THE VOICE: Alex McGregor speaks out for Northwest farmers

THE VOICE: Alex McGregor speaks out for Northwest farmers

• “When Alex speaks, everybody listens,” said Colfax cattle rancher Tom Kammerzell, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association president.
• Chairman of The McGregor Company, McGregor advocates on behalf of farm families on a wide range of issues, including maintaining the services of the Snake River dams.

Story by Matthew Weaver, Capital Press, Jan. 19, 2024

COLFAX, Wash. — Any public meeting receives a jolt of energy the moment Alex McGregor stands up to speak.

“Good morning!” he’ll revive the audience with a booming voice. Or “Good afternoon, friends!”

A microphone is usually unnecessary.

The chairman of The McGregor Company, a major provider of fertilizers and other inputs in the Northwest, uses that voice to advocate on matters critical for farm families: Conservation policy. The farm bill. Environmental issues.

McGregor, 74, is particularly involved in the long-running fight to maintain the four lower Snake River dams. He calls recent federal mediation in a lawsuit over dam operations “miscast and even deceitful.”

The Biden administration and plaintiffs announced a settlement agreement in December. Most ag and electric utility stakeholders felt ignored.

“You have to have sound science and meaningful dialogue as cornerstones in that process,” McGregor said. “The benefits of the dams are substantial, and trying to shut out agriculture, home owners and businesses is highly inappropriate.”

District Judge Michael Simon will decide whether to stay the litigation following a Jan. 12 deadline for the government to respond to filings by all parties involved in the lawsuit, in reaction to the proposed plan.

The plan moves the region into “areas of uncertainty that are troublesome,” McGregor said.

“...If we go through this process of restricting clean hydropower that can be generated, and making transport by barge more difficult and less safe, that to me is a dead-end road,” he said.

McGregor works alongside longtime company employee Leslie Druffel. Druffel serves as co-chair of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association’s Inland Ports and Navigation Group, an intervenor-defendant during the mediation.

“We’re both going full-blast trying to speak out on the issues that matter,” McGregor said. “I haven’t slowed down, but the pace of the challenges has accelerated.”

The company has advocated on behalf of agriculture, rural communities and electricity ratepayers all along.

“We’re not about to stop now,” McGregor said.

The McGregor Company

There’s an enormous wealth of knowledge and history behind that voice.

McGregor’s family dates back more than 140 years on the Palouse, raising sheep, wheat, alfalfa and barley.

Sherman McGregor, Alex’s father, began experimenting with commercial fertilizers in 1948, working with other farmers and the Washington State College dryland experiment station in Lind.

Research and agronomy efforts proved so successful that Sherman founded The McGregor Company in 1956.

Today, 36 company locations offer fertilizer, agri-chemical and equipment services throughout Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Alex took over as president in 1989. He moved into the chairman role in 2017, as son Ian became president.

Importance of farm families

McGregor grew up “in that tiny little town” of Hooper, Wash., about 45 miles west of Colfax, where the company is headquartered. When he was a kid, it had a population of about 50 people. Today, about 25 people live there.

He spent a year at law school, then got his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural history at the University of Washington.

Rather than studying the history of farm families, he wanted to be involved in serving them.

“I’ve been at this for 48 years come February,” McGregor said. “What drives me now is a sense of how important farm families are to agriculture, and how important agriculture is to the Inland Northwest.”

About 96% of the arable land in Washington is farmed by family enterprises, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

McGregor points to gains the industry has made during the lifetime of today’s farmers: Productivity has increased 200%, waterborne soil erosion has been reduced 85%, dust reduced six-fold and stubble burning reduced 22-fold.

They are “the biggest gains in productivity and stewardship of any generation since crops were first sown 11,000 years ago,” McGregor said. “It’s a really good message.”

And McGregor is a really good messenger, industry leaders say.

‘When Alex speaks, everybody listens’

“He is a kind and enthusiastic supporter of everyone, and sees the good in the world that oftentimes many of us forget to look at,” said Druffel, the company’s outreach coordinator and McGregor’s partner in advocacy.

“When Alex speaks, everybody listens,” said Tom Kammerzell, president of the waterways association and a Colfax, Wash., cattle rancher. “He is well-spoken, makes his point and does his homework. He advocates and speaks from the heart. Alex is as good as it gets.”

“Alex McGregor’s impact on Washington agriculture is undeniable,” said Derek Sandison, state Department of Agriculture director. “His experience in and passion for the industry are what continue to make him such a valuable advocate and trusted voice. I appreciate his leadership and the wealth of knowledge he brings to every collaborative opportunity.”

