Farm Direct at Five Years: An Early Assessment of Oregon's Farm-Focused Cottage Food Law

Abstract

In 2011, the Oregon legislature passed the Farm Direct Marketing Law (FDML), which took effect in 2012. The law clarified licensing and food safety requirements for direct-to-consumer sales at farmers markets, farm stands, and similar venues. It also included a "cottage food" provision allowing farms to make and sell certain low-risk, value-added products from farm-grown ingredients, direct to consumer, without a food processor's license. Advocates predicted enhanced small farm viability through new products and revenue streams, market season extension, reduced Funding Disclosure This study was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under National Institute for Food and Agriculture grant 2014-68006-21854.

Do Cottage Food Laws Reduce Barriers to Entry for Food Manufacturers?

“…However, it is unclear whether there is a relationship between the growth of food manufacturing businesses and cottage food laws. This is because previous research examining the effects of cottage food laws has focused on producers already in business, instead of the entire sector, and has not occurred at the national level (Gwin, Brekken, and Trant 2018; McDonald 2019).…”

“…The national‐level FSMA provides these exemptions since otherwise the law is disproportionately burdensome to small producers relative to large ones (Bovay and Sumner 2018). Like the FSMA, state‐level cottage food laws specify food safety regulations based on the size of the enterprise (Gwin, Brekken, and Trant 2018).…”

“…Small‐sized food manufacturers may have good culinary skills, but could have DTC technical assistance needs with marketing, pricing, labeling, and merchandising (O'Hara and Coleman 2017). In Oregon, farmers market managers and farmers identified several impediments in attempting to implement a cottage food law: a lack of clarity about eligible ingredients and products, requirements written in legal jargon, a lack of food safety education, and a lack of resources for Spanish‐speaking vendors (Gwin, Brekken, and Trant 2018). In summary, clearer guidance from state agencies about cottage food laws and improved dissemination of technical assistance resources could be beneficial across the country (HLSFLPC 2018).…”

Financial Viability of an On-Farm Processing and Retail Enterprise: A Case Study of Value-Added Agriculture in Rural Kentucky (USA)

“…Direct marketing of value-added products is a strategy for improving the financial viability of small-farm businesses, widely promoted in the United States by state cooperative extension services [1,2], state governments and legislation [3,4], non-profit organizations [5,6], federal government agencies [7,8], and academic researchers [9]. Farms that can market and sell directly to consumers have opportunities to receive higher prices for their products without losing part of the retail value to wholesalers or other intermediaries.…”