By Mitchell Roland / mitchell@chronline.com
Freshman U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, pulled out her phone while reflecting on a day that took her to farms throughout Lewis County.
While navigating her notes app Wednesday, the lawmaker said the tour, organized by the Lewis County Farm Bureau, offered a unique perspective on the issues that the agricultural community faces.
“There’s all of these things that these farms are doing that have incredible environmental utility, and it doesn’t feel like those things are being reflected and valued appropriately,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
Organized by Lewis County Farm Bureau President Maureen Harkcom, the Lewis County Farm Bureau for Tour of Agriculture was a chance for lawmakers to connect with the people who make up the Southwest Washington farming community.
State and federal officials toured local farms throughout Lewis County, with stops in Chehalis, Onalaska, Morton and Mossyrock. The tour included 20th District state Reps. Ed Orcutt, R-Kamala, and Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, and former Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund, among others.
During the tour, Gluesenkamp Perez highlighted many of the struggles that face Washington’s farmers, which include rising costs, consolidation of family-operated farms and doubts about the business’ viability for future generations.
“Farmers have a suicide rate that’s three and a half times higher than any other occupation,” Gluesenkamp Perez said, pausing for a moment to compose herself. “And that’s a serious indictment of our nation.”
After a visit to the Southwest Washington Food Hub warehouse in Chehalis, Gluesenkamp Perez said the cooperative could offer a new model to support farmers. According to Gluesenkamp Perez, only 13 cents of every dollar American consumers spend on food currently goes to compensating farmers.
The hub partners with around 20 farms to distribute produce boxes, which the lawmaker says allows farmers to receive a greater return for their crop while allowing community members to support local farms.
“In this growers cooperative, 95 cents of every dollar spent on these boxes makes it back to the producer,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “It’s a pretty profound rebalancing of how we can be spending our dollars as consumers in a way that reflects our values and esteem for regional agriculture, strong local agriculture.”
A member of the House Agriculture Committee, Gluesenkamp Perez said input from farmers played a critical role in deciding whether to propose or support legislation.
The committee, she said, is dominated by members who represent commodity growers, with few voices to represent the small, family-owned farms. The tours provide real-world examples of the issues that both farm owners and workers face.
“I’ve had this sense that truth exists in nuance, and you’ve got to have a representative body at the table when legislation is being considered to understand how it’s going to impact people’s lives,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “It’s such a gift to be let into our farmers and producers’ lives and get to see what they’re proud of, what they’re struggling with, and how I can be helpful.”
After a recent law change required the company to compensate workers for the time spent traveling to the job site, Pan-American Blueberry Growers no longer offers transportation to the Mossyrock farm.
According to Keianna Murphy, operations manager at the facility, most workers have opted to remain with the company, often carpooling. The company does not offer housing, and workers often travel from Aberdeen or other small communities to work on the farm.
“We’re a people first company. Everything that we do, we try to keep the employees in mind. That is our number one priority,” Murphy said. “Anytime that there’s a new law or change of any sort is happening, we want to try to make sure our pickers are as happy as possible.”
According to Murphy, between 80 and 90% of the company’s pickers return yearly.
But the change had other impacts.
“What are the emissions of that, if everyone is driving their own cars now?” Gluesenkamp Perez asked. “It hasn’t changed people’s travel times, it just means that now everyone is driving their personal cars.”
Though Congress is scheduled to be in recess for much of the time in the lead-up to the general election, a key piece of legislation must be addressed.
The Farm Bill, which must be renewed every five years, broadly governs federal agricultural and food program policy, though Congress has struggled to renew the bill for more than a year. As negotiations stalled, members passed a stopgap that extended the 2018 Farm Bill through Sept. 30 of this year.
In May, Gluesenkamp Perez voted against passing a proposal through the Republican-led Agriculture Committee, later saying the proposal “would slash programs to ease these crises for farmers and families.”
“Commodity crops were really privileged in this farm bill as it was presented in the house,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “These families, these farms, are worth fighting for in Southwest Washington. And I’m not going to let any political pressure stand in the way of fighting for our producers here.”
With months until Congress must hammer out a long-term agreement — or pass another short-term extension — Gluesenkamp Perez said members can’t “miss the forest for the trees” as they work to reach a compromise.
“The end goal and purpose needs to be supporting strong, diverse food systems locally,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
Washington State, Gluesenkamp Perez said, can serve as a model in how to support agriculture. Earlier this year Gluesenkamp Perez was among a trio of Washington lawmakers who proposed replicating a statewide program that incentivizes voluntary conservation on farms of all sizes.
“I’m really proud of our producers and I’m very grateful to them for how generous they’ve been in educating me and helping me advocate,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.