Column: Thoughts from the Tractor Seat, When Labor Costs Dig Deeper Than Tariffs

If you've followed agriculture news in recent years, you'd think the biggest threat to American farmers is a trade war with China. Tariffs get the headlines. They make good sound bites. But here in the Pacific Northwest—where apples, pears, and cherries still depend on hands, not machines—the real crisis isn’t across the ocean. It’s right here in the paycheck.