The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is seeking applicants to fill 70 commissioner seats on 22 of the state’s agricultural and commercial fisheries commodity commissions. The deadline to apply is March 16, 2020. For instructions on how to apply, the application or to learn more about commissions please visit oda.direct/commissions.
ODA Director Alexis Taylor is responsible for appointing commissioners. Once appointed, they work as public officials and serve a two- to four-year terms (term length varies, see the website for details). Commissioner duties include funding decisions for promotion, education, and research projects. Director Taylor is looking for applicants who represent the diversity among Oregon’s farmers, ranchers, processors, and commercial fishers.
|
For public members, commodity consumers who have an interest in the industry and time to serve are often the best fit. A public member must be a US citizen, an Oregon resident, and have an active interest in improving economic conditions for the commodity. A public member cannot be directly associated with the production or handling of the specific commodity they seek to support.
Applicants for producer or handler positions must also be a US citizen, an Oregon resident, and have paid or collected the assessment for that particular commodity for the previous three years (or longer in some cases). A “producer” is defined as a grower or harvester. A “handler” is the first to buy the commodity from the producer and is often a processor, distributor or marketer.
The following commodity commissions have openings:
Albacore Commission – 2 producers, 1 handler
Alfalfa Seed Commission – 3 producers
Beef Council – 1 beef producer, 1 dairy producer
Blueberry Commission – 2 producers, 1 handler
Clover Seed Commission – 3 producers
Dairy Products Commission –1 Willamette Valley or Southern Oregon producer, 1 Tillamook/North Coast producer, 1 handler (state at large)
Dungeness Crab Commission – 3 producers (1 each from Port of Astoria, Charleston, and Newport)
Fine Fescue Commission – 3 producers (1 state at large, 1 from Union County, 1 Highland Bentgrass grower), 1 handler (state at large)
Hazelnut Commission – 2 producers, 1 public member
Hop Commission – 3 producers
Mint Commission – 1 producer, 1 public member
Potato Commission – 3 producers (1 from Blue Mountain, 1 from Southern Oregon, 1 state at large), 1 Blue Mountain handler
Processed Vegetable Commission – 3 producers, 2 handlers
Raspberry & Blackberry Commission – 2 producers, 1 handler
Ryegrass Seed Commission – 3 producers (1 Linn County, 1 Marion or Polk County, 1 state at large)
Salmon Commission – 3 producers, (1 north coast to north of Cascade Head; 1 Cascade Head to south of Florence, 1 state at large), 1 handler, 1 public member
Sheep Commission – 2 producers, 1 handler
Strawberry Commission – 3 producers, 1 handler
Sweet Cherry Commission – 2 producers (state at large), 1 brine handler (state at large)
Tall Fescue Commission – 2 producers (1 of Orchardgrass seed), 1 handler
Trawl Commission – 2 producers, 1 public member
Wheat Commission – 1 producer (Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman, Jefferson, or Wasco counties), 1 handler, 1 public member
For more information about Oregon’s Commodity Commissions or the application process
please contact Kris Anderson, ODA Commodity Oversight Program Manager
kanderson@oda.state.or.us or 503-872-6604.
|
