Today, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, joined the Lewis County Farm Bureau for their Tour of Agriculture to hear from local growers and discuss how she can best support Southwest Washington farms at the federal level.
The tour kicked off with a visit to the Southwest Washington Food Hub warehouse in Chehalis, where they discussed the hub’s work with farmers to strengthen economic development and food security in their community. By partnering with farmers to distribute produce boxes, the hub is empowering farmers to attain greater returns on their products, which are reinvested in regional agriculture, as well as giving community members and organizations the opportunity to buy local.
Afterward, the group of community leaders and lawmakers visited Hop Frog Farm, a grower of microgreens in Onalaska; Raintree Nursery, which grows edible plants in Morton; and Pan-American Berry Growers in Mossyrock. During the visits, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez spoke with producers about farm consolidation, ways to support healthy, high-quality food, and how Southwest Washington growers serve as a model for agricultural success.
The Congresswoman joined the Lewis County Farm Bureau’s tour last year and spoke with producers about how she can help ensure family farms can continue to be passed down through generations, as well as the equipment and regulatory challenges they face.
“As small, family farms face worsening consolidation and extreme weather events, we need to fight for a level playing field so they can succeed for generations to come. Southwest Washington growers don’t just farm to make a living, they do it because they love it and it’s a part of their heritage,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Small farms drive our rural economies – and at a time when we import 40 percent of our fresh fruits and vegetables, family farms are ensuring we have a resilient food supply chain here at home. It’s important that local farmers have a seat at the table, so I enjoyed speaking with them about how I can best continue to provide support and bring back federal resources to invest in our agricultural communities.”
Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez introduced the PACA Act to help ensure local farmers can stay competitive and protect their operations through investments in soil health and extreme weather resilience. She also introduced the bipartisan Farmland Security Act to increase transparency and oversight of foreign ownership of American farmland, so local farmers don’t get squeezed out.
After hearing from growers in Southwest Washington, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez introduced the Agricultural Right to Repair Act to protect farmers’ rights to repair their equipment when, how, and where they’d like.
Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez has also fought to invest in agricultural communities, helping bring home $4.1 million to construct grain storage at the Port of Chehalis, $500,000 to support the Southwest Washington Agricultural Business and Innovation Park, and $24.2 million to expand rural broadband for 487 farms and thousands of Lewis County residents.