Iverson: Goals Include Advocacy, Encouraging Young Farmers

While she’s been the Oregon Farm Bureau president for less than three months, Barb Iverson already has her priorities laid out for 2020, and beyond.  The farmer from Woodburn said one of her, and the OFB’s strongest priorities is advocacy, and encouraging farmer to tell their stories.

“Working with other Ag groups, other farm groups, other nursery groups, and just increasing our voice that way just to try and get our message out.”

Another issue Iverson wants to tackle, encouraging young people to stay in rural Oregon and pursue a career in farming.  She noted while many have a passion for following in their parent’s footsteps, in the 21^st century, passion may not be enough.  She says the Ag industry has a whole must work to ensure farming is economically sustainable for young people.

“When they watch their parents working seven days a week, hard hours, barely scraping by, taking out a mortgage on the farm, wondering are we going to be here next year, that’s an incredible toll.  And those young people see their friends working 40 hour weeks, and having a weekend, playing around.  It doesn’t take much to say ‘I don’t want to do this because I want to do something other than work my entire life’.”

Iverson added she’s looking forward to her time has President of the OFB, an organization she says feels more like family.

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