Stoel Rives | Deeply Rooted Podcast S1E2: A Bright Future for Agriculture

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For Episode 2 of the Stoel Rives | Deeply Rooted, host Kirk Maag sat down with Phil Ward, CEO of Oregon FFA—better known as Future Farmers of America. Phil is a fifth-generation Oregonian with deep roots in Oregon agriculture. He started his career as a high school agriculture instructor and went on to serve as the Executive Vice-President of the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation, Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, and State Director of the Oregon Farm Service Agency. In the episode, Phil shared his bright outlook for the future of agriculture, and how organizations like the Oregon FFA are contributing to developing the next generation of leaders in the industry.

Oregon FFA’s Importance to the Future of the Agriculture, Timber and Natural Resource Industries

After retiring from a career spent largely in government service, Phil was working as an adjunct professor at Oregon State University when he was approached with the opportunity to lead the Oregon FFA. Serving over 11,000 students in 100 schools in every corner of the state, Phil said, “it was an opportunity to re-engage in an organization that had a big impact on my life personally, and to give back at this stage in my career.”

Stepping into the CEO role after a career in several different organizations that served the agriculture industry, he knew the powerful impact FFA has, saying “the FFA in Oregon, and nationally, profoundly impact the future of agriculture in this state and country. The opportunity for high school students in Oregon to learn from our programs has profound effects on who they become as professionals, whether they work directly in the agricultural industry or not.”

Phil is also proud of how the organization serves students from all geographic areas of Oregon, whether they are from a farming community or live in one of the state’s urban areas. The majority of students in Oregon FFA programs today do not come from full-time working farm families. “What these programs do is . . . draw folks in who may never farm full time, and give them a background and appreciation for the agriculture industry that they will carry for the rest of their lives,” Phil said.

Addressing the Urban-Rural Divide

Host Kirk Maag asked Phil about the deepening urban-rural divide, and how the FFA is helping bridge it. Phil said, “the urban-rural divide is perhaps more pronounced here in Oregon than other parts of the country. We have the urban parts of the state that certainly are impacted by those industries, but on a day-to-day basis do[ ] not see the contact (with agriculture). What FFA can do is give daily contact with the agriculture, forestry, and other natural resources industries. It is giving them appreciation and understanding of those industries. It is also training young people to be able to move into those industries.”

Representation of the agriculture and natural resources industries in politics and policy is also critical in helping address the urban-rural divide. Though, fewer and fewer people are coming out of those industries and going into politics. For those who do, Phil expressed the importance of how they can interface authentically with people making policy, like the state legislature or the people implementing policy with different government agencies. “If we do not have people in those roles that know what makes our industry work, then the industry is going to lose,” Phil said.

Optimistic for the Future of Agriculture

While Phil noted there will always be naysayers who state agriculture will be a thing of the past, he is optimistic for the future of the natural resource industries. There continues to be strong trade associations and support from private industry to develop future leaders in agriculture. Phil said, “people are so impressed by the ability of folks who have gone through a high school agriculture program and developed leadership skills, that they want to be a part of making that happen.”

In Oregon, our agriculture industry is very different from other parts of the country. The traditional commodities that have been supported by the federal government are not as prevalent, “we grow things that go directly from the farm to the marketplace,” Phil said. And because of that, Phil added, “we have shown ourselves we have the ability to adapt and bring on the new commodities and products that will enable agriculture to continue to be successful.”

Episode Transcript

Kirk Maag

Welcome to the inaugural season of the Stoel Rives Deeply Rooted podcast. I'm your host, Kirk Maag, Co-lead of Stoel Rives Agribusiness, Food, Beverage and Timber Industry Group. This season we’re interviewing respected industry leaders and discussing how they and their companies are embracing innovation and capitalizing on new opportunities to move their industries forward in an ever-changing world. Subscribe at stoel.com. That’s s-t-o-e-l.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome back to the Stoel Rives Deeply Rooted podcast. I'm Kirk Maag. This morning, [I’m] sitting down with Phil Ward, the CEO of the Oregon FFA, better known as Future Farmers of America. Good morning, Phil.

Phil Ward

Good morning, Kirk. Good to be here.

Kirk Maag

So I wanted to sit down and chat with you about some of our shared experiences and affinity for the ag industry. I'm a fourth generation Oregonian, grew up on a farm in in the dry desert of Malheur County. I think you're a fifth generation Oregonian.

