Thousands Of Washington Farms Have Closed Their Doors

The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s recently released Mental Health and Suicide Prevention for Agricultural Producers and Workers report shows a troubling trend in the state’s farm economy.  According to the latest numbers from the Census of Agriculture, the state lost 3,700 farms between 2017 and 2022, an average of two farms per day. 

The report says there are a variety of stressors on farmers and ranchers across Washington, including the rising cost of agricultural production, in the form of labor, feed, rent and much more.

And Washington’s farmer suicide rate consistently exceeds the national average.

State Representative Tom Dent, who secured funding for the report, said, “What some of us have known is that we’re being overregulated,” said Dent, who owns a farm outside of Moses Lake, Washington. “We’ve regulated our producers into an unaffordable place to be.”

Click Here to read the entire WSDA report.

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