Program Funding Priorities

Leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops

International

• Understanding and addressing trade barriers or regulatory constraints in foreign markets (e.g. tariffs, TRQs, FTAs, quotas, bilateral agreements).
• Obtaining market information and providing product exposure through trade shows, conferences, seminars, market research, consumer testing, in-bound and outbound trade missions, etc.
• Applying new technologies to help identify new customers and facilitate shipments (e.g. packaging configurations, customer data, logistics, transportation enhancements, etc.).

Local

• Obtaining market information and providing product exposure through trade shows, conferences, seminars, market research, consumer testing, in-bound and outbound trade missions, etc.
• Support the development and advancement of co-operatives to leverage grower and producer efforts.
• Develop and enhance economic opportunities in local communities that increase the awareness and consumption of specialty crops.

Assisting producers with research and development relevant to speciality crops

• Investing in projects that address development, enhancements, innovation, value added products and other production efficiencies for specialty crops.
  

Expanding availability and access to specialty crops

• Connect farmers to consumers by enhancing direct marketing opportunities that highlight production practices, farmers, and growing locations.
• Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops by expanding access at schools, at work and in local neighborhoods.
  

Addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers

• Connecting growers with hiring resources, providing technical information about laws and compliance, or developing mechanization or methodologies for routine or repetitive labor demands.
• Supporting projects that address regulatory burden on specialty crop growers. Connecting growers with resources, providing technical information about laws and compliance, or developing mechanization or methodologies for routine or repetitive laws and compliance.
• Create and implement workforce training programs or tools to maintain the technical skills required to keep the Oregon specialty crops sector competitive.
• Investing in specialty crop research toward food safety compliance and traceability through implementation of practices, trainings, or systems development and preparation for and/or assistance in compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
  

For such other purposes determined to be appropriate by the Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, in consultation with specialty crop stakeholders