Agriculture  

Agriculture is a natural resource based industry that includes the production of food, fiber, fuel & foliage (nursery and forestry). Oregon leads the nation in the production of a variety of products, including Christmas trees, hazelnuts, grass seeds, blackberries, Dungeness crab and mint, to name a few. Nursery crops represent the leading sector in terms of value at nearly $1 billion.

 

Jump ahead to:
Industry Overview
Agriculture by the Numbers
Industry Trends
Cluster Strengths
Cluster Challenges
Recent Accomplishments
Key Initiatives
Who's Involved?

Note:  The information contained on this page was developed from industry focus groups in 2007 and 2008 organized with the help of the Agri-business Council of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.  Updated information was provided by the Oregon Department of Agriculture in 2010.  

Industry Overview

Oregon's agriculture industry encompasses a diversity of products, from commodities crops to specialty foods, cattle ranching and the production of feed for livestock. A few of Oregon’s signature specialty crops include hazelnuts, grass seed, greenhouse and nursery products, cranberries, Christmas trees, pears, blueberries, and cherries. Oregon is also a leader in producing high quality wines and beers. Oregon has 220 different commercially-grown agricultural crops.

There are approximately 38,000 farms in Oregon. About 85 percent of Oregon's farms are operated by sole proprietors. Another 10 to 12 percent are organized as family partnerships or family corporations. Less than 2 percent of Oregon farms are non-family corporate entities. “Farmer owned, farmer grown” is a good slogan for Oregon agricultural production.

Roughly 28% of Oregon’s land mass (17.3 million acres) is devoted to agriculture production, contributing to the economic vitality of rural and urban communities throughout the state.

The new State of the Industry Report is available now.

Agriculture by the Numbers

The farm gate value of Oregon’s agricultural bounty is valued between $4-5 billion, with 70% coming from crops and the rest from livestock. According to a recent report by Oregon State University, the “economic footprint” of agriculture in Oregon accounts for over $34 billion, or 12 percent of the state’s economic activity. Associated jobs generated number over 234,000, or 11% of the state’s employment.

As much as 80% of the agricultural products produced in Oregon are sold out-of-state, and half of that is exported to foreign countries. Exports bring in new traded-sector dollars to Oregon’s economy and help improve the U.S. and Oregon’s trade balances.

Source: BLS, QCEW data from 2006 OECDD "Statewide Traded Industry Clusters" report  and Oregon Employment Department, Covered Employment and Wages, www.QualityInfo.org

Industry Trends

• Certification: Farmers operate in a competitive global food and agriculture marketplace. Price and quality are always the dominant drivers, but how and where food is grown are becoming increasingly important factors. Many Oregon growers are trying to tap into consumer interest in these areas by incurring the cost and process of third-party certification audits verifying their production story. It can be expensive, but many times this is the means of getting into or staying in a market.  
  • http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/CID/ghp_gap.shtml 
  • http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/CID/organic.shtml

• Sustainable Farms: For every farm, every day decisions affect resource stewardship, animal care, financial viability, employee relations, and community connections. These are the pillars of sustainability. There are more than 1,100 farms in Oregon that have been managed in the same family for over 100 years – that’s sustainable. No other industry can boast that amount of business entities with that length of continuous ownership and operation. Farms are continually improving practices based on research, business needs, and social preferences.
  • http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/sustainability.shtml
  • http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/cfr.shtml - Century Farm and Ranch Program
• Aging Farmers/New Farmers: Today’s farmers are getting older, averaging 57 years. Older farmers own over 55% of Oregon’s farmlands. Succession plans and transitions to a younger generation are critical. A renewed interest in farming and ranching is starting to resound with more young people than in recent decades.
  • http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/new_small_farms.shtml
  • http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/
• Local: A growing local food movement provides producers with new opportunities to sell directly to urban consumers. At the same time, broader public interest in food, local sourcing, and sustainability is growing. These developments are creating interest in small-scale farming, agriculture at the urban-edge, public vegetable gardens, and even backyard gardens that are managed by private companies (like lawn companies that provide services for homeowners). The FoodHub, an online food/ag exchange, is another tool recently launched to help match buyers with local growers.  
  • http://www.oregonfresh.net/buylocal/buylocal.php
  • http://www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org/

