Diverse Ag Offerings

Diverse Ag Offerings. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

The NW continues to have one of the nation's most diverse agriculture industry, with more than 225 commodities being produced within Oregon's borders. From chicory to camelina, from okra to olives. Oregon grows a wide range of crops thanks to its climate, soil, and industrious farmers.

BARTON:  I think it speaks to the creative outlook of some growers who are willing to take risks or look outside the normal ‘I've been growing this forever' and are willing to try something new. And also, it speaks to consumer trends and the interest in new things.

Trade Manager Laura Barton of the Oregon Department of Agriculture says many of these crops have come onto the scene in Oregon in just the past 15 years. One in particular has been the domain of agricultural giant California.

BARTON:  There are a few farms now that have planted olive orchards, primarily for pressing into oil because olive oil has become quite trendy and of interest to people involved with food. There are plantings in southern Oregon as well as Yamhill County.

A look at the recent US Census of Agriculture shows a number of commodities that grow on a handful of Oregon farms, including such lesser-known food crops as chestnuts, kiwifruit, chicory, collards, and pluots- a cross between plums and apricots. It all adds up to nearly $5 billion annually in agricultural sales for Oregon's economy. Barton says Oregon agriculture continues to be one of the most diverse of all fifty states.

BARTON: We're not a big monoculture agriculture state. I think if you look at the Midwest, where you have thousands of acres of two crops. Here we have this wonderful tapestry of all these different crops.

Barton says the producers of these lesser-known and new crops are a mixture of existing farmers and some that are just entering the world of farming.

BARTON: You'll see some that are definitely in farming for maybe generations even, who are looking to get a better return. But some of them are people who have never have been in farming before but really want to and they see, well gosh, there is already all these growers of these other crops, so what can I do?

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.