Advertise on podcast: Save Family Farming

Local farmers have been clear from the beginning: the only way Whatcom County’s water crisis will be solved is through a collaborative process, despite the Washington State Department of Ecology’s water rights litigation in the Nooksack River Basin known as an adjudication. Fred Likkel, Executive Director of Whatcom Family Farmers, tells Dillon the Whatcom County Council recently gave that perspective a nod with a unanimous vote on a set of changes to the local growth plan acknowledging the importance of community collaboration.

Pundits and social media commenters from both the political left and right are criticizing WA farmers over labor issues, as farmers sound the alarm about worker shortages, Olympia’s costly labor regulations, and now the added pressure of the federal immigration crackdown. Scott Dilley, Public Affairs Director at the Worker And Farmer Labor Association joins Dillon to counter a few of the myths that the keyboard warriors and armchair quarterbacks are using to build their flawed critiques.

Government data showed Washington state losing an average of two farms a day even before farmers in the state sank to last in the nation for profitability, losing nearly $400M in 2024, with 2025 numbers not expected to be any better. Brian Reisinger, a Wisconsin farmer, farming advocate and author of Land Rich, Cash Poor joins Dillon with a perspective on Washington’s farming struggles from afar, with the vantage point of another state that’s also seen devastating farm loss.

Farming is struggling in Washington state, and Save Family Farming has joined other leading advocates calling attention to the the region’s troubling loss of food and farming infrastructure contributing to local farmers’ dim outlook. Bill Briggs, U.S. Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator, joins Dillon to talk about his recent visit to Western Washington, where he promoted his agency’s resources available to help farms and farming support businesses wanting to grow or recover from flooding.

While farmers aren’t excited about higher fuel and fertilizer bills resulting from the recent conflict in Iran, the additional cost wouldn’t be as big of a threat to farms in Washington state if it weren’t for the costly decisions in Olympia that have already pushed many farms across the state to the brink of insolvency. Jason Vander Kooy, a Mount Vernon-area multigenerational family dairy farmer and Save Family Farming’s Vice President, joins Dillon with details on the impacts he’s seeing, and why pundits who only focus on the Iran conflict’s affects are missing the bigger picture for farming here in Washington.

A Whatcom County berry farmer is opening up about the recent ICE arrest of two of his key employees, voicing concern about the impact federal immigration enforcement activity is having on local farming. Randy Kraght, who owns and runs Barbie’s Berries with his wife Barb, tells Dillon he’s worried about the upcoming harvest season, as reports of ICE arrests of farmworkers in northwest Washington have increased significantly within the last couple of months.

As word spreads of the farming viability crisis unfolding here in Washington state, leaders are beginning to talk more about efforts that could help the farming community. WA State Rep. Kristine Reeves, D-Federal Way, joins Dillon to share her perspective as House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Chair on the growing crisis and what’s being done about it, including her work on the so-called “Washington Farm Bill.”

Big news for water users in Whatcom County preparing to file their court claims in the state’s water rights adjudication lawsuit: a court ruling has pushed back the filing deadline for many people, creating a single due date of June 1, 2027 for everyone. Fred Likkel, Whatcom Family Farmers‘ Executive Director, and Gavin Willis, Administrator of the Ag Water Board of Whatcom County, join Dillon with details on the March 9th decision from Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman, as well as more on how the filing process works.

Most food grown in Washington needs to be kept cool before it ends up on our plates, so refrigeration systems are critical for food and farming production across the state. While almost all farmers and others years ago changed storage refrigeration equipment to technology that protects the Earth’s ozone layer, regulators now fear the chemicals in these newer systems are a global warming risk. Because of this, lawmakers have clamped down on cold storage facilities and pushed them to convert to different refrigeration technology–yet again. Emily Merk, the storage manager for an Othello, Washington-area onion warehouse, and the communications coordinator for the North American Potato Storage Organization (NAPSO), tells Dillon not only are the new rules strict, but they’ve been rolled out on a short timeline, posing huge challenges–and costs in the millions–for food and farming facilities, at a time when many farms are already barely surviving.

The latest data is painting a clearer picture of what Washington’s farming community has already been feeling in recent years: farming in this state is struggling more than ever. Ben Tindall, Executive Director of Save Family Farming, joins Dillon with more on what the statewide farming advocacy group is working on to elevate the awareness of the growing problem, and ultimately spur state leaders to make changes to help WA farming survive.