SEDCOR Ag Breakfast 2026
On February 13th, 2026 Wy’East attended the Ag Breakfast hosted by SEDCOR at the Chemeketa Community College Ag Hub building in Salem, OR. SEDCOR (Strategic Economic Development Corporation) is an Oregon non-profit that works primarily within Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties. Their mission is to “leverage the strength of its public and private partnerships to successfully retain, grow and attract high value jobs and capital investment, while providing members services to support the region’s businesses success.” SEDCOR also works statewide as well as occasionally nationwide to collaborate with other businesses and organizations to build connections, bridge gaps, and make a larger impact.
The event began with the 2026 Ag Economic Outlook from Blinn Carstensen at AgWest. Next, Wy’East’s Executive Director, Robert Wallace, presented on behalf of RPW Energy along with Brad Moore. The presentation discussed the new energy efficiency incentives for agriculture. There are many resources for agricultural producers to receive incentives, rebates, technical assistance, and/or grants for energy efficiency projects in Oregon:
Energy Trust of Oregon offers incentives for a wide variety of projects for those in its service territory.
We always encourage everyone to look into what their local utility may have to offer.
Also, it may be beneficial to review your utility bills to see if there are any errors or unneeded items that you are paying for.
Your Economic Development District (EDD) should be able to provide you with assistance and help your business implement projects.
Find your EDD and their website here.
Check out what state and federal opportunities are available.
Some places to start are: NRCS, FSA, ODOE, and USDA Rural Development.
Reach out to us! Wy’East is able to provide no-cost technical assistance to Oregon rural small business owners and agricultural producers who may be interested in pursuing a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant from the USDA. We can also connect you to other potential funding opportunities if REAP is not a good fit.
When you pursue a REAP grant with us for an energy efficiency project, we will also be working alongside the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) and/or Energy Trust. This collaboration allows us to be able to coordinate a site visit for an energy assessment by a qualified assessor to determine what project(s) may be best for your business.
Next, we got to hear from Lindsay Eng at the Oregon Department of Agriculture about Regional Food & Agriculture Business Center Pilot with SEDCOR. Then we were able to hear from Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-6) about updates regarding the Federal Agriculture Committee, as Salinas is a member of the House Committee on Agriculture. We then heard from Pete Nelson at AgLaunch speak about Farmer-Centric Innovation: Real Solutions from the Field. Lastly, the event wrapped up with updates from Chemeketa Community College Program.
Thank you to SEDCOR for putting on such an informative event and for doing such impactful work. Thank you to Chemeketa Community College for having us.