Digger magazine

Serving the Northwest Nursery Industry for Over 50 Years

  • Digger-Employment_banner-2020-728x90px.jpg
  • NG_banner-2020-728x90px.jpg
  • FW_banner-2021-728x90px-1.jpg
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Nursery News
    • Features
    • Plants
    • Growing Knowledge
    • Operations
    • Nursery Country
    • Meta
  • Issues
  • Events
  • Farwest
  • Columns
    • Director’s Desk
    • Mike Darcy
    • Pivot Points
    • President’s Message
  • Employment Classifieds
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
You are here: Home / Nursery News / Rogg taking over for Hilburn at ODA Plant Program

Rogg taking over for Hilburn at ODA Plant Program

By Curt Kipp — Posted October 7, 2014

Dr. Helmuth Rogg (pictured) has been appointed the new director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture Plant Program Area. He replaces Dan Hilburn, who will retire at the end of October.

Rogg has served as the manager of the ODA’s Insect Pest Prevention and Management Program since 2008, and was an entomologist with ODA for three years prior to that. He holds a doctorate in entomology and biocontrol from the University of Giessen in Germany, and a master of science from the University of Regensburg, also in Germany.

Rogg indicated he would spend some time learning the issues and getting to know people involved with ODA as well as the nursery industry. “I have some big boots to fill that Dan is leaving behind,” he said. “I want to work really closely with our nursery industry and help show people the value of our programs. We want to hear from the industry, as well, what we can do to be of greater service.”

Hilburn has served as Plant Division administrator since 1995. Prior to that he served as an ODA staff entomologist for five years. “I didn’t know anything about the nursery industry when I started, and it’s been a great education,” he said.

During his 19 years in the position, he gained nursery knowledge, as well as a strong respect for the nursery industry. “I think we’ve made it a good balance between our enforcement role and our assisting role,” Hilburn said. “The nursery industry has been a great partner.”

Growers, the OAN and the ODA Plant Division have all worked together to address pest and disease issues, so that Oregon-grown plant material remains clean and suitable for the market. “People continue to look to Oregon for high-quality nursery stock,” Hilburn said, “and that’s what we want.”

OAN Executive Director Jeff Stone said that Hilburn has provided key leadership on the issue of plant pests and diseases. “He has been a tremendous partner and advocate for Oregon’s program to ship clean quality plants to domestic and international markets,” Stone said.

Dr. Prakash Hebbar agreed. Hebbar is the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s national policy manager for Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that causes sudden oak death. He credited Hilburn with a key role in pushing for a systems approach to plant health, rather than the more traditional endpoint inspections, which cost more and are less effective. “The leadership role Dan Hilburn played was instrumental in building confidence among the stakeholders on the regulatory program implementation in Oregon and spreading the crucial message of the importance of systems approaches for managing pests and diseases,” Hebbar said. “He has set a very high bar indeed.”

But one that Rogg, as Hilburn’s successor, hopes to be able to match.

“The challenges that we are facing are huge, and we can’t solve them alone,” Rogg said.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Nursery News Tagged With: ODA, Oregon Department of Agriculture, People, Pests and Diseases, Regulations

Avatar

About Curt Kipp

Curt Kipp is the director of publications and communications at the Oregon Association of Nurseries, and the editor of Digger magazine.

CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Virtual is the new reality – for now

Trade shows in the time of COVID

A demand ‘renaissance’ for nurseries

Western Nursery & Landscape Association falls victim to pandemic

MANTS 2021 to move online due to COVID-19

Nor Cal trade show canceled due to COVID-19

More articles

NURSERY NEWS

Horticulture authors to speak at Penn State symposium

McHutchison and Vaughan to establish one Chicago office

Eason Horticulture Resources hires for national sales team

Gloeckner transitions business to Ball Seed

Bailey adds to executive leadership team

More Nursery News

FARWEST SHOW UPDATES

People’s Choice Award winners announced for the 2020 Farwest Show New Varieties Showcase

Augmented reality app allows New Varieties Showcase voting

Farwest Show launches virtual contest to crown 2020 New Varieties Showcase winners

MANTS 2021 to move online due to COVID-19

Growing with the industry: Farwest memories

More Updates from Farwest

From the pages of Digger

February 2021

January 2021 – Nursery Country

December 2020

The Transportation Issue — November 2020

The Advocacy Issue: October 2020

September 2020

More issues of Digger

Connect with us online

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
​

News

  • Nursery News
  • Growing Knowledge
  • Nursery Operations
  • Meta

Features

  • Plant Features
  • OAN Members
  • Oregon Nursery Country

Columns

  • Director’s Desk
  • Mike Darcy
  • Pivot Points
  • President’s Message

Resources

  • OAN Home Page
  • Job Listings
  • Subscribe to Digger
  • Advertise in Digger
  • Online Plant Search

© Copyright 2020 Oregon Association of Nurseries · Admin