| State Board of Agriculture |
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| Overview |
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During the 2005 legislative session, Oregon’s State Board of Agriculture redefined their role. The legislative assembly recognized that agriculture is an important component of Oregon’s economy and that sustainability of our state’s natural resources greatly affects the well being of all residents.
The legislature redefined the role of the board to read as follows:
“The State Board of Agriculture shall advise the State Department of Agriculture regarding the implementation, administration and enforcement of department programs and the development of department policies designed to positively affect the agricultural industry in this state, including but not limited to programs and policies to:
(a) Address the continuing changes and adjustments in agricultural industries.
(b) Foster the natural resources of the state to provide ample opportunities for productive and beneficial agricultural enterprise.
(c) Guide the department in ensuring the viability of the agricultural industry in this state.”
The State Board of Agriculture is now also required to submit a report on a biennial basis to the governor and legislative assembly regarding the status of the agricultural industry in the state.
The State Board of Agriculture is composed of ten members. Oregon’s governor appoints nine of the board members; the chair of Oregon Soil and Water Conservation Commission serves as the tenth member. The director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the dean of the College of Agriculture at Oregon State University, serve as ex-officio members.
State law requires seven of the appointed board members be actively engaged in the production of agricultural commodities and that the governor seek to ensure that these members reflect the diverse nature of agricultural commodity production within Oregon. Two board members shall be appointed who are not actively involved in the agricultural industry to be representatives of the public interests.
Board members can be contacted through the Oregon Department of Agriculture, 635 Capitol Street NE, Salem OR, 97301-2532, 503-986-4552.
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| Bob Levy, Chair |
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Second term - serving 7/15/2008 to 7/14/2012
Like many folks in ag, Bob Levy knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life from a young age. “I have always had an affection for ranching and farming, and I’ve never intended to do anything else,” he says. That affection has culminated in a trio of separate farming and ranching operations in Eastern Oregon as well as a spot on the State Board of Agriculture. In many ways, Bob Levy typifies the drive and determination of the Oregon farmer to succeed as a producer. He is now doing what he can to ensure success for all of Oregon agriculture, especially that which exists east of the Cascades. It is never easy to make a living in a land where water is so precious a commodity. “There have been some very difficult times in the irrigated farming business over the past 30 years,” says Levy. “Swings in economic conditions, controversy over water, and endangered species issues have given me a broad perspective on agriculture’s relationship to our environment.” The Levy family has been an agricultural mainstay in the Columbia Basin. Bob and his son Bill are partners in Windy River Land Company, an irrigated farming operation in the Hermiston-Boardman area. The company leases farmland, owned by the Levys that produces green peas, lima beans, grass seed, corn, asparagus, alfalfa, mint, and wheat among other crops. Bob is also president of American Onion, Inc., which grows and packs onions in the area. The sweet onions are marketed both nationally and internationally. Third, Bob assists in the daily management of a closely held family corporation headquartered in Pendleton that produces wheat, cattle, sheep, and timber. “Mine is the third generation that is actively involved in management of the business,” says Levy.Born and raised, of course, on a farm near Pendleton, Levy graduated from Oregon State University with a masters degree in agricultural economics. He worked as a field representative for potato processor Lamb Weston but eventually found his way back to the day-to-day job of farming. When the potato market changed for the worse, Levy began to diversify. “My family background and education prepared me to farm and that is always what I wanted to do,” says Levy. With four grown children and a wife, Bobby, who teaches at Blue Mountain Community College, Levy has taken his time and talent statewide. Appointed to Governor Kulongoski’s transition team more than two years ago, Levy provided an important voice for agriculture as the newly elected governor developed strategies and positions. He has added that voice to the Board of Agriculture as one of its newest members. “It is an honor and privilege to serve in an organization that has the best interest of Oregon agriculture at heart,” says Levy. “The natural resource industries are the most important industries in the state. The economic well-being of forestry and agriculture are the keys to the long-term success of our land-use system, health of our rural communities, protection of the environment, and reestablishment of healthy streams. Policy set by the Board of Agriculture will help the state achieve long-term sustainability in what is important to the citizens of Oregon.” Like so many others who have always known they would be farmers, Levy is working hard for the benefit of Oregon agriculture.
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| Bernie Faber |
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Third term - serving 9/1/2006 to 9/29/2010
Bernie is a big believer in the concept of teamwork.
