FOR THE YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Farmers and ranchers typically think of themselves as independentoperators.
Des O'Rourke, director of Washington State University's IMPACTcenter, thinks that self-image is not only passe, but harmful.
Fortunately, a new image is emerging as producers band togetherto survive increasingly difficult economic times. In a way, it stemsfrom such old models as producers forming irrigation districts orgrower cooperatives, such as Tree Top, to do what single growerscannot do for themselves.
The new model, however, carries this mechanism to an even morelocal level where it involves relatively small numbers of producers.
Phill Fossum, who operates 400 acres of orchards in the Gleedarea northwest of Yakima, is numbered among the new breed. In 1994,he and 35 neighbors teamed up with five area warehouses tounderwrite the installation of a weather station to providecomprehensive, real-time data from Washington State University'sPublic Agriculture Weather System - PAWS for short.
During the growing season, Fossum frequently connects hiscomputer to the Internet, signs on to a Washington State Universityhome page on the World Wide Web, downloads real-time weather data tohis computer, puts it in an Excel spread sheet and analyzes it tohelp him make decisions about frost protection and insect anddisease management.
O'Rourke says producers must increasingly work together tosurvive in today's business environment. "Producers need to workwith neighbors, extension agents, fieldmen, marketers and others ona consistent basis," he says.
In a recent essay on workshops and conferences, O'Rourke lamentedthat many producers return home from these forums, enthusiasticabout new ideas, but don't apply them.
It is clear that many of the most pressing problems faced bygrowers can only be dealt with by groups of growers actingtogether," O'Rourke says.
He cites advances in pest control and potato blight prevention asexamples of the need for group action. The success of many of theseapproaches depends on all producers within a geographic districtuniting to apply technologies. In other cases, not everyone in anarea has to cooperate, but groups of cooperators can benefit byacting together.
"The greater need for group efforts creates a whole new challengefor growers, packers, processors and marketers in managing theirtime and that of their employees," O'Rourke says.
"They need to clearly define for their business which essentialactivities are under their independent control and which activitiesthey need to work on with other individuals and groups whom theycannot control." O'Rourke says this may require operators toreallocate their own time, as well as that of their employees.
"For many growers, this reallocation of time will be difficultboth philosophically and practically," O'Rourke says. "One of theattractions of the farmer's life is the ability to be one's ownboss. There is a strong belief that hard work will be rewarded andthere is a great reluctance to depend on others for success."O'Rourke also notes that it's a lot easier to control oneself, or afew employees, than to get a group of farmers to work together on acommon cause. That's especially true if farmers continue to think ofthemselves as independent operators.
But O'Rourke sees no alternative. "Even the largest farmers arebeing forced to work collectively to meet new market demands, copewith new government requirements and deal with new technologies." Itmay be of little consolation to producers who have invested heavilyinto the "lonesome cowboy" image, but the times are changing.Farmers and ranchers who want to remain in business well into thenew century will have to change with the times, as their fathers andgrandfathers did, or find another way of life.
Terence L. Day is a news writer for the Washington StateUniversity College of Agriculture and Home Economics. He welcomescorrespondence in care of this paper, or e-mail at terence@wsu.edu
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