AgLink
Growing Oregon Agriculture through Education and Promotion
JUL-SEP 2019
Summer Feature:
Flipping the Script on Safety
PRST STD US Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 5
President’s JOURNAL
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same Change is inevitable and full of emotions. Change is good. Change is scary. Change is exciting.
Oregon Aglink, like most of us, continues to change and evolve. In the last two years, we have seen staff transitions along with the standard ebb and flow of board members and executive committee. Staff leadership transitioned from Geoff Horning to current executive director Mallory Phelan. Other staff changes have also occurred bring new perspective and positive change to the organization. The collaboration with Allison, Cate and Leah means a stream of ideas and energy dedicated to the mission of promoting agriculture in Oregon.
Growing Oregon Agriculture through Education and Promotion
VOLUME 14, ISSUE 2
NEW LOCATION 2195 Hyacinth St NE Suite 105 Salem, OR 97301 971-600-0466 www.aglink.org OFFICERS
Faces have come and gone over the fifty plus years since Oregon Aglink was originally founded as the Agribusiness Council of Oregon, but the vision and mission of the organization has been constant in many ways. While the original spirit continues to guide us, the executive committee and board of directors have been working to update the language of the vision and mission statement to better align with where Oregon Aglink is now and will be in years to come. In 2016, ABC changed its name to Oregon Aglink to reflect the value of the organization as linking urban and rural Oregon through shared interests in agriculture. In the same way, this refreshed language in vision and mission statements will be true to the core values established by Marion T. Weatherford in 1966.
Megan Thompson, President Cascade Cherry Growers
This is also a year of physical changes for the Oregon Aglink office. After decades located in Portland and the metro area, the staff will be moving operations southward to the 45th Parallel Building in North Salem. This move offers many benefits: more centrally located in the Willamette Valley, closer to several partner organizations, a fresh and public-facing location, and large cost benefit. Once the move is complete please take a minute to stop by and check out the new space!
Pamela Lucht, Past President Northwest Transplants
As much as agriculture seems grounded in tradition and prides itself on ties to the past, farms and ranches throughout Oregon are familiar with change. Growers and processors are constantly changing to keep up with markets, weather, family needs or partner transitions. Operations have condensed, expanded, and relocated. Your grandfather’s sheep farm might be your daughter’s hazelnut farm in ten more years. Some changes are simplistic, like just changing the variety you are growing or the dealer you use. Some changes can be far more complicated due to new equipment needs, infrastructure, and shifts in marketing or regulations.
Allison Cloo Director of Membership & Programs
As an industry, we are constantly evaluating our operations for opportunities to do “better” for our families and our neighbors. Oregon Aglink is no different. I believe the upcoming changes are exciting and setting us on a path to get even better at our work.
Megan Thompson Oregon Aglink President 2 AgLink
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Fred Geschwill, Vice President F & B Farms Michelle Markesteyn, 2nd Vice Rootopia Abisha Stone, Treasurer SEDCOR Terry Ross, Secretary Integrated Seed Growers, LLC
STAFF Mallory Phelan Executive Director
Cate Stuart 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 ©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.
NEW OFFICE LOCATION: SALEM
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Oregon Aglink is moving from Portland to Salem in July. Staff will now be working out of the 45th Parallel Building near Vagabond Brewing.
NEW ADDRESS: Oregon Aglink 2195 Hyacinth St NE | Suite 105 Salem, OR 97301 NEW PHONE NUMBER: 971-600-0466
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Friday, August 9, 2019 Chehalem Glenn Golf Course, Newberg, Oregon
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1 ball Price: $10.00
Pre-numbered golf balls wlll be sold to the publlc for $10 apiece. Each of these balls will be loaded into a helicopter and dropped onto the driving range of the Chehalem Glenn Course. The ball that lands in the hole first or is the closest to the hole WINS $1,000 Visa Gift card. You DO NOT need to be present to win!
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13 balls Price: $100.00
I was contacted about purchasing golf balls by Oregon Aglink Board Member:
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0 MASTERCARD
VISA
Account Number Expiration Date
To raise funds for the Adopt A Farmer program
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6 balls Price: $50.00
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AMERICAN EXPRESS
I I I I I I
Three or Four Digit Security Code
Cardholder's Name City
Cardholder's Billing Address
Zip
State
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Cardholder's Signature
Or make checks payable to: Oregon Aglink Foundation 1 ball Price: $10.00
6 balls Price: $50.00
13 balls Price: $100.00
HURRY... DON'T WAIT!
Oregon Aglink
Purchase your golf balls and register yourself and/or your team to golf TODAY! www.aglink.org Questions? Contact us at: 503.595.9121
(Oregon Aglink Foundation is a 50l(c)(3) charitable organization. Your contributions may be 100% tax deductible, consult with your tax advisor.)
