In the inaugural issue of a newsletter created by the Office of Farmland Preservation (OFP), it states, “Farmers are among the top land stewards and conservationists in this state. These individuals know more than any other group or agency what their land needs and what it can achieve. OFP seeks to be a support system for them and provide technical assistance in achieving their goals.”

The Washington State Conservation Commission has created the OFP, and assigned a number of tasks to it to preserve farmland, develop model programs for economic incentives for landowners, to provide technical assistance to help local governments encourage retention of agricultural lands and develop a farm transition program.

Lynn Bahrych of Shaw Island, serves on the Farmland Preservation Task Force within this office.

To obtain a copy of the first issue of the OFP newsletter, go to www.ofp.scc.wa.gov.