On March 20, 2026, the Oregon Department of Agriculture featured Amy Nguyen of Dragonberry Produce as part of the state’s celebration of the 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer. The IYWF spotlight is a year-long program highlighting Oregon women whose work powers the state’s agricultural communities.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture described Nguyen as “a leader in international agricultural trade, importing dragon fruit and other specialty fruits from Vietnam and marketing them across the U.S. West Coast.”
The recognition pulled from a career of milestones.
In 2013, Nguyen led the construction of Oregon’s first LEED-certified produce distribution building in Canby, the home of Dragonberry Produce. During the same period, she advocated for a new chemical tolerance law for dragon fruit with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. By 2020, the company was recognized with the Oregon Consular Corp Global Trade/Mid-Size Business Award.
A career of milestones
Oregon's first LEED-certified produce distribution building
Dragon fruit chemical tolerance law
Oregon Consular Corp Global Trade Award
International Year of the Woman Farmer
The standard behind the shelves
Across all of it, Nguyen has championed Global G.A.P. certification standards as the precondition for U.S. market access, pushing Vietnamese growers to meet the world’s most demanding agricultural quality bar. The work that put Vietnamese lychees and dragon fruit on Costco shelves in the U.S. and now six new stores across Asia traces back to that early advocacy.
The ODA captured Nguyen’s signal qualities in three words:
Perseverance.
Strategy.
Quality.
Her message to other women in agriculture, paraphrased by the agency: innovate, champion sustainability, and shape global markets with confidence, persistence, and attention to detail.
From Bắc Giang to Canby
That message is the same one Nguyen carried to Washington, D.C. in February 2026 when she addressed Vietnam’s General Secretary Tô Lâm at the Peace Conference (see From Volume to Vision). The path begins in Bắc Giang’s orchards and runs through Canby, Oregon.
Now Oregon has put Amy’s name on it.
