Skagit Valley agriculture helps feed Washington and far beyond, producing everything from berries and potatoes to bulbs and vegetable seed on some of the most productive farmland west of the Cascades. The county’s farms generate about $350 million in crops, livestock and dairy products across roughly 90,000 acres, with more than 90 crops grown in this maritime valley. The same fields also provide habitat for thousands of swans, snow geese and dabbling ducks.
After last week’s storms, farmers are taking stock of what a flood season could have meant for that economic engine. Most of the significant flood damage occurred in east Skagit County and neighboring Whatcom County, where low-lying farmland flooded more extensively and some livestock had to be moved. In west Skagit County — including Fir Island and areas around La Conner — farms largely avoided catastrophic losses, though growers say the season ahead will depend on how quickly wet fields recover.
What farmers are watching now is not dramatic floodwater, but mud, standing water and how long fields stayed saturated. For some crops, even brief ponding can cause losses that won’t become visible until spring.
For vegetable and seed growers, the storm was largely a near miss rather than a washout. Fields had standing water in places but avoided widespread inundation. The stakes are high: Skagit County grows about 95% of Washington’s red potatoes, and it is a key center for vegetable seed production.
Jack Hulburt of Hulburt Farms and Skagit Seed Services said the fields he manages near La Conner fared well, but he’s worried about cabbages in Burlington. “Cabbage [in their flooded field in Burlington] was seeded in a greenhouse in July and put in fields in August. A biennial needs to vernalize in order to flower in the second year,” he said. “We won’t know until it tries to grow how much is lost.”
“We try to select pieces of ground that are a little higher so water won’t pond in the field. Now we are out in Burlington shoveling and trying to get the water that is there off as quick as we can,” Hulbert added.
In the bulb fields that define spring in the valley, growers reported little damage and a rosy forecast for tulip season. More tulip, iris and daffodil bulbs are produced here than in any other U.S. county.
“We have not seen any impacts in our tulip or daffodil fields as a result of the record breaking flooding,” said Brent Roozen, an owner of Roozengarde and the Washington Bulb Company, the largest bulb producers in the county. “This flood was different than most we’ve experienced. It set a new record for high river levels, but you wouldn’t know it by just looking at the conditions in our fields. We were quite lucky.”
Tulip Town Farm Manager Steve Johnson agreed. “Good news here: Tulip Town came through the flooding event without any issues.”
Most west Skagit dairies avoided flooding. Their biggest challenge was mud. “If the mud is soft enough, cows can get stuck in it. If they graze, they can compact a field and ruin your grass seeding,” said farmer Alan Mesman. “If a field is underwater for just a few days and then drained off, it will be fine.”
Freelancer Anne Basye contributed to this report.
