Save Family Farming

Despite the crippling uncertainty Whatcom County farmers and other water users are facing in the state’s water rights adjudication lawsuit there, a top Washington state expert says there is hope for a resolution to the unfolding crisis. Tom Tebb, the former director of the state’s Office of the Columbia River joins Dillon ahead of his address at Whatcom Family Farmers’ 2025 Farme...

In a bizarre turn of events, a Yakima, WA-based anti-farming activist nonprofit required attendees to a recent screening of their propaganda film to disclose their occupation, subsequently charging anyone listing themself as a dairy farmer $535.38 for a ticket, while all others could get a ticket for free. Ben Tindall, Executive Director of Save Family Farming, joins Dillon with details on the app...

Protecting Whatcom County farming and promoting a settlement to the state’s Whatcom water adjudication lawsuit are the goals of a recently unveiled proposal from County Councilman Ben Elenbaas. Elenbaas, a 4th-generation Whatcom County farmer, joins Dillon with details on the changes he wants to make to a foundational county plan that sets the county’s growth agenda for decades to come...

Farmers and many others across the Pacific Northwest and beyond have followed a unique, regional weather blog over the last more than three decades. Its followers, or “patrons” in The Weather Café parlance, have made its twice-weekly posts part of their weekly routine, relying on its insights for weather-affected planning, particularly when the possibility of major storms or other weat...

President Donald Trump’s move to allow more cheap beef from Argentina into the United States sparked a swift backlash from U.S. cattle ranchers. Chelsea Hajny, Washington Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President, joins Dillon with the Washington state ranchers’ reaction to the move and Trump’s upsetting comments about it.

Accusing dairies in the Lower Yakima Valley of polluting groundwater, the U.S. Department of Justice, working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, hired University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist Dr. Rebecca Larson to make a legal declaration in support of their court case against the dairies. But Stu Turner, an environmental contamination investigation expert, shows how Larson’s de...

In vitro fertilization technology is changing the way farmers improve their herd’s genetics, allowing them to raise the healthiest, best-producing animals much more quickly than traditional breeding. And now Whatcom County is home to a facility where farmers can bring cows to use this technology. McKenzie Corpron, an embryologist with Trans Ova Genetics, joins Dillon with details on the comp...

The Washington state farming community is speaking out against a new state plan to force large forested buffers on non-fish-bearing streams in working forest lands. Farmers recognize the dangerous precedent the unscientific proposal would create for forcing similar buffers on farmland, ultimately harming fish while pushing countless family farms in our region out of business (read Save Family Farm...

Many people, including news reporters, have been confused by recent layoff notices from Washington farms creating suspicion of major farm closures. But what most don’t realize is that the layoffs are the routine annual conclusion of seasonal farm jobs that haven’t required such notices until state lawmakers changed the rules this spring. Erik Zavala, Director of Field Staff for Wenatch...

Ongoing drought conditions have led to water shortages in the Yakima River Basin severe enough that water to many farms has been shut off. Sunnyside-area dairy farmer Jason Sheehan, who also serves on the board of the affected Roza Irrigation District, joins Dillon and Whatcom Family Farmers Executive Director Fred Likkel to explain what the shutoffs have meant for farming, and how the collaborati...

Most people probably don’t know that Washington state is number two in the nation for producing organic food. And demand for organic food nationally and globally continues to grow. But Melissa Spear, the Executive Director of Seattle-based Tilth Alliance that advocates and assists many organic growers as part of its focus on supporting Washington’s local and sustainable food movement,...

Most people probably don’t know that Washington state is number two in the nation for producing organic food. And demand for organic food nationally and globally continues to grow. But Melissa Spear, the Executive Director of Seattle-based Tilth Alliance that advocates and assists many organic growers as part of its focus on supporting Washington’s local and sustainable food movement,...

