Hearing directly from industry representatives is an important way for the Board to stay connected and understand industry concerns and successes.  Representatives from the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers, Food Northwest, Friends of Family Farmers, League of Women Voters of Oregon, Oregon Association of Conservation Districts, Oregon Association of Nurseries, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network, Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Organic Coalition, Oregon Seed Association, Oregon Seed Council, Oregon Water Resources Congress, Oregon Wheat Growers League, and Oregonians for Food and Shelter joined the recent meeting.  They shared with the Board their 2025 legislative priorities and industry updates.   

Themes from the industry representatives included, but were not limited to, concerns with market disruptions in export markets and support to continue domestic and international marketing programs, support for the state meat inspection program, concerns with the agriculture worker overtime rules, support for OSU statewide budgets, support for a competitiveness study to deepen the understanding of the challenges and opportunities that face Oregon agriculture and food processing, wildfire funding, brand inspection fees, wolf compensation, community food system resilience, protecting working lands statewide, support for funding ODA and natural resource agency budgets, and concerns related to establishing an ag workforce standards board. 

Following the public comments from industry representatives, the voting members of the board prepared a letter to Governor Kotek to express concerns and provide insights regarding HB2548.  View the March 20 letter to Governor Kotek. 

On average ten non-native invertebrate species establish in the state every year, making Oregon highly susceptible to the threats posed by invasive species. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) houses several programs which provide invaluable services to safeguard our unique agricultural industries and environmental resources. From preventative measures such as survey and inspection, to science informed mitigation strategies, these programs serve as our first line of defense against unwanted plant insect pests and plant pathogens. 

For over 50 years the ODA has surveyed for the destructive tree pest, spongy moth (SM), Lymantria dispar dispar. Though well-established in the eastern U.S., SM has not found a home in Oregon.  These surveys serve double duty, as other related and equally destructive moths are also included.  If SM were to become widespread in Oregon, it would drastically alter our landscapes forever through aggressive defoliation of oaks, maples, hemlock, ash, pine, dogwood, among other tree species.  Annually the ODA conducts an extensive statewide survey program to catch any SM early. Traps are placed at shipping ports, airports, agricultural, urban and residential areas. In 2024, ODA deployed ~13,000 traps.  To date, the only significant population requiring treatment was in Forest Park in Portland which resulted in eradication. Single adults are caught periodically, but no established populations have been found. USDA Animal Health Plant Inspection Service Plant Protection Quarantine (USDA AHPIS PPQ) awards ODA approximately $500,000 each year to conduct these surveys.  This continual, and long-term investment, has protected Oregon’s natural and urban forests. 

Our state led programs require continuous enhancement and financial support. However, these programs are facing significant threats with the potential reduction in federal funding.  The primary programs at ODA responsible for invasive species response work are greatly reliant on federal funds, which make up ~27% of their total operating funds.  USDA APHIS PPQ, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife are the largest sources of federal funds.  

As with other universities across the Nation, Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) is facing significant uncertainty with respect to federal funding for agricultural research with the new Federal administration.  Last year, our college brought in $110M in grant funding and 60% of this was Federal grant funding from USDA, NIH, NSF, DOE, DOD, and USEPA.  CAS made up about 30% of OSU’s research expenditures last year.  These Federal funds are strongly linked to economic development in Oregon because they are used to conduct research on the over 220+ agricultural commodities in our state, by our scientists in Corvallis, as well as our 13 Experiment Station locations across Oregon.  

As part of the federal grant funds in FY 2024, the college had $74M research expenditures with linked indirect costs of $9.8M last year.  Indirect costs, which have been in the news lately and the focus of a recent Presidential Executive Order, are used to pay the infrastructure and equipment costs associated with conducting agricultural research.  In addition, 90% of the Indirect Cost dollars that come to the College are returned to the department or Experiment Station that generated the funds for re-investment in infrastructure and equipment.  Without these funds, we would not be able to maintain the 14 Experiment Station locations we run across Oregon. 

Finally, I want to thank Oregon’s farmers and ranchers for advocating for the reinstatement of 22 USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) probationary employees working in Oregon and that were fired on February 14.  To date, 8 of these employees have returned to their USDA ARS jobs in Oregon.  These scientists and support staff are/were co-located with CAS scientists working at our Agricultural Experiment Stations in Corvallis, Newport, Hood River, Pendleton and Burns and are/were critical collaborators with us in moving Oregon agriculture forward. 

In Newport, Oregon, during the December 2024 meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, the board heard of issues related to challenges with the state’s wastewater permits for seafood processing facilities. As follow up the Board requested ODA staff reach out to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to relay the concerns and gather additional information. 

DEQ is responsible for ensuring water is safe for a multitude of beneficial uses such as fish habitat, recreation, and drinking water. Changes in regulation in 2015 required DEQ to adopt new and higher standards for clean water protections. In 2020 DEQ finalized a new version of the seafood processors general permit to comply with the 2015 requirements. Around the same time, a settlement to a legal challenge prompted a comprehensive review of all DEQ water quality permits and introduced closer evaluation of limits for facilities choosing to operate under an individual permit. These changes led to considerable concern and confusion among seafood processing industry. 

Throughout the last year DEQ staff and seafood processor representatives met regularly to improve communications and develop a shared understanding of industry operations and permitting practices. This collaborative work has led to the development of four comprehensive reports providing information to address sampling and monitoring, technology based effluent limits, water quality-based effluent limits and mixing zones. These four areas were at the center of the seafood industries’ disagreements with DEQ. 

DEQ provided ODA with background information to share with State Board of Agriculture Members and convey next steps in working with the seafood processors. DEQ will incorporate findings from the collaborative work with industry representatives as the agency works to update permits affecting various facilities over the next year. These new permits will be protective of water quality while incorporating the understanding gained from the technical meetings. Permits will be available for public comment in the spring and summer of 2025. A DEQ fact sheet detailing the issues, concerns, and next steps is available.