Oregon Agriculture Worth A Lot Of Cabbage, New Report Says

PORTLAND, OR —Those strawberries may look red but they are pure gold. That's just one of the highlights of a new report that values the state's agriculture-related industries as bringing more than $42 billion in value to Oregon.

The report was written by researchers at Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Extension Services working with the state's Department of Agriculture. It follows up on a report done in 2015.

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"The report provides a snapshot of where the Oregon agriculture, food and fiber sector stands," said one of the authors of the report, Jeff Reimer, who is, a professor of applied economics at the school.

“We’re able to do this analysis that shows linkages that wouldn’t be apparent if you were just looking at statistics about the economy.”

One connection that they focused on was that between the industries and the ongoing pandemic. The report found that while the industries are still going strong and there has been a major push toward mechanization, some of that has been necessary because of a severely impacted labor market. Researchers concluded some of those jobs may never return.

This will be a particular challenge for rural communities as the labor market is disrupted," the report's co-author, Bruce Sorte, said. Although the employers are struggling to find workers right now, I expect that to be far less difficult after COVID, particularly in food processing.

"Workers who are reluctant to return to work now may find those jobs are not available post-COVID."

Among the other highlights of the report are:

• The agriculture, food and fiber industry is responsible for 9.1% of Oregon’s economy and 371,300 jobs.
• Agricultural exports increased 25% since the last report was published in 2015.
• The number of certified organic farms and the number of organic acres farmed dropped, but the value of products sold per organic acre nearly doubled, reflecting strong consumer demand for organic products.
• The number of small and large farms increased, but there was a decrease in mid-size farms. There were 3,417 new one- to nine-acre farms, 21 new 2,000-plus-acre farms, but a loss of 1,217 farms in the 50- to 999-acre range.

You can read the whole report here.