September 03, 2004
Rancher Robinette tends sustainable issues

Capital Press, by Scott A. Yates, Staff Writer

Maurice Robinette has never been a typical rancher

SPOKANE—When he left his family’s place outside of Cheney, Wash., he went to college and got a sociology degree. He wound up doing social impact studies for a Montana energy development company for three years before returning home.

It wasn’t long after that before he started experimenting with a new cattle grazing system. Then, he was a leader in the fight against locating a landfill in the region. Later he went through the Washington Agriculture Forestry Education Foundation program.

Now 53, Robinette is not only running 80 pairs of cattle and another 100 yearlings, he’s the Eastern Washington coordinator for the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network. Considered a west side environmental group by many, the network hired Robinette last December to lead the network’s biotech wheat campaign in light of the imminent release of Roundup Ready wheat.

The fact that Monsanto decided to mothball the technology has not affected Robinette’s position, but it will affect the tasks he’s assigned to follow in Eastern Washington. The network is still hammering out exactly what those tasks will be, but Robinette is betting it’s in the area of economic sustainability.

The WSFFN refers to itself as a “broad-based statewide advocacy organization for sustainable and organic agriculture and independent family farms.” Robinette said that includes a heavy focus on the economics of keeping farm families in place.

“That is what appealed to me about the organization. They are really looking at the economic aspects of conventional agriculture and making sure the family farm keeps thriving in this state,” he said.

That includes casting a critical eye at agricultural consolidation. Bonnie Rice, the network’s director, said she gets nervous over the ever-shrinking number of farmers and what it means to her food supply.

“I want to talk to farmers about those changes and how these market forces have impacted them and their communities,” she said.

In the meantime, biotech issues haven’t disappeared from the network’s radar just because Monsanto decided to hold back. Roundup Ready alfalfa and biopharming are both coming down the pike.

“We know the issue isn’t going to go away, so we’ll continue to look at how it will impact Washington agriculture,” Rice said.

In the meantime, she said she expects Robinette will continue building relationships within agriculture, seeking growers’ perspectives while discussing how to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Bill Aal, a member of the network’s board, said he hopes Robinette can serve as a conduit to tell farmers’ stories outside of farming country.

“They don’t feel very heard. The question is how can we look at these trends and break them down into human terms,” he said.

Robinette said he believes the network is already hearing from one voice in agriculture and he sees himself as a potential channel for many more.

“My position provides a communication link from east side concerns to west side organizations. It is an opportunity for conventional agriculture to get their message to the west side,” he said. “They are interested in what we do.”

Scott Yates is based in Spokane, Wash. His e-mail address is cpspokane@comcast.net.