CONTACT: Chris Cargill or Todd Myers
(509) 570-2384 / (206) 963-3409
ccargill@washingtonpolicy.org or
tmyers@washingtonpolicy.org

State must ensure Ag is priority & considered equally with other key industries when setting policy

SEATTLE – Washington Policy Center (WPC) – the state’s leading, independent research organization with offices in Seattle, Olympia, Spokane and Tri-Cities – announced today expansion of its research team into the area of Agriculture.

The new WPC research arm focused on Agriculture will join WPC’s other research centers: Education, Environment, Government Reform, Health Care, Small Business & Labor Reform, and Transportation.

“Agriculture is responsible for $51 billion of the state’s yearly economic output and 160,000 jobs,” explained WPC Eastern Washington director Chris Cargill.  “The jobs piece alone is more than Boeing and Microsoft combined.”

WPC plans to hire a research director that will focus specifically on Agriculture – its impact on the state, the regulatory burden facing farming families, the importance of water availability and much more. 

Some of the state’s top lawmakers have already praised WPC’s plans to expand its work.

“Having a research organization like WPC committed to studying these issues will be critical to finding common sense solutions,” explained Wenatchee State Senator and orchardist Linda Evans Parlette.

WPC’s Ag director will provide citizens and state lawmakers with practical ideas for improving the state’s Ag climate, eliminating barriers to success, protecting resources and strengthening the future of Washington’s important Ag sector through in-depth research, Policy Briefs, Opinion-Editorials and events. Our first study, Agriculture: The Cornerstone of Washington’s Economy, has just been released.

“Washington’s farm families and food processors do much more than provide a huge economic benefit to the state, they provide us with food security,” said WPC environmental director Todd Myers. “Our new research arm aims to keep it that way.”

The new WPC Initiative on Agriculture will officially open by late spring 2016 when the new director is in place.
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Agriculture: The Cornerstone of Washington’s Economy
WPC in the Wall Street Journal Editorial: A Contrarian View of the Local Food Movement
Opinion-Editorial: To Help Washington’s Salmon, Let Local Experts Lead