Land on the outskirts of expanding towns and communities in the United States is constantly under pressure to change from being agricultural. The soil quality that took centuries to develop is permanently lost if a field is paved over for a warehouse or divided for homes. The agriculture corridor along Interstate 5 in northwest Washington, where some of the nation's most productive soil is located within commuting distance of Seattle, is one of the few locations that best exemplifies the conflict between growth and food production. For almost thirty years, one county in that corridor has discreetly bought its way out of that pattern, one farm at a time.
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