As part of a legal ploy--ostensibly to allow certain farmworkers to make more money during fruit harvests--a group of labor activists is pushing a federal judge to block guest farmworkers in Washington state.

The activists' legal game essentially amounts to a scorched-earth approach to wage negotiations that ultimately threatens tens of thousands of farmworkers' jobs and the survival of a wide swath of the state's fruit production.

Enrique Gastelum, Worker and Farmer Labor Association CEO, tells Dillon the same activist group that's now claiming workers will be harmed if they don't get piece rates years ago actually argued against piece-rate wages for farmworkers.

Agriculture careers in Whatcom County are both diverse and plentiful, and a growing local event intends to connect young people with those opportunities.

Ellie Steensma Corbin, Education Coordinator at Whatcom Family Farmers, joins Dillon with details on how both local students and businesses can get involved in the 2nd annual event coming up on Feb. 7 in the Farm Pavilion at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden.

As much as locally- and regionally-grown food is celebrated in the Pacific Northwest, the reality is that fewer and fewer kinds of crops are being grown here.

Jay Gordon, a sixth-generation Southwest Washington farmer, joins Dillon to explain the ugly truth about why so many crops are no longer grown in the PNW, and why even more are leaving.

In a recent statement, a top EPA official in Seattle falsely claimed the federal agency is collaborating with other agencies and community groups to address groundwater nitrate issues in the lower Yakima Valley.

David Taylor with the Washington State Dairy Federation and a former state representative joins Dillon to explain the reality that EPA has been far from collaborative or helpful with the ongoing Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) effort in Yakima County.

The US Environmental Protection Agency is using a court order to demand two Lower Yakima Valley dairies test area residents' water for nitrates, and provide bottled water and treatment systems.

But Yakima County has already been doing that exact work for years, and has virtually blanketed the area with its efforts.

LaDon Linde, Yakima County Commissioner and former dairy farmer, joins Dillon to explain why a federal judge's approval of the EPA's request for an emergency order against the dairies doesn't make sense.

A coalition of regional leaders including farmers is calling on the federal government to withdraw its plan for new environmental reviews of the Columbia and Snake River dams.

Clark Mather, Executive Director of NW RiverPartners, joins Dillon to explain why such a study would be misleading and unlawful, risking huge harm to farming, hydropower and the future of the entire Pacific Northwest.

The latest hearing on the state's massive Whatcom water rights lawsuit spent court time debating whether to use single- or double-sided printing for court forms mailed to local water users.

Fred Likkel, Executive Director of Whatcom Family Farmers, joins Dillon with an update, and explains how the ridiculous point of conflict between state and county officials is emblematic of the fundamental flaws in the water rights adjudication process.

A governor-appointed Washington state task force continues to forge ahead with recommendations for forcing wide, forested stream buffers on farmland, despite fundamental flaws in the process.

Kara Rowe, Policy Director at the Western Washington Agricultural Association, joins Dillon with the latest on the Washington Riparian Task Force's recommendations.

Many sectors of the Washington farming community are struggling with soaring costs, flatlining returns, and suffocating regulations -- including tree fruit growers.

Jon Devaney, President of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association joins Dillon with more on his recent column that raised some eyebrows, and what he's saying farmers can do to help their own cause.

A federal judge has blocked the US Department of Labor's rollout of new rules for farms employing guest workers, including a change that could have given foreign guest workers union rights.

Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the nonprofit Worker and Farmer Labor Association (WAFLA) joins Dillon with details on the preliminary injunction and the unreasonable proposed DOL rules it blocks.