Farmworker rights activist Jesse Rojas is exposing the ugly truth about United Farm Workers in California that’s forcing the dwindling union to look to Washington state.He joins Dillon to share the famous labor organization's true track record with workers, and explain why UFW isn't the average labor union.…

Millions of dollars are still available to refund Washington state farmers who have been overcharged for fuel thanks to the state's new carbon pricing scheme.The so-called Climate Commitment Act was supposed to exempt agriculture, and when the state Department of Ecology failed to do that, the legislature earmarked $30M to refund farmers and farmin…

In just over a year, the federal laws governing estate taxes will change, putting some families at risk of much higher tax bills when family property or businesses change hands (more info here https://insights.larsongross.com/project/important-update-upcoming-changes-to-estate-and-gift-tax/)Todd Burgers, an accountant and partner in Larson Gross CP…

An upcoming free event will help local farmers and water users prepare for the state's Whatcom water lawsuit, even as legal challenges delay the process.Bill Clarke, attorney for the Ag Water Board of Whatcom County, joins Dillon with updates on the slow-moving legal process, and why residents need to attend the "Securing Your Water Rights: What's …

Another Eastern Washington dairy is shutting down after being attacked by the EPA, despite a huge amount of work and money spent on environmental upgrades over the last decade.Jay Gordon, Washington State Dairy Federation's Policy Director, joins Dillon with details on Liberty Dairy's closure, and the EPA's new lawsuit against the same dairies it a…

The state's 'adjudication' lawsuit against all Whatcom water users is already encountering snags, even before the actual legal case is officially underway.Fred Likkel, Whatcom Family Farmers' Executive Director, joins Dillon with the latest on the legal process, as well as sharing several updates relating to water and farming in Whatcom County.…

A tractor stolen from the Lynden FFA corn maze still hasn't been found, and the high school and FFA chapter are trying to figure out what comes next.Julie Milstead, Lynden FFA Adviser, joins Dillon with details on the theft, and how it affects agriculture students at Lynden High School.Av Save Family Farming

Sumas-area water users are going to court, asking to be excluded from the state's Whatcom water rights lawsuit.Jerry De Bruin, "Sumas Out" group spokesman, local farmer and Fire District 14 Chief, joins Dillon to explain why the group believes the court should take them out of the state Department of Ecology's water rights adjudication case.…

After federal authorities blocked not one, but two seemingly straightforward fixes to tide gates protecting Skagit County farmland, troubling questions are surfacing about the true motives behind the decision.Skagit dairy farmer and dike district commissioner Jason Vander Kooy joins Dillon with details on the predicament that puts hundreds of acres…

Local farms are relying more and more on technology and automation, and the latest development is the arrival of robotic irrigation systems in the corn and grass fields of two Whatcom County dairies.Aric Vander Haak with Farmers Equipment Company joins Dillon with details on the 360 Rain system that boasts big water efficiency gains, dramatically r…

When activists gathered recently to protest newly-remodeled housing for farmworkers in Mt. Vernon, they didn't expect what would happen next.Enrique Gastelum, leader of the farm labor non-profit that's remodeling the housing facility for farmworkers, joins Dillon with the story of how he responded to the protesters, and the surprising conversations…

Washington farmers and truckers who transport farm products have been paying more for their fuel thanks to the state's new cap-and-trade law, despite promises that agriculture would be exempt.This spring the state legislature earmarked money to refund some of those extra costs, directing the Washington State Department of Licensing to manage the pr…

Money-hungry lawyers in California are shaking down farms for millions over incredibly minor labor law mistakes such as record-keeping discrepancies.Fresno attorney Kevin Piercy joins Dillon with details of the scheme, how farms can protect themselves, and why Washington farms are likely the next stop for the profiteering lawyers he's been battling…

The Washington State Department of Health is proposing water well policy changes that threaten the affordable housing farmworkers have depended on for decades.Jay Gordon, Washington State Dairy Federation Policy Director, joins Dillon with more on how the troubling change in state policy that would harm farmworkers and farms is now out for public c…

Although she is retiring from lecturing and university research, Lynden-area farmer Karen Steensma didn't want to stop helping farmers solve problems.Karen joins Dillon to talk about the kinds of environmental work she's doing through her new consulting business to help farmers protect crops, livestock and the environment with research-based natura…

As Washington state continues to lose farms at an alarming rate, the public is becoming aware of the growing crisis that affects our food system, our economy and our communities more and more all the time.Pam Lewison, Director of the Washington Policy Center's Center for Agriculture, joins Dillon to talk about the reaction to her recent Seattle Tim…

