Improving Ag Education Across Washington

Educating those not familiar with farming can be a challenge.  Making that more difficult are urban populations that rarely leave the bright lights of the big city.

Jon DeVaney, President of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, said there may have been some headway with conversations in Olympia helping lawmakers understand the current challenges farmers are facing.

“The short answer is yes," DeVaney said.  "I think that that doesn’t always translate to doing things exactly the way that we want, but there is a growing recognition that agriculture, in general, and our tree fruit industry, in particular, have been struggling with low prices and high costs, and they have been more sensitive to taking that into consideration.”

More People Appreciate What's Really Happening On The Farm

And, DeVaney said the critics have backed off a bit.

“It was only a little over a year ago that there were advocacy groups that were asserting that we had record profits, even as we were going through some really bad times," DeVaney noted.  "And that’s not happening anymore. There is a recognition that agriculture is struggling at the moment for a variety of reasons.  It doesn't mean that's permanent, but it does mean that they need to be aware of that.”

Devaney added consumers need to know that higher retail prices don’t typically get passed on to producers, adding the higher prices at the local grocery store is not fun for growers, since farmers don’t see a higher return, or even profit.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com