October 14, 2026 2:50 a.m.  

On Tuesday, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led members of Oregon’s congressional delegation in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that calls on the department to deliver critical federal support to Oregon’s hazelnut industry under the federal Section 32 purchase program.

A release from the senator’s office said the lawmakers’ letter calls on USDA to include Oregon hazelnuts, which account for 99 percent of hazelnuts produced in the United States, in this year’s Section 32 purchases, supporting growers, harvesters, processors, and agricultural economies primarily in Oregon’s Willamette Valley during a period of significant market disruption and economic uncertainty in a global market.

Lawmakers said in a letter, “The hazelnut industry is a massive and integral part of our state’s agricultural economy; its size and longevity represent generations of farmers and handlers who have dedicated their lives to producing and distributing a product many communities depend on for their livelihoods.”

In addition to Merkley, the letter was signed by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and the five Democratic U.S. Representatives from Oregon.