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February 3, 2017 CapitalPress.com 11 Oregon SAGE Center tells Eastern Oregon agriculture’s story Entering its fourth year, ag museum eyes long-term messaging By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group BOARDMAN, Ore. — The story of agriculture and energy production in Eastern Oregon is an increasingly high-tech narrative, replete with GPS-driven tractors, wind and solar power and ir- rigation pivots controlled by the touch of a smartphone. So when the Port of Mor- row set out to highlight these industries, it devised a mod- ern museum with interac- tive features to show visitors where their food and electrici- ty comes from. Three years later, the Sus- tainable Agriculture and En- ergy — or SAGE — Center continues to find its footing as a tourist destination along In- terstate 84, advertising as far as Portland and the Tri-Cities while also hosting local job fairs and community events. Kalie Davis, SAGE Center manager, said they are seeing signs of progress: last year’s Morrow County Harvest Fes- tival drew more than 1,000 people in a single day, and new television commercials boosted general admission by about 14 visitors per day during the month of June. Annual visitation, howev- er, has been mostly flat, av- eraging 19,507 people with no year-to-year increase. By comparison, the Colum- bia Gorge Discovery Cen- ter in The Dalles had 27,795 visitors (not including tour groups from Columbia River cruise lines), and the National Historic Oregon Trail Inter- pretive Center in Baker City had 41,221 visitors. Looking ahead, Davis said the SAGE Center will contin- ue marketing to the Portland metro area and Tri-Cities, with another round of ads to begin in March. Davis also plans to attend this year’s Or- egon Ag Fest at the State Fair- grounds in April. It is important, Davis said, for people to understand how their food is made, processed and shipped. That’s what the SAGE Center offers, through exhibits such as a video trac- tor game, mock french fry processing line and video board that displays where products are exported around the world. “People who come in are typically very confused about what they’re going to see,” Davis said. “As they go through, they’re just wowed by all these industries located in such a small region.” Visitors normally would not be able to tour these facil- ities, Davis said, due to food safety and security regula- tions. The SAGE Center is a way for them to better under- stand how farm and energy technology works. “I think it’s fascinating for people to learn how far things have come over the last hun- dred years,” Davis said. The SAGE Center operates with the backing and support of the Port of Morrow, Or- egon’s second-largest port, with approximately 50 busi- nesses generating more than $100 million in tax revenue for the state. Gary Neal, general manag- er at the port, initially wanted to create a museum in 2001 af- ter Tillamook Cheese opened a new cheese-making plant in Boardman but did not include a visitor center like the one it has in Tillamook. Instead, Neal thought the port could shine a spotlight on all the natural resource-based industries it serves, from mak- ing cheese and potato chips to electricity and ethanol. “These are some of the most sophisticated operations in the world here,” Neal said. “We need to tell that story.” Early designs for the SAGE Center called for a 10,000-square-foot box- shaped building, though the final building would be three times as large with a silo-themed exterior, movie E.J. Harris/EO Media Group The SAGE Center opened its doors on June 1, 2013, and averag- es 19,507 visitors a year. E.J. Harris/EO Media Group A group of women from the Oregon and Washington potato commissions tours the SAGE Center on Jan. 25 in Boardman, Ore. theater and additional confer- ence space. The SAGE Center opened June 1, 2013, and cost $8.2 million to build. Roughly $3.7 million came from the state and $4.5 million came from the port. “We think it’s a first-class facility,” Neal said. “We’re pretty proud of it.” Over the last three fiscal years, Neal said the port has continued to cover between $400,000 and $600,000 per year in operating costs at the center. However, with a $40 million capital budget, he said the port is happy to continue supporting the center. “We didn’t get into this lightly,” Neal said. “It’s not a routine thing that we do, but it’s something important that we felt we needed to do.” Neal said the SAGE Cen- ter was never intended to be self-supporting. Education, not money, is the goal, and he believes they are doing a good job at the center. Others at the port and around the region agree. Debbie Radie, vice presi- dent of operations for Board- man Foods — an onion processor that employs 175 people — said many of their customers have a specific in- terest in sustainable farming and energy efficiency. The SAGE Center is a place where Radie said she can bring customers to learn about how those farming practices work. “Sometimes people are misinformed and not under- standing how sustainable the water use is here,” Radie said. “I think the SAGE Center showcases that well.” Radie said employees at Boardman Foods also appre- ciate being able to bring their kids and families to the SAGE Center for movie nights or ac- tivities. “That just helps support a way of life that people enjoy,” she said. James Bradshaw, director of the energy systems tech- nology program at Walla Walla Community College, said he brings 30 to 40 stu- dents every year to the Agri- culture and Energy Job Fair, where they can network with about 30 different potential employers. 5-2/#4N