“He enthusiastically shares his voice, his passion, and his historical knowledge of our region and our ag industry, providing important background to leaders, lawmakers, and the public,” said Michelle Hennings, executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers. “When we do tours, especially of the Snake River dams, Alex can connect the dots between what people are seeing and how that touches their lives in a way few others can.”

McGregor has been recognized as WAWG’s Member of the Year several times, Hennings said, “an honor he truly deserves.”

Historian Richard Scheuerman, a longtime friend and collaborator, recalled a time McGregor testified before Congress about the farm bill.

“Literally in the same week, he’s in Washington, D.C., with the top decision makers in the land working on policy favorable to farmers nationwide, and ... he’s visiting with a group of elementary children in rural LaCrosse about the story of agriculture in the Northwest,” Scheuerman said. “He cares about second-graders and he cares about farmers in the Inland Northwest and beyond. He just operates at all these levels, and it’s incredibly impressive.”

Personal time

On a recent Wednesday, McGregor was developing the company’s annual presentation for upcoming grower winter agronomy meetings.

He then turned his attention to maintaining crop insurance in the new farm bill in Congress, an ongoing concern.

Later that evening, he and Linda, his wife of 46 years, would babysit several of their 12 grandchildren. They have three kids — Ian, Kate and Emily.

On weekends, he likes to drive rail motorcars, or “speeders,” often traveling by rail to Thornton, St. John and Hooper with up to 40 other people in 20 speeder cars.

Traveling by rail gives him a new perspective on the land, even in places with which he’s familiar, he said.

He plans to write a new edition of his first book, “Counting Sheep,” focusing on his 50 years in agriculture – as time allows.

“I’m hoping the pace of challenges slows down a bit,” he said. “But I don’t see that happening right away.”

What’s at stake

It’s more important than ever to help young people understand agriculture, and why it matters, McGregor said.

“If people live a long ways from the farm or are three generations removed from agriculture, they don’t understand, and that’s really our responsibility – to make sure that they do,” he said. “Whether they could or should, they won’t, they have other things to do – unless we reach out and tell our story.”

He’ll continue to help doing that wherever he can, he said.

“I want another generation to have their time in the barrel, too,” he said. “We need to help those young people understand: Opportunity, what’s at stake, why it matters. We’ll get that story done, all of us, but so far, results are mixed.”

‘When we all pull together’

McGregor recently came across a 1998 article he wrote for the industry magazine Wheat Life.

It was all about dams and salmon.

“Same story today,” he said. “It means we haven’t advanced very far, because for 25 years, things have been driven by lawsuits.”

Agricultural stakeholders aren’t convinced breaching the dams will solve the problem of fish survival. They say more information is needed about ocean warming or latent mortality – the death of salmon in estuaries or the ocean because of the stress experienced passing through the dams. Salmon returns have also struggled in West Coast rivers that have no dams.

They’re concerned about negative environmental and economic repercussions if the dams are removed, including the loss of barging on the river system that is used to get crops to overseas markets. More pollution, higher electricity costs and the loss of irrigation water are additional concerns.

McGregor fears both political parties are losing track of the importance of international trade.

“The difference it makes for our economy, but the difference it makes for the world, when hunger is at, alas, record levels,” he said. “We can’t isolate ourselves from being an essential element in feeding the world.”

Farm families have a good reputation, but need to make sure the public and legislators understand what they do, and why, he said.

“We’re going down a wrong path when we focus on things that don’t improve the environment and don’t improve the survival of fish,” he said. “When we all pull together, we can get things done.”

‘Unquenchable optimism’

For veteran farmers disheartened by yet another legal battle over dams, McGregor points to “unquenchable optimism,” one of several key traits displayed by the pioneers as they came to the region.

“Look back at the achievements of this greatest generation of people now retiring,” he said. “We haven’t won all the battles, but we’ve really held our own pretty well, because we’ve been in the trenches, we’ve been speaking out. We have to keep doing that.”

He has a “great deal of admiration” for the farm families who set down roots in agriculture.

“If I can help remind people there are good reasons to be optimistic, help tell our story and win a skirmish or two along the way, I want to do that,” McGregor said. “But it’s bigger than me. ... It’s talented people on farms. It’s not that hard to speak out, you just do it, do it and do it. It gets easier over time. You might even get to a point where you are excited about it and want to tell the story. Then you’re on a roll.”