Please contact Mallory Phelan at 971-600-0466 or mallory@aglink.org for more information. 2195 Hyacinth St NE • Suite 105 • Salem, OR 97301 WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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Special Guests at the Tulip Festival
Farmer Jon Iverson poses with a tour group from Kyrgyzstan and their translators
In April, a tour group from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia visited Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm and Vineyard during its annual tulip festival. Farmer Jon Iverson
took them on a tour through packing and processing facilities, and Oregon Aglink staff was on-hand to answer questions and share information about outreach programs like Adopt a Farmer. The visitors from Kyrgyzstan came to Woodburn near the end of their nationwide tour of different states and industries. While Wooden Shoe hosts groups from around the world every year, this group had a special link: tulips originated within the same Central Asian region as Kyrgyzstan before Persians began cultivating them around the 10th century. Tulip-mania didn’t hit the Netherlands in Western Europe until the 17th century, and they came to the United States two hundred years later. Now, in 21st century Oregon, the colorful tulip fields near Woodburn are an iconic sight for tourists looking to snap a memorable photo. Œ 4 AgLink
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New Faces, Fun Times at Oregon Ag Fest Oregon families converged on the state fairgrounds during the last weekend of April to learn all about the science, business, and history of agriculture in our state. Children at the event can get their hands dirty when planting a tomato start at the Oregon Aglink booth, while adults can test their knowledge of Oregon agriculture with our trivia activity and prize wheel. Both activities are made possible through donations by the sponsors on this page. One fresh feature at the booth was an Adopt a Farmer activity recently created to teach about farm safety.
THANK YOU 2019 SPONSORS
We had several returning volunteers this year, such as Oregon Aglink board members Joe Beach and Pamela Lucht, but some new faces joined us as well! New board member Nicole Anderson of Wilco and frequent collaborator Pat Morrill from SAIF along with several others spent time at the booth making sure that every attendee had a chance to participate. Whether it’s a rainy spring day or the first sunshine of the year, a visit to Oregon Ag Fest is a memorable experience for many families in the area. Oregon Aglink is always happy to be there and share our time and passion for agriculture!
Staff member Cate Stuart poses a trivia question about Oregon Agriculture to a family by the prize wheel. WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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Flipping the Script on Safety BY ALLISON CLOO
How did Anissa Branch and her son Dylan know that the safety culture had changed at Riddell Farms? Instead of avoiding the meetings, employees started asking if they could attend. The farm grows turf and forage grass seed, specialty seeds, cover crops, and hazelnuts on 4,700 acres around Monmouth. That means a lot of equipment and people on the road between the central farmhouse office and fields in all directions. Employees from all parts of the farm gather in a circle of chairs for a monthly safety meeting and staff lunch on the ground floor of the stucco farmhouse on Riddell Road. The sandwiches are a draw, but the atmosphere is obviously part of the appeal. While a few employees are comfortably lounging on a couch and one rests his shoulder against the doorframe, others are leaned forward in their chairs. Everyone is engaged in the agenda, offering their thoughts and nodding along with reminders about seatbelt usage and updates on harvest procedures. When someone mentions their mild knee injury, it’s the other employees who speak up about jumping down from tractors and other vehicles. One shakes their finger gently, and they all agree: “We don’t do that anymore!” The Former Normal “Safety in the past was common sense mostly,” says Anissa Branch. “Thanks to my father’s charm we had a great relationship with our OSHA inspector, but for the most part, we discouraged outside regulations and believed they
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were adversarial to us.” Things were changing with safety and OSHA, especially as the farm grew slowly over the years from five full-time employees to over twenty. “Being a small farm was no longer a free pass from the regulations and safety requirements,” says Branch, “Our longterm employees were fairly safe but we didn’t have specific operating procedures or rules for new employees. We were also not training consistently. I am actually surprised there were not more safety issues. I knew we had been lucky” Pulling Together An early attempt to enlist Kirk Lloyd of Lloyd’s Northwest LLC made for more regular meetings but no long-term shift in the safety culture on the farm. Around that time, two things happened: Branch began serving her term as president of Oregon Aglink and OSHA established its requirement of safety meetings for farms with fewer than ten full-time employees. With the combined efforts of Branch, Lloyd, and former Oregon Aglink executive director Geoff Horning, the first safety pod was formed. With Pearmine Farms, O. M. Cook Farms, and Wigrich Farms, the crew at Riddell Farms started a new routine. Instead of conducting monthly meetings independently, the farms went through a quarterly cycle with a safety inspection one month, a farm meeting the next month, and a group meeting with participants from all the pod farms in the third month. “We learned so much from each other—much more than just safety,” says Branch. By pooling their experiences, the nearmiss or accident at one small farm could educate employees at all of the farms involved. Moreover, the pod meetings became a space for sharing other procedures and resources. “It was so beneficial to hear other ideas and not live in our
own bubble,” Branch emphasizes, “This all led to us being more proactive about what we specifically envisioned for our farm.” “Our farm has never looked better or been more efficient” Over five years in the program, there were some shifts in personnel. New staff at Oregon Aglink and Lloyd Northwest stepped in to help run meetings at the same time as Anissa Branch’s son Dylan was hired to run the day to day operations of the farm and the number of employees rose to over twenty. A new safety coordinator is now appointed every six months to run meetings and adopt a special project, whether it’s mapping fire extinguisher locations or checking every tire on the farm. With time, regular meetings at Riddell Farms felt routine and were as well-attended as the group meetings with multiple farms. The most important shift? Employees were accountable to each other, and suggestions started coming from the bottom instead of the top. “Our employees are now constantly thinking of new ideas on how to be safer and more efficient,” says Branch. “It’s a daily task, not just one that we think about once a month. We strive to have a continuous process of improvement that flows into all aspects of the operation.”
