An apparent resurgence of agriculture in Clark County looks good to this old farm boy, who enjoyed toiling in the soils of Sara more than five decades ago. The most recent of several indications of renewed respect for farming — in new and delightful innovations — is the county’s interest in rural lands.

Clark County is beginning a two-year comprehensive look at rural land planning. “We’re the first county (in the state) to do a rural comprehensive plan,” said Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt. He will coordinate the planning project. “We’re going to pick an advisory panel of rural folks and neighborhood people — under 10 — within the next two months.” Those interested in serving should contact his office at the Public Service Center. Boldt also plans to open a booth during the Clark County Fair Aug. 1-10, to receive ideas about rural zoning. “It will be just like an open house with planning staff present. I’ll be there as much as possible.”

While rural land configurations and acreages could change, this isn’t going to be a “hand-me-down” plan for squeezing more people into populous Clark County, Boldt insists. But it does anticipate the future in 2024, when 146,000 people will live in rural areas, an increase of 19,000 from 2004. “We’re looking for ways to accommodate new types of farming. We want people to send letters indicating what they want to do with their piece of property,” he added. The county will define the rural character, and Boldt encourages people to offer opinions of “what rural character is,” and what it ought to look like in this county.

Boldt said he is optimistic the planning will help farming and rural people. “I have no preconceived ideas about where the process will go,” Boldt said.

Museum showcases change

Changes in farming are featured in an exhibit — “Sustaining Change on the American Farm: An Artist/Farmer Exchange” — at the Clark County Historical Museum in Vancouver through April 30. The exhibit was featured in a Columbian story Feb.19, which described “flower farming” on the Bi-Zi family farm at Brush Prairie where petunias grow in a greenhouse. Bill and Peggy Zimmerman and their son, Doug, are in the farm business. Bill is the fourth generation on a farm first cultivated in 1872.

Others mentioned in an article by Tom Vogt include Mary Jones at Scented Acres Lavender Farm, which sells lavender teas, lavender lip balm and goat’s milk soup; Anne and Nelson Lawrence of Storytree Farm, where customers buy $550 shares and get a supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for each of 20 weeks. “Gone are the days of enormous farms. But small acreage can produce food,” Anne Lawrence told Vogt.

“Clark County people should nurture local farms if they want better health and a thriving community and economy,” Columbian reporter Dean Baker wrote Feb. 1 in a story quoting Minnesota-based agriculture economist and journalist Ken Meter. He was a speaker at a “food summit” in Vancouver. Meter told his audience the cook needs to see the farmer’s face again. The distance from farm to table needs to shrink, Baker wrote.

That’s the objective of a group of farmers in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley (Columbian Feb. 12), according to a story by Tim Christie of the Register-Guard in Eugene, Ore. A “food security group” of farmers is trying to ensure “an adequate food supply for Oregon’s Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties.” A legislative wrinkle in Washington would solidify farm-school food ties. The measure also would aid distribution of farm products locally.

Despite reports of fewer farms in Washington, Oregon and California, agriculture exports from this state last year reached $9.3 billion — an increase of 38 percent over 2006.

We’ve got to eat. Farms can’t vanish, but agriculture can adapt to modern needs. Boldt should be the correct choice to lead a retooling of rural lands in this county. He has an associate degree in agriculture from Yakima Valley Community College, and an American Farmer degree (the highest) from the Future Farmers of America, a national high school youth organization. He also has been a dairy farmer and a blueberry grower. His experience equips him for the job. His heart was raised on the farm.

That ought to be a winning combination for agriculture.

Tom Koenninger is editor emeritus of The Columbian. His column of personal opinion appears on the Other Opinions page each Wednesday. Reach him at tom.koenninger@columbian.com.