A state task force considered using the courts to take land away from farms for stream buffers in draft recommendations for riparian restoration.Kara Rowe, policy director for the Western Washington Agricultural Association, joins Dillon to talk about the problematic proposal, as well as a visit the task force made to a Skagit farm that would be de…

Despite their huge efforts, three Yakima-area dairies are being accused by the US Environmental Protection Agency of not doing enough to protect groundwater from nutrient contamination.Gerald Baron, former Save Family Farming Executive Director, joins Dillon and says the nature of the legal attack and its threats of massive fines bring up troubling…

As local farming advocates have predicted for years, the state's water lawsuit in Whatcom County is already facing big delays from legal challenges and the state Department of Ecology's inaccuracies.Fred Likkel, Whatcom Family Farmers' Executive Director, joins Dillon with details from the first court hearing since Ecology officially filed the case…

In a new editorial, Whatcom County farmers and realtors are collaborating to voice deep concern about how the state's massive water lawsuit is beginning to unfold.Perry Eskridge with the Whatcom Association of Realtors joins Dillon with more background on why they're troubled by the process so far, and what they would like to see instead.…

With water supplies lagging far behind targets, irrigators in the Yakima basin are facing the likelihood of having their water restricted and even shut off later in this growing season.Scott Revell, manager of the Roza Irrigation District, joins Dillon with the details on the crisis and the emergency measures officials are taking to try to minimize…

A group of labor activists is asking a judge to block all foreign guest workers for farming in Washington state, as part of a lawsuit disputing pay rates for farmworkers.Enrique Gastelum, CEO of wafla, joins Dillon with the details on the lawsuit and what it could mean for the future of WA farming.Av Save Family Farming

An advocate for agriculture with extensive experience in both the political and non-profit realms has been named Save Family Farming's new leader.Ben Tindall, new Save Family Farming Executive Director, joins Dillon to share his passion for advocacy and protecting the future of family farming in Washington state.l…

In an extreme example of government overreach, the WA Department of Ecology is seeking harsh penalties and even possible criminal charges against a ranch that had used a common practice to provide water for their animals.John Stuhlmiller, farming advocate and consultant to the ranch, joins Dillon with the stunning details.…

Experts from the State of Washington and Washington State University are studying what factors currently hinder the competitiveness of farming in the state.Derek Sandison, Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, joins Dillon with details on the study and the Agricultural Viability Conference his agency recently hosted to gather …

Whatcom and Skagit farmers faced a slow start to spring and are now working toward finishing up planting season. John Vander Veen, an agronomist with Skagit Farmers Supply, joins Dillon with the latest updates from local fields and farms.Av Save Family Farming

Many local water users' questions remain unanswered even as the state's Nooksack water rights adjudication lawsuit gets underway across Whatcom County.Gavin Willis, Executive Director of the Ag Water Board of Whatcom County, joins Dillon to let people know about an opportunity they're offering to allow local ag water users to meet with water rights…

Seattle water rights attorney Rachel Roberts estimates as many as 37,500 water users may be implicated in the water adjudication lawsuit the Washington Department of Ecology just filed in the Whatcom County courts.She joins Dillon with her perspective as someone who was involved in the state's last big water rights adjudication, which was in Yakima…

A new draft report is out from a task force formed by the WA Governor's Office looking at requirements for forested buffers along streams to aid salmon recovery.WA state Sen. Ron Muzzall joins Dillon with his concerns about the Riparian Task Force's Preliminary Recommendations, and what they could mean for the future of food and farming in Washingt…

Food consumers can get a transparent look at how their food was produced via a new system spearheaded in part by an Eastern Washington farmer.Austin Allred of Royal Family Farming joins Dillon to share how the FarmTracer system allows consumers to see exactly how their food was raised.He explains how they're using blockchain technology to overcome …

He's been studying the Lower Snake River Dams for years, and 'Armchair Engineer' Adam Ratliff joins Dillon with the truth about the pros and cons of these important and controversial structures.Av Save Family Farming

Reporting in Canada is bringing to light a study showing a worsening outlook for flooding of the Nooksack River.Tyler Olsen, editor of the Fraser Valley Current, joins Dillon with details on what the latest science says farming and entire communities on both sides of the border may experience.Av Save Family Farming

Local high school students might find a career path they're passionate about, or even just a good summer job at the all-new Whatcom County Agriculture Career Fair happening April 26 at Lynden High School.Whatcom Family Farmers is organizing the event featuring over a dozen local employers, and Outreach Coordinator Ellie Steensma Corbin joins Dillon…

As the state sues all Whatcom water users this year, requiring each user to prove their water rights in court, thousands of local residents will have to fill out court claim forms to begin their defense.Water rights attorney Bill Clarke joins Dillon with details on how crucial these court filings will be, and why the farming community has deep conc…

