mission

Mission Statement

The Oregon Small Holders Alliance was formed in order to provide information on local, state, national and international laws and rules that will directly or indirectly affect holders of small numbers of animals.

I don't know about you who are reading this, but up until February 2006, I had no idea the impact that international regulations could have on the small farm we have here in Mulino, Oregon. Up until then, I had thought that the only regulations I would have to be aware of were mostly state and local land use laws, and tax laws if I ever decided to actually treat my horse farm as a real business instead of a hobby. The advent of the National Animal ID System - NAIS, has changed all of that, and having had my nose rubbed in the reality of today's world of international commerce and the dangers it poses to the small holder through the potential spread of disease across international borders, and the international regulations that are being applied to us as well as the international shippers, I decided to set up an information hub that anyone who whished could access free of charge and at will.

I intend for this website and the Oregon Small Holders Alliance to provide a portal for people who want to educate themselves on all the rules and regulations that are affecting us, and to provide a network of people who can monitor their local rulemaking bodies around the state of Oregon, as well as on the national and international levels. I would also like to see this alliance become a force to lobby our senators, representatives, and local authorities in order to protect our interests. No one is going to do it for us. If we don't stand up for ourselves, the big boys will run right over us.

Small holders are those who have animals for personal companionship, food, utility, etc. as well as small producers, homesteaders, farmers/ranchers who sell commercially and/or direct to the public. In these days of big business, especially large agriculture producers, lobbyists, and special interest groups, the small holders are one of the few groups who have not organized. Given this fact, it only stands to reason that rules and regulations that are written covering the movement and management of animals are most often written with the best interests of governmental, special interest and large business bodies in mind. They are the ones that are visible, and they are the ones with the most influence in the legislative and regulatory spheres.

For too long the small holder has stayed in the background. Thinking that the rules that govern interstate and international business couldn't possibly affect us. But with the creation of the World Trade Organization - WTO, the Office International de Epizooties - OIE, and other agreements and international regulatory bodies that the United States and many other countries around the world are signatory to, it is painfully apparent that we, the small holders of the United States, are being affected indirectly, and more and more often being affected directly in much the same way as the big businesses. The drawback to us is the fact that where these rules and regulations are put in place to facilitate the big producers, they will do nothing more than unduly burden us, if not put a lot of us out of business.

It's time we stood up and took our rightful place on the local, state, federal and yes, even the world stages. The small holder is every bit as important to agriculture all over the world as the large national and international corporations. We and the infrastructure that supports us are a substantial portion of not only the US economy, but of Oregon's economy. We are supported by and in turn support through purchases of their products, feed producers, many of whom are local to their customers, feed dealers, producers of animal care products, veterinary and pharmaceuticals producers and service providers, equipment manufacturers, and a myriad of other economic sectors. We are the ones who are more interested in having a small acreage to have animals and raise crops on near the cities rather than subdivide and build. We are the ones who are participating in 4H and FFA, two of the few programs that provide education in various aspects of agriculture to children, the future of farming. The small holder producers provide variety in produce and meat and other products to a market that other wise would be dominated by a few producers only.

It's time we got up off the tracks and stop letting the freight train run over us. But to do that, we need information and a voice that can be loud enough to be heard.

Hence the Oregon Small Holders Alliance

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