This is a list of the policy priorities Friends of Family Farmers supports in the 2024 Legislative Session. This list will be kept up to date with dollar amounts and bill numbers as more information becomes available throughout the session.
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- SPECIALTY SEED PROTECTION
- In order to protect the ability for farms in the Willamette Valley Protected district to grow vegetable seeds in the brassica family without fear of contamination or rejection from national and international markets, we need strong protections and compliance tools for the brassica licensing program proposed at ODA. This cannot be left up to private companies or communities because the isolation distances necessary for proper seed farm planning have to be enforced universally.
- OREGON AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM – $10.8M for OAHP
- This program, run through the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board is a crucial program not only to the preservation of farmland, but the incorporation of environmental stewardship into working lands management. This program has many components but the two we are most interested in are the conservation management plans and the conservation easement program. Conservation management plans help farmers and ranchers develop plans for the long term viability of their farm ecosystems and a plan to pay for these improvements with matched federal funds through NRCS and other programs. The conservation easement component of OAHP is a vital tool to protect farmland for agricultural use in perpetuity and lower the price of farmland for the next generation of producers. This project is also well suited for federal match from the USDA ACEP-ALES program.
- SPECIALTY SEED PROTECTION