the employee who has worked there for twenty-nine years to one who has only been at Riddell Farms for six months and may not have built up the same breadth of skills. The trainings also present an opportunity for staff to help each other, ask questions, and share knowledge. Calling In, Not Calling Out The sense of pride evident in the outward appearance of the farm is also evident during the safety meeting when everyone agrees that jumping off of vehicles is not something “we” do anymore. Corrections are made as a matter of calling people back into the group as opposed to singling someone out for their mistakes or bad behavior. When asked what safety problems might arise and how they would be handled, employees had several suggestions. If, for instance, “an employee sees another employee using a hand grinder or loading chemicals and they aren’t wearing [personal protective equipment]” the old response might have been to avoid saying anything “or worse, shame them a bit.” Now, Riddell Farms has flipped the script.
The benefits go beyond saving money on claims, she adds. The changes have brought “happier employees who feel valued, a more clean and organized work environment, cost savings because everyone is doing things the safe way which almost always is the best and most efficient way. Even if a safety measure takes a couple extra seconds, in the long run it saves down-time and money from accidents.”
“If someone sees [an employee not wearing personal protective equipment], they will hold them accountable in a way that says we care about you and your safety so please wear your PPE.” Another employee agrees, “Our safety culture and general farm culture is one that really strives to build people up, and if we see or hear about another employee not using positive reinforcement of our culture, it will be addressed immediately.”
Training as Incentive
Reaping the Rewards
Organization and efficiency are enviable goals on their own, but at Riddell Farms the shared trainings and refresher courses feel like treats instead of mandatory tasks for many of the employees. In fact, training is the biggest recommendation offered by Branch as a way of building skills and a sense of teamwork.
As the farm looks ahead toward the 2019 harvest, Dylan Branch taps his clipboard and talks about the potential safety issues ahead. One employee recently had a problem with her blood sugar dropping, and a few fellow employees had noticed her drowsiness. This leads to a conversation about fatigue and checking in with each other . The summer months will be busy, of course, but the farm has already planned a mid-harvest safety meeting where everyone can regroup, report on their work, and recalibrate as necessary.
“Learning is challenging and can be fun” says Branch. “We brought a welding instructor in for a half day to refresh everyone on basic welding and safety in welding. We have a fire extinguisher company come in once a year before harvest to do a quick training. We also did a first aid/CPR course last year and now everyone on our farm is CPR certified for three years.” “All of these are team building as well as enforcing our safety culture and spicing work up, which translates to better teamwork and productivity.” The training brings everyone together on the same page—from
There are unavoidable hazards with farming in general and harvest in particular, but the attitude here is one of being proactive rather than reactive. Preparation and accident prevention can’t get in the way of the actual business of farming, but Riddell Farms sees a way to manage that balance to everyone’s benefit.
Thank You Oregon Aglink would like to thank the following farmers and ranchers for giving their time to the Adopt a Farmer program this past school year. Together with their families, employees, and guests from processors to consultants, these farmers and ranchers volunteered hundreds of hours to reach thousands of Oregon middle school students.
