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Getting Clear on Marketing Regulations
By Tanya Murray and Ben Bowell from Oregon Tilth
Organic Hazelnut growers operate under two different sets of marketing regulations – USDA Marketing Order 982 and the National Organic Program. Both programs apply to “handlers”, however, the way handler is defined in each of the two programs is slightly different. This write-up is intended to clarify what it means to be a handler in each of these programs.
“Handler” under the USDA Marketing Order
USDA Marketing Order 982 went into effect in 1949 and authorizes quality regulations, surveys, research, promotion, education, volume control, and other programs for hazelnuts grown in Oregon and Washington. Under the Hazelnut Marketing Order, a handler is anyone that “handles” hazelnuts with handling defined as follows:
“To sell, consign, transport or ship (except as a common carrier of hazelnuts owned by another person), or in any other way to put hazelnuts, inshell or shelled, into the channels of trade either within the area of production or from such area to points outside thereof: Provided, That sales or deliveries by growers to handlers within the area of production or authorized disposition of restricted hazelnuts and substandard hazelnuts shall not be considered as handling.”
What does this mean for Oregon Organic Hazelnut Growers?
This means that hazelnut growers that sell their own nuts are considered handlers under the Hazelnut Marketing Order. There is an exemption for growers that sell direct to consumer, however, this exemption ONLY applies to sales to the end consumer from the grower’s farm stand OR at a certified farmers market. Other sales, including website/mail order sales and sales to retailers, restaurants and bakers are not exempt from the Marketing Order. The table below shows three scenarios to help clarify who is considered a handler under the Hazelnut Marketing Order.
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