Phil Ward

I am.

Kirk Maag

[You] [g]rew up here in the fertile Willamette Valley. What keeps you connected to Oregon and what do you love about the state?

Phil Ward

Interesting question, Kirk, because over the course of my career I've had the chance to leave the state several times. I think probably a lot of what keeps me connected here is my wife. She's told me she'd be happy to correspond with [me] regularly if I took a job out of state. But Oregon is just a great place. My family came over the Oregon Trail in the 1840s and I get to live on a little piece of that home farm that was established back in the 1800s. And it's just been a good place to live, to raise kids. So I'm really thankful that the jobs I've held over the years, even though I've not been a full time farmer ever, the jobs I've held have enabled me to stay on that little piece of that farm and raise my family there.

Kirk Maag

So beyond staying rooted in the home farm, your career has maintained a connection to agriculture throughout. What kept that connection for you?

Phil Ward

You know, I started my career as a high school agriculture instructor. Loved that. I think was my favorite job I ever held. But I moved from there, I think, I wish I could say, Kirk, that I planned my career from the moment I stepped out Oregon State University to today. I really didn't. But the opportunities that arose for me all seem to relate to the agriculture and natural resource industry here in Oregon. And I guess that's where my roots were. So that's a natural thing. I moved . . . into state government in the Department of Agriculture. Had an opportunity to work in that agency for a number of years. [S]o I got a chance to look at the state's natural resource industries from that perspective. I led the Water Resources Department in Oregon for more than a decade. I worked with USDA here in Oregon for a number of years and in the private industry related to agriculture, the Oregon Farm Bureau. So all those jobs had a very direct tie to the agriculture and natural resource industries in our state. And I think that's just where I fit naturally.

Kirk Maag

So now you're back, connected to agriculture education. Kind of came full circle to your start as a high school agriculture educator. What brought you back to Oregon FFA, an organization in a state that serves over 11,000 student members spread out in 100 plus schools in all corners of the state?

Phil Ward

Yeah, what a great organization, isn’t it? You and I both have a have a little background in that organization. But I think the thing that brought me back to it was the encouragement of some people that I respected, you know a couple of those, that asked me to consider coming back and being a part of the Oregon FFA organization. I was minding my business. I'd retired from federal service and was teaching a couple classes for the College of Agriculture at Oregon State. And then this opportunity to join FFA as the CEO arose. And it just was intriguing to me, the opportunity to reengage in an organization that had really had a big impact on my life personally and give back at this stage of my career. I just got really excited about it.

Kirk Maag

So Oregon FFA, what's its importance to the future of Oregon's agriculture, timber and natural resource industries?

Phil Ward

Gosh, Kirk, that's a great question and one I think, that's one I think that the agriculture industry in Oregon ought to be talking about. What is the impact of this little organization, not so little. But what's the impact of this organization of high school students? How does it impact the future of our industry? And I think that the FFA here in Oregon and around the country, frankly, profoundly impacts the future of agriculture in this state and country. And I think that for a couple reasons. And maybe those reasons may be different than they were 30 years ago and when I was teaching. But the opportunity for high school students in Oregon to learn the things that they learn in a high school agriculture program and as FFA members, I think has a profound effect on who they become as professionals the rest of their lives, whether they work directly in the ag industry or not. When I . . was employing a lot of people, Kirk, in these different agencies I worked in over the years, I always was able to find folks that had good technical skills. So when I was hiring technicians, animal health technicians, scientists, plant pathology scientists, when I was hiring water resource engineers, I could always find folks that had really strong skill levels in their technical discipline. They were good at the technical parts of their job. What I struggled finding was folks that had those technical skills but also had the ability to communicate effectively and to lead teams of people effectively. And to me, that's what high school agriculture programs do for young people so well. They give them a solid technical foundation and they marry that up with leadership training, how to run a meeting, how to speak in front of groups, how to lead teams of people. And to me, that's what makes high school agriculture and FFA programs so powerful. And it was my experience that when I was able to hire young people with an FFA background, they always did better for me in those areas than people without.

Kirk Maag

I think a lot of people when they think of FFA, they think about rural high schools, rural ag programs. FFA today, it’s a little bit different than that, right?