Cluster Strengths

• People - Oregonians are pioneers, leaders, and innovators. http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/news/101020conservation.shtml

• Multiple Climates - Possible to produce a variety of crops. See: http://oregon.gov/ODA/regions.shtml
  http://aitc.oregonstate.edu/resources/pdf/map_front.pdf
  http://aitc.oregonstate.edu/resources/pdf/map_Back.pdf

• History, Heritage, and Culture – over 1,100 “Century Farms” operated in the same family for over 100 years. Farmers’ Markers are making a resurgence: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/ADMD/farmers_markets.shtml

• Geography - Access to export markets. See Port of Portland export statistics:  http://www.portofportland.com/FastFacts_Marine.aspx

Cluster Challenges

• Environmental Concerns: 
  • Resource Utilization – To be productive and supply the population with agricultural products at a competitive value, most of agriculture in Oregon requires irrigation to grow crops (over 70% of harvested crop value in Oregon is irrigated). But agriculture faces increasing competition for water allocation, distribution, and availability for instream fish needs, growing population demands, and industrial considerations -- even while climate change is predicted to pressure water supplies further. Farmers and ranchers across the state are also engaged in concerted efforts to minimize water quality impacts from farming activities.  http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/NRD/water_quality_front.shtml; http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/SWCD/articles.shtml
  • Similar pressures face agriculture land availability, with growing urban areas and rural residential and non-ag uses on farmland.
• Transportation Infrastructure - rivers, roads, railways – costs, congestion, trucker shortages, and railroad policies. For example, railroads move large volume products on unit trains of hundreds of cars from specific origins to destinations, not stopping in between for smaller loads typically produced in Oregon.
• Perception of industry and resistance to learning about agriculture industry – many people think growers aren’t good stewards of the land or animals, that farming is all corporate owned, and that farming doesn’t lead to a living wage. The truth is that 98% of all farms and ranches in Oregon are family owned and operated, with less than 1% of operations owned by non-family corporations. Agricultural wages average over $10 per hour, much higher than minimum wage and many other jobs with similar educational requirements. And, farmers and ranchers care keenly about their livestock and other animals, but production practices are often misunderstood by a public that feels all animals should be treated like pets.
• Agricultural Diversity – With over 220 different commodities grown in Oregon, the breadth of products makes it difficult to do collective marketing and challenging for individual segments of the industry to gain visibility & show their impact on the economy.
• Immigration Policy – Those with higher educational backgrounds and little connection to the farm are unwilling to pick crops and do the manual work required on farms. Congress needs to resolve the status of immigrant workers and provide a clear method for hiring a legal workforce of those interested in agriculture work.
  
  

Recent Accomplishments

• Addressing hunger in Oregon, farmers and food processors donated over 2 million lbs. of food to the Food Bank in 2010: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/news/101222hunger.shtml; http://www.farmersendinghunger.com/

• Oregon Dungeness crab fishery achieved the Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainable certification: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/news/101208crab.shtml
• The farm & ranch industry assists in the selection of Specialty Crop Grants, funding over $1.4 million in value-added, direct marketing, pest control, food safety testing, sustainability and certification efforts throughout the state:  http://oregon.gov/ODA/docs/pdf/project_summary_FY2010.pdf
• Agriculture is key player in addressing childhood obesity with Farm to School programs and school garden efforts: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/news/100519obesity.shtml
• Collective efforts in the prevention of noxious weeds and invasive species: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/news/100512weeds.shtml

Key Initiatives

• Water – Actively participate in the state’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy Plan development. http://www.oregon.gov/OWRD/LAW/Integrated_Water_Supply_Strategy.shtml
• Leverage Oregon's dual strengths in sustainability and agriculture: 
  