"I´ve always thought if producers worked together on something, the end result would benefit all producers," says Bernie Faber, who brings his powers of collaboration and expertise from years of service to the dairy industry.
Just about all of Bernie´s life has been associated with the dairy industry. Growing up on a Southern California farm, Faber´s parents decided to sell the dairy business when he was 12. That didnÍt keep Bernie from a future career with milk production. When he and his wife Mary Lou started to raise a family of two boys and a girl, they saw an opportunity to go north and start a dairy in Oregon.
"Raising kids in a concrete jungle was not the way to go," says Faber.
For five years, the Fabers rented land on which their cows grazed and produced milk. In 1974, they were finally able to buy land in West Salem on which the present dairy sits. Bernie´s two sons help run the operation, which has allowed him to get involved in the politics of the dairy industry. He has served on a number of boards including the Oregon Dairy Farmers, the Dairy Commission, the Creamery Board, and the relatively new Northwest Milk Marketing Federation. His efforts have led to relatively strong and stable prices for dairy producers in Oregon and Washington.
One of his goals as a Board of Agriculture member is to ensure that the Oregon Department of Agriculture continues to comply with administering its laws and regulations, but in a farm friendly fashion.
Despite his soft spoken nature, Bernie has found himself something of a media celebrity of late. Through a joint agreement between Portland General Electric and the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, the Faber farm has been chosen for a pilot project to turn cow manure into a renewable resource in the form of electricity. A methane digester that makes use of animal waste has been installed and will be watched closely to see if this is the wave of the future for other Oregon dairies. Faber hopes it will help address waste management problems as well as provide much needed low-cost energy „ green power that can be marketed commercially. The pilot project could be ready for operation in time for the new year. TV cameras and newspaper reporters have eagerly come to his farm for an interview and the story.
Bernie is anxious to see how it all works out. As far as he is concerned, it is well worth the effort and it really isn´t much of a risk to his operation.
This could be a big winner or a small loser, says Faber.
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| Dan Carver |
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Second term - Serving 9/5/2007 to 9/4/2011
Some would say the future of Oregon agriculture is personified by Dan Carver. At the heart of his successful philosophy is a concept that is increasingly being recognized by growers and producers across the state: good stewardship of land and water is good for the bottom line. Economics and environment go hand in hand.
"As a producer, you need to look at yourself as a land manager," says Carver. "I have realized more profit with less impact on land and water by using a conservation ethic."
At the same time, Carver realizes it's all about marketing agriculture.
"If you create the demand for the product, all other issues tend to go away," he says.
Carver´s 30,000-acre ranch covers parts of Wasco and Sherman counties. Diversification and added value to his operation through farm-ranch recreation have combined to produce a successful business. Grains, cattle, sheep, and fee hunting sounds like an odd combination. But the formula is being recognized as a viable solution to struggling operators throughout Oregon.
"If you can make it ranching these days, you can make it anywhere," says Carver.
The ranch is a page out of the history books, literally. With the main headquarters built in 1900, the ranch is classified as a National Historic District, with 41 historic buildings maintained by the Carvers. It is a natural for tours. Only 20 miles from the Deschutes River, the ranch caters to large group tours. No one tour is ever the same, according to Carver.
To enhance the operation, the rancher and his wife Jeanne purchased a 14-room lodge on the river at Maupin. A restaurant and rafting services, along with some of the best fishing in Oregon, have all attracted such celebrities as Tiger Woods.
"You can be incognito in Maupin," says Carver.
Meanwhile, the agricultural products born and raised on the ranch are central to the successful business. Five years ago, the Carvers began direct marketing lamb meat to the Bend and Sunriver areas. The wool production has evolved into a complete line of ready-to-wear clothing and wool knitting starter kits. Still, it gets back to land and water stewardship for Carver, who claims his beef production has doubled since he adopted conservation practices.
Several years ago, a nationally-acclaimed conservation effort known as the Buck Hollow Project improved conditions in the local creek. It didn´t require a government-mandated program or even the existence of a watershed council. The 37 landowners in the basin got together and simply decided to make things better.
"It didn´t happen by fencing off the creek," says Carver. "It was a mindset. You have to think conservation and what is the best practice each day."
In 1990, only two steelhead returned to Buck Hollow Creek. Last year, that number reached 800.
Carver is hoping to bring his experience and insight to a board of agriculture he says is already incredible and knowledgeable.
