REAL Oregon Developing Ag’s Next Generation of Leaders

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is launching a leadership initiative called REAL Oregon, which stands for Resource Education and Agricultural Leadership.

Kathryn Walker with ODA said Oregon had been one of the few states without agricultural leadership programs.

“Those states that do have programs, they’ve had a lot of success in terms of the individuals who have gone through the process and have grown from the process and then being able to contribute to the natural resource community or to their state."

Farmers, Ranchers, Forest Managers or fishermen are all invited to apply to the program.

OSU Extension Agent Bill Buhrig is on the steering committee for the program and said one of the goals is to create outreach agents.

“To be able to tell their story about their farm or about their ranch or about their business and really help to build those bridges that we need to be building and maintaining with the urban sector.”

The program is one year long and will meet in five different geographic areas with the first class of graduates in 2017.

For more information, contact the Oregon Department of Agriculture.