  • Take advantage of increase in worldwide recognition of food certifications and labels (Sustainable, Organic, Food Alliance).
  • Visibility - Oregon produced identity efforts, for agriculture inside and outside of Oregon. Seek funding and recognize the diversity of the agriculture industry cluster. 
  • Education - Let people know the value of Oregon agriculture and natural resource industries. Assist in agricultural-related curriculum for K-12 education. http://aitc.oregonstate.edu/;  http://www.ode.state.or.us/gradelevel/hs/oregon-environmental-literacy-plan.pdf;  http://www.oregonfb.org/programs/sai.shtml
• Create new markets – local, regional, and international:  http://egov.oregon.gov/ODA/ADMD/farm_direct.shtml; http://egov.oregon.gov/ODA/ADMD/index.shtml;  http://egov.oregon.gov/ODA/ADMD/opportunties_and_events.shtml; http://food-hub.org/

• Certification programs: http://egov.oregon.gov/ODA/ADMD/gap_ghp.shtml; http://egov.oregon.gov/ODA/CID/organic.shtml

Who is Involved? 

Companies

There are approximately 38,000 independently operated farms and ranches in Oregon. There are hundreds of farm organizations, farm suppliers and equipment dealers, wholesale buyers and shippers, research institutions, environmental organizations, and many other entities engaged with agriculture on a myriad of issues and efforts.

Industry Associations

The Agri-Business Council of Oregon is a private, non-profit volunteer membership organization dedicated to growing Oregon agriculture through education and promotion. The Council brings together farmers, ranchers, and processors throughout the state, and works to preserve and enhance Oregon agriculture by showcasing its importance to the economy and lifestyle of Oregon. 

There are a variety of public and private organizations that help organize and promote the agriculture industry in Oregon. Many sub-sectors of the industry have their own trade associations or industry groups and there are commissions representing Oregon’s 14 commodity categories. A directory of agricultural entities can be found at:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/docs/pdf/pubs/agripedia_directory.pdf or http://oda.state.or.us/dbs/resource_guide/search.lasso

 Education and Research Institutions

Institute for Natural Resources (INR) is a cooperative enterprise bringing the scientific knowledge and expertise of the Oregon University System and other Oregon higher education institutions to bear on resource management. INR works to provide Oregon leaders with ready access to current, science-based information and methods for better understanding our resource management challenges and developing solutions.

Research and education from Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences is fundamental to the needs of the world. Everyone, everywhere is concerned about the same things: food, water, health, energy, environment, and the economy. These are the concerns of the College, where discovery has a purpose and learning has an impact on the world. The College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University is a major source of knowledge regarding food systems, environmental quality, natural resources, life sciences, and rural economies and communities worldwide. The College provides undergraduate and graduate education leading to baccalaureate and graduate degrees, and extended education programs throughout Oregon and beyond. Its research programs create knowledge to solve problems and to build a knowledge base for the future. It is a source of information and expertise in integrating and applying knowledge with benefits that are felt in domestic and international settings. The College has 12 academic departments, many nationally ranked, centers and institutes, and research and education farms on the Corvallis campus, along with 11 Branch Experiment Stations at 15 different locations throughout the state and Extension personnel in every county of the state. These units serve as the research and development arm of the food, agriculture and natural resources industries in Oregon.

External funding in 2009-2010 for research at the College of Agricultural Sciences exceeded $55 million, leading all OSU colleges. In 2009, based on citations per paper from 1998-2008 among institutions worldwide with 5,000 or more citations, the college was rated no. 3 nationally and no. 10 internationally for frequency of citations by peer scientists in published studies.

Nonprofit Organizations

Sustainable Northwest brings people, ideas, and innovation together so that nature, local economies, and rural communities can thrive. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Sustainable Northwest works in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Northern California. Through collaboration, it bridges rural and urban interests, encourages entrepreneurship, and builds trust in sustainable natural resource management and utilization.

Others: http://www.aglink.org/industrynews/agresources.php

State Government Agencies

The Oregon Department of Agriculture's mission is 1) to ensure food safety and provide consumer protection; 2) to protect the natural resource base for present and future generations of farmers and ranchers; and 3) to promote economic development and expand market opportunities for Oregon agricultural products