"The board needs to help promote agriculture and get it recognized in this state," he says. "Whatever the board can do to help farmers and ranchers sell more product or get a better price, we need to do it."
In the meantime, the Imperial Stock Ranch„at one time the largest privately held ranch in Oregon, will continue to offer day-to-day challenges for the Carvers.
"Ranching is a hard life," says Carver. "The victories we get are when a chef says the meat we produced is the best he´s ever tasted or when a customer who has just toured the ranch simply says thanks."
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| Pat Dudley |
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Second term - serving 10/01/2006 to 9/30/2010
What does it take to get a prospective history professor in Michigan to relocate and work the soil in Oregon?
Apparently in the case of Patricia Dudley, all it takes is the opportunity to grow Oregon´s famous Pinot noir grape. Dudley says she came out of the library and into the mud a couple of decades ago when she, her husband Ted Casteel, Ted´s twin brother and his wife all started up Bethel Heights Vineyard west of Salem, not far from Amity.
"We always had a recreational interest in wine," says Pat Dudley. "Back in the 1970s, we talked about the four of us doing something together, still being able to raise a family and do it all."
Born in Texas, Pat lived all over the world as her father worked for Northwest Airlines. She graduated from high school in Connecticut, completed undergraduate work at Stanford, received a masters degree in history from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and then went back to Stanford for a P.H.D. That's when she met Ted. Both planned to teach at the University of Michigan when a family inheritance allowed them to turn a dream into reality.
"I knew nothing about the wine industry and basically chucked all of my previous education," says Pat, with a laugh. "But when you are academically trained with a liberal arts education, you can do just about anything,"
The first step in the process was familiar: go back to school. Pat and Ted took viticulture courses at UC Davis when they saw a newspaper advertisement about property in Oregon´s Willamette Valley. Fifty acres - enough for the two couples to live and work on - was up for sale. When Pat arrived at the abandoned walnut orchard, it was a cold, crisp February day with a panoramic view from the hill on which she stood.
"This is it," she remembers saying. Pat also remembers clearing out the tree trunks and planting the grapes. It was hard physical labor that literally bore fruit a few years later. The first crop was harvested in 1980. Until 1984, all the grapes were sold to someone else. The first year Bethel Heights produced its own vintage, some 3,000 cases were produced. By 1995, the operation had grown to the point to where Bethel Heights had to buy somebody else´s grapes as well to fulfill the demand. Last year, 11,000 cases were produced. Three-fourths of the vineyard produces Pinot noir, the variety that has put Oregon on the wine map.
Someday, perhaps soon, Pat´s two grown daughters will be helping to run the show at Bethel Heights. But not quite yet.
When it comes to the Board of Agriculture, Dudley says, "I´m learning a lot. I´m very impressed with the members. They have been cordial, articulate, open-minded, and have shown to have the ability to work together."
Pat´s priority issue is a branding program for Oregon agriculture. As part of the branded image, she thinks Oregon can offer more than others. Being able to certify certain qualities - including how the product is grown or processed - would give Oregon a true advantage in the market place.
"I believe quality and sustainability are two sides of the same coin," she says. "You can´t have one without the other."
Pat Dudley has been a quick study on the board. She has also been unafraid to speak up "You have to ask questions in order to learn," she says.
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| Tom Fessler, Vice Chair |
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Second term - Serving 7/15/2008 to 7/14/2012
Youthful veteran is a term that may best describe Tom Fessler. In the mid-1990s, he became the youngest ever president of the Oregon Association of Nurseries after being elected at age 32. Now, he brings his years of experience and wisdom to the board even though he is still one of its youngest members.
Fessler is looking forward to giving what he can to the board, but he is also excited about learning from the rest of the group.
