Interning with the OR Farm Bureau

Week 8

patrickr — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:32:34 +0000

This is my last week here unfortunately
and it has been such a pleasure to intern for the Oregon Farm Bureau. I have
learned more about agriculture than I thought possible, gained first-hand
experience in the field and made new friends. Everyone was very welcoming here
and truly work to advocate for the farmers of Oregon. Yesterday I worked on an
issue called Hot Goods Order this is where unexpectedly USDOL goes to farms and
inspects them. Instead of going over normal procedure they began handing out
HGO’s. An HGO is a serious offense because it can cripple production and was
never meant to be used on issues that pertain to perishable items such as
specialty crops (blueberries) because it is not a timely process and the items
can spoil. Once a farmer has received an HGO all produce is pulled from retail
and processing chains. There was no opportunity for the farmer to provide
further information or challenge the HGO. Their only option was to admit guilt
and sign a form. The farm bureau has been working hard to let farmers know of
this to make sure everyone is in compliance with labor laws. They also are
providing as much advising as possible and putting people into contact with
legal counsel when necessary. This is urgent to farmers because this could cost
them their entire year’s income but it hurts agriculture in general. Being
uninformed or having the wrong information has always been one of agriculture’s
worst enemies. An HGO is for ghastly offenses not just a missing document or
two. However, because these are being issued it makes these farmers targets not
only in their community but globally as a business that cracks the whip on
their employees when that is not the case at all. In fact some of these issues
do not even fall in the farmers hand but the people they contract out too where
they have no control over. Overall today was a good day. We met with the
capital press, enjoyed a great birthday lunch because we had four birthdays
this week in the office and topped it off with ice cream cake and pie. If I
have gained anything today it is a couple extra pounds and a desire to continue
my passion advocating.

Week 7

patrickr — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:59:55 +0000

Happy Monday! It is great to be back in the office working away. Today I am working on some things regarding the Oregon water quality program and it is such a complicated issue. It is under review because of the scrutiny placed on non-point pollution sources. The OFB is working with other states to see what they either already have in place or are going to put into place and how they have dealt with similar issues. It is interesting how Oregon has some of the strictest water laws in the nation.

Week 6

patrickr — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:48:14 +0000

I know my titles are really original and interesting . However, it is the one and only week 6! Summer is flying by it is actually
quite sad. Last week I mentioned I would be hearing from an OSU grad student on every farmer’s favorite topic GEESE. It
was interesting to hear what her research had found there are 200,000 cacklers in Alaska and she focused on habitat use and habitat carrying capacity. She tracked 40 cacklers total all males and saw that many changed roosting locations often and there was never more than 1-2 in the same field. Hunting kept the geese closer to their roost and of course they favored rye and perennial grass fields. Today we met with Kate Cobra the Oregon Dept. of Ag Director to talk about budgeting and how funds were going to be possibly dispersed. It was very interesting to see the process in which different programs have to go through in order to get funding. It was the first year that organizations had a cap on how much they could ask for. Then we talked a little bit about the Governor’s regulatory streamlining and simplification project which the objective of this
is to “address the OBP Regulatory Goals and create a roadmap for how Oregon will deliver services with greater efficiency and coherence in the years ahead. It will track improvements in the regulatory process, achieve better outcomes, and to hold state officials accountable. This was an interesting document it is still in draft form but it will be intriguing to see what will be accomplished with this piece. It was funny when I was trying to summarize each part of it into one or two sentences it was a bit hard to do because of everything that was going on. Almost complicated . Well so far this Funday Monday has been a good one. Until next week!

Week 5

patrickr — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:42:57 +0000

This week so far has been pretty laid back inputting a lot of contacts in the server and then later this afternoon I will be attending a meeting where a grad student from OSU who has done research on geese is going to present to OFB and Fish and Wildlife Services. I am interested to see where recent research has gone with the goose issue. Also much has been going on with the wildfires in Malheur and Harney counties because so many cattle and over a half a million acres has been burned due to the fires and therefore threatening farmers’ source of income because there is nothing left for cattle to graze. The Oregon Cattleman’s Association has a Fire Victims Relief Fund set up and is accepting donations including cash, hay and supplies. Here is the link anything helps. http://oregon.gov/ODA/AHID/docs/pdf/OCA_FireVictims0712.pdf

Week 4

patrickr — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:45:52 +0000

Week 4 is off and running. I began with a meeting that was very informative and was on the topic of the 10/10 and clean water act. Non-point source pollution was the main concern because many of the laws or regulations are for both point and non-point source pollution which is not very effective since those two types of pollution are very different. The system right now is based on complaints however, that does not provide very much proof when going to invade someone’s property. This is a complicated topic that I do not have my head completely around yet, it seems I learn something new every day here in Salem. Well happy Monday world and may the week be in your favor .

