Rep. Tom Dent, District 13 Ranking Minority Member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee

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 our small rural fire departments to access the aerial assets on contract to the state. In order to get the bill through, we had to put a sunset in it, which is July of 2027. Nobody had a bad thing to say about the bill because we got our aerial assets on fires quicker than we were used to. We actually saved the state substantial funds because we were able to knock fires down, and they didn’t get away from us. The bill I’m working on now takes the sunset off. 

Something else I’m working on involves state trust lands. In 1937, the state got counties to put their forest development lands in a trust, and that was the beginning of DNR. But there’s some questions about tying up this ground in a trust. The concern is that we’re tying up something that we can’t harvest; that was not the purpose of the trust. The bill I’m working on is going to establish a JLARC study on this and see if we can have some direction for the Legislature.

There’s another bill relating to updating the timber sales process and streamlining how DNR can put timber sales together.

I’m pretty passionate about mental health challenges and suicide, especially in agriculture. Three years ago, we formed a committee to take a deeper dive into this issue. We finished that committee last summer and put out a report. We outlined some of the challenges that are facing our agriculture producers and farm labor. A couple of the things that really rose to the top were the regulatory environment that our agriculture producers and workers work in and the economic situation we’re in right now. Farmers don’t really have any control over that stuff. How can we revise our state’s regulatory environment to become a more agriculture-friendly state?

What budget concerns are at the top of your committee list? How worried should growers be about WSDA funding and cuts to programs they rely on?

To tell you the truth, the whole state should be worried. I’m going to fight for our producers, but I also am very well aware of the fact that we have to prioritize our budget. We are in a spot, and if we don’t take a hard look at this, it’s just going to get worse. We have to get a handle on the spending. When Microsoft says “you do it to me again, we’re gone,” they mean it, right? People that can leave are leaving. Yes, it’s kind of hard to pick up your farm and take it anywhere else, but maybe that grower doesn’t want to farm anymore. That’s very concerning to me. 

Our state is a high regulatory environment for everybody. We need to get a grip on this stuff in order for everybody to thrive. We’re in a deep financial hole. 

There’s been a lot of talk this year about ag viability. A recent report from WSDA estimates that Washington loses an average of two farms a day, with more than 3,700 Washington farms lost between 2017 and 2022. In September, the House did a work session on ag viability that emphasized the need for proactive and strategic approaches to ensure the sustainability of agriculture in the state, and in an August legislative tour in the Skagit Valley, legislators heard firsthand the economic and regulatory struggles growers in the state are facing. What can the Legislature do to help lessen the burdens farmers are facing?

We should have more answers there than we have. I do think that economic and regulatory battles are the biggest thing that we can look at.

There’s also been much discussion about food security and food distribution issues. Do you anticipate your committee will be addressing these issues? How could growers help solve the problems?

I participated in a recent meeting where the question was raised whether or not foodbanks asked farmers if they could plant a couple extra rows of something and have that available for a food donation. I hadn’t thought about that. I think there’s going to be interest in talking to producers about what they could do and how they could grow maybe just a little bit extra here and there, although in order to do that, they have to have the seeds and be able to afford it.

Overall, I think an awareness would really help.

We’ve been hearing concerns that the environmental crimes bill from the 2025 session may resurface, and many of our growers are worried that agriculture may be unintentionally impacted. How do you see that playing out in the 2026 session?

I know it’s coming. When Sen. Trudeau decides she wants to move it, I’m going to be over in her office asking her about it.

Relationships are everything in the Legislature. People who have the ability to talk to folks and go through some of the challenges and issues that we’re facing are really important. These folks may perceive a problem, but when they learn more about it, they realize maybe it’s not what they thought it was. If we want to eat, then we need to work on these issues. Could the bill come out and run over us? Sure. Things have run over me before, that’s for sure.

I think it’s really important that we be reasonable about what we expect from people. Nobody can be perfect, but I think agriculture, as a whole, does a pretty darn good job of looking out for the environment, taking care of their land, taking care of their communities. It’s important to them because they understand the land. The last thing they want to do is trash what they have. I think sometimes folks who didn’t grow up in this environment or don’t live in this environment don’t totally understand that, but it’s an opportunity to educate them and teach them.

Wheat growers recently joined other commodities in sending a letter to Gov. Ferguson disputing the direction of the Riparian Taskforce put forward by the firm overseeing the process. We stand firm that voluntary efforts, rather than mandatory requirements, are the best way to achieve conservation goals. With the current budget situation, how can the state continue to fund voluntary efforts so we don’t lose the progress we’ve made? Is there a potential that funding could increase to meet demand?

We’ll all be there fighting for that. We don’t want to cut the budget for DNR for wildfire suppression, because it is cheaper on the front end than it is on the back end. Same thing here.

I think it’s really important growers put together a solid one pager and send it out to every legislator, the governor’s office, the Department of Ecology, and try to have relationships with the tribes. We know what happens when we get into mandatory requirements; everybody fights them. We also know that when we have voluntary efforts, things work.

The most important thing is that our growers, our agriculture producers, wheat growers, cowboys engage. If you don’t know your state representative or state senator, there’s something wrong. You should know them well enough that they know you. Everybody has to put out the effort. I’m working really hard to push back on some of this stuff we know is really wrong, but I’m much more effective when I have a couple hundred wheat growers behind me, writing letters or making phone calls or driving to Olympia. It makes all the difference. It might not seem like it does at the time, but it does.

Is there anything else you want Washington growers to know about your Ag Committee and the upcoming 2026 Washington State Legislative Session?

It’s important to be aware of what’s going on in these committees. We can all complain, but maybe show up. Maybe make calls, write some letters. It’s important that growers stand up and be counted. We can do a lot more when there’s a whole lot of other folks behind us making noise. The process is a marathon, not a sprint.