AgLink
Growing Oregon Agriculture through Education and Promotion
OCT-DEC 2019
Double Feature:
2019 Award Winners
PRST STD US Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 5
President’s JOURNAL
A New Vision for Oregon Agricultures In my last column, I mentioned that members of the executive committee and board of directors have been working since early spring 2019 on a new vision and mission statements for Oregon Aglink.
For several years, Oregon Aglink has been operating with a short and sweet mission statement: “Growing Oregon agriculture through education and promotion.” It highlighted our focus, Oregon agriculture, and our main methods, bringing new awareness and interest to farming and ranching in our state. The word “growing” seemed fitting for agriculture, but also open-ended and positive. We will always have a soft spot for that statement, but we knew it was time for another strategic planning session that would help us create a clearer picture of how our work in each Oregon Aglink program ties to its central idea, both in terms of vision and mission. Thanks to Abisha Stone, who guided us through the process, the executive committee moved forward with finding language for a vision statement. We asked ourselves, “What would the world look like if Oregon Aglink accomplished all of its goals and finished its work?” After multiple rounds of feedback from the board of directors, we are ready to share it with you all: We envision a connected Oregon, where producers and communities share an informed understanding of agricultures in our state. Knowing the diversity of the origins and processes behind food, fiber, and shelter helps everyone in Oregon appreciate their impact. The result is a little longer than before (it might not be fitting on a bumper sticker any time soon!) but it opens up many avenues for conversation and good work for our staff and volunteers to continue. In the perfect world where Oregon Aglink has done its job, there are all sorts of connections between producers/processors and communities all over the state. In 2019 we still need to work on improving relationships between urban and rural communities, but our work has shown us that even in rural areas people might not understand what the farmer down the road does. You might have noticed that we use the plural form of the word “agriculture” in the vision statement. That was intentional! Being part of this organization, you learn so much about the different ways people live and work in their own little corner of the state. We wanted to respect the differences but also the commonalities between the ranchers, dairy farmers, orchard owners, nursery and greenhouse operators, farmers, processors, and even timber and fishing industries. Those are all ways that Oregonians create important products out of the natural world surrounding us. If nothing else, we hope that using the word “agricultures” becomes a conversation starter for many people in years to come. I look forward to seeing all of you at the Denim and Diamonds event on November 22nd at the Salem Convention Center. It is always such an amazing evening to celebrate Oregon agriculture!
Growing Oregon Agriculture through Education and Promotion
VOLUME 14, ISSUE 3
NEW LOCATION 2195 Hyacinth St NE Suite 105 Salem, OR 97301 971-600-0466 www.aglink.org OFFICERS Megan Thompson, President Cascade Cherry Growers Fred Geschwill, Vice President F & B Farms Michelle Markesteyn, 2nd Vice Rootopia Abisha Stone, Treasurer SEDCOR Terry Ross, Secretary Integrated Seed Growers, LLC Pamela Lucht, Past President Northwest Transplants STAFF Mallory Phelan Executive Director Allison Cloo Director of Membership & Programs Danielle Meyersick Community Engagement Coordinator Leah Rue Events & Program Coordinator Cover Photo by: Lynn Howlett
CONTACT US TO ADVERTISE IN OREGON AGLINK ADVERTISING AND GUEST FEATURES: ALLISON@AGLINK.ORG
Megan Thompson Oregon Aglink President 2 AgLink
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©2019 Oregon Aglink. All rights reserved. Nothing contained within may be reprinted wholly or in part without the written consent of the publisher, Oregon Aglink. The opinions and perspectives published herein are those of the authors and should not be construed as those of AgLink® magazine.
Friday | November 22, 2019 | 5pm SALEM CONVENTION CENTER
Presented by
Produced by
Tickets and details available at www.aglink.org WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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Highlights from the
2019 Friends of Oregon Agriculture Golf Tournament Thirty-four teams played at Chehalem Glenn Golf Course in Newberg this August, raising more than $33,000 in profits for programs like Adopt a Farmer. It was our biggest year yet, and we can’t wait to do it again next year!
