Washington agriculture in peril, WSDA interim report says
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Summary
WSDA officials told the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee that Washington is losing farms and competitiveness: farm counts fell to 32,076 in 2022, farm-gate value is about $12.9 billion, and rising production and labor costs have eroded net farm income since 2021.
Director Derek Sandison told the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 12 that Washington agriculture faces a sharp decline in viability and that the Department of Agriculture and Washington State University are preparing an interim report now and a fuller analysis by June.
The department cited USDA census data showing 32,076 farms in Washington in 2022, down from roughly 35,700 in 2017, and a 2024 farm‑gate value of about $12.9 billion. "We're seeing a trend ... of losing farms in Washington," Sandison said, noting consolidation, increasing corporate ownership and a continued predominance of small, family‑owned operations.
WSDA economist Maddie Roy sketched drivers behind the decline: rising production costs, sharply higher labor expenses, an aging workforce and erosion of Washington's net farm income. "The last peak in net farm income in Washington was 2021," Roy said, and by 2024 the state ranked near the bottom nationally on net farm income. Roy emphasized that labor is the state's top production cost and cited higher input and infrastructure costs and declining federal research funding as additional burdens.
Senator Schasler pressed the department to distinguish gross sales from net profitability, saying that headline crop values—"$1,950,000,000" for apples in the most recent year—mask fruit left unharvested and low margins. Sandison and Roy said forthcoming analysis will address profitability and unharvested crops, and they offered to return with disaggregated or comparative state data in the larger June report.
WSDA assistant director Kelly McClain outlined opportunity areas the department will pursue, including trade and export support, investment in local food‑systems infrastructure, workforce development and mental‑health supports for farmers. McClain cautioned that some state grant structures (notably reimbursable programs) can limit access for smaller producers who cannot front project costs.
What happens next: WSDA will release a preliminary data report in the coming weeks and a final report (with WSU) next June. Committee members asked for follow‑up on which states are gaining market share and for more disaggregated cost data by commodity.
Notes on figures and sourcing: the department cited a 2022 USDA census farm count (32,076), an approximate 2024 farm‑gate value of $12.9 billion, and an apple crop value described in testimony as about $1.95 billion. The transcript also referenced a 73% increase in production expenses over a recent period; the year span accompanying that percentage was unclear in the record and will be clarified in WSDA's forthcoming report.