Snohomish County's Purchase of Development Rights program (PDR) is a proven and valuable tool in the revival of local agriculture. The program's goal is to preserve farmland in the unique and fertile Tualco Valley, south of Monroe. This farmland is designated for long-term commercial significance under the Growth Management Act and is under development pressure from a fast growing community. Our PDR program provides capital for farm investment, affordable farmland for new farmers and retirement options for landowners. This program was developed with input from local, state and federal agencies, Snohomish Farm Bureau, Snohomish County Agricultural Advisory Board and the local agricultural community. To further preservation efforts, requests for landowner PDR applications were sent out and were due May 5. These applications have been ranked according to our scoring procedure and considered for purchase by this ranking. The application and criteria were designed with the IAC Farmland Preservation criteria as a model. The 42-acre Werkhoven Dairy was selected from our application process to pursue funding for PDR protection. The dairy contracts with Dairygold, leases hundreds of acres of surrounding farmland and is recognized as a vital component to the county's agricultural community. The farm is adjacent to the county's first PDR-protected farm as well as properties that the county hopes to preserve under the PDR program in the near future.