Title: Interview with Jerry Gardner of the Oregon Department of Agriculture (Feb,2009)
Summary:
On Feb 25th 2009 Taylor Smith interviewed the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s industry development manager, Jerry Gardner at the Food Innovation Center about the current condition of Oregon’s agriculture industry and his opinions on sustainable agriculture.
Topic: Sustainable Agriculture
Category: Citizen Expert/ Interview
What is it? This is an interview of Jerry Gardner by Taylor Smith, conducted on Feb, 25th 2009
Publication Information:
This interview is unpublished. For further information and details contact Taylor Smith through his Blog: http://goblazers.wordpress.com/ Leave your questions and contact information in a comment.
This interview was held at the Food Innovation Center in Portland Oregon on Feb, 25th 2009.
Author: Jerry Gardner
Location:
This interview is unpublished. For further information please contact Taylor Smith. Leave you questions and contact information in a comment on his blog: http://goblazers.wordpress.com/
Accessed: Feb, 25th 2009 2pm
Support:
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)
2008- Farm Bill Specialty Crop Grant Program
Jerry Gardner referenced projects, studies and legislation from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) to create context for the current condition of America’s and Oregon’s agriculture industry. Jerry Gardner works in the Agricultural Marketing and Development division of the ODA which located in the Food Innovation Center in North West Portland. He mentions the 2008- Farm Bill Specialty Crop Grant Program as an example of legislation that will help improve Oregon’s unique agricultural industry through the assistance in producing small-specialty crops.
Audience and Agenda:
Jerry Gardner works for the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) who has a “Three-Fold mission: Food safety and consumer protection; protecting the natural resource base; and marketing agricultural products.” (ODA, 2009) They are directly funded by the government and indirectly funded by Oregon tax payers. The ODA , among many other things, manages grants and bills, making sure that the money and resources are being used properly and effectively. They also assist farmers with financial and operational issues.
Usefulness:
This interview was useful in answering my should question because it gave me an inside look into the industry. Jerry Gardner was very knowledgeable, and offered comprehensive answers to all of my questions. The biggest help came from his reaction to my should question; He made the case that government assistance and promotion is very helpful for agricultural producers and processors, but attempting to motivate farmers to be sustainable, solely through incentives may be a waist of resources. ”Most Oregon farmers already practice sustainable agriculture. (See The Seven Dimensions of Sustainable Agriculture for definition) The demand is out there for organic, transparent and traceable agricultural products.”
Works Cited:
The Seven Dimensions of Stainable Agriculture (N.Perlas, 1993)
Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)
2008- Farm Bill Specialty Crop Grant Program
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Filed under: Source Notes
[...] grown by under-paid illegal immigrants. The theme of this image compliments the argument made by Jerry Gardner, of the Oregon Department of Agriculture,that the market is demanding safe and sustainable agriculture, therefor the farming community does [...]
[...] , of the ODA, conveyed a similar conveyed stance on the issue of increased incentives during my interview with him in February 2009. Agriculture is just like any other industry, in that whoever serves the consumer’s needs best [...]