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THINGS TO KNOW 2013 • 27
CROOK COUNTY
PEOPLE
Tim
Deboodt
Staff Chair, Crook County
Extension Service
In 2013, Tim Deboodt will
log his 30th year as a county
extension agent, with the last
26 of those years spent as
Staff Chair of the Crook
County Extension Service.
Deboodt landed the job in
Prineville in March 1987, after
earning his Bachelor’s Degree
in rangeland resources at
Oregon State University (OSU)
in 1981, and his Master’s
Degree in Rangeland
Management from the
University of Wyoming in 1984.
He finished his Doctorate’s
Degree in 2008, in rangeland
ecology and management.
In addition to overseeing the
operations of the local extension
office, Deboodt puts his range-
land expertise to good use, con-
sulting with area ranchers on
range livestock issues.
“My favorite thing has always
been helping people solve prob-
lems and become more prof-
itable,” Deboodt said.
Deboodt provides educational
programming for livestock producers and helps them make deci-
sions about herd management, nutrition, bull buying, and more.
Most of his work involves beef cattle, but he works with producers
of sheep, swine, poultry, chickens, and goats as well.
Another area of interest for Deboodt is how juniper trees affect
rangeland. In 2008, he received a PhD in rangeland ecology and
management from OSU based on his participation in the Camp
Creek Paired Watershed Study. The study, still ongoing, has docu-
mented the negative impact of juniper trees on rangeland water
resources.
Begun almost 20 years ago, in 1994, the Camp Creek study
illustrates one advantage to keeping the same job over a long
period.
“These kinds of long-term studies are rare and useful to
landowners,” Deboodt said. “It’s fun to see the changes over time.
A lot of people leave the job before they get to see the fruits of
their labor.”
Another plus to staying on the job long-term has been “working
with 4-H leaders and kids, watching them grow up and now their
kids are in it,” Deboodt said.
Thirty years into the job, Deboodt is not slowing down. He has
plenty of projects slated for 2013.
For starters, he will be working with colleagues in Eastern Oregon
to try to determine what has been causing range-fed cattle to
abort their calves late in their pregnancies. Recent observations
from livestock producers suggest that the cows’ consumption of
juniper bark is the cause.
One possible way to deal with the problematic western juniper
is to use it for fuel, so Deboodt will be collaborating with foresters
this year to determine whether and how to harvest the trees.
Deboodt will also be working with landowners around Post and
Paulina on prescribed burns to manage rangeland vegetation and
partnering with OSU and Central Oregon Community College to
bring credit classes to Prineville.
Even outside of work, Deboodt can’t — or doesn’t want to —
escape his agricultural calling.
At home, Deboodt helps his wife with her flock of 20-25 sheep,
acquired when their children were young and in 4-H and Future
Farmers of America (FFA), although he says he takes instructions
from her.
“I’m the labor — she’s the boss,” he says.
And, as part of the FFA alumni, Deboodt helps manage FFA’s
20-acre land lab, where students get hands-on experience grow-
ing potatoes, sweet corn, squash, pumpkins, beans, and onions.
Most of the vegetables are donated to the senior center each
year. The lab also contributes 7,000 to 10,000 pounds of pota-
toes to holiday food baskets for the needy.
After all these years, Deboodt is still happy with his work and
has no immediate plans to retire.
“I enjoy the job, I enjoy the community,” he said. “It’s been a
great place to raise the kids.”
Tim Deboodt has been a part of the Crook County Extension Agent for 30 years.