PORT TOWNSEND — Pre-applications for farmers interested in purchasing 47 acres of Chimacum farmland through Jefferson Land Trust are due Sunday at midnight.
The pre-application is a set of 11 questions, requiring written answers, and available as a Google form. Answers are limited 200 to 600 characters.
The form was designed to be an abbreviated version of what will be requested in a request for proposal (RFP).
The land RFP was put the out in early October, Conservation Project Manager Blaise Sullivan said at a virtual information session. The land trust is seeking a farmer or a farming coollaborative to apply for purchase of the land.
“Farmers are encouraged to review that request for proposal and then submit a pre-application,” Sullivan said.
The form said questions are designed to inquire into a candidate’s plan for the whole farm, their business plan and financial feasibility.
Farmers are required to describe their ability to maintain the property’s conservation requirements.
The form also asks for a description, if relevant to the farmer, of how their proposal will serve historically underserved populations.
The RFP and the pre-application form, as well as a virtual information session video and a soil map, can be found at https://saveland.org/beaver-valley-farmland-opportunity-to-purchase.
Needed model, funding sources
The land trust is using the buy-protect-sell model for the first time, Executive Director Richard Tucker said. Two state programs have supported the land trust in using the model, he added.
A Jefferson Land Trust news update, released in April 2023, explained the programs and timelines.
A 2023 purchase of the Chimacum land was funded by the Farmland Protection and Affordability Investment (FarmPAI) program, offered through the state Housing Finance Commission, which provides very low-interest loans, not to be repaid before resale of the property.
The Farmland Protection and Land Access (FPLA) program, offered through the state Conservation Commission’s Office of Farmland Preservation, funds the purchase of conservation easements on land purchased using the FarmPAI loan. The FPLA approved funding for a conservation easement on the property in 2023.
The two funding sources were designed to lower the barrier of entry to owning farmland for beginner or veteran farmers or ranchers, or farmers or ranchers who possess limited resources or belong to a socially disadvantaged group, as is defined by the USDA.
The opportunity is available to all who are interested, said Sarah Spaeth, the land trust’s director of conservation and strategic partnerships.
“I think this buy-protect-sell program is really addressing a need we’re seeing across the nation and regionally and locally,” Spaeth said. “Farmland is obviously becoming really hard to afford, and we’re really eager to provide this opportunity of access to affordable farmland.”
The 47-acre property was acquired through two separate purchases, an almost 40-acre purchase in 2023 and a smaller adjacent piece of land in 2024. Communications manager Stephanie Wiegand said the FarmPAI loan and the FPLA easement funding were able to expand with the later purchase.
The land trust is working on the details of the easement, which will be finalized before the land is sold, specifying that the farm must remain agricultural in perpetuity, Wiegand said.
In addition to acreage being placed in an agricultural easement, there are 3½ acres of protected wetland, and a small envelope on the property will allow domestic development.
The easement will reduce the property value and cost significantly for a farmer, Tucker said.
Fair market value of the property is $935,000, Tucker said at the virtual information session. Jefferson Land Trust plans to sell the property for $400,000 or possibly less, he said.
The top 10 pre-applicants will be informed early next month and invited for an on-site visit of the farm on Dec. 7, Sullivan said. Full proposals will be due in February 2025, and the winning proposal will be announced in March, Sullivan added.
The land trust may work with Jefferson Landworks Collaborative in supporting a candidate to fund a purchase, Sullivan said.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
