Biography/History

Roger John Blobaum was born in 1929 in Hastings, Nebraska, and grew up on a crop and livestock farm in southern Iowa.

Blobaum served in the United States Army on two separate occasions. In 1948-1949, he served in the Public Information Office at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he edited The Guidon, the weekly post newspaper. He also was graduated from the Armed Forces Information School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, before his release from active duty. In 1950 he was recalled to active duty in Asia, where he was the non-commissioned officer in charge of Information and Education at a Japan-based 1500-bed hospital that received and treated airlifted Korean War casualties. He received the Japan Occupation and Korean Service ribbons in November 1951, and was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant.

In 1955, he received a B.S. in agricultural journalism from Iowa State University. He worked for seven years for the Associated Press, first as a statehouse reporter and editor in Madison, Wisconsin, and then as a state trunk editor in Chicago, Illinois. He earned an M.S. in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1963.

Blobaum's involvement with Hubert Humphrey began when he ran the senator's press room at the National Democratic Convention in Atlantic City in 1964. When Humphrey was nominated at the convention, Blobaum became assistant press secretary and was on Humphrey's traveling staff during his successful campaign for vice president. He traveled with Vice President Humphrey through his 1966 national campaign to help elect Democratic governors and members of Congress. When Humphrey announced his campaign for president in 1968, Blobaum was named executive director of Rural Americans for Humphrey and, following the 1968 national convention, was the undercover representative following and reporting to the Humphrey campaign on the speeches and other presentations of Spiro Agnew, the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Blobaum also worked as an agriculture staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate during the 1960s, including time as press secretary to Senator Gaylord Nelson (1964-1966). He traces his interest in organic farming to a visit he made in 1971 to Clarence van Sant's farm in Grinnell, Iowa, where he was deeply impressed by the health of the soil, farm animals, and row crops. After discovering from Van Sant that the Rodale Press was a primary source of organic farming information, Blobaum approached the press and developed a relationship as an editorial consultant. This work included visiting outstanding organic farms, interviewing and photographing the farmers, and writing stories about them for publication in Organic Farming and Gardening magazine over a five-year period ending in 1978. He also wrote similar stories for other publications.

As director of communications and policy development for the Institute for Alternative Agriculture (later known as the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and then the Henry A. Wallace Center for Agricultural & Environmental Policy), he edited its monthly newsletter and served as managing editor for the American Journal of Alternative Agriculture. Blobaum accompanied the first delegation of U.S. farmers to China in 1975 while the Cultural Revolution was still underway and a year later helped organize a second delegation that included two agricultural editors, two rural sociologists, a wheat breeder, and a soil scientist. After speaking at an international symposium in Beijing in 1993, he returned to China nine times to lecture at China Agricultural University, to provide training and other organic development services to the Ministry of Agriculture's China Green Food Development Center, and to make presentations at conferences related to global organic marketing and international organic accreditation.

On the national level, as interest in alternative agriculture increased in the early 1970s, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the agricultural establishment were generally hostile to the organic approach. This attitude prevailed until 1979, when Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland authorized a study of organic farming, which resulted in a 1980 report that recommended federal government research, education, and other support for organic agriculture. Copies of the report were widely distributed and an organic farming coordinator was hired. A change of administration the following year resulted in the destruction of remaining copies of the report, the termination of the organic farming coordinator position, and a resumption of USDA hostility to organic farming that persisted through efforts to pass the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990.

From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, Blobaum served on several national committees, including the Cost of Production Advisory Committee and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Advisory Committee (both USDA committees), Food Industry Advisory Committee (Department of Energy), the Solar Energy Research Institute's National Advisory Committee, the Appropriate Technology Advisory Committee (National Science Foundation), and panels on food and agriculture research, assessment of local development technology, and dispersed electric generating technologies (Office of Technology Assessment).

From 1977 to 1983, he acted as President of Roger Blobaum & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in alternative agriculture, renewable energy, and appropriate technology. Clients included the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Energy, Community Services Administration, National Science Foundation, Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and the National Center for Appropriate Technology.

He also served as Executive Director of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute and the Family Farm Defense Fund; as Director of Americans for Safe Food (a project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest), for which he organized four national agriculture policy conferences; and co-chaired the Organic Food Act Working Group, a coalition that worked for passage of the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990. In 1991, he was a member of the group that established the World Sustainable Agriculture Association (WSAA) in Japan. Blobaum served in various capacities for WSAA, including chairing the Policy Directorate, serving on the Executive Committee, directing the activities of the Washington, D.C. office, and serving as WSAA representative to the Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992) and the international conference on nutrition.

