SALEM, OR – This week, Representative Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) sent a letter to Governor Tina Kotek urging her to declare a statewide disaster for the Oregon cherry industry.
Sweet cherries are one of the state’s 20 most valuable commodities, but due to harsh weather conditions and the overlap between the Oregon cherry harvest and California cherry harvest, growers are facing severe financial losses.
“The oversupply in the market, generated by the late arrival of the California cherry harvest season, forced Oregon growers to harvest less than 75% of their crop; many of our small growers had to leave 50% or more of their cherries unharvested,” Helfrich wrote. “The cherry harvest, which typically lasts a month in Wasco and Hood River counties, lasted less than two weeks this year due to market congestion. Without timely assistance, the livelihoods of Oregon cherry growers are at risk of being lost altogether.”
As vice chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness, Helfrich also highlighted the risk this crisis poses to Oregon’s severe housing shortage.
“Oregon’s largest cherry-producing counties—Wasco and Hood River—provide two-thirds of the state’s registered farmworker housing. This housing is provided to both farmworkers and their families. Reduced cherry harvest labor means less available housing, exacerbating Oregon’s precarious housing crisis,” Helfrich wrote.
Helfrich noted that declaring a state of disaster for the Oregon cherry industry would provide crucial relief and reinforce the state’s commitment to the agricultural community.
“Given the current circumstances and to provide necessary support to our valued sweet cherry growers, I strongly request that a State of Disaster be declared for the Oregon cherry industry,” Helfrich wrote. “Such a declaration would allow affected farmers access to essential resources and relief measures to help them recover from the damage they suffered.
