Megan Chuinard, executive producer of the Oregon Seed Council, wants to ensure that Oregon seed is not forgotten.

“There’s a lot of policy conversations at the capitol, at the federal level, where we need to be involved in the conversations and have folks know the impact that their decisions will make on this industry,” she said.

Created in the 1960s, the Oregon Seed Council is a trade organization that advocates for seed farmers, marketers, brokers, researchers and others involved in the Oregon seed industry within the public, media and government decision makers.

“We are the umbrella organization for the industry because we have such diverse members representing different sections of Oregon’s seed industry,” Chuinard said. “So for us, it’s really bringing people together and being the voice for the industry.”

Dave Goracke, president of Oregon Seed Council and owner of Cala Farms, said from his perspective as a grower the council is a great place to convene and discuss their plan to “defend their rights as farmers, especially when legislature is in session.”

“We’re working hard to prioritize what items that we’re going to stand up and fight for,” he said. “And so it’s a great tool in that respect.”

Goracke sees the three biggest issues the seed council is currently tackling in the buckets of regulation, production and market challenges.

“In the market world, we are faced with an extremely down market right now with a lot of overproduction coming off of the COVID era,” he said.

To alleviate those challenges, the seed council has done more active outreach through social media promotion as well as organized activities like a trade mission to China to educate their industry and government officials on the benefits of Oregon seed crops.

Chuinard added that there’s been barriers with international trade. Normally, Oregon exports $162,824,000 worth of seed to 56 countries.

For regulation and production, Goracke said the biggest combination issue is field voles. Although there’s a lot of research around the pests, he said it’s been a “tricky deal to navigate.”

Despite the challenges facing the industry, the Oregon Seed Council was honored with the 2025 Global Trailblazer Award by the Oregon Consular Corps for its impact in sports and recreation.

For the last four consecutive FIFA World Cups, 99% to 100% of the grass seed for the natural turf fields were from Oregon companies, Chuinard said.

“I think it was really helpful to provide a view of agriculture that people don’t always see,” she said. “I don’t think folks always think about, ‘wow, this thing that I really love has this strong connection to Oregon agriculture’ and we’re, able to take that and tell more story about Oregon seed.”

Going forward, Goracke hopes for the industry to get out of its market slump and focus on tackling the production challenges, and Chuinard said the council is advocating for policies to help members during times like these when it is a hard market.

“We are a significant industry for the state of Oregon. Agriculture is our number two economic driver and grass seed is the number four commodity,” she said. “So how do we keep propping up the seed industry as a whole?”

As someone who grew up in seed production, Goracke said he’s passionate about the industry and would hate to lose production to a competing area.

“We’re in a special place. Our climate, our soils are just perfect for what we do,” he said. “So, I’m doing what I can to help preserve Oregon’s ability to produce quality seed.”

Contributed by: Aliyah Hall | Capital Press

For the original article published by the Capital Press, click here.