PRESS RELEASE

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominees for the Hazelnut Marketing Board to fill five grower member seats, five alternate grower member seats, four handler member seats, and four alternate handler member seats whose terms will begin July 1, 2024. 

One grower member and alternate member position are allocated to each of the five districts. To become a grower member or alternate grower member of the board, a petition must be completed by growers within the respective district. The petition must then be signed by ten other growers in that district and submitted to the Hazelnut Marketing Board by March 31, 2024.

Three handler member and alternate handler member positions are automatically allotted to the three largest handlers by volume in the last two production years (2021 and 2022). The fourth handler member and alternate handler member positions are selected by nomination from all remaining handlers and then voted on by the same group.

Eligible nominees must be engaged in a proprietary capacity in the production of hazelnuts for market. The appointed members will serve two-year terms.

For nomination information, contact the Hazelnut Marketing Board at (503) 582-8420 or by email at Hazelnut@OregonHazelnuts.org or contact USDA Marketing Specialist Virginia Tjemsland at (971) 416-6472 or by email at Virginia.L.Tjemsland@usda.gov.

The marketing order authorizes research and promotion, quality regulations, and volume control. The Hazelnut Marketing Board administers the order locally and consists of ten members. Five members are growers, four members are handlers, and one member is a public member. More information about the Board is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Hazelnuts Grown in Oregon and Washington webpage.

Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help producers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS provides oversight to fruit, vegetable and specialty crops marketing orders and agreements to help ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.

AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils, and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.