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From Joe Beach, editor/publisher, Capital Press, Jan. 19. 2024

Alex McGregor is a well-known and boisterous voice for agriculture in the Northwest.

He is the chairman of The McGregor Company, a major provider of fertilizers and other inputs in the Northwest.

This week, Matthew Weaver wrote an indepth profile of McGregor.

People who know him say his booming voice adds a jolt of energy to the room when he stands up to speak in advocacy on matters critical for farm families.

“When Alex speaks, everybody listens,” said Tom Kammerzell, president of the waterways association and a Colfax, Wash., cattle rancher. “He is well-spoken, makes his point and does his homework. He advocates and speaks from the heart. Alex is as good as it gets.”

McGregor works alongside longtime company employee Leslie Druffel. Druffel serves as co-chair of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association’s Inland Ports and Navigation Group, an intervenor-defendant during the mediation.

“We’re both going full-blast trying to speak out on the issues that matter,” McGregor said. “I haven’t slowed down, but the pace of the challenges has accelerated.”

People in the know say McGregor has made a difference.

“Alex McGregor’s impact on Washington agriculture is undeniable,” said Derek Sandison, state Department of Agriculture director. “His experience in and passion for the industry are what continue to make him such a valuable advocate and trusted voice. I appreciate his leadership and the wealth of knowledge he brings to every collaborative opportunity.”

It doesn’t appear that McGregor plans to stop anytime soon.

“I’ve been at this for 48 years come February,” McGregor said. “What drives me now is a sense of how important farm families are to agriculture, and how important agriculture is to the Inland Northwest.”

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Cutlines for photos. All photos by Matthew Weaver, Capital Press, and appeared in the Capital Press Jan. 19, 2024, issues unless otherwise indicated.

=McGregor Company President Alex McGregor, with son Ian McGregor, vice president of the company, in Colfax, Wash. Both are Pullman High School alumni. Screen grab from YouTube video posted by Pullman Regional Hospital on June 9, 2020.

=Alex McGregor at The McGregor Company headquarters in Colfax, Wash. The company offers fertilizer, agri-chemical and equipment services in 36 locations throughout Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

=Jason Biggs, director of the rail, freight and ports program for the Washington State Department of Transportation, visits with Alex McGregor during the Nov. 2 ceremony for the Winona train trestle, which was rebuilt after a fire in August.

=Alex McGregor and his father, Sherman McGregor, founder of The McGregor Company, in 1985. Courtesy of The McGregor Company

=Alex McGregor beams as the first grain train rolls across the rebuilt train trestle Nov. 2 in Winona, Wash.

=Alex McGregor participates in a tour designed to show regional and national ag leaders the importance of the lower Snake River dams in 2021.

=McGregor Co. employee Leslie Druffel serves as co-chair of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association’s Inland Ports and Navigation Group.

=A class photo of the students and teacher of the first through fourth grades of Hooper Grade School for the 1958-59 school year in Hooper, Wash. In the first row, from left, are Mary McGregor, unknown and Nancy Mays. In the second row, from left, are Vickie Tobin, Alex McGregor, Ina Marie Blegan and Mrs. Alley. Photo by Leo’s Studio, 1958. Photo courtesy of the Whitman County Library, from the private collection of The McGregor Company. (WCL0282, washingtonruralheritage.org) Photo appeared in an issue of Washington Association of Wheat Grower’s “Wheat Life Magazine.”

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Alex McGregor

Title: Chairman, The McGregor Company, in Colfax, Wash.

Age: 74

Hometown: Hooper, Wash.

Current location: Lives in the country outside Pullman, Wash.

Education: master’s degree and Ph.D., degree, both in agricultural history, University of Washington

Family: Wife Linda, married 46 years; children Ian, Kate and Emily; 12 grandchildren, ages ranging from 5 to 25

Books:

• “Counting Sheep, From Open Range to Agribusiness on the Columbia Plateau” – chosen by the Washington State Centennial Commission as one of the top one hundred books written in the state during its first century.

• “Harvest Heritage,” co-authored with Richard Scheuerman

• “Merchants, Packers, and a Rugged Path to Success, Walla Walla and the Mullan Road, 1860-83” in The Mullan Road, editors Paul McDermott, Ronald Grim and Philip Mobley.

Hobbies: Writing, stamp collecting, driving rail motor cars, also known as speeders

Website: https://https://mcgregor.com