Phil Ward

Well, it is. And certainly the tie between FFA and rural Oregon is really significant. But we have a number of really successful ag programs in more urban areas. And whether it's an urban or rural school, we have a tremendous number of our students that don't come from full time working farms. In fact, I'd say probably the majority of our students today do not come from full time working farm families. They may be small acreage folks. They may be young people that live in town, but have an interest in veterinary science or horticulture. And so what these programs do is it draws folks here in that may never farm full time, most likely won't. But it gives them a background and an appreciation for the agriculture industry that they're going to carry throughout the rest of lives.

Kirk Maag

We hear a lot about the urban rural divide and the deepening urban rural divide. Does FFA have a role to play in helping to address that issue?

Phil Ward

I certainly think it does. And the urban rural divide is perhaps more pronounced here in Oregon than in many other parts of the country. We've got the rural parts of our state that are dominated by our natural resource industries and then the urban parts of the state that that certainly are impacted by those industries, but on a day-to-day basis we don't see as much contact. And so what FFA can do and what I see it doing is giving young people that don't have in many cases that daily contact with agriculture, forestry, other natural resource industries. And it's giving them an appreciation for and an understanding of those industries. And it's also training young people to be able to move into those industries in those support roles – in the food processing role, in the farm mechanics role, and the supply or fertilizer supplier role. In those roles and it's bringing a workforce into our industry that otherwise would not have there.

Kirk Maag

My experience has been that farm and ranch families; they're not encouraging their kids to go out and be lawyers and lobbyists. Those are two dirty words in in in the natural resource and ag industries. But from my perspective, it's incredibly important that we have people with ag and natural resource backgrounds engaging in policy, engaging in politics. You spent years in in Salem and had a front seat view to what was going on in the state capital. From your perspective, why it was important for people from ag communities, ag backgrounds to engage in the political process.

Phil Ward

Yes. Well, especially since there are fewer and fewer people again coming directly out of those industries into the political realm. So we see fewer farmers, for example, as members of the state legislature and other roles like that. It's extremely important that we have folks that are conversant with our industries that can interface in an authentic manner with the people that are making policy, whether that's a state legislator or the people that are implementing policy like key folks administering programs in state agencies. And so if we don't have people in those roles that know what makes our industries work and how to make them work effectively in a partnership role with government entities, then the industry is going to lose, frankly. We have to be willing to give some of our young people into those jobs.

Kirk Maag

I think a lot of folks in the ag industry, in particular, when they think about government agencies, they think enforcement. They think regulation. They think intrusion into their business. You've led state agencies who had as part of their mission working with, collaborating with industry. How did you foster within the agencies that you lead a culture of collaboration that allowed you to develop trust with the industries that you worked with?

Phil Ward

Yeah, that’s a really good question. And I think it's an important question for folks who lead those agencies to be asking themselves. How do we lead in a collaborative fashion and partner with the folks that we're regulating? Now obviously regulatory authority is there for a reason and you have to have regulators that are able to regulate and willing, when it's necessary. But what I always found was that you could get a lot more compliance toward the goals you were trying to reach if you worked together with the industry to get there. So I have never found a farmer that doesn't want there to be water in the stream for fish. They like fish. They like their grandkids being able to go down there to the creeks and catch ‘em. And so the question is how do we balance the needs in their community so they can get the water they need to grow that crop and we can keep enough of it in the stream to keep those natural resource values there in the way they should be. And so we need people in our government agencies that don't just see their role as turning people off or shutting them on, but working together with those stewards of the land that are out on the ground themselves to reach those goals in a collaborative fashion.

Kirk Maag

You've led the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Water Resources Department, Oregon's Farm Service Agency. How have your roots in agriculture contributed to your success over the course of your career?

Phil Ward

Well, I hope to think that that anybody that grows up on a farm, I know this for a fact, learns how to work. So certainly I think I was able to bring a bit of that good old fashioned work ethic to my jobs. But more importantly than that, I think my roots in agriculture gave me an appreciation for the things that built this state in terms of its economic base, its environmental base, its overall character. And that having that perspective of how the state can work when all those areas are functioning effectively together – the environment, the industry side, the food production side – when those things are working together then that's how we're going to be successful as a state. And I just think having a background in agriculture gave me the kind of perspective that enabled me to implement the policies that worked for both people and the natural resource.