Cascade Foods
Lakeside Ag
Beverage sponsors made sure there were drinks at holes so that players could refresh as they made their way through the course.
We broke another records with the 1,528 golf balls sold for our annual helicopter drop raffle. Emily Steadman of North American Plants Inc went home with the $1000 grand prize.
Rogue Catering provided a hearty lunch for golfers to enjoy while they listened to announcements about winning teams.
Mickey Hatley (left) and Andrea Krahmer (center) of Northwest Farm Credit Services presented Oregon Aglink executive director Mallory Phelan (right) with their donation to Adopt a Farmer. 4 AgLink
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Insights from an Intern BY PHOEBE LUC
OREGON’S APPLES
Leading with Fuji and Gala, Oregon produces over twenty-one different varieties of apples compared to the eight thousand varieties grown worldwide. As Oregon’s nineteenth largest agricultural commodity, we produced over 175 million pounds of apples valued at over 38 million dollars in 2017! With five thousand acres dedicated to apple orchards in Oregon, apples are available yearlong, but peak in late summer to early fall. Oregon’s beloved rainfall and climate make it a sweet location for apple growing.
DON’T SKIN THE SKIN!
From a nutrition standpoint, there is truth behind the common saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” — but only with the skin on! Packed with vitamin C and E, most of the fruit’s health benefits come from the 2-3% of fiber found in the outer layer. Pectin fiber and polyphenols from the apple peel act as shields for the heart and blood vessels, protecting them from chemical damages. These plant chemicals
can help improve cardiovascular health by lowering bad cholesterol levels and decreasing blood pressure.
wonderful health benefits from apples baked.
The apple peel contains a large range of flavonoids. Similar to pectin and polyphenols, these flavonoids act as protectors of the pancreas. Your pancreas produces hormones to help regulate blood sugar, and the fiber from the peel helps slow down the release of insulin to prevent a sudden sugar spike. Not only does eating at least one apple a day decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes by 28%, but also slows down digestion and increases satiety resulting in better weight control.
Oregon Farm Bureau hosts the Oregon’s Bounty search engine, where you can find apples at roadside stands and U-pick orchards. You can also visit a farmer’s market — check online with the Oregon Farmers Market Association to learn more about what is near you!
WANT TO FIND SOME APPLES?
Ü
MORE THAN FRESH
Whether enjoying whole apples fresh or dried, visit our website to learn more about one delicious way to achieve all the
Oregon Aglink has partnered with Oregon Health and Sciences University to host some dietetic interns each Fall during their rotations. This year, our intern Phoebe Luc wrote blog posts on some popular Oregon crops, their health benefits, and where we might see them on our table or in markets.
WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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Building a Legacy at Ioka Farms BY ALLISON CLOO
What does it mean to build a legacy? Does it come from one generation, or are we constantly building on the work of those before us and hoping those after us will continue the work? If your legacy is hard work and innovation, that means the process never stops. At least that’s what seems to be the case at Ioka Farms in Silverton. Dave and Rita Doerfler of Ioka Farms will be receiving our Agriculturist of the Year award as a pair on November 22nd in Salem at the annual Denim and Diamonds Award Dinner and Auction presented by Oregon Aglink and sponsored by Wilco. As the president and chief financial officer of Ioka Farms, respectively, the couple were nominated by a community member for their role in elevating Oregon agriculture as a whole. “They have been ideal role models for the next and future generations of family farmers in the valley,” says Phil La Vine of Chemeketa Community College. He and Dave Sunderland have known the Doerflers for years, through