Ag Takes a Defensive Posture

The legislative session opened last Monday and there’s hope that the legislature will reform programs and make cuts instead of tax increases. Tom Davis, lobbyist with the Washington Farm Bureau, talks about the defensive posture ag supporters will need to take.

DAVIS: It’s really a year we’ll be focusing it more on defensive posturing. If you look at the ag industry in the state it really does and has been a stable component of Washington’s economy. There’s nearly 40,000 farms in Washington and you pool those together with our food industry they make up thirteen percent of the state’s economy driving 160,000 jobs.

Davis says there are three main objectives this session.

DAVIS:Our focus can really be boiled down to three main areas - promoting ag’s role in the state’s economic recovery and to encourage the legislator to not look for new ways to tax the ag industry, either getting rid of existing tax exemptions or looking for new fees on the industry. Second - would be to ensure a sound economy by developing a focused budget on the key priorities of government. And then the third is creating and maintaining a positive economic climate and not increasing taxes or fees, and also doing additional work at reducing the regulatory burden that really does hinder the long term viability of agriculture in our state.

House bill 2413 scheduled for public hearing Wednesday would impose added buffers between ag lands and schools, residences, or any natural person who is outdoors, even though appropriate federal and state laws already exist to regulate the application of pesticides.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Ag Information Network.