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News
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Report says Oregon agricultural lands are a good investment
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12/21/2011
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Article Content Suggested lead
Oregon farm land has long-term value that includes economic and environmental benefits, according to a new state report calling for a thoughtful approach to converting agricultural land to development:
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Audio 01
The Oregon Department of Agriculture report compares the short-term value of converting farmland to housing or other uses versus the long-term value of keeping it in agricultural production:
SEARLE: "We need places to live and services and so forth. But the more we expand out on our agriculture land, it's kind of like cannibalizing the hand that feeds us, so to speak. We have to be very thoughtful and cautious about where and how we build." :15
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Brent Searle authored the land valuation report. More than 16 million acres of land in Oregon is under farm or ranch operation, but much of it in specific areas of the state is under constant pressure of development. ODA's Jim Johnson, a land use specialist, says agricultural production is a long term investment:
JOHNSON: "You can only produce one crop of houses, but if it remains in agriculture, you are producing a crop year after year after year and you can change that crop to react the world markets, to changing situations and the like. Once something is developed, it's very hard to change it back to something else." :18
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Given the huge contribution agriculture plays to Oregon's economy and in protecting its environment, the ODA report advocates being smart about how and where development should occur, making sure the best farm land is kept in agricultural production. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney.
Additional audio: Audio 03
SEARLE says on a long term basis, agriculture is a perpetually sustaining activity that continues to produce value in crops and livestock year after year:
"There are a lot of cities now that are trying to be green. Well, the greenest you can be is to protect your agricultural lands because if you pave over them, you've lost so many assets in and around your community." :12
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Additional audio: Audio 04
JOHNSON says the report clearly recommends a thoughtful approach on where and how to expand development on lands in Oregon:
"It may be time for people in the land use community and the like to start saying where would be the best place to grow which would have the least impacts on things that we need long term, such as agricultural land?" :10
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Full story
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/111221land.shtml
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