Pam Lewis, ag research director at the Washington Policy Center, told the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that sustainability in farming is primarily about keeping farms economically viable for future generations. “Sustainability in agriculture is often about more than methodologies and technology,” Lewis said, adding that sustainability looks different for a dryland Palouse wheat farm, an irrigated Columbia Basin crop farm or a Western Washington dairy.

Lewison/Lewis (presented as Pam Lewis) placed the data frame early: modern farms feed about 170 people per acre compared with about 26 people per acre in 1960, a change she described as an approximately 538% increase in people fed per acre over 65 years. She said this reflects efficiency gains in production even as pesticide and water use declined in many operations.

The panel addressed farm ownership and barriers to entry. When Representative Morgan asked about the racial makeup of farm ownership in Washington, Lewis said she could not provide exact percentages in the hearing but described the statewide pattern as “predominantly Caucasian owners of farms in Washington, along with Black and Latino owners following after that, and tribal and Native American owners after that,” and offered to provide specific figures to the committee by follow-up email. She added that entry into farming is “extraordinarily cost prohibitive” and that state policy and costs can make first‑generation farming difficult.

Food security was raised as a separate but related issue. Lewis said Washington is a net exporter of food and that the United States exports roughly 40% of total food production. She cited 2024 food‑bank distribution figures—2,300,000 pounds distributed through pantries statewide—and noted that Ferry County had about 19% of its population food insecure, which she described as one of the highest county rates in Washington. To address food insecurity, Lewis recommended practical measures such as expanding nutrition and home‑cooking education in schools and reducing stigma around shelf‑stable items like frozen and canned foods.

On direct sales, Lewis told the committee that only 11 food producers sell directly to consumers in the state in a way that could meaningfully increase local access. She suggested policy incentives to expand on‑farm direct-to-consumer channels (not limited to farmers markets) as a way to lower costs and increase local food availability.

Irrigation and water‑quantity issues also featured in the discussion. Lewis described her work with the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District and the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program, explaining that Washington has multiple overlapping water jurisdictions including federal irrigation districts. She said irrigation has shifted from furrow systems to center‑pivot systems and that some deep wells in the Columbia Basin are beginning to fail, making surface‑water projects and careful tracking of water rights increasingly important. "We have to be really, judicious in how we use water because in some cases, it's a finite resource," she said.

Committee members asked for follow‑up materials; Lewis and Todd Myers said they would provide the committee with cited studies and data after the hearing.

The session also included an appearance by visiting members of the Washington Youth Academy in the audience; committee members acknowledged the visitors but no formal action followed.

Ending: The committee accepted the presenters' offer to provide follow‑up materials, and Chair Reeves adjourned the hearing after thanking staff and presenters.