Rep. Helfrich: 6 urgent steps to rescue local farms

Helfrich Calls for Immediate Action to Protect Oregon Family Farms
By Oregon State Representative Jeff Helfrich,

Hood River, OR – Following a meeting with Columbia Gorge tree fruit growers yesterday afternoon, Representative Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) is calling on Governor Tina Kotek, state agencies, and legislative leaders to take immediate action to address the growing financial crisis threatening Oregon’s family farms. In that meeting, growers described a perfect storm of collapsing markets, rising production costs, pest and disease pressures, increasing regulations, and shrinking margins that are pushing many multi-generational farms to the breaking point.

“I walked out of yesterday’s meeting with one thought: no family farmer should ever have to ask whether they can afford to stay in business,” Rep. Helfrich said. “One grower told me something I’ll never forget: ‘I can survive one regulation. I can’t survive all of them together.’ That perfectly captures the conversation in that room. Government has the luxury of evaluating regulations and ideas one at a time, but farmers must live with every regulation, every cost increase, every bad idea, and every market challenge all at once.”

Rep. Helfrich is calling for immediate collaboration between the Governor’s Office, Legislative leadership, state agencies, and Oregon’s agricultural community to implement practical solutions before the next harvest.

Rep. Helfrich is urging Governor Kotek to:

• Declare an emergency in Hood River County related to the 2025 crop season
• Bring the right people to the table by establishing a workgroup of growers, industry leaders, state agencies, legislators, lenders, and processors to develop immediate and long-term recommendations.
• Provide immediate relief by putting a moratorium on new Oregon OSHA workforce housing regulations.
• Expand pest and disease response efforts by allocating emergency funding to the Oregon Department of Agriculture for pest and disease control on abandoned orchards.
• Coordinate available state and federal assistance.
• Build a long-term family farm strategy by reviewing regulations, strengthening research and innovation, improving competitiveness, and ensuring Oregon’s family farms remain economically viable for future generations. Critical here would be modifying Oregon’s agricultural overtime law to allow for the seasonal nature of agriculture.

“I think it’s important to remember that this isn’t about lowering standards,” Rep. Helfrich emphasized. “It’s about recognizing that when dozens of new costs arrive during one of the worst agricultural markets in living memory, government has a duty to stop, evaluate the cumulative impact of its policies, and adjust where appropriate.

Back to Basics isn’t a slogan. It’s how I approach governing. First, understand the problem. Listen to the people closest to it. Identify where government has become part of the problem. Then bring the right people together and focus on practical solutions with measurable results.

Family farms didn’t just build the Columbia Gorge. They support local jobs, local businesses, and communities across Oregon. If we allow them to disappear, we won’t get them back. We still have time to change course, but the time to act is now.”