But the farm's margins are thin, and Thatcher has relied on an often-overlooked local agency — the Clark Conservation District — to help make key improvements. Now that support is at risk.

The district is asking the Clark County Council to approve a 10-year parcel fee collected with property taxes. The council has rejected similar requests multiple times, most recently in 2018. A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.

The stakes are higher this time, according to district Executive Director Zorah Oppenheimer. Federal and state grants that have sustained the agency are drying up, and small-scale farms across the region face growing development pressure as the population expands.

"We will do anything from a $130 septic inspection to a $175,000 manure storage facility to a $500,000 bridge," Oppenheimer said.

One of the district's biggest projects with Thatcher was a static aerated compost structure, which makes it easier to safely turn manure and other organic material into compost for crops. Such systems can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and Thatcher said she could only afford it with the district's help.

"That was pretty transformational," she said. "Those are the types of investments that really pay off, and not only just for me, but whoever stewards and farms this land after I'm here."

Clark County has one of the highest concentrations of farms in Washington and abundant fertile soil, yet its agricultural community is struggling, Oppenheimer said. She pointed to land-use planning for population growth and the county's latest 20-year growth plan, which will open some farmland to development.

"In the comprehensive planning process, the councilors spent a lot of time talking about agriculture and the importance of it," Oppenheimer said. "Having a robust conservation district is, in my opinion, the No. 1 way to support agriculture in Clark County."

Of Washington's 10 most populous counties, Clark is the only one that does not provide stable funding for its conservation district, which is entirely grant-funded. Oppenheimer said her agency recently lost a federal grant that effectively made up more than 40% of its budget.

County officials have been reluctant to raise fees. At an Oct. 28 work session, Councilor Glen Yung said he supported the agency but worried about charging property owners already facing high costs. He also questioned whether a fee would be sustainable if a future council declined to renew it.

Under the proposed rate system, most property owners would pay less than $25 annually. Thatcher would pay $24.52 for her land. The fees would bring in more than $3.5 million for the district next year.

Thatcher said the benefit far outweighs the cost.

"You think about a time like COVID," she said. "We never missed one week of distribution. Grocery stores are cleaned out, and where do you fall back on? You fall back on the farms."

Farm to Heart relies on community donations and grants to supplement its own produce with food purchased from a network of 34 other local farms. The program provides boxes of produce to families through a community-supported agriculture model and sets up free markets at local elementary schools.

"We basically see ourselves as a matchmaker," Thatcher said. "We're connecting families that need food with farmers that need healthy, strong markets that are also equitable."

Thatcher has also worked to ensure her land remains farmland. With help from the Washington Farmland Trust and Clark County's Legacy Lands Program, she established April Joy Farm this summer as a "forever farm," protected from development and required to remain available for agriculture. It is the first farm in Clark County to be protected through that partnership.

If the conservation district secures stable funding, Oppenheimer said, it could help other farmers protect their land from development as well.