Whatcom County is known for its dairy, berry and potato farms, but the area boasts a long list of other kinds of farms and specialty crops, including tree nuts. Jon De Lange of Everson, WA-based Washington Hazelnut joins Dillon with details on how he grows, harvests and prepares his crop for market, including creating the tasty hazelnut treats his farm sells direct to consumers on its website, was...

The process of harvesting field corn for dairy cattle feed has evolved extensively in recent decades, as farmers here in Washington and around the Pacific Northwest face increasingly tight margins, high labor costs and other market pressures. Duane Scholten, owner of Lynden, WA-based Scholten’s Equipment, joins Dillon with a look at the equipment and technology farmers are using this fall as...

In the wake of the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, it’s not just other political figures that worry about threats of political violence–farmers do, too. Dillon talks about the recent history of radicalized political activists targeting farms, and explains why farmers live under the threat of protests, defamation, sabotage and political violence from peopl...

“Animal feeding operations are increasing Whatcom’s air pollution, study finds,” read the initial headline on a misleading article in Bellingham-based Cascadia Daily News, obscuring the fact that the study it referenced did not make such a finding, and that a series of faulty assumptions led to this troubled reporting. Fred Likkel, Whatcom Family Farmers’ Executive Director...

Despite fully funding its own legal needs after launching a massive lawsuit against all water users in Whatcom County, the state has dialed back its support for the 30,000-plus Whatcom residents it sued. Fred Likkel, Executive Director of Whatcom Family Farmers, joins Dillon with the latest developments in the controversial court case, including how the state is legally required to assist the resi...

Ryan Mensonides’ dream of providing his farm’s top-quality dairy products direct to the community was just starting to take off this summer, when a truck crash near Enumclaw, WA changed everything. Mensonides joins Dillon with a call for the state to take an active role in quickly finding solutions to try to salvage the area’s suddenly-suffering economy, including his new Mount R...

Refrigeration is an important capacity many farms need when they’re producing fresh food, but new Washington state restrictions on refrigeration systems could cripple farms with massive cost increases. Ben Ingalls with IVI joins Dillon with the background on the new laws and what they’ll mean for farming in the region.

A Yakima, WA-based activist group recently published anti-farm videos on its social media feeds that featured the Washington State Department of Health’s official logo, raising troubling questions about possible tax dollars used for political purposes. Save Family Farming has filed an official complaint with the WA Attorney General’s Office calling for an investigation into possible st...

Discredited labor activist Rosalinda Guillén of Community to Community Development recently repeated false and offensive attacks on farms hiring guest workers via the federal H-2A visa program Farms have been turning to the expensive and highly-regulated program as a last resort to help cover labor gaps resulting from the worsening farm labor shortage. Enrique Gastelum, a former farmworker who&#82...

It’s no surprise that during a dry summer, people are talking about water issues, including many that involve the farming community. Ben Tindall, Save Family Farming’s Executive Director, joins Dillon for an update on the advocacy work the organization is focused on currently and into coming weeks and months.

State leaders have said they would provide support for the 30,000-plus water users it has sued in its Whatcom water rights adjudication court case as they navigate the extremely complex issues the state has forced on them. But Bill Clarke, Olympia-based attorney for the Ag Water Board of Whatcom County, tells Dillon that various aspects of the funding to support water users and the court processha...

State leaders are going back on decades-old agreements with farm foresters with a troubling new plan that would force larger forest buffers on streams without fish. The proposal has farmers worried they could be targeted with similar stringent rules, forcing massive amounts of farmland out of production statewide. Tom Westergreen, a small family forest owner in Whatcom County, along with Washingto...

Seattle’s hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River are up for relicensing, and Seattle City Light’s proposal leaves the door open to Seattle using eminent domain authority to condemn and take farmland in the Skagit Valley. Will Honea, Skagit County Deputy Prosecutor, joins Dillon to answer questions about what Seattle’s plan entails, and what risks lie ahead for Skagit County agric...