national and international tours of agriculture, and have seen the pair give back time and again. According to Sunderland, “They continue to work hard and work smart, foster the development of others in the family business and industry, and have unselfishly helped others succeed.” Former director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture Katy Coba is unequivocal with her praise of Dave and Rita: “Those are the kinds of people you want in your community, the ones who are giving of their time and knowledge.” The Beginnings The farm itself goes back to 1877, when Dave’s grandfather and great-grandfather began growing small grain crops on the land outside of Silverton. The next generation brought on turkeys, hogs, and Hereford cattle. As farm transitions go, some elements remained and others were adopted as newer generations found their place and responded to changing national and international markets. A ten-year-old Dave encouraged his father to buy their first combine to begin farming bent-grass on a portion of the family land, starting their venture in the grass seed industry. They still raised turkeys for a good while, well into years when Dave and Rita had their own children after marrying in 1961. Dave’s sister Shirley and her husband John Duerst joined the farm in 1968 and the name Ioka Farms, Inc. was formally adopted. Although the animals are largely gone and the farm is known most widely for its grass seed varieties, the pieces of that early 6 AgLink
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legacy endure: diversification works, change with the times, and above all, cooperation is key. The Strength of Succession Ioka Farms is in its sixth generation now, with Dave and Rita joined by siblings, children, and nephews. The main strategy is finding a place for everyone’s contribution. According to Dave, “It’s important that each one have their own area so that not everyone does the same thing.” Sometimes it’s a matter of finding out whether a family member would rather be in the office or the warehouse. Other times someone will come in with their own ideas about diversifying services or crops. Where Dave originally started with bent-grass, the farm now has over 5,000 acres of contracted varieties of perennial ryegrass, hard, fine, and tall fescues, meadowfoam, small grains, brassica forage, hazelnuts, timber, and Christmas trees. While family is important, Dave is quick to remind people that it’s not just Doerflers or Duersts helping Ioka run smoothly. “You know,” he says, “we have some wonderful employees who are very dedicated too.” Family members may have been raised with some of the same goals and surnames, but as with succession planning, the strength comes from reaching out and building connections, whether that’s with employees, extension agents, fellow members of agricultural organizations, or farms across the world. Life-Long Learners One reason Ioka Farms looks the way it does today is that the Doerflers have been willing to take on new ideas from a variety of places. While all farms respond to external challenges, like concerns over field-burning or water quality issues, the attitude at Ioka is to be proactive rather than reactive. That involves taking some risks, certainly, but their strong connections with other organizations have helped them find what works for their land and their business. At Marion Ag Service, Gale Gingerich remembers Ioka Farms from the early seventies, when he was an extension agent with Marion County. “There were lots of research trials on Ioka Farms,” says Gingerich. What does he remember about Dave and Rita? “They were always very cooperative,” he says. Their involvement with the industry in terms of development was matched by their active presence in organizations, such as the Highland Bentgrass Commission, Fine Fescue Growers Commission, Cascade Foothills Seed Growers Association, and Rita’s involvement with Oregon Women for Agriculture as a founding member of the organization in 1969. As Gingerich puts it, the Doerflers have “a commitment to seeing that it continues, that it stays successful.” He clarifies, adding, “the industry, not just their own operation.”