Kirk Maag

What makes you optimistic about the future of agriculture?

Phil Ward

Boy, it's funny, because there’s always a lot of naysayers, you know. You and I have heard them our entire lives. You know, agriculture in Oregon is going to be a thing of the past. What makes me really optimistic about agriculture in this state and around the nation, but especially in this state, is that we've shown ourselves to have the ability to adapt to changing situations and bring on the new kind of commodities, the new kind of products that will enable agriculture to continue to be successful. And we're so different in Oregon than a lot of parts of the country. We aren't a big commodity state, you know, the kind of traditional ag commodities that the government has supported for years. We're, what, over 300 commercial ag commodities in this state? And we grow things that go directly from the farm to the marketplace. And so our farmers I think are attuned to how that whole system works, maybe much more so than other parts of the country. So in Oregon, I'm really encouraged that because of the type of agriculture we have that we’re going to meet those challenges and grow in the years ahead. The other piece I'd just add to that, Kirk, is that is that we have had a commitment in this state to agricultural education. At the secondary level, at the university level, and we've got some good programs in place that are giving people the kind of training they need.

Kirk Maag

So, you talk about investments beyond the high school level. You've taught some classes at Oregon State University. Tell us about your experience helping promote or train the next generation of ag leaders at Oregon State University.

Phil Ward

You know, the College of Agriculture has done something there that I really admire and support. They've developed a leadership minor in the College of Agriculture. So you can go to OSU, you can get a degree in crop science with a minor in leadership. Now why is that important and why should we care about that? Well, I think for the very reasons that we talked about a little earlier, that when you have people that have a sound technique background and when you marry that up with leadership skills, then you create a much more … you give students an opportunity to do so much more than if they were just one or the other. And this this marriage of technical competence and leadership training gives people the kind of skills they need to succeed in the modern world, I think.

Kirk Maag

In your role leading the Oregon Water Resources Department for over a decade, you saw tension. You saw challenges in balancing management of our water resources. In the last few years and even more pronounced this year, we're really seeing the effects of changes in snowpack and how that affects water supply in our state. What's the future of water look like to you in Oregon?

Phil Ward

You know, it's interesting because part of our identity as a state is … we think of ourselves as a water rich state in Oregon, right? And certainly we are at certain times of the year. But unlike perhaps the Midwest, here in Oregon or on the West Coast generally, we get our precipitation in the winter months, early spring months and then we have the dry summer months where you have to be able to utilize water from our streams, lakes and storage to grow the crops, to keep our cities functioning, et cetera. So water in Oregon is, it's more of a challenge than people think. And certainly finding a way to make sure that we meet all the needs for water resources in the state of Oregon in the years ahead, I think is going to be a pretty significant challenge in the next 30 to 50 years.

Kirk Maag

You spent a stint early in your career at Oregon Farm Bureau. Tell us about the importance of trade associations to the ag and natural resource industries.

Phil Ward

I'm an extremely big believer in trade associations and folks in the industries being active members and participants in those trade associations. And I'm a believer because I've seen it work. When you see organizations like the Oregon Farm Bureau, the Oregon Association of Nurseries, the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, when you see folks like that active in the capital, representing the views of farmers and ranchers, you come to realize how important those voices are in the policy discussions that are happening in Salem. And without it, without folks engaging in those associations, I think we lose tremendous opportunity.

Kirk Maag

So turning back to some of your work with Oregon FFA, what are some of the skills that you think we need to be instilling in our next generation of leaders within the ag industry?

Phil Ward

Absolutely. I really think, Kirk, that that future leaders in Oregon agriculture need to have the ability not just to do the work on the farm or do the work in the ag business they're part of, but also to engage in the broader community and articulate the needs and the values of Oregon's agriculture industry. And I just think that's an extremely critical component of what young leaders in agriculture need to be doing today.

Kirk Maag

Oregon FFA has been really fortunate to have great support from private industry, investments being made in youth, in the future of our industries. When you talk to the folks that are investing in supporting Oregon FFA, what are the reasons that they tell you that they're doing that?