After a standing-room-only event this past fall, Whatcom Family Farmers is hosting another informational event to help people prepare for the upcoming water rights adjudication in the Nooksack River Basin.Fred Likkel, Whatcom Family Farmers' Executive Director, joins Dillon with details and why people--particularly farmers and private well owners--…

Nearly every other state that's enacted overtime pay rules for farm work allows for seasonal flexibility to help both farmworkers and farms--except Washington state.The state Senator who proposed adding flexibility to the law to bring relief for workers and farmers, Sen. Curtis King, joins Dillon to talk about the negative impacts of the poorly-tho…

Whatcom County water users will begin getting court summons in the mail this summer for the state's water rights lawsuit, and many are still unsure what this will mean for them.Jay Chennault, Principal Hydrologist with consulting firm Associated Earth Sciences, joins Dillon with details on an upcoming event that aims to educate community members ab…

Many of the environmental efforts squeezing family farming in Washington state are connected to an assumed need for more fish habitat ostensibly to help restore the endangered Chinook salmon.But what if this major push is actually based on a misdiagnosis of the actual problems hindering Chinook recovery?Save Family Farming's Gerald Baron joins Dill…

The latest Census of Agriculture data is out from the USDA, and Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture, is calling it a "wakeup call." Pam Lewison, Center for Agriculture Director at the Washington Policy Center, says in many ways, the situation is even worse in Washington state than it is nationally, and joins Dillon with details.…

Saying it's not possible to survive financially the high cost of labor to harvest their fruit, another family farm is calling it quits. April Clayton, of Red Apple Orchard in Orondo, WA joins Dillon to explain why she and her husband decided to shut down the farm this year, and what might become of their beautiful orchards.…

The state of Washington's broken promise to Whatcom County farmers and now a sprawling lawsuit on water in the Nooksack River Basin is pushing already-struggling farms to shut down. Dillon shares audio clips from "Losing The Farm," a new, locally-produced documentary sharing the story of Cascade Farms, whose owners were forced to close less than a …

Deep emotion and harsh realities of farm life are on full display in a brand new documentary giving viewers an inside look at a local potato farm that chose to close in the face of daunting odds for survival.Jeff and Diana Bedlington talk with Dillon about "Losing The Farm," which shares the story of their third-generation Lynden-area seed potato f…

Farmworkers are losing money as a result of Washington's new agricultural overtime law, and they're not happy about the change that was originally promoted as a benefit to them.Erik Zavala is a former farmworker who's now director of field staff for a tree fruit growers' cooperative in Eastern Washington, and he joins Dillon with more on what worke…

Washington state Senator Rebecca Saldaña walked out of a hearing on a bill that would provide relief for farmworkers earning less money as a result of Washington's new ag overtime restrictions.Maia Espinoza, Director of the Center for Latino Leadership, joins Dillon and says Saldaña's exit happened as farmworkers in favor of a bill to allow overtim…

Growing pears near Cashmere, WA, orchardist Alex Lanuza is a first-generation Latino farmer and former farmworker. He joins Dillon to explain how the state's new overtime restrictions for farmworkers are forcing the closure of family farms, and ultimately resulting in the urban development of productive farmland.…

Redundant reporting rules for farms employing guest workers, as well as a proposal to ease the burden of Washington state's new ag overtime restrictions on farmworkers were both up for public hearings in Olympia (segment aired 1/27/24). Scott Dilley with wafla joins Dillon to discuss the details and what may or may not happen in the hearings, as we…

Farmworkers making less money as a result of Washington state's new agricultural overtime law are unhappy, and gathered by the hundreds at the state Capitol in Olympia Jan. 25. Just two days after the event, Dillon explains what happened, and what farmworkers are saying about the new law (Episode aired 1/27/24).…

A new UC Berkeley study is showing how new overtime laws for farm work in California is leading to significantly fewer hours for each worker, and thus less take-home pay.Researcher Ali Hill joins Dillon to break down the data she's been uncovering about the counterinuitive real-world impacts of a law similar to new legislation here in Washington st…

Japanese Beetles can be a threat to crops here in Washington State, but leaders are optimistic it can be eradicated.Cassie Cichorz with the Washington State Department of Agriculture joins Dillon to explain why they're going to battle against the invasive species now that it's become a problem in the lower Yakima Valley.…

Small farms and rural businesses in Washington that rely on wells could be forced to get special permit under a state Department of Health proposal.Jay Gordon, southwest WA farmer and Policy Director for the Washington State Dairy Federation, joins Dillon with details on the proposed regulation and the possible ulterior motives behind it.…