Editor’s note: This transcript of an interview with Rep. Dent has been edited for clarity and length. What are your priorities for the 2026 Legislative Session? We did a bill here two, three years ago about the use of aircraft and wildfire, the Aviation Assurance Funding bill. That bill allowed…
What are your priorities for the 2026 Legislative Session? While I am working on a variety of policy proposals, including textile recycling to take on the impacts of fast fashion on our waste streams, tobacco/vape regulation to protect our kids, natural resource policy that provides balance between the state’s economic…
What are your priorities for the 2026 Legislative Session? Agriculture in our state is at a critical juncture; its viability is a top priority this session. We’ve all watched the impacts on agricultural operations from burdensome and costly labor policies and incessant regulations. I want to focus on alleviating that…
Editor’s note: This transcript of an interview with Sen. Chapman has been edited for clarity and length. What are your priorities for the 2026 Legislative Session? I try to run the committee in a collaborative format, so my priorities will be what the committee’s priorities are. I’ll certainly see what…
Scott Ford and his parents, Allen and Cheryl Ford, are the fifth and sixth generations to farm their family’s ground north of Walla Walla that was established right at the turn of the 20th century. They are 100% no-till and grow mostly winter wheat. “We’ve done some spring crops over…
For Chad and Marie Denny, watching their son, Jon, begin his farming career highlights the importance of supporting the next generation. “I feel like we’re a bridge. We’re going to own it for a little while, and then it can move on to the next generation,” Marie explained. “It’s not…
“In Garfield County, if you throw a rock, you are going to hit a Koller,” said Wyatt Koller with a laugh as he described how his great-grandparents, Richard and Ollie, arrived in the area and established the family’s farm after stints blacksmithing and working at a slaughterhouse. Wyatt’s grandfather, Edwin,…
While no two farmers follow the same schedule, winter is generally devoted to more “indoor” tasks. Marci Green from Green View Farms in Spokane County points out that many bookkeeping tasks, such as paying bills, marketing crops, payroll, monitoring budgets, and cash flow, happen throughout the year. In this Q&A,…
During winter, the fields may be sleeping under the snow, but that doesn’t mean farmers are. In shops across Eastern Washington, farm equipment is being cleaned and repaired, all in preparation for another year of hard work. Rob Wilkins, parts supervisor at Papé Machinery in Tekoa, Wash., believes the work…
Crop rotations date back thousands of years. Back then, farmers may not have understood the science behind rotating crops on the same land from season to season, but they used it in practice for crop production. Since then, science and experience have expanded our agricultural knowledge exponentially. Modern-day farms in…
