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Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of features by Pac/West Lobby Group Communications Director George Plaven detailing his professional development journey with REAL Oregon. To read previous installments in this series, click the links below:

• Session 1: Klamath Falls
• Session 2: Roseburg
• Session 3: Newport

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There’s something exciting about walking the halls of the Oregon State Capitol, dressed for success, passing legislators on the way to their next meeting, seeing the inner workings of government in action.

If the goal of REAL Oregon is to grow leaders in agriculture and natural resources, then it only makes sense a tour of the Capitol would be next on the agenda for our class’s February session in Salem. Whether it is farming and ranching in Klamath Falls, logging in Roseburg, or commercial fishing in Newport, the issues affecting each industry eventually make their way here, where decisions have a lasting impact on producers and rural communities.

Our tour of the Oregon State Capitol included a stop on the floor of the House of Representatives.

On our tour, we had excellent guides in the form of two of our classmates — Austin McClister, communications director for the Oregon Farm Bureau, and Ryan Tuthill, legislative director for the Oregon House Republicans. They led us around both the House and Senate offices, where staffers explained the legislative process. We briefly chatted with a few representatives, including Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) and Ricki Ruiz (D-Gresham), but with the 2025 Legislature in full swing they understandably had only a few minutes to spare.

Finally, we gathered in the balcony overlooking the House of Representatives as they convened for a brief floor session. During courtesies, we received a shout-out from Boshart Davis, who said REAL Oregon graduates “exemplify dedication to our state’s natural resources.”

Where Urban Meets Rural

 Thinking about Western Oregon and the Willamette Valley, it is easy to think about urban hubs like Portland metro or Salem. But there is also a vast and richly abundant agricultural landscape, with tight-knit communities and farms growing diverse specialty crops including hazelnuts, hops, winegrapes, and nursery stock.

At Pearmine Farms in Gervais, fourth-generation farmer and REAL Oregon alum Molly McCargar showed us their on-farm housing for workers who come every year to pick cherries in a nearby orchard. Recently, the state Occupational Safety and Health Division updated its rules for farmworker housing that farmers like McCargar worry will further strain their budgets and operations — particularly during harvest.

Fourth-generation farmer Molly McCargar, of Pearmine Farms, discusses farmworker housing.

Land use and agritourism is another hot topic being debated this legislative session, questioning which activities should and shouldn’t be allowed on farmland. For some farms, like TMK Creamery in Canby, agritourism can help sustain the rest of their business. Visitors are invited to meet the TMK’s “cowlebrities,” as they’re called, before heading inside the farmstand for a scrumptious grilled cheese sandwich and cheese curds made using the farm’s own milk.

Meeting the ‘cowlebrities’ at TMK Creamery in Canby.

With so many environmental, regulatory, and labor challenges facing Oregon farms, it’s no surprise to see many turning to automation to cut down on costs. In the case of Canopii, the Hubbard-based company has pioneered a fully autonomous greenhouse with robotics handling every step of the growing process, from seed to harvest.

While equipment like this won’t make sense for every grower, it was eye-opening to witness the level of innovation and where it may be taking agriculture into the future.

Robots plant vegetable seedlings inside an automated greenhouse designed by Canopii.

Success Is Possible

Oregon agriculture has certainly had more than its share of legislative setbacks, but it was nice to hear about one recent success.

In 2023, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 955 creating the AgriStress Helpline, a 24/7 suicide prevention hotline for those working in agriculture, fishing, and forestry. Since its launch, the helpline has received calls from 25 of Oregon’s 36 counties, many of which were either from or on behalf of rural men over 49 years old — a group identified as “high risk” for suicide.

SB 955 allocated $300,000 from the state general fund to set up and run the helpline. Sen. Todd Nash (R-Enterprise) and Rep. Bobby Levy (R-Echo) are sponsoring legislation this session that would allocate $2 million for the helpline over the next biennium.

That bill, SB 779, has been referred to the Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee. A public hearing was scheduled for Feb. 20. While suicide prevention for those working in agriculture should be as uncontroversial as it comes, it is still inspiring to see that common ground can be reached in the halls of power.

I can understand why some conservative farmers and ranchers bristle at Oregon politics. With Democrats holding a supermajority in both chambers of state government, it may feel pointless to speak up. What incentive does the majority have to listen, after all? Others have become so fed up they are pushing for a large chunk of rural Central and Eastern Oregon to defect entirely, joining Idaho.

As frustrating as it can be, the message to our class was one of persistence. Oregon agriculture and natural resources are worth fighting for, and that’s precisely what REAL Oregon is training us to do. There will likely come a day when one or more of us are called upon to testify on a bill or meet face-to-face with those wielding a key vote. When that day comes, I am confident that we’ll be ready.

REAL Oregon Class 8 gathers for a group photo on the floor of the Oregon House of Representatives.