Building relationships for our farmers

Last month, I attended joint meetings for the National Association of State Conservation Agencies and the National Watershed Coalition in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the request of Washington state conservationist, Roylene Comes-At-Night.

Just as in previous annual meeting in Spokane two year ago, this was an opportunity to build relationships with national U.S. Department of Agriculture leadership, understand programs and funding opportunities better, and to work together for the benefit of our farming community.

As the only elected legislator attending, I saw first-hand how conservation districts and conservation commissions are using funding from both Congress and state legislatures to implement significant infrastructure investments for protection of our watersheds.

We toured a dam restoration project and an ecosystem restoration project on the Provo River and spoke with courageous farm family that protected Heber Valley Dairy by securing a conservation land trust, preserving their family heritage from the pressures of development in the Heber Valley.

We also had access to insiders that are working with the congressional committees on the development of the conservation titles for the next farm bill. Natural Resources Conversation Service Associate Chief Louis Aspey sent his remarks in writing.

Pelham Straughn from 9b Group, Washington, D.C., gave us a deep dive into provisions being debated and proposed funding levels.

As we continue to seek state and federal partnerships, the good news for the Columbia Basin Conservation District is that Congress is discussing ways to make our conservation programs work better since ample funding was directed to agricultural conservation programs from both the Inflation Reduction and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs acts.

Ideas are also being debated, such as how to streamline the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to reduce time from planning to construction, how to delegate more authority to our state conservationists, and reform priorities to focus water infrastructure programs to the Western United States.

Conservation funding has provided essential tools to address the protection and improvement of our soil, water, and air quality. These programs improve the sustainability of our farm families. Without farm families, it would be impossible to improve the resources that produce food for a hungry world population.

Each farmer is as important to protect as the resources they steward. They hold and pass down the accumulation of knowledge from generations of experience, combined with generations of research and development being applied to the land.

By investing in conservation programs, we protect the institutional knowledge held by the farmers, conservationists, industry agronomists, combined with public and private researchers. By investing in water delivery systems in the Columbia Basin for agriculture, we secure water supplies in our communities as well.

Shoring up our food system in this region is absolutely needed for growing our local communities, securing our state and nation’s economy, our national security, and assuring abundant global food supplies.

This is the service that our state’s farm families provide society. Giving them access to a sustainable water supply is critical.

–– Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, represents the 9th Legislative District, including eastern Adams County. Email her at mary.dye@leg.wa.gov.