Tom & Tim Aman / Aman Bros LLC
Brendon Johnson / Johnson Livestock
Shelly Boshart Davis / SJB Farms
Dave & Diane Kunkel / Columbia Farms
Hans Coon / Oak Park Farms
Lauren Lucht / NW Transplants
Blake Crosby / Crosby Hop Farms
Molly McCargar / Pearmine Farms
Bob Crouse / Fort Vannoy Farms
Treda McCaw / Kraemer’s Nursery
Mindy Duerst / Ioka Farms
Denver Pugh / Pugh Farms
Ryan Farrell / Bauman Farm & Garden
Angela Rose & Lori Loe / Triangle Farms
Crystal & McKayla Fricker / Pure-Seed
Jesse & Lucas Rue / Victor Point Farms
Skip Gray / Gray Farms
Anna & Jason Scharf / Scharf Farms
Darren Hayworth / Hayworth Farms
Dick Severson / Severson Farms
Bobbi Frost / Harrold’s Dairy
Darleen & Ben Sichley / Abiqua Acres Dairy
Tristan Stagg / Bashaw Land & Seed
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I WORK FOR
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WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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2019 SUMMER EVENTS WELCOME NEW MEMBERS! Abby Fitts, LLC Wilson Cattle Co.
NEW OFFICE LOCATION OPEN HOUSE September, Date TBD
45th Parallel Building | Salem, OR Watch aglink.org for updates
FRIENDS OF OREGON AG GOLF TOURNAMENT August 9th, Tee-time 8am
Know someone who should join? Share this magazine with them! They can contact us at info@aglink.org with questions or sign up for membership at www.aglink.org/membership
Chehalem Glenn Golf Course | Newberg, OR Register your team at aglink.org
DENIM & DIAMONDS DINNER AND AUCTION November 22nd
Salem Convention Center | Salem, OR
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The 22nd Annual Denim & Diamonds Dinner and Auction November 22, 2019 | 5pm Presented by
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Produced by
Executive NOTES More Choices Than Chance
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 Cindy Cook, Cook Family Farms 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 Randy Lyons, NORPAC 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 Kelly Ross, Oregon Fairs Association Dick Severson, Severson Farms Mark Shipman, Saalfeld Griggs Sam Taylor, Pacific Ag Solutions
Half of the top eight deadliest professions in the United States? Logging, fishing, truck driving, and farming/ranching - ranking 1, 2, 7, and 8 respectively. I love to pore over statistics, but that one from the 2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries by the US Department of Labor is easily my least favorite of them all. Have you ever had one of those stories that gets stuck in your throat? For many in agriculture and similar industries, it’s a story that is one of those deadly statistics. That painful story is the human connection to the myriad of statistics we have relating to safety in this industry. Growing up, I remember my dad teaching me how to drive a tractor and to be safe above all else. We were never to be in too big of a hurry and sacrifice our safety. Now working in agriculture, I certainly have heard a fair share of stories — everything from close calls of broken bones to lost limbs to fatal accidents. One Saturday evening this spring, news of a farm accident in my hometown knocked the wind out of me. Kirk Burkholder, a friend and fellow participant in Class 2 of REAL Oregon, lost his life in a forklift accident — now a void left in the lives of so many friends and family. We know that agriculture, forestry, and the transportation to get product to market comes with an element of danger. The very elements and means that make production possible are often the source of the most risk: machinery, animals, asphyxiation, falls, entanglements, electrocution, heatstroke — the list goes on. Moving parts, long hours, time-sensitive and sometimes repetitive work, weather, age, sleep, mental health, and more all play a part in safety on the job. While the danger is clearly present, there are choices to make (often over and over again) when it comes to safety. Most people are guilty of unsafe choices like taking a shortcut to get something done or operating machinery on too few hours of sleep, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look to identify areas to improve safety on our operations so everyone makes it home each day. Just because you’ve always done it one way and never had a problem, doesn’t mean that will always be the case. Safety is not where you want to play the odds. On your operation, do you spend time on safety improvements like you do planning your crop rotation, fertilizing, planting, spraying, or even budgeting? Creating a culture of safety can not only save your operation from becoming a statistic, but it improves morale and saves money in the long run. One of the best parts of cultivating a culture of safety on your operation is that it can be rooted in choice. Just like solving the dozens of problems a day on the farm, you can identify safety hazards and choose to focus your energy, time, and resources where it’s most needed. For example, knowing that in 2016, two out of every five workplace deaths were transportation related — a majority of which were farmers and truck drivers — might make you decide to implement the use walkie talkies instead of cell phones for employees moving equipment down a road. We all wish that stuck-in-your-throat story we know first-hand wasn’t true and unfortunately, these dangers in the natural resource industry work are not news. As harvest ramps up, slows down, and ends, I hope you spend more time than you did last year, last month, and last week choosing to be safe. It’s a choice we all make every time we are out on a farm, ranch, boat, or truck — for ourselves, our families, and those who are no longer with us.
Mallory Phelan Executive Director WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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