Almost $2 million in new federal grant money has been awarded to farmers and ranchers in Oregon. At least one local business owner has joyfully met the news.
My Brothers’ Farm in Creswell has grown organic hazelnuts for over ten years. Now they have $250,000 to go toward production and advertising. The USDA offers Value-Added Producer Grants to assist small firms in bringing their products to market.
Ben Larson is a partner in the business and helps run the farm. He mentioned the high cost of investing in hazelnuts. “There is a lot of front-end processing needed to get your kernel to market because they come in this hefty shell that needs to be washed and dried and sized and shelled and separated,” he said.
According to Larson, the farm has devoted clients who frequent farmers’ markets and shop online. But he assured me that the investment would help get their hazelnuts into more supermarkets via the production of promotional movies.
Larson claims the farm has yet to fully recover from the drought that killed some crops in 2018. A hazelnut tree’s first harvest may not last many years after planting.
“We didn’t lose those trees complete with a lot of them, but we have had to basically restart their growth,” he said. “So instead of being six-foot wide, they’re just second-year suckers that are taking longer.”
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There are a total of eleven farms in the state that received financing in this allocation. This is a list of Oregon agricultural enterprises that, together with My Brothers’ Farm, were awarded funds from the United States Department of Agriculture. Two Oregon senators, Wyden and Merkley.
- A $249,592 award will be used by Zena Forest, a farm near Rickreall, Oregon, to increase sales and production of broad-planked engineered flooring made from raw logs.
- Enterprise, Oregon’s Stangel Livestock, a family farm, has been awarded $250,000 to help increase demand for and sales of grass-fed bison meat and other bison products.
- With the help of Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center, the Scenic Fruit Company, a farm in Gresham, Oregon, will utilize a $72,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study and launch a blueberry dessert topping.
- The $234,895 award will be used by Firebird Farms, an Oregon farm, to increase output, capacity, and sales of Tibetan yak fiber products such skulls, skins, and down fiber.
- Eagle Point, Oregon’s Wild Oasis Bison Ranch, received a $250,000 award to increase visibility for and demand for bison meat products.
- The Sisters, Oregon farm Rainshadow Organics will utilize a $49,999 grant to increase promotion and sales of Shrub, a juice drink made from defective or surplus vegetables.
- With the help of the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center, the Portland, Oregon farm La Creole Orchards will utilize a $49,999 grant to increase the marketing and sales of its olive oil.
- A farm in Junction City, Oregon, called Creamy Cow has been awarded $250,000 to help promote and sell customers more of its soft and hard cheeses.
- Mulino, Oregon’s Lady-Lane Farm, received a $250,000 award to help them enter new markets for its cheese, butter, and ice cream.
- Canby, Oregon’s TMK Creamery has received a $250,000 grant that will be used to increase visibility for its hard-pack ice cream, Swiss cheese, and Cowcohol vodka.
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