Sen. Drazan: Action to save Oregon pear farmers

Christine Drazan, Columbia Gorge Pear Growers Call for Immediate State Action to Save Oregon Pear Industry

By Christine Drazan for Governor campaign,

PARKDALE, Ore. – Senator Christine Drazan (R-Canby) joined pear growers on Monday at Upland Fruit in Hood River County to call for immediate state action as Oregon’s pear industry faces one of the most severe financial crises in its history. After a devastating 2025 crop year marked by unprecedented pear psylla infestations, weather challenges and depressed market conditions, some growers are now being offered as little as $0 per bin for their fruit.

“Imagine working all year, borrowing money, paying employees and caring for an orchard that has been in your family for generations, and then learning your crop is worth virtually nothing. That isn’t just a difficult year. It’s a catastrophe that threatens generations of family farms,” Drazan said. “We don’t have the luxury of waiting months or years for Washington. Oregon has tools available today, and we should use every one of them to help these growers survive.”

A recording of today’s press conference is available here.

Growers explained that it costs roughly $300 to produce a bin of pears, yet some varieties are expected to return only a fraction of that amount, with others bringing no return at all. For many family farms, that means a year’s worth of work ends with significant financial losses and little chance of recovering the cost of production.

During the press conference, Drazan reiterated her call for the State of Oregon to declare an emergency, mobilize state agencies and resources to assist growers, request Emergency Board funding for zero-interest or forgivable bridge loans, delay implementation of new agricultural labor housing regulations, pause additional regulations that increase costs during the crisis and work with growers on an agricultural overtime framework that recognizes the seasonal realities of farming.

Last week, Drazan sent a letter to Governor Tina Kotek urging the state to immediately use every available tool to help struggling growers while also pursuing federal assistance. Governor Kotek later requested a federal disaster designation, a step that Drazan and the growers said is welcome but not nearly enough to address the immediate crisis facing Oregon’s pear industry.

Read Senator Drazan’s letter to Governor Kotek here.

Lesley Tamura, owner of Tamura Orchards and Board Chair of Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers, said growers are asking for more than emergency relief. They need the opportunity to remain competitive and continue farming for generations to come.

“What we ultimately want is a fair chance to succeed. We need markets that work, policies that recognize today’s economic realities and the opportunity to continue growing safe, high-quality fruit while earning a sustainable living. This isn’t just about our fruit growers. It’s about the people and the communities that are impacted by what happens to us. Without meaningful action by our state, we risk losing our family farms, local jobs and an important cornerstone of our regional economy,” said Tamura.

Lisa Perry, owner of Out on a Limb Farm, said the challenges facing growers extend well beyond a single difficult harvest. Even as the cost of nearly every input continues to climb, farmers have little control over the prices they receive for their crops, making it increasingly difficult for family farms to stay in business.

“My family will continue to work hard to help put food on grocery store shelves. I do not want to see farming families pull the plug on what has taken decades to build. I don’t want to lose our family farms. Do you?” said Perry.

Jose (Pepé) Rivera, HR & Project Manager at Wells & Sons, said the crisis extends beyond growers to the families whose livelihoods depend on Oregon agriculture.

“Family farms are exactly that: family. My personal journey took me from my birth country in Mexico to my naturalized country in the U.S.A. There are a lot of families just like mine who have built their lives around farmwork. When farms have to cut hours, it hits families just like mine. When farms can’t make it anymore and have to sell, it doesn’t just affect the grower. It affects the people who work here too; the people who have spent years helping to make that farm successful. I hope people remember that there are a lot of families counting on these farms to survive, not just for this year, but for the future,” said Rivera.