Oregon’s Farm Direct Marketing Law (FDML) is now five years old. The law allows farmers to produce some low-risk, value-added products—such as pickles and jams—from farm-grown ingredients, and sell them direct to consumers, without extra food licensing. Researchers from Oregon State University, including Christine Brekken from Applied Economics, interviewed farmers and farmers market managers around the state, and found that farmers are selling a variety of value-added products and that no foodborne illnesses have resulted.
The article, “Farm Direct at Five Years: An Early Assessment of Oregon’s Farm-focused Cottage Food Law,” was published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD) in September 2018.