Pro-farmer Op Ed Reaction Pt 1
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. A recent op ed in the Seattle Times posed the question, ‘Wonder where your food comes from? Ask a Washington farmer.’
Moses Lake farmer, Pam Lewison, who’s also the agriculture director at the Washington Policy Center, wrote that op ed and says there are a lot of misconceptions out there, like farmers make $250,000 a year working part time …
LEWISON … “I think when people throw out these grand numbers like that they’re coming from a place of, you know, fear or misunderstanding or just plain not knowing.”
That alone, Lewison says should open up a conversation …
LEWISON … “I think that’s really where the column came from, is sort of my frustration as a small farmer saying, no, that’s just not true.”
Farming, Lewison says certainly has its rewards, but it’s not glamorous …
LEWISON … “Most of us are like me! Most of us are a family trying to make a living and it’s just us. You know, I don’t have “kazillions” of dollars backing my farm operation. It’s just what we can make and what the bank is willing to lend us. And, we have to figure out how to get by with what we have.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on how the somewhat hostile reaction to this op ed is the very reason discussions like this are necessary.
