An interview with Katy Coba, new director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture

Katy Coba becomes the 13th ODA director after being appointed by Governor Kulongoski in January. She is no stranger to agriculture or the department. Katy grew up on a Umatilla County wheat ranch and spent nearly six years at ODA from 1989-1994. She was a special assistant to the director and headed up ODA’s marketing efforts before joining Governor Kitzhaber’s staff, where she was a policy advisor on international trade. Immediately prior to rejoining ODA, she served as interim director of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. The following are excerpts of an interview with Coba conducted by ODA Director of Communications Bruce Pokarney.

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What are your perceptions of the agency and the agriculture industry as you come to the job?

First of all, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has a very strong reputation, both within the industry and within the legislature. The comments I’ve received early on are very positive for the department, for the employees, their professionalism, how they can both regulate the industry and also be sensitive to the fact that this is an industry that needs to make money. I think we have great employees and that’s well known throughout the state.

In terms of the industry, there is no question that it’s a challenging time for agriculture and has been for the last five to ten years. That varies among sectors within the industry. But we need to do everything we can as a department to promote the economic health of Oregon agriculture, work closely with producers and processors, and think of creative, new, innovative ideas to try to return more dollars to farmers and ranchers in the state.

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Is the most pressing issue just trying to keep the industry viable?

Keeping the industry alive and, at the same time, working with it to bring in new processing or new methods to add value to existing products. We also want to continue investment in research and technology development to determine if there are new products that we can grow in Oregon that would bring a return on investment for our farmers and ranchers.

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What will be ODA’s emphasis with you as director?

Our current mission is three-fold: to promote the economic health of the industry, to protect Oregon’s natural resources and environment, and to provide food safety and consumer protection. My personal goal coming in as director is to make the economic health of the industry the priority. That isn’t meant to take away from the other two components of our mission. But I think given what’s going on economically and, frankly, in the State of Oregon as a whole, we have got to figure out ways to make the agriculture industry stronger economically, add jobs for the industry, and continue promoting the health of agriculture in Oregon.

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Does ODA need to make changes to make this happen?

There are some severe budget challenges ahead. Frankly, I don’t see a lot of new resources coming into the agency right now given the budgetary environment for the state. So I think it’s going to be incumbent upon us, upon our management team, to figure out how the agency as a whole contributes to the economics of the industry. I know we’ve done a lot in that area and I think there are more things that we can do. I’ve asked our staff to start thinking about how their individual programs currently contribute to the economic viability of the industry and what we can do to tweak those programs to contribute even more. As an example, we have the Good Agricultural Practices/Good Handling Practices Audit program, which is a voluntary program, but really tracks food production from the ground up through the system all the way to the consumer. Frankly, I see that as a marketing tool for the industry. Throughout our agency and the programs we provide, we need to continue to explore how they can be used as marketing tools for the industry.

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Does that go for ODA’s regulatory programs?

Absolutely. Obviously regulation is a sensitive issue in Oregon right now. It’s sensitive not only in the ag industry, but in all industries statewide. We need to continually look at our regulatory programs and make sure they are streamlined, that they are efficient, that they do not place undue burden on the industry, and yet still meet our statutory requirements in terms of regulation. At the same time, I think we can help those in the industry — who are struggling perhaps to meet those regulations — try to help meet them in an easier way. We also want to point out how farmers and ranchers can use the practices that they have in meeting regulation — use those practices to market their products as well.

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Do you see ODA playing more of an advocacy role?

Certainly. We are the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Our job is to represent the agriculture industry within the state and within the state bureaucracy. I am also a director who is appointed by the governor. So I serve at the pleasure of the governor. To some extent, I obviously need to balance the needs and interests of the industry with the chief executive officer of the state, who is the governor. However, in my conversations with Governor Kulongoski — when we talked about me coming into this role — he is a very active supporter of the industry. That’s not to say he knows a lot about agriculture. But he feels it is an important piece of Oregon’s economy and he is looking to the department to provide him with advice about what he can do to help this industry succeed.

So I think we have an opportunity, working with this governor, to be advocates on issues that are important to the industry — to be advocates in the legislative process and, frankly, be advocates among our sister state agencies.

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Do you feel your background will help you do a good job as ODA director?

Yes. I am a native Oregonian, was born and raised in Pendleton, worked on our family wheat ranch up through college. My brother is now managing the farming operation. So I know first hand how difficult it is — certainly for the wheat industry, which is one of those sectors in agriculture that is suffering particularly hard right now. My roots are in the ground and I came to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, many years ago it seems. So in a way, it is kind of like coming home. I know what I’m getting into. I know the difficulties that are facing this industry. But I also tend to be an optimist and I’m hopeful the department can continue to help the industry be creative, be innovative, take advantage of the brainpower and knowledge that we have among our farmers, ranchers and others, and figure out new ways to make this industry healthy.

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How do you generally feel as you take on this new job?

I am very excited. I’m under no illusions about both the challenges facing the industry as well as the challenges facing state government. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is a state agency. Because of Oregon’s economy, state agencies and the legislature are struggling with what are core services that the state should provide. But I have a history working in state government and, frankly, I think I can bring that experience to this agency and help both ODA and the industry work within the system to do good things for Oregon.

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