The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a referendum from October 16 to November 3, 2017, on proposed amendments to the federal marketing order regulating the handling of hazelnuts produced in Oregon and Washington. The proposed amendments would give the Hazelnut Marketing Board authority to regulate quality for the purpose of pathogen reduction and authority to develop quality regulations tailored to meet the needs of each type of hazelnut market.
The proposed amendments were submitted by the Hazelnut Marketing Board and are based on stakeholder input from the hearing held by USDA on Oct. 18, 2016, in Wilsonville, Oregon. The proposed amendments would become effective only if approved by two-thirds of the growers voting in the referendum, or by those representing at least two-thirds of the volume of hazelnuts grown by those voting in the referendum. Authority for federal marketing orders rests in the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.
A Notice of the referendum was published in the Federal Register on Sept. 28, 2017.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will mail ballots and voting instructions to all growers of record in Oregon and Washington. To be eligible to vote, a grower must have grown hazelnuts in Oregon and Washington during the representative period of July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017.
Eligible growers not receiving ballots should contact Dale Novotny or Gary Olson at (503) 326-2724 or fax (503) 326-7440. Requests may also be sent to USDA, AMS, Northwest Marketing Field Office, 1220 SW Third Avenue, Suite 305, Portland, Oregon 97204.
More information about the marketing order for hazelnuts grown in Oregon and Washington is available on the 982 Hazelnuts page on the AMS website.
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