Help — Washington State’s farms are disappearing faster than free samples at Costco. And whether you’re a farmer whose paycheck depends on it, or just someone who enjoys, you know, eating food, this is something worth paying attention to.
Here are Five Fast Facts on farms going away at record pace:
- 🤯 Plummeting Numbers - Washington waved goodbye to 3,700 farms from 2017 to 2022 - that's over two farms disappearing every day! Orchards are closing faster than you can say Granny Smith.
- 🍎 Fruit Tree Drop - The number of tree fruit farms actually producing crops went down by about 15%, meaning fewer apples and cherries are being grown. This is profoundly disturbing if you're a pie lover!
- 📈📉 Cost Vs Profit - Labor costs to grow and harvest one acre of Washington apples shot up 182% since 2013, while the money farmers actually make from that same acre only crept up a measly 7%. Talk about a pay raise that doesn't even cover the gas!
- 💲 Foreign Assistance - A shortage of ag workers since the 1980s led to the H-2A visa program, which gives foreign workers wages, living quarters, and transportation to come help with the harvest. Paid for by the growers, it's a huge cost - 500% higher in 2025 than in 2013.
- 😠 The Root Of It - The problem is, the H-2A program is very complex and, well, busted. It's so expensive that growers struggle to operate with it...but without it they also can't find enough workers to operate at all. Heeeeelllpppp…!
🔥Bottom line: Washington's farms are dropping like fruit flies because labor rules are turning profitable orchards into money pits, and if nothing changes, your next apple might come with a "Made Somewhere Else" sticker. We need some serious work on the H-2A mess, and fast. Our state farmers need to be able to keep producing without going bankrupt, and everyone needs great food at reasonable prices!
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