con·ver·sa·tion/ˌkänvərˈsāSHən/

Ben: I worked for federal as well as state legislative individuals down in Texas, where I grew up. My wife and I moved up to Washington about 10 years ago and I engaged here in Olympia. I worked for State Representative Gina Mosbrucker who represents the Klickitat and Yakima County area, and she was very tapped into the agricultural world. She was also very involved in the social justice side. We worked on the missing and murdered Indigenous women issue, as well as autism. She really wanted to ensure those individuals were represented well, and I really appreciated her work. But after working a few legislative sessions with a family and the craziness that goes into that, I wanted to start working for more of an activist or advocacy group. I got a role with the Washington Farm Bureau working with them and was a Policy and Membership Specialist for several years. I got to tour a lot of the country and met a lot of really wonderful and talented farmers. I then served with the Washington Farm Bureau on their communications and outreach team and focused a lot on how we tell agricultural stories. I have a background in theater, so I have a passion for communications and telling the story of our farmers.

WWAA: That’s great Ben, because we need all the agricultural communicators we can get! So, how did you make the jump to Save Family Farming (SFF)?

Ben: About six months ago I saw SFF was looking for an Executive Director. I really wanted to continue with my passion for agriculture, and the position is a great mix with my experience and passion for communications.

WWAA: What a perfect fit! What do you see as the top two or three challenges over the next 12 months for western Washington farmers or farmers across the state? Oftentimes, problems for farmers in the Skagit are truly the same problems for folks in the Palouse in a lot of ways.

Ben: One that we are picking back up is the dairy and water issue. We've had several dairies in the Sunnyside and Yakima areas that have been hit with frivolous attacks from the EPA. The issue claims to be around groundwater contamination. Yet, the work that these dairies have done over the past several years to protect groundwater has been remarkable and to see this government agency go after them is ridiculous. This type of behavious from the EPA has been going on for decades and Save Family Farming has been able to spotlight the fact that the attacks are based on very faulty science. The EPA is trying to put dairies out of business through some of their more nefarious tactics. So that is a big one that we are running with because it doesn't just affect the Yakima area, it’s a statewide issue. Another one we've been tracking is this riparian buffer issue. That's another one that really has the potential to impact farmers across the state, potentially removing a lot of productive farmland and turning it into buffer zones. SFF and WWAA have been working together for a while to communicate to legislative leaders, supporters and the public about the dangers of this. Finally, on a much more local level we are also working with the Whatcom Family Farmers on the water adjudication issue. This is another potentially devastating problem for local farmers.

WWAA: With those three things that you just mentioned, what are some of the action items that people can expect from you and SFF in the coming months?

Ben: Yes, one is we are working as an organization to showcase our unique identity. Over the years, SFF has done a lot of great things. We need to explain to our fellow ag partners what our role is and what it isn’t. One of SFF truly believes that we are not working in opposition to each other.