This Is Becoming An Emergency, Save Family Farming VP Notes

Input costs are high for producers nationwide.  Fertilizer costs have increased up to 40%, labor costs continue to eat away at the bottom of producers, and fuel prices continue to climb.

But for growers and farmers in Washington, fuel prices are more than just the cost of oil on the open market.  In Washington, fuels cost more than neighboring Oregon and Idaho, primarily due to the taxes implemented under the Climate Commitment Act.

Jason Vander Kooy, Save Family Farming Vice President said if Olympia is interested in helping the Washington Ag industry, suspending the CCA would be the quickest and easiest step.

“That would save right off the bat 74 cents a gallon of diesel today and 55 cents on gas, as well as the cost of other electricity and energy, like propane and natural gas," Vander Kooy noted.  "That would bring immediate relief to businesses. It's not only farmers, but the trucking industry, logging, construction, you know all type businesses that are dependent on energy for survival.”

Farmers Are Feeling The Squeeze From The State

Vander Kooy said the business climate has gotten so difficult for farmers, it's getting closer and closer to a state of emergency.

“The Climate Commitment Act, that's not emergency, that can wait and if that's postponed for a while, it's we're not going to see any difference," Vander Kooy said.  "But when we see another farm shut down or another trucking outfit park its trucks, or whatever, that has a severe impact and we will see that and it'll take years to recover, if at all.”

Recent numbers from USDA show Washington farmers were nearly $400 million in the red in 2024, and not much is expected to change when 2025’s numbers are released.

You Can Only Survive So Many Tough Years

“We need some breathing room," Vander Kooy pleaded.  "Our pockets are empty. Once farms shut down, you never really see an old farm start back up again. And unless things really turn around quick here soon, its going to be another tough, very tough year. And you can only survive so many tough years.”

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