The Oregon Legislature passed a bill Friday aimed at relaxing farm stand regulations.
The measure, House Bill 4153, which replaces existing regulations on farm stands with new regulations for “farm stores,” now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk for a final signature.
Under the new regulations, farm stores up to 10,000 square feet are allowed to operate as long as they sell products produced by the farm itself or in the local agricultural area, including food and beverages intended for immediate consumption.
The bill also specifies several “agri-tourism” activities allowed on Oregon farms, including petting zoos, crop mazes and farm-to-table dinners. Lodging is specifically excluded from those activities.
The Oregon Property Owners Association, which led an effort to pass the bill, celebrated the victory Friday.
“This is an important economic development bill for rural Oregon, and particularly for farmers that are struggling during challenging economic times,” Samantha Bayer, general counsel for the association, said in a news release. “This legislation will give many family farms the lifeline they need to keep their doors open.”
Farm stand regulations were previously outlined in a 1973 state law that enshrined land-use protections in Oregon, laying out what kinds of activities were allowed in exclusive farm-use zones. Although the primary use in those zones has always been farming, the law included about 60 other ways farmers could use their land, including running a farm stand.
However, each county in Oregon had the authority to interpret the state law regarding farm stands, meaning that while some farm owners had few restrictions, others said they faced onerous limits on the kinds and amounts of products they could sell.
In 2025, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development released proposed rule changes for farm stand permits, the result of a series of meetings held by a 20-member committee composed of farmers, land-use organizations and county planners. The proposals, if implemented, would have limited some activities on farmland and narrowed what could be sold at farm stands.
Land-use conservationists said such changes were necessary to preserve farmland from commercial development, but some farmers and other land-use groups said the proposed rules threatened the economic survival of small farms.
Gov. Tina Kotek quickly paused the rulemaking process following an outcry from Oregon farmers, leading to the new legislation that is now headed to her desk.
Jim Abeles and Kat Topaz, who run Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island, and who have championed a change to the farm stand rules, celebrated the new legislation.
“This happened because farmers, families, and supporters across Oregon spoke up and showed up,” the couple said in a Facebook post Friday. “This is a huge step toward protecting working farms, welcoming people to the land, and keeping this way of life viable for the future.”
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