Save Family Farming

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 backgro

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

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.

Public records and an official complaint filed with the Washington State Department of Health–following an anti-farming activist group’s use of the department’s official logo on propaganda videos–have begun to uncover a troubling trend of public dollars being used to support political attacks on farmers in the state. Ben Tindall, Save Family Farming’s Executive Director, joins Dillon to share how he’s responding to the Department of Health, putting it on notice for allowing the extremist group