Washington’s New Ag Director Wants To Help Export Farm Crops

Washington’s new agriculture director says he wants to help farmers reach export markets for the nearly 300 crops grown here and ensure they have enough water. At the same time, Dan Newhouse said he understands the importance of his regulatory role as well.

In an Associated Press interview, Newhouse said his two biggest focuses will be expanding international markets for Washington farmers and working with the state Department of Ecology to develop water storage options in arid Eastern Washington.

“If our buyers overseas can’t be sure our products are free from diseases and pests, they won’t buy them,” he said. “That’s part of our responsibility.”

A longtime Yakima Valley farmer, Newhouse has been a supporter of the proposed Black Rock reservoir, which would pump water out of the Columbia River behind a massive reservoir for use by irrigators and growing municipalities and to improve summer stream flows for fish in the Yakima River.

Years of studies on improving water supplies in the Yakima Valley already have cost at least $18 million. The Black Rock project was estimated to cost as much as $7.7 billion, and a recent study found it would not resolve all of the area’s needs.

Black Rock could be part of the solution long term, Newhouse said, but a number of other things could happen first. Those include increasing conservation, updating aging irrigation systems and reinforcing canals to make them more efficient.

Newhouse also said the Yakima Valley isn’t the only area of the state in need of additional water.

“That’s one of the pressures. Do we build one big project or do we focus on doing things for other areas?” he said Friday. “The governor is tired of studies. We’ve been studying our options for years. The fact is, we need more storage.”

State agencies also could play a greater role in ensuring farmers have enough workers to prune trees and harvest crops, Newhouse said.

In recent years, Washington growers have complained about a shortage of workers, while labor groups counter that higher wages will secure field hands. As a result, more and more growers are turning to a federal program to bring in foreign workers legally.

An unsuccessful bill in the Legislature would have had the state create its own essential worker program to bring in foreign workers during times of peak need.

Lawmakers weren’t ready for the bill this year. With some changes, Newhouse said he could see it passing in the future, because both Republicans and Democrats see the need for changes in the current system.

“To have the labor situation so tenuous, it feels like we’re taking too big a risk with a large industry for Washington,” he said. “It seems to me, as a state, if the federal government is having a hard time coming up with a solution, then we can’t help but lead the way and maybe be a model for the rest of the country.”

Newhouse served in the state House for seven years before Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed him to the new job in February. He’s the first Republican she has appointed to her cabinet in two terms as governor. He replaced Valoria Loveland, who retired last May.

The Newhouse family has been involved in agriculture in this country since the early 1900s, first with milk cows, then hops. Newhouse still grows hops on his 600-acre farm in the Sunnyside area southeast of Yakima, along with tree fruit, grapes and alfalfa.

In 2007, the overall value of agricultural production in Washington was a record $8.51 billion.

Of the nearly 300 crops grown in the state, most are specialty crops, such as tree fruit, that would be minor crops in other states, he said. That alone poses challenges in meeting all farmers’ needs.