AgLink
Growing Oregon Agriculture through Education and Promotion
JAN-MAR 2020
Member Feature: Naumes Inc.
PRST STD US Postage PAID Portland, OR Permit No. 5
President’s JOURNAL
Our Work is Growing The holidays were a great time to reflect on the previous year and express thanks for what we have and what we do. We can be thankful for the food and fiber we grow or produce. We can be grateful that we are associated with such amazing and passionate people who truly love what they do every single day in spite of the challenges.
Growing Oregon Agriculture through Education and Promotion
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 1
NEW LOCATION 2195 Hyacinth St NE Suite 105 Salem, OR 97301 971-600-0466 www.aglink.org
Some of those amazing people are individuals who love to educate others about amazing dedicated farmers throughout our state. Among them are the staff, board members, volunteers, and donors of Oregon Aglink who work together to teach but also continue to learn about each other and share our stories. Being associated with organizations like Oregon Aglink enables us to reach more people with our common message: this state is amazing, our agricultural industry works hard, and we should be proud of what we do.
Megan Thompson, President Cascade Cherry Growers
Many farming operations can take a little break in the coldest months, but there are many others for whom this is still “harvest season.” Dairy, timber, crabbers, and fishermen are out there in the cold and the rain, and the people who process, pack, and ship our Oregon products are busy as well.
Abisha Stone, Treasurer SEDCOR
People need food 365 days a year, not just when food is harvested. The innovations that have allowed us to store, preserve, and ship goods all over the world and throughout the year has given society better access to the Oregon products we are so proud to grow. As we transition into this new year and set our goals and resolutions, please let us know what yours look like. Are you hoping to get involved? Start something new? Who will be working alongside you, and who can you help with your own knowledge and resources? Let’s reflect on what went right in 2019, and think about how we can all continue stronger for 2020.
Megan Thompson Oregon Aglink President
OFFICERS
Fred Geschwill, Vice President F & B Farms Michelle Markesteyn, 2nd Vice Rootopia
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
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.
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Agricultural S h ow
JAN 15–17
SAL E M, OR EGON
OREGON STATE FAIRGROUNDS 2 3 3 0 1 7 t h St re e t N E S a l e m , O R 9 7 3 0 1
For more information visit,
NorthwestAgShow.com
Look for the Show Guide January 4th in Capital Press
OVER
Annual Membership Meeting thursday, January 16th Cascade Hall Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem
all members welcome 10:30am Board of Directors Meeting 12:15pm Lunch & Networking 12:45pm Annual Membership Meeting 1:15pm
Translating Farm to Food
120 EXHIBITORS & PARTNERS
Presenter: Michele Payn, author of “Food Truths from Farm to Table”
MORE THAN
Go beyond telling a story to connect with food consumers on issues such as sustainability, animal welfare, hormones, food waste, chemicals, GMOs and more — based on her book “Food Truths from Farm to Table.” One of North America’s leading experts in connecting farm and food, she serves as a resource for people around the plate.
20 seminars & workshops
3 BIG DAYS IN 3 BUILDINGS Northwest Ag Show Sponsors
FREE lunch for the first 75 who register thanks to Pape Machinery and Rabo Agrifinance. Register online at aglink.org, info@aglink.org or call/text 971-600-0466
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OUR ANNUAL DENIM & DIAMONDS AUCTION AND DINNER BROUGHT NEW SPONSORS, NEW FACES, AND NEW HONOREES TO THE SALEM CONVENTION CENTER ON NOVEMBER 22, 2019.
With over five hundred guests perusing the silent auction and bidding each other up at dinner, we had one of our best years ever raising money for programs like Adopt a Farmer. The 2019 Agriculturist of the Year award was shared by Dave and Rita Doerfler of Ioka Farms in Silverton, and Dona Coon of Oak Park Farms in Shedd took home the Ag Connection award. You can learn more about both award winners in the last issue of AgLink magazine or by visiting our website at aglink.org.
