House Republican Organizational Committee

The news for Eastern Washington agriculture from Olympia this year has been grim.

We’ve seen the deaths of two farmer-legislators who served the Mid-Columbia with an expertise and enthusiasm for the agricultural commun-ity that will be tough to replace.

Now the 4-H program could be on the chopping block, thanks to state-mandated cuts in Washington State University’s budget.

To top it off, crop and commodity prices have plummeted.

But somewhere in the midst of all that sorrow and gloom, Gov. Chris Gregoire did something great for farmers.

She appointed Rep. Dan Newhouse, a third-generation Sunnyside farmer, as the director of the state Department of Agriculture.

Newhouse is a Republican, making him her first GOP appointment to Gregoire’s Cabinet in two terms.

Folks who knew Dan’s father won’t be surprised by the cross-aisle appeal. During his 34 years in the Legislature, Irv Newhouse earned the respect of Republicans and Democrats statewide.

The state lost its director of agriculture when our hometown champion Valoria Loveland retired last May.

Newhouse’s appointment goes a long way toward the Democrats’ campaign of “One Washington.” The governor says Newhouse was chosen because he’s the best person for the job and that party wasn’t an issue.

“Agriculture is very near and dear to me,” Newhouse, 53, said. “It’s an important industry. It is my life.”

Now, there is man who will be passionate about his job. And that is just the sort of state support farmers need in the rewarding yet volatile industry of agriculture.

Times are changing, regulations are getting tighter and the battle over water will never go away.

Newhouse will bring a voice of reason and first-hand knowledge. When he’s not in Olympia, Newhouse is at home on his 600-acre farm, tending hops, orchards, grapes and hay.

“I love what I do, and I’m not ready to leave, but this is an opportunity that just had to be taken,” Newhouse said of the new job, which will take him away from his land and the legislative seat he’s held since 2002.

While his fellow lawmakers are sorry to see Newhouse leave the House, his appointment received overwhelming support.

Newhouse has a big job in front of him, with 33,000 farms and a $42 billion food and agriculture industry in the state. The jobs of more than 160,000 people rely on the industry, as does the state’s economy, with agriculture contributing more than 13 percent.

The governor’s priority for Newhouse is creating international markets for the state’s products. That’s a challenging yet necessary mission for the director. The whims of the world economy can devastate a once-strong export program, as can shifts in production to cheaper sources outside the U.S.

Washington already ranks No. 3 in the nation in exports, with $14.8 billion in food and ag products exported in 2008, but our production levels certainly merit an even larger volume be distributed around the globe.

While many of the strongly Republican farmers may not be willing to go so far as to offer our governor a pat on the back, they sure can’t complain about the appointment of Newhouse to head the state Department of Agriculture.

It’s good news for farmers.