President's Journal
by Jack Hay, ABC President

The Oregon harvest is well underway and after months of careful planning and preparation farmers are starting to reap the benefits of their hard work. But even during harvest season farmers find themselves faced with difficulties. From machine safety to worker responsibility, keeping crews and crops healthy during long hours and routine tasks can be challenging when we are spread so thin during this time of year.

With so few people with the task of taking on so many things, I wonder how long small production agriculture can continue to be competitive? With so many responsibilities and concerns—from safety and insurance requirements to environmental issues—how long will it take to wear down family farms to the point that enough is enough?

Water usage and allotment come to mind when thinking about some of the most challenging issues farmers are faced with today, particularly in the Klamath Basin. The fight over surface water and the allotment of water to different areas and for different purposes is a serious issue for small farmers who continually find themselves losing access to the precious resource. Water is not only a valuable asset but a necessary one, and without it small farming will cease to exist.

California is a difficult state for small farmers to conduct business. California farmers are quickly losing access to water and are inundated with health care issues. With so many concerns outside of the actual cultivation of crops, I worry that corners will be cut and businesses will no longer be sustainable. In order for small farming to continue to be viable, the government must focus on helping to lift these burdens from the backs of farmers or more small farms will go under and more large corporate farms will emerge.

On top of all of the concerns small farmers must deal with on a day-to-day basis, we must also deal with the constant competitive pressure from global producers. Programs that decrease domestic agriculture’s competitiveness will only increase consumption of imported goods. I wonder how long it will take until we begin to import foreign apples to Washington? Do our overseas competitors have the same environmental and social standards that small farmers in the United States have? And how can our industry continue to be sustainable with these issues creating such an adversarial environment for production?

Solutions to these vexing questions must be sought. The source as to why farmers are finding it to be increasingly difficult to produce crops and run a successful business should be studied at length and addressed. Just implementing punitive measures is not productive and cannot guarantee a future for small-scale farming.

Fortunately I do not have the responsibility of solving all of these complex problems, but we as an agricultural community should voice our concerns and make them known. We must offer solutions to the issues we are faced with on a daily basis in order to remain in business. Become an active part of ABC and be a voice for an industry with little extra time to dedicate to these concerns. 

It is my wish that you all have a bountiful and profitable harvest season.

Jack Hay
Hay Ranch