Dave and Rita Doerfler, center, were joined by family, friends, and colleagues from Ioka Farms.
The silent auction area was nearly double the size of last year, so guests had plenty of room to browse and bid. 4 AgLink
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Board Member Joe Beach of Capital Press, left, stands with Lisa Hendrickson of Northwest Farm Credit Services, middle left, and with Candy and Brent Fetsch, 2017 Ag Connection winner.
Oregon FFA President Josiah Cruikshank introduced the new Adopt a Farmer video.
Auctioneer Paul Schultz and his ring men kept the action moving swiftly during dinner while former FFA president Shea Booster announced items.
Dona Coon of Oak Park Farms, left, accepts the Ag Connection award from Oregon Aglink President Megan Thompson.
Oregon Aglink Executive Director Mallory Phelan thanks everyone who made the evening possible.
The newest Denim & Diamonds feature is the after party. This was its second year, and guests enjoyed the chance to continue their conversations after the auction. WWW.AGLINK.ORG
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Member Feature:
Naumes Inc. BY ALLISON CLOO
Once you realize that the average orchardist or fruit packer in Oregon will likely recognize the Naumes name, you’ll start to understand the impact the family has had on the industry from their home in the scenic Rogue Valley.
crews,” says Laura Naumes, current vice president. Over the years, fluctuating markets, land issues, and regulations have prompted the company to shift their operations as needed, but the company is still proud to manage pears as growers, packers, and shippers to domestic and international buyers.
Based in Medford, with acres and facilities in Washington and California, the Naumes family has a rich history in Oregon.
Naumes grows nine varieties of pears — Bartlett, Starkrimson, French Butter, Anjou, Red Anjou, Comice, Red Comice, Seckel and Bosc. “The cultivation of various varietals allows us to meet customer demands for mixed pear loads in addition to full loads,” says Laura. “Having multiple varieties also breaks up the harvest so that we are not trying to bring the entire crop in all at once.” The full harvest usually runs from late July to mid or late September, with packing and shipping following through winter.
While Joe Naumes founded Naumes Inc. in 1946 with a partner, Steve Nye, the family started its venture into pears one generation earlier. His father was Peter Naumes, a railroader with the Chicago North Line, who moved west in 1907 to try his luck with apples in Hood River. Many farming and ranching families will recognize the ebb and flow of major events and generational progress that create the rhythm of an Oregon agricultural family. Two world wars and the Great Depression were hard on the industry but presented opportunities. First, Peter Naumes moved operations from Hood River to Medford. Then, son Joe Naumes returned from his service in the Navy to start his own pear business with Steve Nye, eventually buying out Nye’s shares in the early 1960s and branding the Naumes Inc. we know today. The next generation — Pete, Mike, and Sue — came to the Naumes Inc. with their own experiences in Vietnam and college, leading to another expansion into their first California branch of the business. Later acquisitions in Washington turned it into a three-state operation. Mike’s children with his wife Laura represent the newest set of faces in the family. Triplets Sean, Joe, and Cynthia have all finished college, and the boys have returned to Medford to help with technology and logistics at Naumes Inc.
Diversification Today, the agricultural operations of Naumes Inc. are centered in Oregon and Washington, with sites in California for cold storage and ambient temperature storage. “Diversification provides a number of benefits including multiple income streams, protection from severe localized weather or disease events and provides year round work 6 AgLink
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Pears may be the signature Naumes crop, but diversification of product has been as important as diversification of sites and services. Depending on their holdings in Washington and California, the company has grown other orchard fruits, such as peaches, cherries, and apples. Their current sites in Washington produce Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, and Golden Delicious apples; cherry varieties include Bing, Coral, and Lapin. The latest Naumes venture is wine grapes, with their first varieties planted in Medford in 2013 to fill some blank ground and test the market. After their early successes in the vineyard, they have expanded from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Grenache to the newly planted Malbec, Syrah, Viognier, and Barbera.
