There are many amazing students, clubs, and staff in the College of Agricultural Sciences. At the Celebrating Student Excellence Dinner that was hosted by CAS we were able to recognize some of them. The Agricultural Executive Council was acknowledged for leadership accomplishments that they have done throughout the school year.

The students in the clubs from our college voted on the best professor that’s been here for a while and new professor, as staff got to choose which club did the best this year. The award for Distinguished Professor of the Year went to Dr. Selina Heppell, New Professor of the Year went to Dr. James Sterns, and Club of the Year went to Dairy Club. The awards given to professors were for professors that had a positive impact on many students. The club award was given to the club that was very active in doing their own events, going to Ag Exec Council and other club’s events. We are very thankful for all the remarkable staff and students that are within the college.

Name and title: 

Carl B. Schreck, Professor of Fisheries and Unit Leader

Where are you from? 

Born and raised in San Francisco

Where did you attend college?

University of California, Berkeley as an undergrad

Colorado State University for grad school

What is your favorite college memory?

            There are tons, but one sharing the top with a couple of others has to be my wife and I living out of a backpack for 72 days straight in the High Sierras of California as part of my Master’s research.

What do you like most about OSU?

 No question!  The friendly people in general and the family atmosphere in my department.

What is your favorite agricultural commodity?

Chocolate and wine.  Sorry, can’t pick one over the other.

What is something that you enjoy doing in your free time? 

Fly fishing

Do you have any advice for students in the College of Agricultural Sciences?

            Don’t miss out on taking advantage of all of the neat courses and other experiences available at OSU that will enrich your life beyond landing a job after graduation.  Worded another way, it is more important in the long run to come out of here with a good general education that allows you to think and make sound decisions than a profession.

A lot of consumers do not know where their food comes from or the process it has gone through from Farm to Fork. This year, Ag Day set out to help consumers become more knowledgeable about their food and our growing industry.

Ag Day was kicked off Monday evening with speaker Marie Bowers from the Ag Chat Foundation, who grew up on a grass seed farm in Harrisburg, Oregon. She spoke about how Ag Chat on Twitter, helps keep farmers involved in social media to see what is going on in the world of agriculture and tell their story to consumers. Marie talked about her experiences with twitter defending agriculture from people who are misinformed about what we do or tweet misleading information.

On Tuesday, the clubs in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Forestry Club came together in the MU Quad to show the OSU community and visiting FFA students how they are each involved in the process of producing food or other products that we use every day. Hundreds got the opportunity to actually participate in agriculture, from cleaning their own grain to hands on interactions with livestock, visitors got the chance to see agriculture in action. As fewer and fewer people produce the food and fiber we need, events such as Ag Day help us educate others and tell our story. Thank you to all the clubs and supporters who helped make this year’s event possible.

Often in the news we hear about different problems in agriculture all over the United States. Some of these problems may include water rights for farmers or the recent issues facing the Bundy Ranch in Nevada. I order to discuss these and other important issues in agriculture, we hosted experts from different of agriculture to hear their views on ethics topics from the perspective of where they work and live.

This year’s panel consisted of Katie Fast from the Oregon Farm Bureau, Charlene Troost from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Karen Samek from Darigold, and Jack Gourley of Gourley Farms in Scio.

Each of them talked about their experiences in agriculture and the different problems that they have come across. The panelists presented many diverse views on topics, from a production standpoint, government standpoint, and advocacy organization view. While our industry consists of many opinions on a range of topics, it is the willingness to discuss these views that helps move our industry forward. We appreciate the time each of our speakers took to help educate our council members.

Oregon is known for its diversity in agriculture from cranberries to fish hatcheries. Each part of our state is known for a different emphasis in agriculture, and each year the Executive Council visits a distinct area of Oregon as part of the Spring Ag Industry Tour. This year, our group focused on the Oregon Coast and Portland area.

