Testimony of Rebecca Landis Before the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources

Testimony of Rebecca Landis before the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources, 2-2-11

Chairs Clem and Jenson, members of the committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to support HB 2336 on behalf of the Oregon Farmers’ Markets Association and Corvallis-Albany Farmers’ Markets.

We believe this legislation will foster progress of farm direct marketing in Oregon by reducing regulatory uncertainty for both ODA and for the farm direct producers who sell in farmers’ markets and other farm direct venues. This bill paves the way for a system of scale-appropriate regulation that encourages entrepreneurial innovation without compromising safety. It also benefits the growing number of consumers who appreciate the 100 percent traceability of buying directly from local farmers.

A key feature of HB 2336 is that it is focused on farm direct marketers – the people who have raised the food, are looking their customers in the eye, and have the highest possible stake in safety. Many other states have laws easing regulation for various food-related cottage industries. Of the many states I studied, only Kentucky focused on farm direct marketers as we have.

Under the bill, direct-marketing farmers themselves will need to maintain licenses for some products and not others. This bill was not intended to address every item that is sold in farmers’ markets or other farm direct venues.

HB 2336 clarifies some things that have been ODA practice for many decades, but which lacked a clear statutory basis we could rely upon. For example, it has been agency practice for decades NOT to license a producer’s sales of their own fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs (and honey if 20 or fewer hives are involved.) But we had no statute to point at – just a flawed administrative rule that covers farm stands under limited circumstances, and which was written before the resurgence of farmers’ markets in Oregon.

To that list, the Legislative Work Group added items where questions periodically arise about whether benign practices, such as curing garlic and potatoes, are processing that require a license. If HB 2336 passes, I no longer would have to tell farmers with a single producing walnut tree that they’ll need to get a processing license to dry the nuts and crack them.

We added the sale of grains, seeds and legumes in various forms. This came up because many actions that could be called processing are not licensed if they are done by farm machinery in the field. And we noted that these foods are generally cooked before they are consumed, which adds another layer of safety. Under HB 2336, simply drying fruits and vegetables you grew will no longer require a license.

Much of our time went into crafting provisions that would allow agricultural producers to experiment with a limited amount of jams, preserves, syrups and pickles -- whose principal ingredients they grew – before they would be required to license a facility or turn the processing over to a licensed co-packer. There’s a $20,000 limit for these products and additional labeling requirements. No commingling with other farmers’ crops is permitted. Most importantly, we’ve adopted federal standards for acidity and water activity level than ensure that only the safest canned and bottled products are included in this Testimony of Rebecca Landis before the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources, 2-2-11

limited exemption. The canned and bottled products allowed under HB 2336 will not include any low- acid foods – the kind requiring pressure cookers and retorts – or any meat or eggs.

Additionally we set out to clarify that the farmers’ market organizations and other places where farm direct marketers sell are not subject to licensing just by hosting these farmers. If a farmers’ market or other such venue engages in other conduct, such as buying and selling foods in the manner of a grocery store, the bill would not shield the venue from the applicable licensing requirements.

As I write my testimony, I have not yet seen the set of amendments I expect is before the committee. I’d be happy to address questions on those amendments as well as the introduced version of the bill.

Thank you for your time and consideration of HB 2336.