Week 3

patrickr — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:24:01 +0000

Last week was my third week on the job, time flies when you are having fun! It was my first two day week so of course it went by quickly. Monday and Tuesday was fairly busy because I had the chance to tag along with Katie to meet with the OFB lawyer to talk about the fact that the OFB had not been granted interveners status with a case they had wanted to be involved in. This was important because the outcome of this case will have a great impact on the farming and forestry industry. Then I also got to meet with the Policy Coordinator at the Oregon Water Resources Department and talk about the different events going on in water resources. It is really fun getting to experience Salem this way because I am learning my way around the town and of course finding good places to eat, so if I ever decide to visit Salem I will know
where to go. I also have begun to find the mall that is in downtown and have yet to visit it but will in the near future.

Week 2

patrickr — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 20:27:15 +0000

This week has been pretty great nothing too demanding, I am
learning about the different branches the farm bureaus have such as it starts
at the county level. All members are volunteers who at an annual meeting with
the Oregon Farm Bureau bring policies or pieces of legislation they think are
important to the entire group’s attention. There is a lot of leadership within
these organizations. The American Farm Bureau has a great website that if you
are interested in should check out http://www.fb.org/ very informational and
can provide you with insight on what the agricultural industry is facing today.
So to make it clear there are county farm bureaus, state farm bureaus and the
American Farm Bureau. Also you should like the Oregon Farm Bureau Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/ofbinfo.
I have clearly discovered agriculture is broader than I thought and affects
people every day. Many people are uninformed about the industry and when voting
they forget what their ballots can mean to farmers. Things such as voters being
in favor of having lottery dollars go to conversation and then those funds buy
land that could be used for farming. This is very important because only so
much land can be farmed and farmers are getting bought out. Being informed
about every decision made on a ballot is important. That does not mean I do not
agree with conservation but there should be balance especially when Oregon is
always facing issues with funds. On a lighter note my co-worker emailed me a
funny video http://youtu.be/48H7zOQrX3U.
It is great if only my creativity was a bit better I would definitely make a YouTube
video of what I do not know but it would be AWESOME!

First Week On The Job

patrickr — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:45:43 +0000

Last week was my first week on the job and it was great! I started at 9am on Monday
and had the chance to meet everyone here at the Oregon Farm Bureau. I am
working in the Governmental Affairs Department and closely with Katie Fast
OFB’s Associate Director of Governmental Affairs and Shawn Cleave Governmental
Affairs Specialist. This is a good opportunity to get an idea of what it means
to be an advocate for farmers and to work as a lobbyist. Katie was kind enough
to take me to lunch and we were able to get to know each other and work out a schedule. I was surprised I still had a job though because when I first met Katie I had made the mistake of telling Shawn how I am slow as well because we were waiting for Katie to park and he mentioned how he is always waiting on her. Then I did not know who Chris Dudley was. I do now and yes I know he played for the Blazers and ran for Governor of Oregon, which was a campaign Shawn had worked on. Tuesday I jumped right into the flow of things by attending a meeting held at the Oregon Dept. of Ag and was then educated about Oregon’s water quality program. Wednesday was a big day here at OFB, a tour was organized for legislators and candidates to attend in order to gain a better understanding of the importance of agriculture and forestry in Oregon and of the issues producers face in their day to day business decisions. The tour did just that and ran flawlessly. Although it was only my first week I have learned a lot about agriculture and driving on the Interstate. I am excited to see what other opportunities come my through this internship.

Getting Started!

patrickr — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:14:18 +0000

As winter term began everyone was talking about their summer plans probably
because it was raining and as Oregonians we all look forward to those few
months of warm weather. However, I began to worry what I was going to do this
summer and of course staying home and working was not appealing. I then began
to ask my advisor of internship opportunities that would give me a better idea
of what careers someone with an environmental economics and policy major could
have. I was then told of a few organizations within this field and began
calling around. Luckily the Oregon Farm Bureau was more than willing to let me
intern this summer. So, Dave the Executive Vice President and I began creating
learning objectives and determining how to get funding for a voluntary
internship. The E.R. Jackman Fund is a great program and I recommend students in the CAS who want to do a voluntary internship to apply. The E.R. Jackman Board made this internship possible by helping me cover commuting, living, and OSU credit costs. Without their support many students wouldn’t have the opportunity to do voluntary internships. These types of internships are helpful not only to the organization but also to students because they can choose an option that best fits them rather than one that is paid.