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Indicator: Acres of Farmland in Production by Product

Data and Data Discussion provided by Sustainable Seattle

Figure 4: APD Agricultural Production by Product, 2006

Figure 2: APD Production, 2003

Figure 3: APD Agricultural Production by Product, 2006

Figure 1: King County APD Map

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Upstream Indicators
  •   Acres of High Quality Soils --- While the amount of land being farmed has been relatively stable in recent years, there are continuing pressures on farmland being used for other purposes.  
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Downstream Indicators
  •   Access to Fresh Food --- Although most of Seattle has geographic access to a grocery store, many of these grocery stores do not have sufficient variety and supply of affordable high-quality food for their customers. Between 2004 and 2006, prices rose faster for fresh food compared to processed commodity foods. However, insufficient data exists to determine a trend.   (view data graph)
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Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

Local food production is a key asset in maintaining the environmental health and economic livelihood of Central Puget Sound communities. One major challenge to maintaining agriculture in the region is the ability of farmers to find affordable land.

Sustainability Trend:

The recent upsurge in demand for locally produced market crops has resulted in more farmland being put into production. Currently, however, there is no consistent tracking of farmland uses.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Acres of farmland in production by product in King County Agricultural Production Districts (APDs).

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

Currently, there are 41,150 acres of zoned farmland, or agricultural production districts (APDs), in King County. Some of the APD land is not suitable for farming due to wetlands, steep slopes and other conditions.  About 23,000 acres are actually farmed.  In addition, there are 25,000 acres farmed in the county outside the APDs, mainly on rural area zoned land.

When taking into account the variable methods in measuring farmed properties from one reporting period to another, the amount of farmed acres has remained relatively stable.

There are other uses than agriculture allowed in the Agricultural Production Districts (APDs). One of the more popular uses is for lifestyle reasons. This reduces the ability of a person who wants to farm to compete successfully for land.  According to 2003 data, 11% of APD land was devoted to crop farming (Figure 2).  In a more comprehensive survey from 2006, market crops were grown on only 5% of APD land and corn on another 2% (Figure 4).  

An inventory of public lands within the City of Seattle  (Growing Green - see resources below) identified 12 acres of vacant and underused sites as suitable for urban agriculture.  Additionally, 122 school properties and 139 public parks have underused space that has the potential to be turned in community gardening space.

Data Source and Limitations

 The data source for this indicator comes from the King County DNRP/WLR.   

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Additional Resources

  • Growing Green: An Inventory of Public Lands Suitable for Community Gardening in Seattle, Washington
    This 2008 report, written by a master's student at the University of Washington for use by the Department of Neighborhoods, provides a detailed inventory of vacant and unused city-owned parcels, public school and public park properties, and rights-of-way and their suitability for community gardening. The report concludes that there are many opportunities for the City of Seattle and interested community groups to establish more community gardening sites using existing available land.