMERS & STEWARDS
Adasha Turner
Modest Family Solutions and Black Seed Agroecology Farm & Village
COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
Addie Candib
American Farmland Trust, Pacific Northwest Regional Director
Mike Lufkin
King County, Local Food Economy Manager
Emily Trabolsi
AGRARIAN TRUST
Konrad Liegel
Attorney, private practice
Kristina Rossi Villa
Ian McSweeney
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US:
Founding Farms, Ranches, & Agricultural Organizations
Black Seed Agroecology Farm & Village
Year established: 2022
Farm size: 10 acres
Farm practices: Agroecological
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
https://www.modestfamilysolutions.org/
PARTNERS & ALLIES
Learn
Washington State is abundant in agricultural land, but intense development pressures have made it increasingly difficult to access and steward that land. From 2000 to 2014, the amount of farmland decreased in the state by 5.4 percent. Since 2000, the average price per acre of farmland has doubled, and even tripled close to urban centers. A large population and high demand for locally produced and organic food are two major elements encouraging the growth of sustainable and regenerative agriculture in the region.
Statewide Facts
14,679,857
AMOUNT OF FARMLAND
78,739
ACRES FARMED ORGANICALLY
35,793
TOTAL NUMBER OF FARMS
410
AVERAGE ACREAGE PER FARM
63,298
# OF FARM OPERATORS/PRODUCERS
59,784
PREVIOUS # OF FARM OPERATORS/PRODUCERS
58.2
AVERAGE AGE OF FARMER
22.1
# AVERAGE YEARS ON FARM
17,136
BEGINNER FARMERS
67% earn less than $10,000/yr
FARM INCOME
$2,789/acre
AVERAGE FARM REAL ESTATE VALUE
FARMER DEMOGRAPHICS
Female farmers: 26,868
Male farmers: 36,430
White farmers: 60,821
Farmers of color: 2,477
American Indian or Alaska Native producers: 592
Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish-origin farmers: 2,947
Black farmers: 90
Asian farmers: 866
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander farmers: 78
TOP AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS BY SALES
- Fruits, tree nuts, and berries
- Vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes
- Milk and cows
- Cattle and calves
- Other field crops including hay
- Wheat
- Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod
- Poultry and eggs
- Corn
- Barley
Additional Facts and Resources
Food Insecurity & Hunger
Approximately one in ten Washington residents are food insecure. One in seven children live in a food-insecure household.
Farmland loss: 16,900 acres (2012–2017)
Data Summaries for Island, King, and Skagit Counties
Resources on Washington Agriculture and Community
- Washington Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, Tribal Nations
- David Granatstein and Elizabeth Kirby, in cooperation with Washington State Department of Agriculture, Oregon Tilth, and California Certified Organic Farmers, Current Status of Certified Organic Agriculture in Washington State (2018), report, 2019
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