By Amy Rolf
Snohomish County Herald Writer
One by one, the dairies disappeared.
The cows were sold, the land was developed. And the farmers' sons and daughters moved to the suburbs that pushed their way north from Seattle.
That was north Snohomish County two decades ago. Now, a small group of farmers are staging a resurgence, hoping to preserve farmland close to Washington's urban core and rejuvenate the county's love affair with agriculture.
They aren't angling for a rebirth of the dairy industry; most come from dairy-farm backgrounds and can easily list the reasons why hundreds of farms were shuttered in the last few decades.
They just want people to come spend the day in Arlington -- drive north on I-5 about 30 or 40 miles. They want them to pull off Highway 530, get out of their cars and walk down rows of green vegetables. Pick strawberries, smell lavender. Maybe pet a horse or a friendly goat named Oreo.
"We're trying to get people from the city. So many people don't remember Grandpa's farm," said Connie Foster, the proprietor of Foster's Produce and Corn Maze in Arlington. (She and her husband are the proud owners of Oreo and two other goats.)
The Fosters, along with five other farming families in Arlington and Marysville, are marketing the "Red Rooster Route" for the first time this year, hoping to share their visitor base and draw new tourists north from King County. They provide the map and details of how the trip will play out; guests bring plenty of time and some spending money.
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