The Goetz family grows winter wheat and some canola about seven miles north of Marlin in Grant County. Kevin Goetz is the fifth generation to farm in the area; he and his wife, Jennifer, returned to the family’s operation in 1997.
“I’ve farmed with my dad, Les, ever since 1997. We were in partnership from 1997 to 2015, and technically, we still farm together, but I started to buy him out in 2016. Now, Jennifer and I are the operators, and dad’s the best hired man that I have or could ever have,” Goetz said. His appreciation has only grown throughout the years. “I took (working with family) a little bit for granted when I first started out. When I got out of my 20s and into my 30s, I began to appreciate it more and to realize how much you really do enjoy working together and balancing ideas off each other. I value it more every day.”
Goetz’s three sons, Kameron, Jared, and Luke, have grown up helping out on the farm and pitch in during harvest when they can; currently Kameron and Jared are headed to careers in medical fields, while Luke just graduated from high school and is off to college to study business. Goetz said although his sons love the farm, he and his wife have encouraged them to explore careers in fields they are passionate about.
“If (farming) is something that is interesting to them later in life, we’d love to incorporate them into the farm,” he said, adding it is important to him they choose their life’s path.
That appreciation for working alongside family extends to the people who have become part of the farm over the years. Besides family, Goetz’s harvest crew usually includes one of his best friends, Mike, who has been working with the family for nearly 35 years. Getting to work side by side with the most important people in Goetz’s life has been very rewarding.
That sense of gratitude, however, exists alongside the challenges of making a living in the industry. Reflecting on agriculture in Washington state, Goetz called it an “uphill battle, with the cards stacked against us.” He’s particularly felt the impact of buying fuel this year, combined with state lawmakers who don’t seem to understand how their legislation is impacting farmers.
“As a farmer, if I don’t have optimism, then it makes the day-to-day life really tough,” he said. “It does get hard when you have all these battles. You’ve got all the input issues and then you’ve got your fight in your state legislation. It’s just like a thousand cuts. One cut isn’t necessarily that big of a deal, but after you have a thousand of them, it hurts.”
And while the business of farming has changed over the generations, Goetz’s connection to it began long before he ever had to worry about fuel prices or legislation. This isn’t Goetz’s first brush with harvest publicity. When he was seven years old, he was featured on the front page of a Seattle Times insert driving a combine (with his father) in a story about small towns in Eastern Washington.
“Farming is what I always wanted to do ever since I was knee high. I caused a lot of mischief early on until I was old enough that I could see over the steering wheel,” he said with a laugh.
