Fertile fields
Outlook improves for family farms
When we think of agriculture, it’s natural to picture
bucolic fields in stark contrast to the changing, developing
lands around them. But agriculture is changing, too,
evolving in ways never imagined on your grandfather’s farm.
In the 2006 legislative session, biofuel legislation drew
the lion’s share of attention for its triple virtues:
lessening our dependence on foreign oil, creating a new
market for Washington farmers and being good for the
environment. But that attention overshadowed other important
changes to protect the public while making life easier for
farmers.
To protect consumers and dairies, lawmakers made sure raw
milk is safe milk. Washington has long stood as one of the
few states progressive enough to allow the sale or trade of
raw milk, a valued commodity to farmers and non-farmers
alike. This year, responding to reports of consumers
sickened by unpasteurized milk, lawmakers ensured public
safety by increasing the penalties to unlicensed dairy farms
for selling raw milk. This will protect consumers from
dangerous bacteria such as E. coli. It also will protect
responsible dairies from association with dairies that don’t
follow sound health practices. (Senate
Bill 6377)
 Public
safety was also boosted by bills to require the timely and
safe disposal of dead livestock (SB 6371) and to help
the state Department of
Agriculture comply with the National Livestock
Identification Program, which tracks cattle movement in the
event of an outbreak of disease (SB
6376). These measures protect both people and
animals from communicable animal diseases such as
salmonella, rabies and avian influenza. In a related
measure, lawmakers required livestock owners to disclose
information of animal disease within 48 hours of its
discovery (HB
2651); the law also protects a company’s proprietary
information while allowing media access to disease action
plans.
At the same time, lawmakers protected small farmers from
excessive intervention by the public. When a court ruling
last year led to the disclosure of private or proprietary
information in voluntary farm plans, many farmers stopped
working with conservation districts to improve environmental
conditions on their lands. To correct that, the Legislature
clarified that voluntary plans are not subject to disclosure
unless required for permits. It required conservation
districts to inform farmers beforehand if information in a
voluntary plan might be subject to public disclosure. (SB
6617)
While everyone has felt the pinch of higher gas prices,
farmers have felt it all too keenly. Lawmakers eased their
distress by exempting farms from fuel sales-and-use taxes
for diesel fuel, both red-dyed and clear, and for aircraft
fuel sold for soil preparation, crop cultivation or
harvesting. (HB
2424)
 No
one likes to get less than what they paid for, so lawmakers
mandated accurate weighing and measuring devices to ensure
that a pound is indeed a pound and a gallon is a gallon. (SB
6365)
Mirroring the creation of the state Wine Commission in
1987 that helped Washington wineries, the Legislature
created a state Beer Commission this year to promote
Washington-produced microbrews, local breweries and
festivities such as Oktoberfest and the Brewers
Association’s Craft Brewers Conference. This boon to state
breweries will increase the local tax base, easing the need
for state and federal funding of local services. (SB
6661)
For proud generations, Washington farms have fed families
and fueled our state’s economy. By addressing the needs of
the present and anticipating the opportunities of the
future, Senate Democrats are making sure farms can continue
their vital role.
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