While working for the WSAA in the 1990s, Blobaum also worked on specific projects to advance sustainable agriculture work in other countries. Blobaum accepted a Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA) assignment at the Regional Environmental Center (REC) in Budapest, Hungary to prepare a sustainable agriculture small grants program for thirteen countries in Central and Eastern Europe. He returned as a consultant the following year to assist the REC staff in assessing problems experienced in making the first round of grants. Two years later he returned as a consultant to the Field Crops Institute in Beltsy, Moldova, and keynoted a national sustainable agriculture conference sponsored by the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1992, he established Blobaum & Associates, a consulting firm offering management services for organic and sustainable agriculture organizations. Over the years, clients have included the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Organic Foods Production Association of North America/Organic Trade Association, the World Sustainable Agriculture Association, China Green Food Development Center, National Sustainable Agriculture Coordinating Council, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, and The Ceres Trust. He also served as director of public relations for the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the National Farmers Organization (NFO).

From 1995 to 1998, he served as Project Coordinator for the Soul of Agriculture, a project of the Center for Respect of Life and Environment (CRLE), which focused on creation of a guiding document that would recognize agricultural impact on the environment. During this period he also served as a delegate to the Food Labeling Committee of Codex Alimentarius, a United Nations-sponsored food standards agency, and was part of the Codex group that developed international organic guidelines.

In 1997, he co-founded Organic Watch, a coalition of groups that monitored public comments on the first proposed national organic rule, and served on its Executive Committee. He has been a frequent speaker at conferences and other events and testified before Congressional subcommittees on eleven occasions over a twenty-year period regarding renewable energy, rural development, agricultural land, and national organic standards.

Blobaum has served on numerous boards, including the Rural Advancement Fund (1980-1983), Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (1994-1996), Organic Farming Research Foundation (1994-2000), International Organic Accreditation Services (1994-2006), and Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (2005-2014). He has written numerous articles and papers, including the “Inside Organics” columns he wrote for the Organic Broadcaster, a MOSES publication, from 2005 to 2010. He also proposed and helped develop for MOSES its Organic University, a farmer-to-farmer mentoring program, and its Organic Farmer of the Year initiative.

In 2013 he received an Honorary Recognition Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for “significant contributions and selfless service to organic farming.”

For more information on Roger Blobaum's activities, projects, photographs, and the text of many key documents in the organic movement, see http://rogerblobaum.com.

