WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
COMMENTARY
Leadership class tours agriculture facilities
sion Center. At Dow-DuPont
(formerly DuPont-Pioneer)
we learned about the hy-
Although I stifle the fact bridization of corn seeds,
like many bury family se- which are shipped to test-
crets, I was born and raised ing teams across the U.S. At
a city kid. Worse,
Madison Ranch-
actually — a sub-
es in Echo, we
urbanite.
I’ve
got bits of Aaron
Madison’s ency-
spent and loved
the last three years
clopedic knowl-
in rural Oregon,
edge about farm-
but still approach
ing, from how
parts of rural life
fields are irrigated
with the eyes of an
to ways technol-
outsider.
ogy has made
farming more ef-
That was never Jayati
clearer than last Ramakrishnan ficient.
At Shearer’s
Tuesday, when I
went with my Leadership Foods (a new stop for the
Hermiston class to its first class this year), we learned
themed session of the year, about the production and
“Ag Day.” Our class went to packaging sides of making
five places in the region, all potato, kettle and tortilla
of which make some con- chips. I overstayed my wel-
tribution to the agricultural come at the chip sampling
station, but also learned
industry.
We heard from Craig about the distribution of
Reeder, VP of Hale Compa- those products, some to ma-
nies. Phil Hamm found time jor chains around the region.
We ended the day at Bell-
in between making cracks
about my Oregon Ducks inger’s, where we learned
sweatshirt to talk about the that the storefront many of
work at the Hermiston Agri- us had already visited was
cultural Research and Exten- one component of a hun-
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
dreds-acre farm that grows
more than just the signature
watermelons.
It was an educational
day for me, partly because
it revealed how much I
didn’t know. Growing up
in the suburbs, you don’t
see a farm every day, and
when you do, it’s superficial
enough to get the idea that
farming is unskilled labor,
or that anybody can do it. I
suppose once I moved here,
I sort of realized that’s not
true, but it didn’t really reg-
ister until Tuesday. As Craig
Reeder spoke, my head spun
trying to keep up with his
all-encompassing knowl-
edge of the Columbia Basin
water system. When Aar-
on Madison started talking
about soil nutrient analysis,
I already knew I’d be look-
ing that one up at home.
What’s clear to me, and
what should be clear to any-
one who’s not in agriculture,
is how much planning, work
and institutional knowledge
goes into farming, as well
as a need to be flexible for
the changing world they’re
feeding.
It challenged my idea of
local food.
“Raw product and a 20
minute drive,” Reeder told
us, describing how all of the
steps in the supply chain can
be completed in the region,
and how much money is
generated from those steps.
Though it may not say so
on the packaging, there’s a
good chance if you’re eating
a potato product, or corn,
or onion, it is, in fact, from
around here.
I’m not gushing. I’ve
still got plenty of questions.
There’s quite a lot of food
waste, something I noticed
at several places we went
— and I would have liked
to hear more about how it’s
handled, or how to reduce it.
“What about GMOs?”
Shane Clayson of DuPont
dared us to ask, a glint in
his eye. He wasn’t the only
one. Reeder talked about the
different ways to handle a
problem in agriculture, us-
ing weeds as an example.
You can pull it out, but that
requires labor. Spray it, but
then you’re using chemicals.
You can learn to live with it
but your yield will suffer.
“GMOs are another po-
tential tool,” he said. “You
as a consumer have to de-
cide between those things.”
The Portlander in me
still isn’t fully convinced,
but I am convinced that Phil
Hamm was (cringe) right.
It’s worth caring about, and
it’s important to understand.
Whoever you are, whether
directly or indirectly, agri-
culture affects us all.
Ag Day tidbits
• Dow-DuPont grows and
hybridizes rice, sorghum,
alfalfa and cotton, but
only corn, soybeans and
wheat are grown in Herm-
iston.
• In addition to watermel-
ons, Bellinger’s grows
several crops including
alfalfa, wheat, cantaloupe,
tomatoes and pumpkins.
• Shearer’s Foods’ cus-
tomers include Kro-
ger, Win Co, and Food
Should Taste Good.
• Madison Ranches is
home to 18 wind tur-
bines, which generate
about 34 megawatts.
• Hermiston Agriculture
Research and Extension
Center is one of 12 ag-
ricultural
experiment
stations in the state, but
every county has an ex-
tension office.
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LANDMARK BAPTIST
CHURCH
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever
Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
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555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
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Sunday School - 9:30 AM
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6:00 PM
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1255 Hwy. 395 S. • 567-5834
oasisvineyard.us
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Worship 10:00 AM
567-3013
“come as you are”
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
NEW BEGINNINGS
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
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Pastor J.C. Barnett
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700 West Orchard Avenue
P.O. Box 933
Hermiston, Oregon
541-567-8441
1520 W ORCHARD AVE
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