Save Family Farming

“Plowing Blind” reads the headline on dairy markets columnist Lee Mielke’s latest article, which quotes Save Family Farming Executive Director Ben Tindall. Mielke joins Dillon to discuss the struggle and give an update on dairy markets.

Much has been made about the struggles facing Washington state farmers right now, with overbearing regulation causing massive cost spikes that are driving farmer take-home pay $400M into the red. But just complaining won’t solve the problem. Ben Tindall, Executive Director of Save Family Farming, joins Dillon with a focus on moving toward real, actionable solutions for the growing WA farming viability crisis.

Slapping farmers with huge fines for how they’re using water has become common practice for the Washington State Department of Ecology in recent years, putting some farms out of business and even going so far as to threatening to take one Spokane-area farmer’s land. But, John Stuhlmiller, Executive Director of the Washington State Water Resources Association, tells Dillon that Ecology’s punishing actions appear to break a state law–a law that Stuhlmiller helped write.

It’s not just the farmworker community that’s worried about the ongoing federal immigration crackdown. Farmers face the possibility of immigration enforcement activity and the fear of raids and arrests interfering with critical harvest seasons. Eamonn Roach, a Pasco, WA-based immigration attorney, and Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the WA-based Worker And Farmer Labor Association (WAFLA) joined Save Family Farming Executive Director Ben Tindall on a recent online live stream sharing important background on why immigration enforcement poses a threat to farms, and how they can prepare. Dillon shares a portion of that conversation on The Farming Show, and the full recording of the live stream is available here.

Farmland is a precious, dwindling resource that contributes many positive things to the environment, to the economy and even the culture of our communities and our nation. But unfortunately, many people’s understanding of how to protect it is mistaken. Addie Candib, American Farmland Trust PNW Regional Director & Western Managing Director, joins Dillon to explain the real challenges of protecting farmland and farmers, especially with the growing viability crisis for farming here in Washington state.

Washington state’s farmers are among the first to worry when the “D” word is used–will drought limit the amount of water they have available to grow their crops? Cliff Mass, prominent meteorologist, blogger and University of Washington professor joins Dillon to explain why he’s skeptical of the Washington State Department of Ecology’s recent drought declarations, and says there’s reason for optimism for farmers and others worried about the state’s water supply.

Most dairy farms raise the famous Holstein or Jersey breed of cattle for strong milk production. So why are many of those dairy cows giving birth to calves that are Black Angus–a breed famed for top-notch beef? Lynne Wheeler, a partner at Acme, WA-area Coldstream Farms, joins Dillon with details on the growing “Beef on Dairy” phenomenon, and how it’s even helped keep many dairies afloat financially through seasons of low milk prices.

Farming in Washington is seeing a decline not paralleled in any other state, putting the blame for the downfall squarely on policy decisions in Olympia. Pam Lewison, Director of the Center for Agriculture at the Washington Policy Center, tells Dillon several specific data points confirm state-level policies are largely behind Washington state’s nosedive to last place in the nation for farmers’ take-home pay.

Filling up in Washington state right now is even more painful thanks to the Climate Commitment Act surcharges on top of already-high fuel prices. But most people don’t know that some of the extra cash they’re paying for fuel is going to activist groups using it for “community storytelling,” including at least one anti-farm group that’s producing political propaganda films rife with false accusations against WA farmers. Todd Myers, Director of the Center for the Environment at the Washington Policy Center, joins Dillon with details.

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.