“I’m excited to be exposed to other commodities produced in Oregon and to get to know more about the rest of the state,” he says. Fessler knows a great deal about Oregon’s number one agricultural commodityÐnursery products. He knows quite a bit about some of the other crops grown in the Willamette Valley such as grass seed and various row crops. His family farm outside Mt. Angel spans some 2,000 acres. Nursery products make up the primary crop, but the Fessler family also raises grass seed, beans, broccoli, and cauliflower. The primary lesson he has learned ever since his parents started up the farm in 1967 is something that works well for any profession. “Be true to your word,” says Fessler. If products are going to be marketed as high quality, they need to be just that. The lesson has served him well over the years. Fessler believes in being true to his employees as well. He says it’s a challenge for any agricultural business these days to keep good people on the farm. At his operation, long term employees have been retained simply by treating them right and providing them opportunities to move up in the organization. No other agricultural industry in Oregon has had the meteoric growth of the greenhouse and nursery industry, now valued at more than three-quarters of a billion dollars. Fessler has been an active participant in that expansion and would be happy if any of his six children--ranging in age from nine to 21--decide to be active on the farm. However, he sees value in being exposed to new ideas and environments--if only for a while. “I never left the farm after growing up, but I think it would be best if the kids actually went away and worked somewhere else for a while before coming back,” he says. There have been challenges for Fessler and his operation. Root rot in the 1980s and 90s caused the industry to change some of its practices in raising nursery stock. More recently, sudden oak death had an impact on his operation even though his products have always remained clean and SOD-free. “For about three months, we were shut out of Canada,” he says. “About a third of our dormant azaleas go to Canada and we lost that market for awhile. But working hard with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, we got the market back. The first hand experience I had with ODA and the mutual cooperation between the agency and the industry was positive and impressive.” Fessler’s goal as a board member is to maintain the relationship that many in the ag industry have with ODA, and strengthen it.
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| Jan Kerns |
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Second term - Serving 9/6/2009 to 9/5/2013
Jan Kerns was raised to "give back". When she had an opportunity to serve the industry she loves as part of the State Board of Agriculture, she took it. Jan welcomes getting involved in key issues.
"The board has an opportunity to help ODA position Oregon agriculture in a competitive market position both nationally and internationally," says Kerns. "The board also has the opportunity to help assure that ODA always represents the interests of production agriculture in Oregon. I truly believe that the employees have the farmers and ranchers in their hearts."
Passionate about agriculture, Jan Kerns grew up as a "city girl" in La Grande and made the transition to "farm wife", as she says it, after meeting her husband Tim at Oregon State University, where she received a degree in Home Economics Education. Along with their two sons and their families, the Kerns operate a farm and ranch that encompasses more than 4500 acres in Baker County near Haines. The grandsons are the latest to learn all about farming. The Kerns have a large herd of crossbred beef mother cows and their calves. They also raise potatoes, alfalfa, small grains as a rotational crop, improved pasture, and private timberland.
"I chose to not work a full time job in teaching," says Kerns. "Instead, I implemented a night school program of classes in clothing construction, interior decorating, and nutrition for low income families. Although I've done most jobs on the ranch, my expertise has been in the potato enterprise. I still work on the seed cutting crew and the harvest crew. My primary role is bookkeeper and office manager. I am also responsible for all regulatory compliance, doing water rights, and other permits."
The Kerns Family Farm is committed to the principles of sustainable agriculture and good conservation practices. Over the past three decades, they have invested nearly a million dollars in water conservation development. The beef cattle enterprise has also been accepted into the Oregon Country Beef program.
Jan has also been re-appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to a second two-year term on the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. Technically, she represents potatoes but says her mission goes further.
"The role I really represent is the smaller family farm in America," she says.
Being from the east side of the state, Kerns believes in bridging the urban-rural gap in Oregon. She says Oregon agriculture has a strong story to tell.
"I am a firm believe in strong communication networks, as well as inviting people from differing backgrounds or views to come visit and experience what we do," she says. "Agriculture is no longer the farm couple in the famous Grant painting- we have to function in a highly technical and competitive world market. Opportunities to present farmers and ranchers in a positive light- whether it be through tours, exchanges, press, or one-on-one contacts- must be looked for and taken."
Kerns lists her top issues facing the Board of Agriculture as developing markets for increased profitability, labor, and the increasing regulatory burden. So far, she is enjoying working with fellow board members.
"We are a very diverse group of people representing various segments of agriculture as well as the public," she says. "Each person is respectful of differing opinions. That attitude makes it easy to express a differing opinion."
Through her opinions, ideas, experience, and strong connections throughout the industry, Oregon agriculture will be well served by Jan Kerns.
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| Doug Krahmer |
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Like many other Oregon agricultural producers, farming is in Doug Krahmer's blood- and bloodlines. Born and raised on a Century Farm in Cornelius, Krahmer knew from a very early age that he wanted to make a career out of farming. What he couldn't foresee was his active involvement in agricultural organizations, including the State Board of Agriculture.
