Washington Farming Community Must Advocate In Olympia

It’s a common story every legislative session in Washington; Olympia just doesn’t understand what farmers go through these days.  And that’s an easy narrative to believe, especially with fewer and fewer Americans having a connection to rural life, let alone agriculture.  But that means the Washington farming community needs to be more proactive when it comes to sharing their story.

Bridget Coon, Washington Farm Bureau 1st Vice President said it’s important to find common ground, and growing food is something most people see as valuable.

“It's so important and most people, even though we disagree on specific policies, would agree that we want Washington to be a place that you can farm and ranch successfully, raise food, and have local food available for consumers," Coon noted.  "And so that's a common ground that we share with most people. That's that open door that we can go into to say, here are some policy issues and here are some policy opportunities. That we should work with you on.”

Coon, an Adams County farmer herself, said it’s important to meet people where they are, and talk about what’s impacting their world; grocery prices, inflation, etc.  And she said advocacy can’t just be negative, the industry must focus on the positive.

“For example, we have added a priority to support mental health resources tailored to agriculture and rural communities," Coon said.  "We know that there's efforts there, there are committees of legislators and stakeholders that have been talking about this issue.  Our concern there, without making this a priority and driving that from the farming and ranching community, is that those resources may not be very effective and well-tailored to the issues in the problems that we face in agriculture that can result in mental health struggles.”

Coon added its important the Washington farming community, whether at home or in Olympia, develop a coalition to help advance the story of farming.  She added the Ag community can’t always play defense.

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