KUOW’s Steve Sher interviewed Dan Newhouse, the new Director of the Washington State Agriculture Department yesterday morning.  Newhouse was until recently a Republican legislator from eastern Washington.  He is a family farmer who operates a 600-acre farm outside of Sunnyside, where he grows hops, fruit, grapes and alfalfa. 

Newhouse graduated from WSU with a BS in Agriculture Economics.  He obviously loves farming.  His family has been farming in eastern Washington since 1882 and he lives on the farm that his father bought in the late 1940’s. 

Sher asked some good questions and the ensuing discussion was very interesting.  Newhouse talked about the importance of providing a means for legal immigration.  He seems very human, very respectful.  He understands that the hard-working people who come from south of the border make a big difference in growing our food.  He understands that the population of white farmers is aging and we need to have a new generation of farmers, many of whom are going to be Latinos.

Newhouse appreciates small-scale farming and understands the desire that consumers have to connect to the people who produce their food.  He talks about water and irrigation, climate change, salmon and wind farms.  He also talks about sitting around the table with the other Agency Directors and the Governor.

The interview starts at about 20 minutes in and lasts about 25 minutes and then Newhouse takes questions from the audience.