Keeping Land Affordable for the Next Generation of Farmers and Ranchers

Our recent win at the Land Use Board of Appeals will help keep land affordable for future farmers, and help preserve Central Oregon's rural lifestyle for generations to come.
 
An application to develop land zoned for exclusive farm use in the Powell Butte area would have permanently taken that land out of production and driven up land prices for future farmers. We appealed the application and won, which means another tract of land is safe from fragmentation and nearby properties are protected from development pressure.

Powell Butte is one of the most productive cropland areas in Central Oregon. According to Crook County's Comprehensive Plan, trends toward rural non-farm residences pose serious problems and conflicts for farmers (p. 7).

“Oregon is one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the nation, boasting the production of more than 225 different types of crops and livestock, and leading in the production of 13 crops.” (Oregon Farm & Forest Report, p. 2). 

Photo: Austin Montreil Leonard

Farming and ranching is a critical aspect of Central Oregonians’ identity and our resilient economy. Since the 1970’s, agricultural lands have been protected in Oregon by exclusive farm use (EFU) zoning that prevents nonfarm uses from taking over agricultural land. For years, this policy has kept Oregon’s agricultural economy strong in part by keeping the cost of land reasonable for new farmers and ranchers, or established farmers and ranchers wishing to expand their operations.
 
Over the next two decades, Oregon agriculture as we know it may face a debilitating crisis when much of the state’s agricultural land passes to new ownership as a large number of farmers and ranchers begin to retire. “How that land changes hands, who acquires it, and what they do with the land will impact Oregon for generations” (The Future of Oregon's Agricultural Land, p. 5).
 
Thankfully, our recent win at the Land Use Board of Appeals will help keep agricultural land in the hands of family farmers and ranchers who want to preserve their way of life and Central Oregon’s rural economy for the next generation.