Without following its own rules, the state of Washington nearly a decade ago fined a Moses Lake-area family crop farm more than a half-million dollars over a water technicality and arbitrary missed deadline.

Although it’s cost them most of their farm and almost put them out of business, the the farmers wrongly targeted by the Washington State Department of Ecology have fought back, and now their case will officially go to the highest court in the state.

Ron and Robin Fode, along with attorney Luke Wake of the Pacific Legal Foundation, join Dillon to explain how they were able to get their appeal accepted to be heard by the Supreme Court of Washington, and just what’s at stake for not only their family, but everyone in the state.

Slapping farmers with huge fines for how they’re using water has become common practice for the Washington State Department of Ecology in recent years, putting some farms out of business and even going so far as to threatening to take one Spokane-area farmer’s land.

But, John Stuhlmiller, Executive Director of the Washington State Water Resources Association, tells Dillon that Ecology’s punishing actions appear to break a state law–a law that Stuhlmiller helped write.

It’s not just the farmworker community that’s worried about the ongoing federal immigration crackdown. Farmers face the possibility of immigration enforcement activity and the fear of raids and arrests interfering with critical harvest seasons.

Eamonn Roach, a Pasco, WA-based immigration attorney, and Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the WA-based Worker And Farmer Labor Association (WAFLA) joined Save Family Farming Executive Director Ben Tindall on a recent online live stream sharing important background on why immigration enforcement poses a threat to farms, and how they can prepare.

Dillon shares a portion of that conversation on The Farming Show, and the full recording of the live stream is available here.

Farmland is a precious, dwindling resource that contributes many positive things to the environment, to the economy and even the culture of our communities and our nation.

But unfortunately, many people’s understanding of how to protect it is mistaken.

Addie Candib, American Farmland Trust PNW Regional Director & Western Managing Director, joins Dillon to explain the real challenges of protecting farmland and farmers, especially with the growing viability crisis for farming here in Washington state.

Washington state’s farmers are among the first to worry when the “D” word is used–will drought limit the amount of water they have available to grow their crops?

Cliff Mass, prominent meteorologist, blogger and University of Washington professor joins Dillon to explain why he’s skeptical of the Washington State Department of Ecology’s recent drought declarations, and says there’s reason for optimism for farmers and others worried about the state’s water supply.

Most dairy farms raise the famous Holstein or Jersey breed of cattle for strong milk production.

So why are many of those dairy cows giving birth to calves that are Black Angus–a breed famed for top-notch beef?

Lynne Wheeler, a partner at Acme, WA-area Coldstream Farms, joins Dillon with details on the growing “Beef on Dairy” phenomenon, and how it’s even helped keep many dairies afloat financially through seasons of low milk prices.

Public records and an official complaint filed with the Washington State Department of Health–following an anti-farming activist group’s use of the department’s official logo on propaganda videos–have begun to uncover a troubling trend of public dollars being used to support political attacks on farmers in the state.

Ben Tindall, Save Family Farming’s Executive Director, joins Dillon to share how he’s responding to the Department of Health, putting it on notice for allowing the extremist group We Are ELLA to use money paid by motorists and energy users and intended to fight climate change to instead fund false accusations against farming.

Farming in Washington is seeing a decline not paralleled in any other state, putting the blame for the downfall squarely on policy decisions in Olympia.

Pam Lewison, Director of the Center for Agriculture at the Washington Policy Center, tells Dillon several specific data points confirm state-level policies are largely behind Washington state’s nosedive to last place in the nation for farmers’ take-home pay.

Filling up in Washington state right now is even more painful thanks to the Climate Commitment Act surcharges on top of already-high fuel prices.

But most people don’t know that some of the extra cash they’re paying for fuel is going to activist groups using it for “community storytelling,” including at least one anti-farm group that’s producing political propaganda films rife with false accusations against WA farmers.

Todd Myers, Director of the Center for the Environment at the Washington Policy Center, joins Dillon with details.

Local farmers have been clear from the beginning: the only way Whatcom County’s water crisis will be solved is through a collaborative process, despite the Washington State Department of Ecology’s water rights litigation in the Nooksack River Basin known as an adjudication.

Fred Likkel, Executive Director of Whatcom Family Farmers, tells Dillon the Whatcom County Council recently gave that perspective a nod with a unanimous vote on a set of changes to the local growth plan acknowledging the importance of community collaboration.