Friends of Family Farmers fought hard for family-scale farmers in the 2015 legislative session on bills ranging from agri-tourism to GE crops to urban agricultural zones. On the evening of July 6, the 2015 Oregon Legislative session finally adjourned. In the end, the roller-coaster session marked by the high-profile resignation of a recently elected Governor resulted in a mixed bag of wins, losses and draws for family farms in Oregon. Here's a rundown of the major issues Friends of Family Farmers worked on this session and how our priorities fared:

Wins:
Our efforts to support beginning farmers, OSU Extension and Agricultural Experiment Stations, Oregon's Farm-to-School program and agri-tourism providers all went well this session. Friends of Family Farmers supported the following legislation and funding priorities that were enacted this year:

Aggie Bonds: HB 3239 improves access to Oregon's beginning and expanding farmer loan program (aka Aggie Bonds) by expanding the types of lending under the program to include beginning farmer loans issued by NW Farm Credit Services as well as seller-financed loans. Additionally, through HB 5005, the Legislature authorized up to $10 million in state bonding authority to support dozens of lower-interest rate beginning farmer loans under the program over the next two years. FoFF led the effort to pass this bill.

Agri-tourism: SB 341 provides new legal protections for farms engaged in 'agri-tourism' including u-pick, corn-mazes, hay rides, farm stays and more. Under SB 341, as long as a farmer posts required signs and aren't negligent, they are protected from liability if members of the public who visit their farm are injured due to the inherent risks of the farm, including uneven or muddy ground and the presence of animals. FoFF was a leading group in a coalition working to pass this bill.

Farm-to-School: Oregon's Farm-to-School program received a large boost in funding for the next two years, rising from $1.2 million to $4.5 million. The program was also expanded to cover school meal programs statewide, going beyond the competitive grant system that made the program available to a smaller number of schools in previous years. A large coalition of Farm-to-School advocates supported the funding increases and changes to the program and FoFF testified in support during legislative hearings and met with Legislative leaders throughout the session to help ensure a positive outcome.

OSU Extension: Through SB 129, Oregon State University's Extension and Agricultural Experiment Stations received $14 million in new funding, which will allow the University to hire new positions to support farmers statewide. Programs to be funded include beginning farmer support, pollinator health, sustainable grazing management, fermentation sciences and more. FoFF worked with a diverse coalition in support of this effort.

Click here to continue reading the "Losses" and "Draws"...