At Chemeketa Community College in the Agribusiness Management Program, Phil La Vine and David Sunderland paint a similar picture of the Doerflers, who have been joining them on national and international tours of agriculture for over thirty years. “The world is our classroom,” says La Vine of the program. And what about the Doerflers? “They’re life-long learners.” La Vine and Sunderland seem to have endless pictures of Dave and Rita all around the world: Thailand, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand. The trips offer more than sight-seeing, though, since they’re a chance to see how other countries have dealt with issues familiar to agriculture all over the world: labor shortages, language barriers, crop treatments, regulations and more. Positive Perspective The Doerflers conduct similar tours at Ioka Farms, sharing their own experience and knowledge. While they haven’t hung on to every new variety or practice tested on their operation, they’ve had success with several and are willing to share what works for them. They lean toward perennial crops and rotating annuals as needed, all with an interest in maintaining soil health and root structure where possible. Practices like minimum-till or no-till take extra equipment and planning, but mesh well with other conservation efforts that make good sense for their farm, such as drip irrigation and cover cropping for erosion control. Just like Oregon’s practices don’t always match up with what goes on in the rest of the world, the Doerflers seem to understand that not everyone is going to adopt something that doesn’t fit a particular operation. When asked if he considers Ioka forward-thinking, Dave Doerfler suggests that “Forward-thinking or trying new things depends upon how much research you’ve done. Something that may be new to some people, you’ve thought about for a while.” Keeping up with the industry and the larger community, including consumers and voters who may not necessarily live on a farm, means that Ioka Farms has been tuned in to new developments as well as coming changes. The field-burning and water quality issues were chances to show Oregon how agriculture could respond to challenges. Phil Ward, formerly at Oregon Department of Agriculture and Farm Services Agency, recalls the role Ioka Farms played
during both periods. When a fatality on I-5 brought field burning under scrutiny, “Dave and Rita helped lead the industry through that process.” When questions of water quality were on the horizon, they stepped up again. “[Dave] was part of the group of ag leaders that said it’s better for us to get out in front of this issue as an industry, and we want to guide this whole process into the department of agriculture instead of leaving it with DEQ and EPA. I think that the decisions those folks made in those days set Oregon agriculture up for success in this water quality arena that other states don’t really enjoy.” Knowing that agriculture will always have new challenges to face, Dave keeps his advice simple: “You need to stay involved with your commodity people and the industry people. You know, you need to stay positive that things will work out. Sometimes it makes it more difficult than you thought it should be, but if you enjoy what you’re doing you stick with that and survive.” Bonded Together When people share photos of the Doerflers at events or on trips, there are hardly ever pictures of Dave or Rita on their own. They are together, Dave with his arm around her shoulders, and Rita leaning in close. For all the connections they have forged with others at their farm, their local Silverton community, the grass seed industry, and Oregon agricultural organizations, there doesn’t seem to be any more enduring or memorable than their bond with each other. “They’re committed to each other,” says Katy Coba of the pair. “They support each other, they’re together — they’re just Dave and Rita.” Even if Dave and Rita Doerfler are getting the Agriculturist of the Year Award, you know they’ll be the first to tell you that they wouldn’t be there without the rest of the community. Like Dave says, Ioka Farms owes its success to more people than just him and Rita alone. There are family members, and employees, and supporting organizations, commissions, and agencies. Even the grass seed industry doesn’t stand on its own, or Oregon for that matter. And it’s true, no one stands alone. We can, however, honor the people who help represent our best.
“They have been ideal role models for the next and future generations of family farmers in the valley” — Phil La Vine, Chemeketa Community College WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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Deep&Roots Bright Flowers BY ALLISON CLOO
Name an organization for education and outreach about agriculture in Oregon and there’s a good chance Dona Coon has been involved at some point. Oregon Women for Agriculture? Past president of state and local chapters. Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom? Key board member in its early growth and continued development. Summer Ag Institute? Board member and active supporter. Oregon Aglink? She’s this year’s winner of the Ag Connection award. On November 22nd, at the annual Denim and Diamonds Awards Dinner and Auction, Dona Coon will receive the Ag Connection award for her decades of work making Oregon agriculture accessible to anyone with a desire to learn more. Beyond her dedication and passion, Coon has impressed people with other qualities that make her an effective communicator and collaborator. First, she has a personal understanding of agriculture that puts her in a position to speak from experience. Coon was born as Dona Gnos in West Germany, during her father’s military service there, and then raised on the family’s sheep ranch in Albany. “Dad started his business by shearing sheep on the weekends