"Serving on these types of boards and other organizations in my career, I have learned leadership and the art of politics," says Krahmer.
As chair of the statewide Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Krahmer automatically holds one of the Board of Agriculture's ten positions. He has experience with a number of key agricultural issues, including farm labor and land use, but he recognizes that his primary input to the board will focus on conservation of natural resources.
"There are many important challenges facing Oregon agriculture right now, but I still think our main concern has to be land and water," says Krahmer. "If we don't have adequate water and productive land, it doesn't matter what else is going on, you aren't going to farm. Water availability in eastern Oregon tends to be threatened and in the Willamette Valley, you have to be vigilant about protecting our best farmland from development. My dad was active in soil and water conservation districts. He said if you want to do some good, get active in the districts. He was right."
After graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1974, Doug Krahmer attended Oregon State University for two years before returning home to help his father with the farm. The only question he had at that point was what he would grow once he was in charge of his own operation. One commodity that caught his attention was blueberries.
"My father-in-law had 35 acres of blueberries and did really well," says Krahmer. "I penciled out the numbers and decided that is what I would like to grow."
Over the years, Blue Horizon Farms, Inc., which Krahmer co-owns, has added a number of leased fields to go along with acreage it owns. While the Krahmer home and farm headquarters are near St. Paul in Marion County, the operation involves farming in five counties from Clatskanie to east of Springfield in Lane County. The operation produces 300 acres of blueberries and blackcaps, 100 acres of tall fescue, 30 acres of hazelnuts, along with clover, wheat, and flower seed. Krahmer's wife Patti grows and markets cut flowers that are sold at various markets and through the internet. Three of their children are grown and on their own, a fourth is still in college.
Active in the past at the county, state, and American farm bureau level, Doug Krahmer also serves as chair of the Oregon Blueberry Commission and is a alternate member of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council.
So far, Krahmer has been impressed with his colleagues.
"This board gets things done," he says. "Some groups have difficulty staying focused and on task, but the professionalism of the board comes through when you see it at work."
Krahmer is happy to be part of it all, and hopes to contribute not only with his expertise on soil and water conservation issues, but all issues important to a diverse and important agriculture industry in Oregon.
As Chair of the Soil and Water Commission, Mr. Krahmer is a member of the Board of Agriculture.
Doug is the co-owner of Blue Horizon Farms, Inc. based out of St. Paul, Oregon. They grow blueberries, blackcaps, cut flowers, wheat, clover, hazelnuts and flower seed.
He has represented Zone 1 on the Marion Soil and Water Conservation District board of directors since 2000, and currently serves as chair. He is also active in Marion County Farm Bureau as a board member, and in Oregon Farm Bureau as a Labor Advisory Committee member. In August of 2004, Doug was appointed to represent the Lower Willamette Valley on the Oregon Soil and Water Conservation Commission and was elected chair of that group in August of 2005.
Doug and his wife Patti have four children, two grown and two attending college.
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| Tracey Liskey |
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Serving first term - April 21, 2010 to April 20, 2014
Attending his first meeting, the newest member of the State Board of Agriculture got a hefty assignment right off the bat. Tracey Liskey, a third-generation diversified farmer in the Klamath Basin, was asked to arrange a tour for the board and assemble of panel of local residents affected by this year’s drought and water curtailment in the area. While not exactly a cheerful topic, Liskey and his neighbors provided a detailed and personal account of the challenge facing Klamath irrigators in an area where there is rarely enough water to go around. Liskey has been one of the key voices in the discussion and search for a long-term solution in the basin.
“Everybody’s got to work for a common goal of getting everyone through this instead of saying ‘I’ve got mine and nobody else gets theirs,’” says Liskey. “Hopefully we can still come through this challenge together—agriculture, local business, fish and wildlife interests, and everyone else in the community. It’s going to be tough, but we must do it.”
Liskey hopes to contribute to the board from the perspective of Klamath Basin producers, demonstrating how local agriculture has tried to move forward in positive ways. The work ethic needed to survive in that part of the state is the same work ethic Liskey has shown all his life.
Liskey Farms is a diverse operation, producing grain, hay, cattle, greenhouse plants, and most recently, tropical fish. Despite being busy on the farm, Liskey has found time to be extremely active on a number of fronts to help farmers and ranchers across Oregon.
