The disconnect between lawmakers and agriculture is causing stress for producers in the Evergreen State. The Washington Policy Center says that too much advice was coming from urban lawmakers during the last legislative session.
“To be clear, if you are not one of the less than 1 percent of people who are producing food as a job, you are not an expert on how to do it... I think it is critical that we start having legitimate two-way conversations about food production because less than 1 percent of the population in Washington state generates the second largest industry of this state...I have been a farmer, legitimately my whole life. I still do not understand how it is possible that we have not been afforded a very prominent seat at the discussion table, the second largest industry in the state,” Pam Lewison states.
She says that there is so much farmers do not get credit for like producing more with less land and learning to be more efficient.
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