while working at the sawmill,” she says. “I would go with him and sit in the eight foot high burlap wool bags and watch him shear. He would tie the fleece and drop it in the back and I would tromp it down.” Almost anyone can learn the facts of agriculture, but according to her son Hans, the chance to see first-hand the high stakes of farm life gives weight to lessons learned and then shared by his mother. “When your dad was trying to build up a sheep herd from whatever he was making at the mill in the 60s, or you were involved in the turbulent grass seed industry in the 80s — both of those outcomes don’t just affect how you thought about industry, they really affected how you got food on the table,” he says. Coon understands the physical impact of farm life and policy through that early exposure, but she has also seen many different facets of agriculture in Oregon and even around the world through travel. From her upbringing, raising her own 8 AgLink
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family on a farm, running her business, to being involved in so many organizations, Coon is able to speak about the diversity of agriculture because she has seen the diversity of agriculture. Still, being an effective educator requires more than just knowledge. There’s something special about Coon that makes her able to educate people and bring other contributors back again and again in a group effort to support agriculture. Her early love of learning, and really teaching, came through helping with her mother’s kindergarten, first, and second grade classes at schools in Albany and Lebanon: “Before I was big enough to haul irrigation pipe, I got to go along and tutor kids, put up bulletin boards, and clean blackboards.” In her teenage years, Coon redirected to more work on the farm and becoming the first girl to serve as president of the FFA chapter at her high school as well as serving as a state officer in 1977-1978 and being the first female FFA member from Albany to earn her state farmer’s degree. It wouldn’t be long before she brought education back into the plan, though, when she began attending Oregon State University in 1979 to graduate with a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education. Her professional career as a teacher spanned the mid-to-late eighties, right around the time she and her husband Donald had their first child, Hans. In hindsight, that seems like a prelude to her main act: serving and building up several organizations dedicated to teaching Oregonians about agriculture. Take Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom, for example. Ag in the Classroom — AITC for short — started out in the state as a “resource trunk” in every county that educators could use if they were interested. While Hans was still an infant sleeping in a car seat on the floor, Coon sat on the board and got involved with multiple projects. In the thirty years she sat on the board between 1987 and 2017, Coon helped get booths at teacher conferences, moved file cabinets between several offices until they landed at Oregon State University, helped begin the Fall Harvest fundraiser, and spent years revising new editions of the Get Oregonized history book and Student Activity Guide.
The transition from a collection of trunks housed in garages to a textbook in classrooms around the state is one that many people cite when speaking of Coon. “She really is the person who kept the program alive” says Tami Kerr, executive director of the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association and the first hired staff of Oregon Ag in the Classroom, serving as executive director. Recollecting the early days of Get Oregonized and the Fall Harvest fundraiser, she credits Coon with dedication and focus for the projects, but also a leadership quality that made everyone want to pitch in. “People trust her,” says Kerr, “They like her and they want to work with her because she’s right there in the trenches getting the job done.” The executive director of Ag in the Classroom, Jessica Jansen, agrees. “When I began my position with Oregon AITC in 2014, Dona was the first person to guide and mentor me through the role. She’s consistently been a source of encouragement, knowledge and probably most significantly, passion for agriculture literacy.” The Ag in the Classroom program has grown to the point where hundreds of volunteers read books and lead activities in classrooms, reaching hundreds of thousands of Oregon school children each year. Similarly, the Summer Ag Institute (SAI) is another organization where a little bit of agricultural education goes a long way. In SAI, Oregon school teachers earn three graduate credits over a week of courses about integrating agriculture into their own class planning. Coon joined the board of SAI in 1987 and still serves on it today. During that time, she has recruited, transported, and hosted teachers, making them feel welcome and ready to learn. Why would it be so important to get teachers involved in a program about agricultural education? “We can educate a teacher” says Coon, “and that teacher touches the lives of an entire classroom of future decision makers every day of the school year for as long as they teach.” The agricultural education offered by AITC and SAI is a valuable way for Oregon farmers and ranchers to know that their stories are reaching the lives of children throughout the state. As anyone who has stood in front of a classroom or a field trip group knows, providing that education can be an education in itself. That’s why programs like the masters in agricultural education exist at Oregon State University, where Coon got her degree, but also why organizations like Oregon Women for Agriculture (OWA) and FFA are so valuable, since they ultimately support people within agriculture telling their own stories to reach even more listeners, readers, and consumers.