Farming is in the blood of Tracey Liskey who, at a young age, knew his life would be tied to the land and water that sustains agriculture. After high school graduation, he stayed on the farm that started with his grandfather and, at the time, included his parents, brother, and sister. With boundless energy, Liskey got involved in county politics and in Farm Bureau activities. He has been on the Oregon Farm Bureau Board of Directors for more than a dozen years, traveling to Washington DC on several occasions on behalf of Oregon farmers. His willingness to take issues and concerns to the state's congressional delegation has benefited Oregon agriculture tremendously. Back home, he has offered tours of his operation to demonstrate agriculture's stewardship in the Klamath Basin—including one tour by a committee reviewing the Endangered Species Act.
Liskey has worked with the Oregon Department of Agriculture on practices and measures that make wise use of water and protect water quality. The Liskeys have used geothermal wells on their property to heat their productive greenhouses and fish tanks. Nurseries are not common in Klamath County, but the Liskeys have made it work.
Liskey’s expertise in sustainable agriculture landed him a spot on the Governor's Sustainability Board. He even volunteered to grow sunflowers on a test plot for biofuel production. Liskey has also been a great ambassador of Oregon agriculture during several trade missions organized by ODA.
But it’s back home in Klamath Falls where Liskey feels most comfortable. He and his wife Susan have raised a son and daughter, but remain active with other family members in running the farming operations.
He comes to the Board of Agriculture in particularly trying times.
“ODA’s budget is sure to be a major issue for us,” says Liskey. “There are land use issues and so many other things hitting agriculture right now, it’s hard to even keep farming or having the will to farm. But we have to stay positive and keep going.”
He says the board is great body of people with good intentions. He’s looking forward to the hard work ahead, but also says it will be fun.
“I know we’ll do the best we can,” says Liskey. For him, that’s been a successful formula for years.
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| Stephen Van Mouwerik |
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First term - Serving 9/21/2007 to 9/21/2011
Steve Van Mouwerik brings a wealth of experience and insight into many key issues facing Oregon agriculture today. His family's dairy business helped shape who he is today. "Joining the Board is an extension of ‘growing the context' from the more narrow focus of forages to the broader one of all agricultural products, and the chain of quality and accountability that is expected of ag producers and processors around the world," says Van Mouwerik. "Consumer expectations for safe food, sustainability, quality, price, resource utilization, no matter the country or market, are driving change producers and government need to see and understand."
"The hay and straw export business is extremely competitive and quite complex," says Van Mouwerik. "At any given time, there is an issue in the supply chain or market and two more on the horizon. I've lived with this in my industry service positions for 15 years. As I come to the Board of Agriculture, I hope to contribute the relationships and the pacing to work the issues up and down the line from Oregon producer to consumer, whether domestic or foreign, private sector or public."
Van Mouwerik has been a key leader with the Oregon Ag Fiber Association, which, among other things, has worked hard to develop a market for grass straw residues that used to be handled by field burning.
Having agriculture in his blood while growing up in Southern California has helped. The Van Mouwerik Family, part of the strong Dutch dairy presence in the region, operated a dairy processing and bottling plant-providing home delivery of milk to the front porches of homes in the area. Steve and his family witnessed first hand what market changes can do to an agricultural business on the edge of Los Angeles.
"The consolidation of the dairy business came with supermarkets and freeways. At the same time, our dairy acreage and orange groves were yielding to development and population growth. The completion of my college education saw also the end of our dairy herd, processing, and delivery operations."
A bachelor's degree in international relations from Lewis and Clark College and a master's in conflict analysis and peace research at the University of Pennsylvania have provided some educational background that has helped in the export business. But first, Van Mouwerik had to try his hand in the field of high tech.
Van Mouwerik lives in Portland with his wife, Deb, and their two teenage sons.
Among the important issues facing the Board of Agriculture, Van Mouwerik lists foreign market access, air quality, and the impact of biofuels as those that hold particular interest to him.
"The Board members have their heads around the issues that confront producers and that confront decision makers in government. They show an ability to bring business and private sector points of view to questions that need to be addressed in a venue of public stakeholders."
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| Lynn Youngbar |
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Second term - Serving 9/6/2009 to 9/5/2013
Lynn Youngbar describes herself as an urban Oregonian with a passion for rural communities.
