Column: Recognizing National Dairy Month

June is National Dairy Month, and Washington has many reasons to celebrate. Washington is home to almost 400 dairies, nearly 275,000 cows, and 18,000 dairy jobs. In fact, while Washington may be known for our iconic apples, dairy is our second leading commodity, valued at $1.2 billion.

Growing up in Sunnyside, it isn’t hard to believe that Washington is a national leader in milk production. The region is filled with and surrounded by family-owned dairy farms and larger-scale processing plants, like Darigold, that help create local jobs in our rural community. However, the dairy industry is not...