Challenges and Innovation Like other industries, pear operations like Naumes have had to be creative in adapting to pressures like regulation and labor availability. “One of the largest developments and challenges in the pear industry over the last few decades was the introduction of PLU sticker requirements from retailers in the early 90s,” says Laura. “Packing houses had to change from the old rope sizer system to in-line electronic weight sizers that could program the stickers.” As a result of the new requirements, Naumes consolidated their packing houses. Upgrading all of the line would have been prohibitively expensive, so three packing houses became one packing house with three of the updated lines.
Similarly, dealing with labor challenges means that labor-saving technology is a boon to Naumes Inc. According to Laura, the wine grapes seem like the best place to take advantage of new developments in automation. “Vineyard trellis allows for the deployment of mechanized hedgers, pre-pruners, cultivators, leaf-pullers, and even machine harvesting,” she says. Naumes is currently running a mechanical hedger and is looking at other implements for labor savings. The company still employs 100 to 150 year-round employees and another 350 seasonal employees from the Medford area, but the investments in equipment and new technology are a way of keeping the company flexible for future challenges. The two Naumes boys currently involved in the business have found their own niches: Sean is mostly involved with growing and packing operations, whereas his brother Joe will be focusing on technology and operating systems. “One of the best parts about working with the company,” says Sean “is that I not only get to work with my immediate family but also the managers and workers who I’ve known and learned from since I was a kid. It’s pretty amazing to see how many of our employees have had thirty or forty plus years of service with the company.” b
… Joe Naumes achieved his remarkable “ professional and material accomplishments through high personal integrity, intellectual foresight, extreme diligence and great personal warmth. Joe Naumes was a faithful steward of the land and a faithful steward of the pear industry. He possessed the vision of the united, profitable, healthful and socially responsible pear industry and the energy and dedication to bring that vision to reality. He had as well the spirit and grace to inspire others to labor toward that same goal. There is no facet, nor member of this industry that has not been enriched by these extraordinary qualities of Joe Naumes. — Excerpt from a resolution by the Oregon, Washington, California Pear Bureau after the death of Joe Naumes in 1989.
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NEW MEMBER Q&A:
TDF Honest Farming Known by many as the Tillamook Dairy Farmer on social media, Derrick Josi is a dairy farmer operating (and posting) out of Tillamook county, where he raises his family and a herd of Jerseys. We had a chance to ask him some questions after he recently joined Oregon Aglink.
Q: As a new member, you signed up with your TDF Honest Farming brand. Can you explain a little about how that relates to your business as a dairy owner and operator? A: I signed up as TDF because it’s how I interface with the public giving me a legal barrier between my online presence and my farm. Sometimes I say some controversial things and need that buffer to protect my livelihood.
Q: When new Oregon Aglink members sign up, the application includes their primary products. You listed yours as "sarcasm and social media," which is a first for Oregon Aglink! What sort of "market" have you found for those as a farmer who engages with the public on a regular basis? A: Yeah that was a little tongue in cheek but seemed appropriate for what I do online. As anyone who puts themselves online knows you run into people who aren’t very nice. I’ve found that people gravitate to my way of replying. I think it’s a good mixture of education for those involved with a little slap of reality. It lets the antagonists know that I won’t put up with their horrible comments.
that video is the best avenue for that as they see what’s happening in real time.
Q: Do you follow any personal rules or principles when you share content or respond to comments? A: Yes, I restrict myself to two replies. If after that they are still combative it’s a waste of my time and I’m better off interacting with people actually looking to learn. As for sharing content, I don’t share anything I feel is misleading or inaccurate.
Q. At Oregon Aglink, we frequently ask farmers and ranchers "What do you wish the public knew about your business?" Let's switch it up: what do you wish other farmers and ranchers knew about effectively reaching the public through social media? A: I wish we would stop agsplaining (yes, I coined that term). We spend so much time trying to counter emotional topics with facts without asking people why they feel the way they do. We also become our own worst enemy when we don’t understand how social media and their algorithms work. Every time we swarm a post by activists it gives it a broader audience.
