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By Don Jenkins, Capital Press

Washington lawmakers are advancing bills that could make farming more expensive, while legislation to cut labor costs and taxes languishes.  

The state ranks 14th in the U.S. in gross farm income, but 46th in net cash income, according to the USDA. Only farms in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Alaska are less profitable.  

Washington State Dairy Federation policy director Jay Gordon said the statistic is “mind-boggling,” but one that the Legislature isn’t addressing.

“I don’t see an appetite. I don’t see an understanding. I don’t see an interest,” he said. “Washington has now created a systemic barrier to profitability.  

“You can’t continue to pile on higher and higher labor costs and higher energy costs due to carbon taxes and expect people to invest in Washington,” Gordon said.  

Legislation 

The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee likely will endorse giving farmworkers collective-bargaining rights. Another bill threatens farm with fines for failing to notify employees of federal immigration enforcement investigations.  

Meanwhile, legislation to raise the overtime threshold to 50 hours during harvests has not received a hearing, though a bill to lower the overtime threshold to 32 hours for all workers has. A bill to exempt farm machinery from sales taxes will get a hearing Feb. 4, but Democrats are looking to raise taxes, not cut them.  

Farm lobbyists are working to “stop the dog-piling on of regulations,” Worker and Farmer Labor Association policy analyst Scott Dilley said. “That has to be the primary thrust of the rest of the legislative session — stop hurting agriculture and start helping the industry,” he said.  

“I get the sense that at least in terms of the Legislature as a whole, it just seems to overlook agriculture or in some cases go after agriculture,” Dilley said.

Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, mentioned farmers in his state of the state speech. He cited legislation passed last year to give farmers cap-and-trade tax rebates as an example of bipartisanship. The rebates are mythical, however. The Legislature didn’t fund them.  

A few bills acknowledge agriculture’s straits. One bill would create a task force to look at regulations causing farmers stress. Another would direct the Department of Agriculture to issue a report every four years on the “competitiveness of Washington’s regulatory landscape.”  

Senate Bill 6104 would require state agencies to study the impact to agriculture before adopting a rule. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, said Washington is losing farms and farmland. “More importantly, we’re losing a culture,” he told the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Jan. 29.  

Lobbyist Mark Streuli, representing several farm groups, said farms need help to stay viable. “We think this bill is a concrete step in helping with that,” he said.  

Kenton Gartrell, who has a small ranch in Yakima County, said the bill won’t do enough. “For small farmers, the crisis is not a lack of consideration, it’s a lack of practical help,” he said.  

State agencies project implementing Muzzall’s bill would cost $3.4 million over the first two years and require hiring 19 new state employees.