JENNIFER BOUTELL: SOUTH SOUND FARM TO DISAPPEAR BEFORE HARVEST >>>

Some of the most fertile soil in the world lies along the banks of the once Volcano-ravaged Puyallup River. So ideal for raspberries is the climate of the Puyallup River Valley that connoisseurs from all over the globe order their products from Pierce County farmers. Or they did. Because increasingly, berries like those grown at Richter Farm, once supplied to Margaret Thatcher, the Whitehouse kitchen, and boutique candy companies across the country, just will not exist anymore. Richter was one of the last farms in the area to grow these berries on any scale, and within a month it too will surrender its soil to a bulldozer. Sooner, if the landowner has any say.

Richter Farm has probably been on borrowed time for a while. George Richter leased the property from American Fast Freight, a Tacoma-based company with plans to build a container freight station on the 20-acre parcel. When Richter died this February, his farm went on through a merger with local farmer Jake Sterino's family-owned operation. Sterino knew the company planned to not renew the lease upon its termination this September 30, but estimated that this would give him just enough time to bring in one more harvest of Richter's famed berries. Just as his crops began to mature this summer, however, the freight company notified Richter Farm that it would instead clear the land as early as Monday, Aug. 25.

Looking at all those green pumpkins and too-tart berries just waiting for another month of sun, it would be easy to paint American Fast Freight as a harvest Grinch. The situation is more complicated than that, however. AFF employs more than 120 workers in the Tacoma area, operating with an employee stock ownership plan. The company asserts that if they wait until after Sept. 30 to begin construction wet soil conditions will require the addition of expensive soil amendments, tacking on an additional $250,000 to the project's price tag. Additionally, says Director of Marketing Mike Schuller, the delay will extend the total length of the project and cause untold additional expense, a cost which will at some point be passed on to their employees.

All of this is little comfort for Jake Sterino, who stands to lose a $150,000 crop, a season of labor, and watch George Richter's last crop plowed under before it ever reaches maturity. "You grow the stuff so you can harvest it," says Sterino. "The emotional part is to see it growing and know that it could just get plowed under." Sterino farms other pieces of land, but none have mature raspberries. Without a reliable supplier, he fears buyers will look to other states for their berries. "Nowadays you have to supply the whole market. It's not like before when there were many people selling the same crop. You feel you have a responsibility. If you're the only guy selling raspberries, and you don't have raspberries, the buyer is going to go down to California.”

The Pierce County Council hoped to preserve some of the area's vanishing family farms when it passed an ordinance approving a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program last year. The program would purchase development rights from local farmers, giving the fair market value for the land and effectively taking it off the market for developers. The money for the program must come from local property taxes, however, at about $5 a parcel. The TDR program remains unfunded as the County tries to formulate the right message for already cash-strapped homeowners prior to imposing a new tax.

As of this writing, AFF and the Richter/Sterino farm are meeting with a mediator. It may be possible to save the crop, but whether construction begins this week or a month from now it is too late to save Richter Farm.

LINK: More Richter Farm photography by Jennifer Boutell

Jennifer Boutell is the creative talent behind Tacomamama.com, a locally-grown city guide.

UPDATE: Tacoma News Tribune