SALEM — Rep. Jeffrey Helfrich (R-Hood River) announced Sept. 8 that after months of conversations with growers facing increasingly difficult agricultural markets and new costs, and building on his ideas announced in July, he has requested legislative concepts aimed at keeping Oregon family farms operating. The five-part proposal would halt looming labor and regulatory cost increases while Oregon examines their cumulative impact on agriculture:
“Farmers told me they were reaching the breaking point. I told them I would fight for them. Today I’m putting that promise into legislation,” Helfrich said.
His proposal would:
Stop agricultural overtime dropping to 40 hours, maintaining the current 48-hour threshold for two additional years.
Pause new agricultural workforce-housing mandates for two years while Oregon determines their cost and whether they are reducing the availability of farmworker housing.
Freeze agricultural minimum wage increases for two years.
Require the state to calculate the cumulative cost of regulations on Oregon farms, rather than continuing to evaluate mandates one at a time.
The legislation follows Helfrich’s July call for immediate action after meeting with Columbia Gorge fruit growers about collapsing markets, increasing production costs and mounting regulatory pressures.
“One farmer told me something that has stuck with me: ‘I can survive one regulation. I can’t survive all of them together.’ That’s the problem we’re going after,” Helfrich said.
Agricultural employers are facing another significant change January 1, when Oregon’s agricultural overtime threshold is scheduled to fall from 48 hours to 40 hours. Additional agricultural labor-housing requirements are also scheduled to phase in during 2027 and 2028.
“We don’t need another report sitting on a shelf while another family decides whether it can afford to farm next year,” Helfrich said. “Let’s stop adding costs and give farmers some breathing room. Assess what government is actually doing to them and then fix it.”
Helfrich said the legislation will maintain existing worker health and safety protections while temporarily stopping additional costs as lawmakers examine their combined impact.
“If Oregon wants family farms 20 years from now, we have to stop making it harder to farm today. That’s what these proposals are about, and that’s what I’m going to fight for.”
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.