January 14, 2022 @ 2:30 - 5:00 PM PST

Panelist Speakers

Nellie McAdams, Executive Director, Oregon Farmland Trust - Nellie grew up farming alongside her parents as the third generation on her family’s Gaston, Oregon hazelnut farm. She is an attorney and long-time advocate for farm succession planning and farmland preservation. As OAT’s founding Executive Director, Nellie is dedicated to working together to keep Oregon a great place to farm and live.

Diana Tourney, Accountant/Consultant, Oregon Small Business Development Center - Diana is an experienced accountant and operations professional with leadership through the CFO level. Her experience in rapid-growth start-ups, utilities, mergers and acquisitions, agriculture, customer care, technology, manufacturing, retail and logistics. She welcomes the opportunity to serve small business owners from inception through transition. Her classes and no-cost counseling appointments serve construction contractors, farmers & ranchers, businesses experiencing problems, mature businesses seeking to reach the next level or transition.

Geoffrey Van, Changing Hands Program Director, Rogue Farm Corps - The Changing Hands Program, originally called the Farm Preservation Program, was established in 2015 to address the threats facing Oregon’s farmland and the many interrelated barriers that beginning farmers and ranchers face in accessing land and capital. The program is now focused on an area of critical need for the next generation of farmers and ranchers: land access and intergenerational succession.

Richard Fiala, Owner/Farmer, Fiala Farms - The Fiala family owns 56 acres along the Tualatin River South of Lake Oswego, Oregon. Richard’s grandparents purchased the farm in 1906 and his father was born on the property in 1909. The farm has evolved from a small dairy to row crops for the fresh market in Portland. In the late 1950 it began to grow pole beans for a cannery in nearby Sherwood. In 1971 the farm changed back to row crops and started growing alfalfa. Today they now cater to the local population with their own farm stand filled with fruits and vegetables from their orchards and fields. They have a very busy October with Pumpkins and a 5 acre corn maze, and now have a fifth generation working on the farm (Richard’s grandchildren) but, the youngest at 2 years old only gets to drive a toy electric tractor.

Rick Cook, Owner/Farmer, Shipley-Cook Farmstead - The Shipley-Cook Farmstead is on the urban edge of Lake Oswego, Oregon. Original owner, Adam Shipley, bought the Shipley-Cook property in 1861 after a long trek to Oregon on the Oregon Trail. At the turn of the century, Shipley sold the farmland to the Cook’s and it has remained in the Cook family ever since. In 1993 Rick moved back to the family farm and helped to evolve it into what it is today - a vineyard, a community space, and a historical site. Shipley-Cook Historical Landmark

Business Evolution and Succession

Conference Session 3’s objective is to create connections among farmers with similar challenges related to business adaptation/evolution and provide hope for navigating these challenges. We will define known, common barriers to peri-urban farm business evolution and succession. Guest speakers and group discussions will be centered around understanding classic and innovative models of peri-urban farm business adaptation/evolution and business structures including navigating multigenerational farm business transitions and shifts in farm business market-focus.