Phil Ward

It's funny because Oregon FFA does, as you've just mentioned, have some great supporters around the state, people that put their money where their mouth is. They don't just articulate support for their organization, but they provide dollars to help move the work of this organization forward. And invariably people are so impressed by the ability of folks who have gone through in high school, a high school agriculture program, developed those leadership skills, how to run a meeting, how to communicate effectively, how to speak in public. They're so impressed with the ability of kids coming out of these programs that they just want to be a part of making that happen.

Kirk Maag

One of the buzzwords these days is career and technical education, and FFA has been doing career and technical education before we were talking about career and technical education. It really is a model for helping train students in a way that's hands on, in a way that's engaging and it makes them career ready. Why has FFA been successful in this area?

Phil Ward

You know the old FFA motto is “learning by doing,” right? And the ability to give young people the opportunity to actually do things, not just sit in a classroom and hear a lecture, but step out into that shop, step out onto that land laboratory and do the things that they're that they're hearing about. That ability to offer that kind of education, that kind of instruction to young people, in my view is extremely powerful. And a high school agriculture program way back when they started years and years ago figured out how to make that happen. And they used that model of classroom plus laboratory shop plus requiring every student to have an out away from school kind of project where they put into place the things they were learning. And to me that model, that three-faceted model is extremely powerful as an extremely powerful education model. And I don't know of any other area that has done it, as well as high school agriculture.

Kirk Maag

When we talk about FFA, we often talk about the hands-on learning component. You mentioned to me your trip recently to the Lebanon Land Lab. You took a trek out to visit. Tell us about the Lebanon FFA Land Lab.

Phil Ward

Gosh, I just had a great visit actually earlier this week to the Lebanon FFA chapter and the land laboratory that that program has had in place for probably 50 years now. And years ago the school had donated to it a tract of land that they have kept in place for the agriculture program at that high school. And they've put on that tract of land facilities for raising livestock, greenhouse facilities for growing plants, different crops. They’ve got some timberland there. And what they do with that is that they have students out there every day of the week in the school year learning, practicing what they are learning in the classroom. And it just was really exciting for me to see a couple of good high school agriculture instructors that had a real vision for helping students learn how to actually do what they've been talking to them.

Kirk Maag

Yeah. I also had the opportunity to go down and visit the land lab. And it was great to see the hands-on learning opportunity, but also the investment that was made by the initial donor in investing in that program. But also investments made by, for example, Wilco through a grant to the chapter to update its facilities to provide enhanced learning opportunities to students. Just one more example of an investment by private industry back into the future of the ag industry.

Phil Ward

Absolutely. And to me, I really credit those companies that have that kind of vision and the kind of let's do what's good for the order, let's do what's good for the industry by putting money back into these programs. I really respect that and I respect Wilco for having that kind of vision as a company.

Kirk Maag

So when you look ahead, what are the biggest challenges you see facing the next generation of leaders in Oregon agriculture?

Phil Ward

Well, I think there are a tremendous number of challenges ahead for the industry and for the leaders that the industry chooses to represent it. Certainly, the continuing challenge of being a natural resource based industry in an increasingly urban state is one that's very real and learning how to balance all those resource needs, the environmental needs, the industry needs, balancing those things so that we can effectively produce food and fiber in this state is a big challenge. And we need to have folks that are equipped with the communication and leadership skills in the industry to help make that happen.

Kirk Maag

Every time I interact with the students wearing the blue and gold FFA jackets, I leave thinking, “Wow, the future of our industry is bright.”

Phil Ward

Yes, Kirk, I think that's really true and that comment just made me think back to a high school superintendent or to a school district superintendent that I worked for years ago, and he took me aside once after a school board meeting and he said, “Ward, I hate it when you bring those kids wearing their blue jackets to the school board meetings because every time you do, you get everything you want, and more besides.” The Oregon, the FFA helps young people develop the kind of skills that I have never seen any other program help kids develop. And it's a tremendous thing to be able to, for me, to be a part of an organization that does that for young people.

Kirk Maag

Phil, thanks so much for taking time today to join us in talking about Oregon's ag industry. Really appreciated hearing about your deep roots in Oregon agriculture and the work that you're doing to ensure a bright future for Oregon's agriculture industry.

Phil Ward

Great to be with you today, Kirk. Thank you.

/END/

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The views expressed on this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved, and may not reflect the views of Stoel Rives LLP. Participation in this podcast by any individual is not an endorsement of such person or of any view or opinion expressed.