Oregon FFA Faces Potential “Drastic Cuts” In Legislative Session

Oregon FFA will watch the 2026 legislative session very closely as it starts Monday.

Lawmakers are looking at removing $1.1 million in state funding for the FFA program, as well as grants that support agricultural educators, impacting more than 15,000 students statewide.  Austin McClister with the Oregon Farm Bureau acknowledges the state is facing a budget problem, but says nothing good can come from drastically cutting FFA.  McClister added when he thinks of FFA, he thinks of equity and access.

"FFA is primarily a rural program and it provides a lot of opportunities for our students in rural and agricultural communities," McClister said.  "You know, most of the time have fewer options for extracurricular activities than their urban counterparts.  And FFA is a primary pathway for scholarships.”

Oregon Faces A Big Budget Problem

Oregon Democrats say cuts from the federal level, thanks to last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill, have impacted the state’s financial outlook; some estimates say Oregon could lose over $800 million.

McClister added that cutting FFA is not a good long-term move for the state.

"Oregon Ag is at a critical turning point as well. You've heard me say it one thousand times at this point, we lose about a farm a day. 69% of farmers are operating in net cash loss," McClister said.  "Ag is dealing with its own issues, and I think this is just another blow. What we'd normally call death by a thousand cuts, this is less than a small cut. This is almost a death knell in a lot of ways when you're talking about the kind of impact that FFA has on our state.”

The $1.1 million, was over 70% of Oregon FFA total revenue in 2024.  The Oregon legislative session gets underway Monday, February 2nd.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com