Chronology

1929	Born in Hastings, Nebraska
1955	B.S., agricultural journalism, Iowa State University
1956-1960	Statehouse reporter, Associated Press, Madison, Wisconsin
1960-1963	State-Trunk editor, Associated Press, Chicago, Illinois
1963	M.S., communications, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1963-1964	Congressional fellow, American Political Science Association. One of eight journalists selected in a national competition for a one-year study of Congress
1964	Assistant press secretary to Senator Hubert Humphrey in Presidential campaign tour
1966	Traveling assistant to Vice President Hubert Humphrey on national campaign for Democratic candidates
1964-1966	Press Secretary and Legislative Assistant to Senator Gaylord Nelson, specializing in agricultural and environmental policy
1966-1968	Director of Public Relations, National Farmers Union, Denver, Colorado and Washington, D.C.
1968	Served on staff of Humphrey for President campaign as Executive Director of Rural Americans for Humphrey
1969-1970	Senior Legislative Assistant, Democratic Study Group, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. Task Force Staff Director for Food and Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, Consumer Affairs, and Economic and Tax Policy (10-15 members of Congress each)
1970	Democratic Party nominee for Congress in Iowa's 4th district
1970-1977	Private agricultural consultant
1971-1978	Southern Iowa Council of Governments (SICOG), Board of Directors: Vice Chairman (1973-1974); Chairman (1974-1975); Executive Committee (1973-1978)
1972-1976	Editorial consultant to Rodale Press; included writing organic farmer profiles for Rodale publications
1972-1976	Midwest Organizer, founding Board member, National Coalition for Land Reform
1974-1976	Member, Cost of Production Advisory Committee, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
1975-1976	Accompanied U.S. agricultural delegations to the People's Republic of China
1977-1983	President, Roger Blobaum & Associates (1977-1983), a consulting firm for design and management of alternative agriculture, renewable energy, and appropriate technology projects. Clients included the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, Community Services Administration, National Science Foundation, Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and the National Center for Appropriate Technology
1977-1981	Member, Small Farm Advisory Committee, National Rural Center
1978-1979	Member, Food Industry Advisory Committee, Department of Energy
1975-1982	Rural America, Board of Directors: Vice Chairman (1975-1976); National Chairman (1976-1978); Executive Committee (1975-1982)
1976-1979	Principal Investigator, Small Farm Energy Project (Center for Rural Affairs), national research and demonstration project in Nebraska focusing on energy conservation and alternative energy on fifty small farms
1978-1980	Advisory Panel member, Assessment of Technology for Local Development, Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
1978-1980	Appropriate Technology Advisory Committee, National Science Foundation
1979-1981	National Advisory Board, Solar Energy Research Institute (funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)
1979-1982	National Solar Lobby, Board of Directors: National Secretary (1980-1981); National Treasurer (1981-1982)
1980-1981	Advisory Panel member, Assessment of Food and Agriculture Research and Assessment of Dispersed Electric Generating Technologies, Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
1980-1983	Rural Advancement Fund, Board of Directors: Chairman of Executive Committee (1982-1983)
1981-1983	American Solar Energy Society, Agriculture Division, Board of Directors
1984-1985	Director of Public Relations, National Farmers Organization
1985-1986	Director of Communications and Policy Development, Managing Editor: American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, Institute for Alternative Agriculture (IAA, later known as the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and then the Henry A. Wallace Center for Agricultural & Environmental Policy)
1986-1988	Founder and Executive Director, Family Farm Defense Fund, a public interest law firm
1989-1991	Director, Americans for Safe Food (a project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest); organized four national organic and sustainable agriculture policy conferences
1990	Co-chair, Organic Food Act Working Group, coalition of thirty organizations that helped shape and support passage of the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA)
1991-1993	Chair, Organic Food Act Implementation Working Group, mobilized public support for annual Congressional appropriations for the National Organic Program
1991-1996	Member of founding group for World Sustainable Agriculture Association (WSAA); chair of Policy Directorate; member of Executive Committee; director of Washington, D.C. office; Associate Director (1992-1996); WSAA accredited representative to United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and the International Conference on Nutrition (1992), sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization
1991-1996	Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Advisory Committee member (1991); Executive Director (part-time, 1992-1994); Board member (1994-1996)
1992-present	President, Blobaum & Associates, a consulting firm to organic and sustainable agriculture organizations (including the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Organic Foods Production Association of North America/Organic Trade Association, WSAA, China Green Food Development Center, National Sustainable Agriculture Coordinating Council, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, and The Ceres Trust)
1992-2007	Member of founding group of National Dialogue on Sustainable Agriculture, which became the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture and later merged with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)
1992-1993	First Washington, D.C. representative of Organic Trade Association (formerly Organic Food Production Association of North America); member of Accreditation Committee
1993-1994	Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA) assignment at Regional Environmental Center (REC), Budapest. Developed an organic and sustainable agriculture grants program for twelve countries in central and eastern Europe. Returned twice to the REC as a consultant for follow-up
1994-2000	Board member, Organic Farming Research Foundation
1995	Appointed to National Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Council by Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to advise the Department on research and education initiatives
1994-2009	Member of Acccreditation Programme Board (1994-1998) of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM), then a founder and board member of International Organic Accreditation Services (IOAS), which replaced it
1994-1996	Member, World Wildlife Fund's Great Lakes Region Pesticide Reduction Advisory Committee
1996-2002	Co-coordinator, Organic Food Act Working Group, encouraged public participation in reviewing and commenting on proposed USDA organic rules
1997 December-1999	Co-founder and Steering Committee member, Organic Watch, coalition of groups that monitored public comments to USDA on proposed Organic Rule, and provided assistance to those involved in the rulemaking process
1995-1998	Project Coordinator, Soul of Agriculture Project, Center for Respect of Life and Environment (CRLE)
1996-1999	Delegate, Food Labeling Committee of Codex Alimentarius, United Nations-sponsored food standards agency (5 years); served on working group that prepared Codex international organic guidelines
1994-2006	International Organic Accreditation Services (IOAS): Board and Executive Committee member (1994-2006); Accreditation Committee member (1995-2000)
2000-2014	Midwest Organic and Sustainable Service (MOSES): Consultant (2000-2004); board member (2005-2014). Developed Organic University, short courses that draw 500+ participants annually; a farmer peer mentoring program; and the Organic Farmer of the Year program
2007	Member of founding group, National Organic Coalition (NOC). Served on national team that organized and led series of meetings that developed the National Organic Action Plan, used by the USDA in planning organic farming initiatives. Since 2013, serves as an elected NOC adviser
2008-2013	Consultant to the Ceres Trust. Proposed and developed in 2008, and coordinated on behalf of the Ceres Trust through 2013, two competitive programs that awarded grants to support organic research in the 12-state North Central Region.
2013 October	Honorary Recognition Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: “In Recognition of Highly Meritorious Service to Agriculture and Education”