Much of 2025 has felt like one challenge after another for farm country. Whether that’s high input costs, a trade war, labor shortages, drought, or the government shutdown, much of the news this year has been negative.

While it’s easy to feel a little gloom and doom, Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sandison says the farming community has shown a lot of growth and development this year.

One area worth noting was Ag technology and innovation.

“A lot of folks that are really, particularly younger folks, are getting into the industry and really focused on that innovation aspect. I mentioned that it’s one of the ways in which we can help reduce production costs. Look at apples or potatoes. We’re growing more product by far on less acres than, say, 20 years ago. So, there’s a lot of progress being made.”

And while it’s been said before, Sandison stressed that the resiliency of the farming community shows the heart of producers responsible for the food, fuel, and fiber the state, country and world depend on every single day.

“The farmers, the producers, the ranchers, they’re still plugging away, and it’s, you know, refreshing to see that. As you said, there’s a lot of doom and gloom, a lot of negativity out there, but they’re still committed to making this work.”