The Farming Show

A Whatcom County government advisory committee is refusing to walk back false accusations it made against local farmers in its 2026 annual report to the County Council, instead claiming they “allow those contradictions to co-exist,” in a July 24 “Open Letter to the Whatcom County Council.” Mark Stremler, Whatcom County Council member, joins Dillon to share his frustration with the Whatcom County Food System Committee’s handling of the situation, and its apparent inappropriate overlap with the private, activist-led “Whatcom Food Network” group. The Farming Show previously reported on the situation, and confirmed the false nature of the committee’s accusations. Save Family Farming also sent a letter to Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu laying out the report’s problems and calling for the report to be rejected and the currently activist-controlled committee to be reorganized.

A new Washington State University study surveyed hundreds of farmworkers across the state, and found that most are losing income thanks to Olympia’s overtime law for farming. Maia Espinoza, Executive Director of the Center for Latino Leadership, joins Dillon to talk about the survey’s results, and how her organization assisted the WSU research effort.

Coming from schools all over Whatcom County, nearly 1,000 third grade students are slated to descend on the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden in early November to hear from farmers about local farming. Ellie Corbin, Whatcom Family Farmers’ Education Coordinator, joins Dillon with details on the 11th annual Whatcom Farm Circle and how local businesses and others can support the important educational event with sponsorships and more.

Bureaucrats in Washington state have forced a new, strict environmental rule for forestry that would have few, if any benefits while costing farm foresters and the communities they support literally billions of dollars. Dr. Elaine Oneil, Executive Director of the Washington Farm Forestry Association, joins Dillon with an update on how foresters are fighting back, including a recent court win putting the rule on pause as their legal appeal moves forward.

The activist author of a misleading new UCLA-sponsored report claims farmers closely following the strict rules for hiring guest workers through the federal H-2A program are actually exploiting a “loophole.” Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association, joins Dillon to expose the truth about this flawed research and the falsified conclusions its author reaches–not surprisingly, exactly in line with already-existing political lobbying efforts.