Tillamook Dairy Farmer Derrick Josi, owner of TDF Honest Farming Brand
Q. How has your approach to social media changed over time? What did your posts look like when you started, and what do they look like now? A: Great question, I started with the mindset I was going to educate with facts and explain the truth to people. I’ve moved toward more of a conversation about my daily life and let people come to their own conclusions. I’ve found 8 AgLink
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Derrick Josi and his wife Kaycee.
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2020 WINTER EVENTS January 16 . 12-3 pm
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
Heuberger Farms TDF Honest Farming
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
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OREGON AGLINK ANNUAL MEETING State Fairgrounds and Expo Center Salem, OR
January 15-17
NORTHWEST AGRICULTURE SHOW State Fairgrounds and Expo Center Salem, OR
April 25-26
OREGON AG FEST
State Fairgrounds and Expo Center Salem, OR
Executive NOTES “They Don’t Get It”
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 Brandon Emery, Corteva 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
When was the last time you changed your mind? I’m not talking about ordering a salad instead of the cheeseburger you wanted or deciding not to attend that social function you were invited to; I’m interested in the last time you shifted your view or perspective. It’s important to reflect on that question because it’s ultimately what we’re after as an industry from those removed from it: a shift in understanding regarding the practices and methods of Oregon’s farmers, ranchers, fishers, and foresters. The number of times I’ve heard some variation of “they don’t get it” from someone in Oregon’s natural resource industry referring to people who live in Portland or Eugene rivals the number I’ve heard (or read) people living in Oregon’s urban areas saying the same thing about their rural counterparts. It’s frustrating for everyone, but what are we doing about it? This disconnect can lessen when we work to better understand one another beyond labels of any affiliations, allegiances, or beliefs. I’d argue both sides are “right” about the other “not getting it.” We’ve lived in different environments, some for generations, and keep wondering why “the other” doesn’t get it. As the years pass, changing our perspective is certainly not something we do with much frequency for many reasons. How often children and adolescents change their mind about their view of the world is in stark contrast with adults. Generally speaking, they are more open to possibility, comfortable with risk, and accepting of new information to form their worldview. It’s one reason why the Oregon Aglink board of directors decided to focus our educational outreach efforts through the Adopt a Farmer program specifically in middle school classrooms nearly a decade ago. It’s the long game — these students will eventually be leaders, consumers, and voters in our society and positive experiences on the farm will help shape their understanding. One of the most effective ways to help people widen their perspective on what agriculture is (or isn’t) happens by giving them a first-hand experience on farming, ranching, and forestry operations. Observing day-to-day activities are unique, foreign, exciting, and impactful for someone who doesn’t live or work in our industry. If we know tours help people better understand agriculture operations by seeing it firsthand, maybe there’s perspective to gain by visiting Portland or Eugene for a reason beyond a concert, flight, or delivery to the port. Have you spent time in the city with the intent of better understanding the people — and done so without dreading the traffic, parking, or plethora of bike lanes? What if the gap in understanding between farm and fork could be lessened by learning more about what our urban neighbors do, where they’re from, and what challenges they face by meeting them where they live and work? As short session begins in the Oregon legislature, the national presidential election ramps up, and simply in your everyday life, I encourage you to pause and truly consider where someone else is coming from — to not make assumptions based on labels but seek to learn what experiences, circumstances, and influences have shaped their perspectives today. Ask questions. Meet up for coffee instead of behind the keyboard. Reflect on how you arrived at your own views and you’ll learn to recognize what plays into how others do the same. While this work can be nuanced and slow, it’s also rewarding and helps build a common ground beyond the silos we so easily operate.
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
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Bandon Central Point* Clackamas Eugene* Hermiston* Hillsboro*
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Hood River* Klamath Falls Salem* The Dalles* Wilsonville* Woodburn* *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.