Coon’s involvement in both programs makes perfect sense. What better way to put your passion for education and agriculture to good use than to make sure it continues on through the rest of the community and the next generation? The current president of OWA, Helle Ruddenklau, thinks Coon embodies some of the most important qualities of leadership that others can learn from: “She is a strong-willed person, yet is able to get a diverse group of people to work towards a common goal. She is willing to work hard herself and sets an example for others to follow.” Part of that example she sets is her willingness to welcome any and all to the work of agricultural education. As Tami Kerr recalls from one of her first OWA meetings over twenty years ago, Dona was “one of the first people that was extremely welcoming to me when I first joined. That’s always appreciated when you go into a room and you really don’t know anybody. You have a lot in common but you don’t know anyone.” One simple but important facet of Coon’s reputation is a flair for artistry and craft that led to her creating floral arrangements for numerous industry events and then a business selling flowers at events and farmers markets in Corvallis and Albany. At first glance, it’s hard to square including floral arrangements in the same list as serving as a board member or officer for multiple agricultural organizations. Take a minute, though, and consider Coon’s flowers have appeared at a myriad of events over the years and the opportunities they present. The flowers are more than just a stunning addition to a fancy dinner or wedding. Every one of them was an investment of time and skill to grow, and then an arrangement of smaller pieces into a more cohesive whole. We can all appreciate the product in the moment, but we should recognize the diligence and talent that brought it to us. Beyond that, every bouquet on a finely set table or under a tent at a farmers market has been an opportunity for someone to learn about agriculture from Coon while appreciating the beautiful product. Some people might be satisfied with a high-level involvement that delegates the work of education and communication to others, but Coon’s business shows a different strategy. As others have said, she earns respect by working alongside everyone else, and her cut flower business demonstrates the same principle: use your gifts to reach out and make a connection. WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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2019 AUTUMN EVENTS November 6 . 5pm - 8pm
WOMEN & LEADERSHIP PANEL WE’RE ALWAYS WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS AT OREGON AGLINK For more information about the benefits of being a member, contact us at 971-600-0428 or visit aglink.org
935 NW Davis St | Portland, OR 97209 Includes guests from Oregon Aglink, F&B Farms, and Carman Ranch Reserve your $25 ticket online via link at aglink.org
November 19 . 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
OREGON OSHA SAFETY & HEALTH CONFERENCE State Fair and Expo Center | Salem, OR First ever presented entirely in Spanish Preregister for free via link at aglink.org
November 22 . 5pm
DENIM & DIAMONDS AWARD DINNER AND AUCTION Salem Convention Center | Salem, OR Tickets available at aglink.org
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Executive NOTES Getting Where We’re Going
2019 OFFICERS Megan Thompson, President Cascade Cherry Growers Fred Geschwill, Vice President F & B Farms Michelle Markesteyn, 2nd Vice President Rootopia Abisha Stone, Treasurer SEDCOR Terry Ross, Secretary Integrated Seed Growers, LLC Pamela Lucht, Past President Northwest Transplants DIRECTORS Nicole Anderson, Wilco Joe Beach, Capital Press Ryan Bennett, Northwest Onion Company Anissa Branch, Riddell Farms Dave Buck, Aldrich Advisors Cory Carroll, Papé Machinery Jeanne Carver, Imperial Stock Ranch Shelly Davis, Boshart Trucking Dave Dillon, Oregon Farm Bureau Amy Doerfler, Doerfler Farms Jeff Freeman, Marion Ag Service Bobbi Frost, Harrold’s Dairy Eric Groves, George Packing Justin Gutierrez, Columbia Bank Kathy Hadley, Hadley Family Farms Doug Hart, Hart’s Nursery of Jefferson Kerisa Kauer, MetLife Andrea Krahmer, NW Farm Credit Services Margaret Magruder, Magruder Farms Molly McCargar, Pearmine Farms Jennifer McCarthy, Rabo AgriFinance Myron Miles, Miles Ranch Lori Pavlicek, 4-B Farms Karren Pohlschneider, French Prairie Gardens
