One of the coolest, wettest springs in recent memory has farmers in the Pacific Northwest struggling to get crops planted. Clay Pehl, agronomist with CHS Northwest, joins Dillon to share what's happening on farms across Whatcom County, and how local farmers are trying to adjust to the challenging conditions they face.

Dairy farms, creameries and cheesemakers around Whatcom County are all on the list of places you can visit Saturday, June 11, as they open their doors to the public for the "Whatcom This Whey" self-guided farm tours event. Brianna DeBruin, Everson-area dairy herdswoman, is hosting a tour stop on her farm, and joins Dillon with details on what you can expect when you "choose your own adventure" during the 10am - 4pm event Saturday organized by the Dairy Farmers of Washington. The tour map and info about all the stops are available at https://www.wadairy.org/whatcomthiswhey/

The WA Board of Health’s move to regulate manure is on its face very redundant, as numerous federal, state, county and local governments and agencies already regulate every possible aspect of manure and how it’s managed. But as Dan Wood, Washington State Dairy Federation director tells Dillon, also troubling is the vague nature of many of their albeit redundant rulemaking, creating a potential regulatory and litigatory nightmare for animal agriculture.

Despite the daunting water management challenges facing the Nooksack River Basin, solutions are within reach, says Dan Keppen, Family Farm Alliance Executive Director. He joins Dillon to discuss his recent visit to Whatcom County, explain why he's optimistic that our local water crisis can be solved, and share what he's learned through his decades of involvement in the water challenges in the Klamath River Basin in southern Oregon and northern California.

As local leaders and residents continue to grapple with the Nooksack River Basin’s water management crisis and how to solve it, top national experts are coming to Whatcom County to hear from water users and offer their wisdom at a major community event. One of the experts, nationally-recognized attorney Ramsey Kropf, joins Dillon to share what people can expect to learn at the May 25th event at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds’ Farm Pavilion in Lynden.

Titled "Solving Whatcom's Water Crisis," a major event on May 25 will bring national experts to Lynden for a discussion of the work needed to protect families, fish and farming. Fred Likkel, Whatcom Family Farmers' Executive Director, joins Dillon with the details.

Most milk produced by cows in the Nooksack River Basin is processed at Darigold's Lynden facility, where most of its water is removed to make powdered milk. Dillon talks with Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis, whose idea to credit so-called "COW water" to the city's water needs, explains how the project to return water to the river is finally moving forward.

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau, visited farms in Whatcom and Skagit counties recently. Dillon talks with Rosella Mosby, the new Washington Farm Bureau President, about Duvall's reaction to the unique political pressures the farming community faces here, as well as her vision for the future of the Washington Farm Bureau.

Already officially over a month into spring—at least according to the calendar—the weather here in the PNW has been decidedly cold and wet so far. Meteorologist Rufus La Lone joins Dillon to explain what’s causing our weather to seem as much like winter as it does spring. He shares a long-range outlook that has some hope to local farmers who are weeks behind spring planting schedules thanks to cold, wet fields—but there’s a catch.

Slapping Skagit Valley Farms with a fine over a quarter-million dollars, the WA Department of Ecology accuses the local vegetable grower of irrigating illegally and suggests it was harming salmon. But as Capital Press reporter Don Jenkins tells Dillon, there's more to the story, including details shared by the farm that raise major questions about Ecology's accusations and tactics in targeting the farm for enforcement.