McGregor named FCAD Honorary Farmer of the Year

According to the Webster Dictionary, dedication is defined with a photograph of Alex McGregor*, this year's Honorary Farmer of the 2014 Farmer Consumer Awareness Day (FCAD).

Dedication to the agricultural community resembles a family trait in the McGregor clan. Alex McGregor's son, Ian, is the latest in a long line, five generations in fact, of pioneering farmers in Washington state.

Alex McGregor toiled in the fields of his family's farm while attending high school in Hooper, Washington. He claims he was in the top four of his senior class, a distinction he said each of his fellow graduates can also claim. His educational career eventually earned him a Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington. His focus was the history of the American West, a subject he later taught at Whitman College and UW.

The McGregor family has a rich history in Eastern Washington. Alex McGregor, with gusto, recites letters written by his great uncle, Archie McGregor. One letter written in 1884 Archie talks about walking 60 miles without food through the Big Bend Country, enjoying it so much he "took up" 160 acres of the land.

Archie McGregor, along with his three brothers Peter, John and Alex "A.C." (Alex McGregor's great grandfather) settled along the Whitman and Adams County line. In 1884 with a $5,000 loan at 18 percent interest the McGregor brothers began to earn a living, make a life and build one of the now-oldest corporations in Washington State history. The McGregor Ranch is 132 years old. Wheat, irrigated alfalfa and cattle are still raised on the ranch.

Alex and the McGregor family have built their success and reputation on what Alex McGregor calls "old-time values" and "the pioneer spirit" including determination, optimism, tenacity, industry, work, character, honesty and fair dealings.

Alex McGregor said it was his cousin, Bill McGregor, who said, "Pioneers came equipped with three traits that helped them; dyed in the wool optimism, a wry, self deprecating sense of humor that helped them overcome obstacles along the way, and a tenacity that verged on stubbornness."

And although Alex McGregor dedicated his studies to the history of the region's agriculture, his return to the industry and the family business was powered from another direction.

"I came back to agriculture fascinated with possibilities of the future," he said.

Today's farmer, Alex McGregor said, has seen the biggest gains in productivity and stewardship of any generation since crops were first sown 11,000 years ago. He said modern farmers have reduced water erosion and dust while increasing production. He said the challenge is to continue increasing production while reducing water and resource consumption.

There is no doubt the McGregor Company will be an active member of the modern agricultural frontier. The McGregor Company, Alex McGregor said, has been at the forefront of agricultural science since 1948 when the family opened the first soil lab  in the basement of their ranch. The research conducted there proved food (wheat) yields could triple by replenishing soils of depleted land.

Founded on fertilizer production, McGregor Company, the second arm of the McGregor Corporation, is currently in its 66th year of service, providing agronomic advice, input and equipment.

The company serves Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and Northeastern Oregon. It has more than 40 business locations, including one in Quincy, Washington.

The McGregors continue to look to the future of agriculture and have acquired a precision-ag software company and opened their own division of precision equipment for wheat production.

"You can't stand still in this business of agriculture," Alex McGregor said.

For the last 10 years the McGregor Company has worked with the Romano family at Quincy Farm Chemicals to bring North Central Washington excellent service to the agricultural sector.

"Quincy Farm Chemicals is another pioneer fertilizer and farm supply firm we were proud to join forces with several years ago. The Romano family built that business from the ground up, starting not long after the first irrigation water reached Quincy, and assembled a fine team of dedicated, hard working people. We are proud to continue that tradition - both families have deep roots and deeply held values about the importance of serving agriculture, and serving it well," Alex McGregor said.

Pete Romano said Alex McGregor is a "great guy, very grounded. Very enthusiastic, very well spoken," and the Honorary Farmer award is, "very well deserved." Romano said he appreciates Alex McGregor's advocacy for agriculture in the public and political arena, and is "always fighting for the farm families in America."

Chet Pederson is a co-founder and committee chairman of Quincy's annual FCAD. Pederson said the Honorary Farmer award recognizes individuals who have been active in their community and in the agricultural world.

The FCAD is not the first committee to recognize the work of Alex McGregor and his family. In 2013 Alex McGregor and his company received the Community Revitalization Award from Spokane Chamber of Commerce for their work in LaCrosse, Washington, where they restored a grocery store, bank and cafe there.

The company is dedicated to preserving the communities in which is serves, Alex McGregor said, including some towns numbering a mere 25 residents. "We have a struggle making sure we have critical mass and infrastructure (schools)," he said.

Many McGregor employees, whom Alex McGregor refers to as "colleagues," hold prestigious places in their community, including 75 volunteer firefighters, city council members and mayors.

The company does its part in building their future workforce, as well, as has award 71 $1,000 scholarships to high school graduates pursuing study in agriculture over the last 12 years.

The Quincy Community Center has also benefited from the McGregor's pioneer spirit with recent upgrades and new furnishings.

Alex McGregor was recently inducted into the Mid-Columbia Agriculture Hall of Fame.

The McGregor Company has received 18 state, 14 regional and five national Environmental Respect awards.

Alex McGregor is an active member of the board for the Association of Washington Business, Washington State Historical Society and the WSU College of Agriculture and Human Resources National Board of Advisers.

His latest book, "Harvest Heritage," co-authored with Richard Scheuerman, recently hit shelves.

Alex McGregor is more than qualified to be the Honorary Farmer, Chet Pederson said.

You can see Alex McGregor accept his award during the FCAD, "on behalf of the remarkable farm families of the Inland NW region."

FCAD is a learning experience between the consumer and the farmer. It showcases farming at its finest level and attracts people from all over Washington, and the I-90 corridor across several states.

*Actual Webster definition of dedication: a feeling of very strong support for or loyalty to someone or something : the quality or state of being dedicated to a person, group, cause, etc.