‘I’m still underwater out there’: Maltby-area farmer still has 5 feet of water in barn after floods
Dec 17, 2025, 5:30 PM
A Maltby-area farmer still has 5 feet of water in his barn along Marsh Road after last week’s flooding.
For the past two years, Brian Marchello has been working to get Marshland Orchards open for business.
“The last two years, and then this last year, we’ve really been full steam ahead, trying to look at a spring opening date, when everything’s all in bloom, and get people out to just really enjoy it,” he told “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “We’ve been spending a lot of time and effort in getting the roads built out, ordering some trailers that we could take people around and show them, planting orchards, laying ground cloth down so that it’s a nice, clean environment for them to go through and pick those apples and pears without being in the mud.”
Now that plan is on hold.
“I am still underwater out there,” Marchello said.
“I went out this morning to kind of check on water levels inside of my barn there, and I still have five feet of standing water inside,” he added. “I haven’t been able to access the property or get in to truly see what the extent of the damage is yet.”
Maltby-area farmer says conditions are worse than 2009
Marchello said he experienced substantial flooding in 2009, but the current conditions are worse.
“As far as the damage and the standing water staying inside the building, this is kind of getting to record levels, as would be expected with the record flooding,” he said.
Marchello said he prioritized moving animals and perishable products off the property.
He got 37,000 pounds of apples and 27 sheep to his produce market location across the street from Flower World, where he is a board member. He said that area near Flower World has not been affected by flooding. The sheep all survived, and they are now housed at a petting zoo behind the market.
Like many small farms, Marchello’s does not carry flood insurance.
“Family farms have struggled so much to just make ends meet, and we’ve lost so many recently,” he said. “It’s really hard operating on some razor-thin margins, and the flood insurance was just not something that fit into our budget.”
Marchello also grows Christmas trees at the Marsh Road property. He had planned to cut more trees to sell at the produce market. Sales were strong during opening week, he said.
“It’s just a little disheartening,” he said. “There’s so much damage out there and so many people hurting with damage to their homes and everything else, we want to provide a happy holiday season for them. So, we’re just going to do what we can and push forward on that.”
‘We’re going to definitely stick this out’: Farmer not leaving area
Despite the damage, Marchello said he has no plans to leave the area.
“We’re going to definitely stick this out. We’re a resilient group here,” he said. “These floods come and go, and they really test farms, but the community support really determines if we survive or not.”
Marchello said they plan to keep providing fresh, locally grown food to customers.
“We will definitely rebuild and clean up, and we’ll keep pushing forward on it,” he said.
Flower World’s produce market is still open for business.
Listen to the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
