Oregon Specialty Crops: Hazelnuts, Berries, and Beyond

Oregon produces roughly 99 percent of the domestic hazelnut supply — a statistic that tends to stop people mid-sentence. That single fact opens a window into how unusual Oregon's specialty crop sector is: highly concentrated, deeply export-oriented, and built on microclimates that don't replicate easily elsewhere. This page covers what qualifies as a specialty crop under Oregon and federal definitions, how production systems actually function, the scenarios growers face in practice, and where the boundaries of that category start to blur.

Definition and scope

The United States Department of Agriculture defines specialty crops as "fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture" (USDA Agricultural Marketing Service). Oregon applies that federal definition through the Oregon Department of Agriculture Programs, which administers the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program — a pass-through of federal funding under the Farm Bill.

Practically speaking, specialty crops in Oregon span a striking range: hazelnuts, wine grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, hops, peppermint, Christmas trees, nursery stock, and cut flowers. The common thread is that they are not among the commodity field crops — wheat, corn, soybeans — that dominate federal price-support programs. That exclusion shapes everything from how they're financed to how they're insured.

Scope and geographic coverage: This page addresses specialty crop production within Oregon state borders, governed by Oregon Revised Statutes and administered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Federal USDA programs (including USDA Risk Management Agency crop insurance and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service cost-share programs) apply separately and are only addressed here where they interact with Oregon-specific policy. Out-of-state production, import regulations, and interstate commerce rules fall outside this page's coverage.

How it works

Specialty crop production in Oregon operates through a layered system of private growing, commodity commissions, and public research infrastructure — and the Oregon Specialty Crops sector is an unusually clean example of how those layers interlock.

Take hazelnuts. Oregon's Willamette Valley produces approximately 40,000 acres of orchards (Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board). The Oregon Hazelnut Commission, a producer-funded body authorized under Oregon statute, coordinates marketing, research, and export promotion. Oregon State University's breeding program, running since 1969, has developed Eastern Filbert Blight-resistant varieties — including the widely planted Jefferson cultivar — which transformed commercial viability in the valley.

Berry production follows a different structure but the same logic. Oregon ranks among the top 3 U.S. states for blackberry and boysenberry production, with the Willamette Valley accounting for the dominant share (Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Agriculture Facts and Figures). Most berry acreage is grown under contract to processors like Dole Packaged Foods (formerly Norpac Foods), meaning growers often have price certainty before harvest — but also limited market flexibility.

Nursery and greenhouse production represents the largest single category by value within Oregon's specialty crop sector, contributing over $800 million to farm gate receipts in recent reporting years (Oregon Department of Agriculture). That figure often surprises people who picture Oregon agriculture as primarily field crops or wine grapes, but the state's mild maritime climate in the Coast Range foothills and Willamette Valley floor makes it ideal for propagating landscape plants shipped across North America.

Common scenarios

A grower entering specialty crop production in Oregon typically navigates at least one of the following situations:

  1. New orchard or perennial establishment — Hazelnuts, wine grapes, and blueberries require 3–5 years before commercial production. USDA's Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and whole-farm revenue protection policies are the primary risk tools during this period, since most crop-specific policies require producing farms.

  2. Contract vs. open market decision — Berry growers processing contracts lock in prices but impose variety and cultural practice requirements. Open-market growers — selling to farmers markets or through direct channels covered by Oregon Farmers Markets and Direct Sales — retain flexibility but absorb full price volatility.

  3. Export certification and market access — Oregon hazelnuts and grass seed move heavily into export markets. The Oregon Department of Agriculture issues phytosanitary certificates required by importing countries, and compliance with Codex Alimentarius aflatoxin standards (set at 10 parts per billion for hazelnuts in the European Union) is a production-level concern, not just a paperwork issue.

  4. Labor and harvest timing — Hand-harvest crops, including strawberries and some blueberry varieties, face acute dependence on seasonal agricultural labor. Oregon's agricultural minimum wage (Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries) applies, and harvest windows measured in days, not weeks, create scheduling pressure that no amount of planning fully eliminates.

Decision boundaries

Not every crop that sounds specialty is classified as one — and not every specialty crop qualifies for the same programs. Hemp, for example, was added to the USDA specialty crop definition after the 2018 Farm Bill (USDA AMS, Hemp Program) but carries a separate regulatory overlay through Oregon's hemp program administered by ODA.

The contrast between annual and perennial crops also defines which tools apply. Annual crops — peppermint, strawberries, squash — can pivot seasonally. Perennial crops — hazelnuts, wine grapes, Christmas trees — commit land and capital for decades, making site selection and variety choice genuinely irreversible decisions in practical terms.

For growers weighing options across the full landscape of Oregon agriculture, the overview at the site index maps specialty crops alongside commodity production, livestock, and organic systems — a useful frame for understanding where specialty crops sit relative to the sector as a whole.

References

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