8
CapitalPress.com
October 2, 2015
Oregon
Oregon Ag Department developing new strategic plan
process.
“It’s got to be something
that’s used on a day-to-day
basis,” Sarazin said at the re-
cent Oregon Board of Agri-
culture meeting in Boardman.
The department decided to
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
update
its strategic plan be-
Capital Press
cause the most recent version
BOARDMAN, Ore. — was completed before ODA
The Oregon Department of Director Katy Coba was ap-
Agriculture is drawing up a pointed in D003, said Bruce
new strategic plan to guide Pokarney, the agency’s com-
the agency’s activities in the munications director.
future.
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The goal is to develop a what we do well and what we
document that’s actually use- need to improve upon,” he
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than gathering dust on a shelf,
To that end, members of
said Ron Sarazin, a consultant the Oregon Board of Agri-
who’s assisting ODA with the culture weighed in on the
Agency faces new
challenges as
agriculture evolves
Capital Press File
Oregon Department of Agri-
culture Director Katy Coba is
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challenges facing the agency,
including:
• Coexistence: The farming
industry, and by extension the
ODA, is struggling with coex-
istence among different types
of agriculture, said Coba.
The battle over cross-polli-
nation between biotech, con-
ventional and organic crops is
a prominent example, but the
issue isn’t limited to genetic
engineering, she said.
A similar dispute involves
hemp and marijuana, as well
as canola and the specialty
seeds that are related to that
crop, Coba said.
• Water: ODA is rolling out
a program to increase its over-
sight of water quality in “stra-
tegic implementation areas”
throughout the state, which
involves identifying problems
and persuading landowners
to correct them. The agency
aims for voluntary compli-
ance but can issue civil penal-
ties if landowners refuse.
While the agency has
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its water quality program, the
objectives yet to be accom-
plished are “daunting and the
resources are limited,” said
board member Steve Van
Mouwerik, vice president of
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forage and residue harvesting
company.
Even when the ODA does
ensure that a landowner cor-
rects water quality problems,
the same property can easily
slip back into non-compli-
ance when it changes hands,
said board member Doug
Krahmer, a blueberry farmer
in the Willamette Valley.
• Outreach: Some non-tra-
ditional farmers, such as those
in urban areas, don’t know
how to access services pro-
vided by the ODA or don’t
feel like the agency speaks for
them, said Laura Masterson,
the board’s chair and a Port-
land-area farmer.
Such growers often aren’t
involved in commodity com-
missions and other traditional
channels that ODA is used to
working through, she said.
Threemile Canyon general manager appointed to Oregon Ag Board
the advisory board, which
makes policy recommenda-
tions for the Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture, due to
his past experience with task
forces on dairy air quality and
biotechnology, as well as his
involvement in international
trade programs.
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than take hard line positions,”
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
he said.
Capital Press
The appointment is not
Marty Myers, the general without controversy, however.
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Friends of Family Farm-
and crop farm in Boardman, ers, a group that advocates for
Ore., has been appointed to the environmentally responsible
Oregon Board of Agriculture.
agriculture, criticized Brown’s
The company he operates, choice as misguidedly bending
Threemile Canyon Farms, has to corporate farming.
about 50,000 cows and raises
“For us, it shows the gov-
potatoes and organic produce ernor wants to take agriculture
on more than 90,000 acres in in the direction of industrial-
the Columbia River Basin.
ization,” said Ivan Maluski, the
“I’ve got a diverse back- group’s policy director.
ground in agriculture,” said
Maluski said Threemile
Myers, noting that he worked Canyon Farms isn’t represen-
on farms through high school tative of sustainable farming
and college.
in Oregon because it’s a “me-
Myers said Oregon Gov. ga-operator” that causes air
Kate Brown asked him to join pollution and generates large
Marty Myers’
appointment met
with criticism from
Friends of Family
Farmers
EO Media Group File
Marty Myers, general manager of Threemile Canyon Farms, talks with employee Tom Chavez about
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amounts of manure.
It’s also concerning that
Myers will be able to guide
ODA policies that affect his
company, which could create
DFRQÀLFWRILQWHUHVWVDLG0D-
luski. “They don’t need special
access.”
Myers said it was offensive
to label his operation as a “fac-
tory farm,” as it’s run by two
families.
“It’s a group of families that
have come together and we’re
farming,” he said.
The dairy has a digester that
captures methane from manure
and turns it into renewable en-
ergy, Myers said. “When you
look at air quality, we’re very
proud of what we do.”
The company employs 300
full-time employees and is
regularly subject to customer
audits to ensure animal wel-
fare and other best practices, he
said. “Large does not mean it’s
bad. It gives the critical mass to
do things the right way.”
The controversy over My-
ers’ appointment was brought
XSGXULQJKLV¿UVWERDUGPHHW-
ing in Boardman, which took
place Sept. DD-D4 and included
a tour of Threemile Canyon
Farms.
Craig Reeder, general man-
ager of Hale Farms, said he was
troubled by the personal attack
on Myers, whom he emotional-
ly described as a mentor in the
agricultural industry.
Oregon Department of Ag-
riculture Director Katy Coba
said she took the criticism of
Myers’ appointment personally
and objected to the implication
that the agency only supports
large agriculture.
National FFA membership increases by 3 percent
By MITCH LIES
40-1/#7
For the Capital Press
The National FFA Founda-
tion announced Sept. D8 that
national FFA membership has
reached record numbers and is
up more than D0 percent from
D009-10.
The foundation announced
membership in the national
FFA organization now stands
at 6D9,367, a 3 percent in-
crease from last year.
The number of chapters
also increased, from 7,665 in
D014 to 7,757 in D015, accord-
ing to the announcement.
“FFA, through agricultur-
al education, is preparing our
youth to ensure the security of
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natural resources for years to
come,” said National FFA Or-
ganization CEO Dwight Arm-
strong in a prepared statement.
“Through real-world experi-
ences, the nation’s agricultural
educators are helping students
Courtesy of Meridian, Idaho, FFA Yearbook Staff
Reserve Grand Champion FFA Swine Showman Ashlee Bowen of
the Meridian, Idaho, FFA chapter poses with the Western Idaho Fair’s
swine judge. Ashlee’s breeding gilt won Reserve Grand Champion at
the same fair. National FFA membership is up 3 percent this year.
develop the technical knowl-
edge, skills and problem-solv-
ing capabilities to be the indus-
try’s leaders of tomorrow.
“FFA continues to grow
leaders, build communities
and strengthen agriculture,” he
said.
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bership are Texas, California,
Georgia, Oklahoma and Mis-
souri, according to the an-
nouncement.
Oregon membership num-
bers also are up, said Kevin
White, executive director of
the Oregon FFA Foundation,
increasing from 5,3D3 in D013-
14 to 5,588 in D014-15. Going
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bership has increased more
than 17 percent, White said.
Asked why he believed
membership has grown in
recent years, White echoed
much of what Armstrong said.
SAGE Fact #118
Dams on the Columbia and Snake
Rivers create large reservoirs that
allow barges to navigate more than
465 miles from the Pacific Ocean
to Lewiston, Idaho.
Visit the SAGE Center:
Sunday - Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday & Saturday 10am - 6pm
40-1/#4N
40-4/#6