One Oregon Bill Could Revolutionize the Local Food Movement

Oregon's Friends of Family Farmers Act (HB 2222) may be only a bill and not even close to sitting on Capitol Hill, but it's poised to shake up the state's local food system.

Small farmers face huge obstacles, struggling to jump through hoops that industrial-scale agricultural operations pass with ease. Getting started on a farm or ranch oftentimes requires a lot of dough, and maintaining that land can cost a pretty penny in property taxes. Small-scale, family farmers simply lack the capital that Big Ag behemoths possess in abundance.

Many of these small farmers are also burdened by regulations designed for industrial farms. For example, some laws require farmers to ship their animals to a slaughterhouse or processing plant to be killed and transformed into meat products. Due to corporate consolidation of said slaughterhouses, trucking animals to these facilities is both expensive and time-consuming, presenting insurmountable challenges to cash- and time-strapped family farmers.

The obstacles facing small farmers go on and on, and these hurdles thwart local food systems from growing and thriving. That's where Oregon's Friends of Family Farmers Act comes in.

The Friends and Family Farmers Act (HB 2222) and HB 2872 were initiated by the Oregon non-profit, Friends of Family Farmers, and they're designed to make it easier for small farmers to get started and sell their locally produced goods. HB 2222 aims to get family farmers two seats on State Board of Agriculture so that the Oregon Department of Agriculture can better understand the needs and value of small farmers and ranchers. The legislation would also ease the property tax burdens the prevent many small farmers and ranchers from getting started.

HB 2872, which was initially part of HB 2222 but eventually split off into its own legislation, would allow small poultry farmers to slaughter and sell up to 1,000 chickens, saving them the hassle of using corporate-owned slaughterhouses.

It's still unclear whether these bills will be signed into law, and even if they do, they will only affect Oregon's farmers. However, Friends of Family Farmers says that the goal of this legislation is to serve as a national model that other states can follow. "We would love to see other states take on the grassroots organizing that we are here," says Megan Fehrman, Program Director for Friends of Family Farmers. "If we could help people work with this model, we would love to do that."

Friends of Family Farmers is holding a Family Farmer and Rancher Day at the State Capitol in Salem, O.R. on March 15th, 2011. The goal of this event is to hold a rally and tell lawmakers that "family farmers mean business." You can bet that organizers will also be spreading the word about the Friends of Family Farmers Act.

Even if you can't attend Friends of Family Farmers' March 15th event, you can still support local food systems in Oregon and in other states. Sign the non-profit's petition asking Oregon lawmakers to support HB 2222 and HB 2872.

Photo credit: Vato Bob via Flickr