Term Expires: November 2024
Soil and Water Conservation Commission Chair
As chair of Oregon’s Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Barbara Boyer is automatically a member of State Board of Agriculture. However, her interests and experiences go far beyond conservation issues. She’s part of a small business. She’s involved in community supported agriculture and the local farmers’ market. She is an organic producer but has grown conventionally. She’s involved in nutrition issues and is a passionate supporter of farmland preservation through land use efforts.
So it’s fair to say, Barbara Boyer hopes to bring more than just a conservation perspective.
Born and raised on the east coast, Boyer graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in plant science. She was also a scholarship athlete as part of the women’s gymnastics team. After graduation, Boyer set sights on Oregon’s nursery industry, which was booming in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Barbara and her husband Tom took over the family farm’s operations in 1999 and also created two businesses from their farm– a company called Gourmet Hay and a small community supported agriculture operation where families are paying to grow organic vegetables. Boyer is clearly an advocate for local agriculture. In 2000, Boyer co-founded the McMinnville Farmers’ Market.
In 2004, Stan Christensen, who had been a director with the Yamhill County Soil and Water Conservation District for more than a half century, decided to retire. One of his last duties was to knock on Barbara Boyer’s door and ask her to run for his position at the SWCD. Just as it was when she was recruited by UConn to be part of the gymnastics team, Boyer said yes to Christensen and was elected.
The Yamhill County SWCD is considered cutting edge and many other districts around the state often seek its advice on a number of issues, especially farmland preservation. It’s not surprising that many of the tasks performed by the SWCD involve key issues facing the Board of Agriculture, including water quality and land use.