A resident of northeast Portland, Youngbar brings a wealth of experience in helping rural Oregonians through difficult economic times. “Being on the board is a great opportunity for me, given my long time involvement in rural economic development,” says Youngbar, who is one of two public members on the 10-member board. “Agriculture affects the entire state. I see my role as trying to keep the big picture in mind.”
While she didn’t grow up on a farm, Youngbar learned at a young age to appreciate the impact agriculture and timber had on rural Oregon. Her father owned and operated a manufacturing business that produced window coverings. She frequently traveled with her dad to furniture stores and specialty shops in many of the state’s small towns.
After graduating from Portland State University with a sociology degree, Youngbar obtained her master’s in city planning from MIT. Her focus was on economic and community development and how it affects rural communities. Her thesis on the shift of the wood products industry from the Pacific Northwest to the southern US underscored her interest in what happened to the people who lived and worked in towns that relied on natural resource industries.
“I always wanted to know what was going to happen to these communities,” she says.
Youngbar took a job with the Oregon Economic Development Department (now known as Economic and Community Development Department) in 1985 and spent the next few years traveling the state looking at the impact of plant closures. When the northern spotted owl was listed as an endangered species in 1988, Governor Goldschmidt looked for someone to develop a program to help communities impacted by plant closures or other big changes in the state’s natural resource industries. Youngbar raised her hand. In 1991, the successful public program, Community Initiatives, privatized, creating the non-profit Rural Development Initiatives (RDI). Youngbar became its first executive director. RDI has provided strategic planning, leadership training, and technical assistance to dozens of struggling Oregon communities. Youngbar’s successful efforts in landing grant money from private foundations and corporations to match the state investment made the difference. RDI continues its work, even though Youngbar left in 1998.
Since then, Youngbar has been in the consulting business—often working as an interim executive for non-profit organizations.
“Usually at least once a year, I am running an organization through the transition period between executive directors,” she says.
Perhaps her biggest connection to agriculture has been through involvement with the Portland Farmers Market.
“I was a serious shopper at the farmers market and I’ve always thought it was a great way to bring urban and rural together,” says Youngbar. “I think we will continue to see more interest in buying local, given the concern people have with where their food comes from and the rising cost of fuel. What a great opportunity for Oregon agriculture.”
Youngbar is impressed with her counterparts on the board. “It’s clearly an enlightened bunch,” she says. “I hope we will be able to engage in some good discussions on important issues facing the state’s resource industries and that people will freely speak their minds.” Youngbar plans on being an active participant.
“I’ll be thinking about the consumer and the general public as we walk through these issues,” says Youngbar, though she understands the needs of the ag community as well.
Meanwhile, she continues tending her home garden in northeast Portland, not far from where her two adult children live, and, of course, tending to the Portland Farmers Market where she enjoys dealing with the vendors—those producers who make a connection with the urban public
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| Next meeting |
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September 8 -10, 2010 - Astoria Oregon
The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Express, 204 West Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103
Directions may be obtained by calling 503-325-6222.
You may view an online version of the agenda or download a Word doc to your desktop.
Contact the board assistant or call 503-986-4758 for more questions.
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| Meeting minutes |
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Oregon State Board of Agriculture meeting minutes
March 15 and 16, 2010
Meeting minutes from the Oregon Garden in Silverton may be downloaded. (Word doc)
December 14 and 15, 2009
Download the meeting minutes from Portland, Oregon. (Word doc)
September 10 and 11, 2009
The meeting minutes from Baker City may be printed or downloaded. (Word doc)
May 14 and 15, 2009
Meeting minutes from the Salem meeting may be downloaded or printed. (Word doc)
February 12 and 13, 2009
Meeting minutes from the Salem meeting may be downloaded or printed. (Word doc)
November 11 and 12, 2008
Meeting minutes from Eugene, may be downloaded or printed. (Word doc)
July 31, and August 1, 2008
Minutes from The Dalles meeting may be downloaded to your desktop or printed. (pdf)
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| Interested in serving? |
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Are you interested in being considered for an appointment to the Board of Agriculture? Appointments are made by the Governor for a four year term. Members may serve two terms. For more information or to access an interest form for applying to the Board of Agriculture, please go to the Governor's Web site.
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| Contact the Board of Ag |
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To contact the Oregon State Board of Agriculture write or call
Madeline MacGregor
Oregon Department of Agriculture
635 Capitol St. NE
Salem, OR 97301-2532
503-986-4550
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