Column: Hardworking farmers deserve a strong trade agreement

A story out of Ritzville recently gained national attention: Larry Yockey is a fourth-generation wheat farmer, and for nearly fifty years, he hasn’t missed a harvest. Sadly, Larry was recently diagnosed with stage four cancer, allowing him to only spend a short amount of time in the fields. He was worried that his streak would come to an end, but his neighbors wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Larry’s friends, neighbors, and community members surprised the Yockey family by storming in on 18 semis, 17 combines, and 11 bankouts. The harvest that normally takes three weeks was finished in six hours....