Planting season has finally arrived in northwest Washington, and CHS Northwest Agronomist Clay Pehl is on the front lines with farmers making big decisions right now about when to plant, what to plant, and what kinds of crop protection to invest in.

Eastern Washington crop scientist Stuart Turner explains how the EPA falsified a study to blame dairy farming for groundwater nitrate contamination in the Yakima area, and tells Dillon that there's an entirely different story with nitrates. More details here: https://www.yakimafamilyfarmers.org/epas-falsified-science.html

How does a farm's fine go from $5k to $150k? Reporter Don Jenkins tells Dillon how "publicity" not directly related to a Sumas Farm's worker break violations inspired the WA Department of Labor & Industries to increase the farm's penalty by 3,000 percent (yes you read that correctly, three thousand... 30 times larger!). More details here: http://www.savefamilyfarming.org/li-record-fine-out-of-line.html

The latest data on dairy markets shows some cause for hope, but as columnist Lee Mielke tells Dillon, there are still plenty of reasons for concern

New technology has created new ways to use dairy manure to feed crops, and WSU Extension researcher Chris Benedict tells Dillon how he's studying its benefit to red raspberry crops

Whatcom County dairy farmer Rich Appel tells Dillon about Washington Governor Jay Inslee's recent visit to his Ferndale-area farm, and what he told the governor about farmers concerns and what Olympia should do

Seattle documentary photographer Matthew Kennelly talks with Dillon about his latest project, "In The Blood," shooting a farm family in northwest Washington, and how much he's learned about farming

Northwest Washington agronomist Lance Honcoop with Elenbaas Agronomy talks with Dillon about how the wet, cold spring is affecting farming activity in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties

Madilynne Clark, Agriculture Policy Director for the Washington Policy Center, joins Dillon to talk about a phenomenon she calls "farmism," and explains why she believes it's bad for everyone. Her full blog post is here: https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/food-policy-should-put-farmers-and-food-eaters-first-and-farmisms-last

Yakima-area farming advocate Ashley White talks about her journey to understanding farming and the pressures that it's under, as well as the #FARMNOW expo she is organizing.