Consumer demand for local food, including local meat and poultry, has risen in recent years. Meat and poultry processors are essential links in local meat supply chains. To sell meat, farmers need access to appropriately scaled processing facilities with the skills, inspection status, and other attributes to prepare these products...
In 2011, the Oregon legislature passed the Farm Direct Marketing Law (FDML), which took effect in 2012. The law clarified licensing and food safety requirements for direct-to-consumer sales at farmers markets, farm stands, and similar venues. It also included a "cottage food" provision allowing farms to make and sell certain...
Between October 2016 and October 2017, four regional meetings were held around the United States between small and very small meat processors, high-ranking USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) officials, and other local meat sector stakeholders and support organizations. The purpose of the meetings was for FSIS officials to tour...
Despite increasing consumer demand for organic food and farm products and double-digit annual sales growth, U.S. organic production is currently flat and unable to meet demand. This report presents findings from a national survey of farmers about their experiences with organic transition, exploring motivations, obstacles, and desired resources and support...
Sixty-four percent of Oregon's farmland is expected to change hands in the next 20 years, yet many Oregon farmers are unprepared for succession. Simultaneously, beginning farmers are finding it harder to start farmers because of dramatically increasing land prices.
These distinct but interwined challenges are addressed in a new research...
The report integrates a survey of organic farmers in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; conversations with focus groups made up of southern Oregon organic farmers and organic farming stakeholders; and interviews with Oregon State University organic agriculture researchers. It highlights research, education, and policy issues identified by organic farmers and researchers....