On December 13, 2021, the Oregon Legislature approved SB 892, which established the framework for a unique disaster assistance program for Oregon’s farmers and ranchers recovering from natural disasters in 2021. The program is structured as a forgivable loan to provide state level assistance to fill gaps in federal disaster programs or act as bridge loan until Oregon’s producers can receive certain USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) disaster assistance.

Oregon’s farmers and ranchers experienced impacts from compounding natural disasters in 2021 that brought historical levels of drought, record setting heat, wildfires and smoke, ice and winter storms, and other residual effects of the disasters. Oregon Governor Kate Brown and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack toured a marionberry farm and hosted a roundtable with producers around the state to discuss the impacts across Oregon’s agricultural communities….