Taylor: Oregon Ag Continues To Work To Put 2020 In The Past

For many in the Oregon agriculture community, 2020 was a very challenging year, and the impacts are still being felt. Alexis Taylor, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture said the coronavirus pandemic had a huge impact on everything from day-to-day operations to international trade and everything in between. Taylor said thanks to the rollout of the vaccine, many farmers are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“But I also see some pragmatism.  They know the end of that tunnel is still pretty far away.  Last year about this time, we were trying to determine how to adapt for one harvest season, and that’s going to have to carry on through more than one at least into the 2021 harvest as well.”

Taylor noted while many in the farm economy had to scramble to find new destinations for commodities, farmers did a good job ensuring they were connected with consumers in a variety of ways in a very short time.

“We saw farmers markets have increased sales, we saw CSAs or community supported agriculture subscriptions increase in parts of the state.  So I think there have also been some opportunities for our agriculture sector.”

Taylor added incase an international pandemic wasn’t enough, she noted the impact of the devastating wildfires in early September, is still being felt. But Taylor said she is optimistic when it comes to the future of Oregon Ag.