This week, it was announced that we are losing an institution in Snohomish County. Branch’s Quarter Horses, a ranch that has been breeding, training, and showing champion reining quarter horses for 42 years, is closing its doors and leaving the state. Why?

It’s the property taxes. The 11 acre ranch, bought 42 years ago for $36,000 dollars, is being taxed at $65,000 a year. For years, property taxes hovered around $400 per year, only escalating as suburban sprawl started to encroach in the late 90’s. The only choice left now for the owners is to sell and leave.

The tax structure here is chasing agriculture out of this county. It’s based not on the current use of the land, but on the potential value. There are some breaks for agricultural land but those are limited to the geographical area where it is placed. In other words, no matter how long you’ve owned a parcel or what use you’ve made of it, the state will value it according to the current zoning. Agricultural status, many times, extends to certain areas designated for only agricultural use and, in this county, those seem to match the flood plains. You can farm or ranch for decades outside of those narrow zones, without any guarantee that you’ll be able to keep that land for that purpose.

We are losing our farmlands, even in this economy, at a fearfully rapid rate. Across the street from our little farm, a developer is planning to build 600 homes on 2500 acres, and the permit for the first 60 has already been issued. How long we will be able to stay here is anyone’s guess.