Alexis Taylor

USDA nominees for top trade and food safety posts will now have to wait until after the midterm elections in November for Senate confirmation votes.  The Senate wrapped up work Thursday to head home for campaigns without confirming Biden USDA undersecretary nominees Oregon Department of Ag head Alexis Taylor for trade and Jose Emilio Esteban for food safety.  That’s ...

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow says she’s hopeful the Senate will confirm three agriculture nominees this week by unanimous consent.     Oregon Department of Agriculture head Alexis Taylor is the nominee for USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs; Jose Emilio Esteban is nominated for USDA undersecretary for food safety; while Vincent Logan is the nominee for the Farm Credi

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is urging the Senate Ag Committee to confirm key nominees for Undersecretary for Food Safety and Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs in the USDA.   “Cattle producers need strong, stable leadership in top positions at USDA, and we ask the Senate to move quickly on confirming these highly qualified nominees,” said Ethan Lane, vice presi

The state of Oregon has been awarded $2 million in Specialty Crop Block Grant Funding for Fiscal Year 2022.  The funds from USDA will be used for 15 projects statewide.  Among the projects:   A Northwest Cider Association project to address domestic market development and access issues that will benefit up to 80 Oregon cideries. The association will ho...

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has extended the Seafood Processors Grant Program application deadline through Friday August 12th.  The Department continues to accept applications for $1.5 million in grants supporting Oregon’s seafood industry. Earlier t...

Oregon is now the first on the west coast with a state meat inspection program.  The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service recently finalized an agreement with Oregon’s Department of Agriculture to launch the program.  It means ODA can inspect meat products shipped within the state. During the pandem...

Applications for the Oregon Disaster Assistance Program are currently being accepted. Farmers and ranchers who experienced financial losses due to a natural disaster in 2021 can apply for ODAP, state-level assistance. Local banks and credit unions familiar with agriculture will administer ODAP throughout the state ...

On Friday, the Biden Administration announced the nomination of Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor as USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. Taylor has served as ODA’s head since her appointment by Governor Kate Brown in December 2016. Pri ...

Earlier this week, the Oregon Department of Agriculture launched the application period for the new Oregon Meat Processing Infrastructure and Capacity Building Grant. That application window runs until Mach 23rd at noon Pacific. The ODA’s Theresa Yoshioka said the grant comes via a $2 million investment from the 2021 Oregon Legislature's state funding package. She ...

The past two years have been very challenging for the farming community across the Pacific Northwest. In case last year’s pandemic and economic shutdown we’re not enough, farmers across the area had to deal with a variety of historic weather struggles this year, from extreme cold to start 2021, to record heat, drought and wildfire smoke just to name a few. But the O ...