Incensed after Hispanic farm workers were disrespected by State Senators Rebecca Saldaña and Karen Keiser during the Feb. 9 Senate Labor & Commerce Committee hearing on agricultural overtime, Enrique Gastelum tells Dillon his farm worker father would be outraged. Gastelum, head of farm labor organization wafla, called Saldaña's and Keiser's handling of the hearing "disgraceful," calling out how the state Senators not only suggested the farm workers testifying were ignorant on the topic of the hearing, but also deliberately mistranslated and editorialized their testimony while denying access to the certified translator in the room.

Small, Latino-owned farms and their workers are reeling after Washington state's new agricultural overtime law hurt workers' earning potential during busy seasons, and made it hard for small farms with labor-intensive crops to stay in business. Maria Rodriguez, CEO of Vizions Economic Development Center in Yakima, which runs the Center for Latino farmers, joins Dillon to explain how a law intended to help workers is actually creating new challenges for both workers and small farmers.

Farm workers are being harmed by Washington state's new agricultural overtime law, and former farm worker Enrique Gastelum, now head of farm labor organization wafla, says state lawmakers need to do something. Gastelum talks with Dillon ahead of a Feb. 9 hearing over a new proposal being heard by the Washington state Senate Labor & Commerce committee that would begin to undo that harm.

While Washington state’s new mandate for overtime pay for farm workers was supposed to benefit workers, it’s had the opposite effect. Dillon talks with Maggie Pérez, an employee at an Eastern Washington apple and cherry farm, to learn what she is hearing from many of her co-workers about how the new law has affected them, and why they’re deeply frustrated with Olympia over the change.

Despite an effort by Yakima Valley dairies to benefit the environment, longtime anti-dairy activist Jean Mendoza is slamming the plan with her typical unscientific dogma. Jay Gordon, Policy Director for the Washington State Dairy Federation, joins Dillon to explain how Mendoza's unfounded criticism exposes her anti-farm agenda, and how the science of dairy's carbon cycle actually works.

As part of their work to preserve the legacy and future of local family farming, Whatcom Family Farmers provides a range of educational programs, both for kids and adults. But it requires community support, and Dillon talks with Ellie Steensma Corbin, Whatcom Family Farmers' Education & Outreach Coordinator, about an upcoming online auction to benefit those educational efforts, and how you can sponsor or donate items to be auctioned.

Throwing out a Trump-era effort to simplify the federal H-2A guest worker program, the Biden administration has now issued its own changes that complicate and add more expense for farmers using the system. Enrique Gastelum, CEO of wafla, joins Dillon to explain how the changes will make it even more challenging to grow food here in Washington state.

Although a wet spring forced many crops in Whatcom County to be planted much later than normal, an unusually dry fall meant harvests weren't as disastrous as they could have been. Joe Vanderpol, agronomist for CHS Northwest, joins Dillon with a recap of the 2022 growing season, and the new challenges farmers faced from less-than-typical weather patterns.

Blueberry production in Whatcom County and across Washington state continues to increase, according to new numbers from this year's harvest. Alan Schreiber, the Washington Blueberry Commission's executive director, joins Dillon with some highlights from his recent presentation to growers on the "State of the Washington Blueberry Industry".

While the troubling lack of progress in restoring endangered WA salmon runs continues to spur calls for more farmland to be converted to fish habitat, more evidence is coming to light that habitat work alone won't save the salmon. Daniel Schindler, professor at the University of Washington's School of Fishery and Aquatic Sciences joins Dillon to talk about a new study effort he chaired through the Washington State Academy of Sciences showing that seals and sea lions are hindering salmon recovery, and may need their populations controlled with lethal removal.