Farming in a Flood Zone: Protecting Animals, Soil, and Water
/Many farmers in flood-prone areas face challenges with unpredictable weather patterns.
Michelle’s flock of sheep look over the valley. The floodplain has steadily gotten wetter over the years, and some of this flooding is visible in the upper right corner of the photo..
Imagine that with every heavy rain, as runoff pours into the valleys from the uplands and rivers begin to rise, you had to calculate whether you could get home in time to move your animals to safety. Until recently, this was Michelle Canfield’s reality each winter, with her sheep pastured in the Snohomish floodplain.
It’s a challenge that many farmers in flood-prone areas still face—making urgent decisions each year as weather patterns grow more unpredictable and development increases. For Michelle, however, a unique convergence of funding, determination, and support from the Snohomish Conservation District came together to create a lasting solution.
Michelle’s journey as a sheep farmer began in 2009 with a modest flock of six sheep. Having worked border collies in trials, she thought it would be interesting—and practical—to have her own flock to train and work her dogs. In 2013, she took a bigger step, purchasing 37 acres of land: a picturesque former homestead perched on a steep slope that stretches down onto the floor of the Snohomish River Valley. Today, she has a large, thriving flock of sheep joined by two livestock guardian dogs, some chickens, and, of course, her hardworking border collies.
Michelle Canfield stands with one of her livestock guardian dogs beneath the covered bedding and feeding area..
One of the most helpful chores Michelle’s border collies assist with is rotating her sheep through their grazing squares. The sheep are moved regularly from one square-shaped pasture to another, allowing the grass to recover between grazing periods. This reduces soil compaction and damage to vegetation, especially during wet weather. Keeping pastures healthy benefits Michelle’s sheep, but it also allows grass to better absorb nutrients and reduces erosion, reducing the chance of polluting nearby waterways, including the Snohomish River.
Practices like rotational grazing are something Michelle put into place early on when she began working with Snohomish Conservation District’s Agriculture Resource Planners. Together they developed a farm plan—a free and confidential plan with customized recommendations that help producers meet their goals while conserving natural resources.
“I also got a huge three-inch binder of resources that was particularly helpful,” said Michelle.
Michelle used the farm plan, resources, and conservation district services such as soil testing, to grow and refine her sheep operation while protecting her soil, growing healthy pastures, and protecting the water on and downstream of her farm. It’s been a lot of effort, especially while working a full-time job as an engineer, but for Michelle it’s been worth it.
“It’s rewarding to work with animals, steward the land, feed my neighbors, and keep old farms in agriculture,” said Michelle.
However, over the past several years, the portion of Michelle’s property that extends onto the floor of the Snohomish River Valley has been getting progressively wetter and the risk of flooding has increased. In addition to creating worries about the safety of her sheep, the conditions also made it too soggy for heavy equipment like a tractor, which Michelle needed in order to feed them round bales of hay. Instead, she was forced to load square bales on her ATV trailer and put them into feeders by hand each day, increasing labor and hay costs dramatically.
“It’s rewarding to work with animals, steward the land, feed my neighbors, and keep old farms in agriculture.”
Risks to animal health and water quality also increased—the sheep were exposed to long periods of cold rains and the manure was more likely to be carried into nearby waterways.
Our District’s Agriculture Resource Planners started by working with Michelle to come up with a solution that would get the sheep out of the floodplain and onto higher ground during the winter. This included plans for manure composting bins that would help contain manure and prevent water pollution. Michelle also worked with the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to finalize a design for a covered feeding and bedding shelter that looks over the valley.
The price of the project would have been beyond Michelle’s budget, but fortunately there was cost share funding available from the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentive Program, the Washington State Conservation Commission Natural Resources Investments program, and the Snohomish County Floodplains by Design program—financial assistance that allows the landowner to split the cost. This program provides a win-win solution: people like Michelle help achieve their land management goals while protecting natural resources that are important to the entire community.
The benefits of this project have been numerous:
Cost and labor: The location of the shelter and its concrete floor allow Michelle to use round hay bales, which are a better value and less labor intensive than the square bales in the pasture.
Pasture health and pollution prevention: Because the sheep are now housed in their shelter during the wet season, Michelle’s grass plants and their soils are protected from damage when they’re saturated. Manure is also kept out of the pastures when it is likely to be carried away by rain and is instead composted and spread when and where plants can use the nutrients.
Animal health and welfare: The sheep are protected from the long, cold rains in winter and heat domes in the summer. Michelle can also run power to the shelter for heaters or misters during extreme cold or heat. Moving the sheep uphill in the dark during small flooding events risked injuries, but most obviously, because the sheep are fully out of the floodplain now, they will not be harmed if the dike is breached.
Human welfare: Michelle has the flexibility to leave the farm in the winter without worrying about the safety of her sheep!
While not every farm has the flexibility to move part of their operation out of saturated areas, our District’s Agriculture Resource Planners can help producers explore options to help them continue to farm successfully, sustainably, and conserve their valuable natural resources.
“I like working with NRCS and Snohomish Conservation District because they are supportive, collaborative, and flexible,” said Michelle. “They work within your constraints and help you customize based on your [farm] system.”
Partnerships and programs that funded the project: Canfield Farms, Snohomish Conservation District, NRCS Environmental Quality Incentive Program, Washington State Conservation Commission Natural Resource Investments, and Snohomish County Floodplains by Design.
Thanks to cost-share funding, Michelle was able to install a covered feeding and bedding shelter that looks over the valley.
This project (WQC-2022-SnohCD-00101 Nutrient Runoff Reduction From Agricultural Lands in Snohomish County) was made possible with a Washington Department of Ecology Centennial Clean Water Fund grant.
