Opinion: Washington lost 3,700 farms in 5 years. Here’s how to slow the trend

By Jon DeVaney
Special to the Seattle Times

More and more of our Washington state apple, pear and cherry growers are being forced out of business by circumstances beyond their control. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture, Washington state lost 3,700 farms between 2017 and 2022 — more than two farms per day. The number of tree fruit farms producing a crop went down by 15%. And we know those numbers are far worse today. Read the rest of the article here.