Many of us can think of one-lane roads — paved, gravel, or dirt — that wiggle all around our state. They’re usually far away from clusters of cars, stop lights, and buildings. Full of memories, stop-worthy views, and very few people, it’s not until you meet another vehicle that you must solve the problem of how to get where you’re going. Maybe you back up a little and it’s just wide enough to sneak past one another. Maybe the other vehicle reverses its course to allow you to pass in a wider spot. However you manage to pass each other — with a nod and a wave — someone had to give, forward, backward, left, or right for mutual benefit. These movements apply to the direction we move as an industry in communicating with our fellow Oregonians. We move forward, backward, or stagnate together and sometimes that means moving laterally to get where we want to go. Some of the strongest movements forward come from partnership and collaboration, particularly with groups outside of our silos in agriculture. The Oregon Dairy and Nutrition Council recently invited us to work with them at an event for the Girls Scouts. What a fantastic audience to reach and engage with! In recent years, we have collaborated with organizations like OMSI, OHSU, the Gilbert House Children’s Museum, World Oregon, and more. We are always looking for unique audiences to connect with Oregon agriculture. Are you willing to give in order to get where you’re going? Sometimes you’re in the vehicle that has to back up a little in order to move forward. Putting a crop identification sign on your property, reading to students during Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom’s Literacy Project, participating in Adopt a Farmer or Talk About Trees, or simply talking with someone in the grocery store, the opportunities to share are abundant. Equally (if not possibly more) important because it is hard and easy to forget, it is our job to listen to understand. It’s easier to share about what you do and why than it is to truly understand someone else’s viewpoint. If we listen to understand, we become better storytellers and that moves us forward because we can find commonalities instead of default to our differences. As an organization, we support all of Oregon agricultures regardless of size, production method, location, and are inclusive of not only farms and ranches, but fisheries and forestry too. Not only are the operations we work with diverse, but so are the people and we continue to work to foster relationships for mutual benefit. We are all an important piece of Oregon’s food, fiber, and shelter, as well as the sustainability of our state’s economy and environment. While such a broad scope can be challenging, it is so important to be united in working to connect Oregonians with what is happening — from the farm, ranch, water, and forest we live and work in to Oregonians’ tables, plates, homes, and recreation, as well as everywhere in between. It’s also critical for us to understand the challenges facing other industries, regions, and Oregonians. Every piece of our food, fiber, and shelter system affects another part. We all benefit when we come together in the spirit of curiosity, flexibility, and a desire to learn from one another with the end goal of an informed understanding and knowledge of agricultures in our state. Our executive committee and board have worked hard this year to outline and define the work Oregon Aglink will do in 2020 and beyond. We hope this piques your interest as we would love for you to join us on our mission to connect, educate, and advocate by creating opportunities for Oregonians to engage with and learn from one another through agriculture. We are looking to develop and grow our strong partnerships to do this work to support Oregon agriculture. Everywhere. Everyday.
Dick Severson, Severson Farms Mark Shipman, Saalfeld Griggs Sam Taylor, Pacific Ag Solutions
Mallory Phelan Executive Director WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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Agricultural safety seminars 2019–2020
SAIF’s agricultural safety seminars are free, comprehensive safety trainings designed specifically for the ag industry. The seminars are held annually from October through March. PPE and your respiratory program Staying on top of your work Safety leadership for supervisors, trainers, and other leaders
topics
Analyze this...!
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I I I I I The Dalles* I Wilsonville* I Woodburn* I
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Bandon Central Point* Clackamas Corvallis Eugene* Hermiston* Hillsboro*
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Hood River* Klamath Falls La Grande Madras Milton-Freewater Ontario Salem* *Sessions in both English and Spanish
Seminar topics will also be available as webinars. See online registration for details.
locations webinars
For more information, or to register, go to saif.com/agseminars or call 800.285.8525.