The tour started with the Oregon Farm Bureau in Salem where they talked about current issues facing Oregon Ag Producers including the new food regulations making their way through Washington. The tour also included a stop at the OSU Food Innovation Center in Portland to learn about how local foods get tested and marketed with a value added emphasis. Other stops included Tilla-Bay Farms in Tillamook, where the farmer uses a robotic milking system for his dairy, and the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center where participants got to see some the latest research being applied to help protect our fisheries. Overall, the tour exposed our members to new areas of our industry and related fields and helped broaden their perspective of what Agriculture looks like in our great state.

On February 28^th, the Agricultural Executive Council hosted the College of Agricultural Science’s annual dance and social event. The council would like to thank the Country Western Dance Club who did an excellent job of supplying the music and dancing, as well as the Meat Science Club who prepared an amazing pulled pork dinner. Several clubs were represented with over 180 people in attendance. Though a social event, the most important aspect of the dance is the collection of non-perishable food items, which was donated this year to the Corvallis food bank.  The council would like to thank everyone in attendance who helped make this event a fun, safe, and successful opportunity for clubs and students in the college to network and socialize.

The Agricultural Executive Council held their annual Etiquette Dinner on Jan. 22^nd at the Oldfield Animal Teaching Facility. This year’s event was facilitated by Brian Field and Royce Ann Simmons from Harvest Capital Company in Canby, Oregon. Harvest Capital Company is a provider of long-term capital for agriculture.

Those in attendance had the opportunity to learn proper etiquette in a variety of settings, including a business dinner or interview with a potential employer over a meal. The speakers also discussed professional attire, meal and table etiquette, and communicating as professionals – providing examples of situations form their own business and hiring practices.  Students in attendance also had the opportunity to network with their peers from other clubs and organizations, and will hopefully share their knowledge when they return to their respective club meetings.

Students from the College of Agricultural Sciences have continued to set the standard for professionalism and we appreciate the time Mr. Field and Ms. Simmons dedicated to the continued success of our students.

More than 200 college of Agricultural Sciences alumni returned to their alma mater to celebrate homecoming 2013. ER Jackman Friends and Alumni welcomed them to Corvallis with a pre-game tailgater, which included current students, former classmates and professors, and an abundance of food.

Members of the student clubs within the College of Agricultural Sciences developed interactive booths to showcase their club’s events, activities, and contributions to hands-on learning. Young Cattlemen’s Association had a roping cow for people to practice their roping skills, which was a big hit among the kids who attended with their families. Voted the most interactive booth, the Dairy club brought a replica cow that allowed guests to practice their hand milking skills along with a newborn calf.

It was exciting to see so many agricultural graduates back at Oregon State to join in on the excitement of homecoming. The tailgater grew from last year’s inaugural event and plans are underway to improve the event further for next year. The Agricultural Executive council would like to thank the clubs who helped make the event possible, along with the College’s Director of External Relations and Marketing, Betsy Hartley.

On October 12^th and 13^th the Agricultural Executive Council went on retreat in Newport, Oregon. The team worked diligently to plan and ensure the success of the council’s annual events, including Ag Day, the Etiquette Dinner, and the Ethics Panel among many others. The team’s primary new goal is to get more involved in the clubs within the College of Agricultural Sciences and develop more outreach to other student organizations around campus. The tradition of establishing a “wingman” for each club was enhanced, allowing for personalized updates, messages, and assistance to each club in the council by a specific officer. The officer team also committed to being more involved in ASOU, educating more people throughout campus about the College of Agricultural Sciences and our amazing clubs and programs.

As the year progresses, the executive team welcomes any student comments and input on how the council can better meet the needs of the students in the college. We look forward to working with each and every student and club this year.

On Monday, November 25 SACNAS will be hosting a Wellness event from 6pm to 7pm at the Native American Long House. There will be a special guest from the Student Health Services to discuss healthy eating habits. Everyone is welcome to attend and learn some important tips on living and eating healthy while in college.

Take a break from studying and homework to come join SACNAS with eating well and being active.