Save Family Farming Raises Concerns Over Professor Payment

Save Family Farming is expressing concerns and frustrations over a Wisconsin professor who was paid $215,800 to testify against three Yakima-area dairies.

Dillon Honcoop with Save Family Farming said these newly uncovered documents cast new doubts over the federal government’s 2024 lawsuit, saying the feds used bad science to blame those dairy farms for groundwater contamination.  He added professor Rebecca Larson provided expert testimony without visiting Washington, or doing local research.

Honcoop was quick to point out it’s not just Save Family Farming questioning Larson’s research and testimony.

"A longtime environmental contamination forensic expert, Stu Turner, said he feels this report “has more manure than manure has”. If you could follow what he's trying to say there," Honcoop added.  "He said it's really not accurate whatsoever to the truth on the ground. It has a bunch of scientific errors, even beyond just the basic principle of this wasn't studied on the ground. It's simply quoting from textbook ideas from 2,000 miles away.”

"The EPA, DOJ Are Targeting NW Ag"

Honcoop added this is just points to what Save Family Farming has called the federal government’s unwarranted war on farming.

"We can see it's not about the truth at the end of the day. It's not about protecting or improving water quality. It's about who's going to win and who's going to lose," Honcoop said.  "And the EPA is all in on trying to win and having these dairies lose. Who do we think should win? We think the public health should win. We think truth should win. And we think family farming should win."

Honcoop added the EPA and DOJ are planning on continuing this assault on farming, specifically central Washington dairies, for years into the future.

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