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News
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Agriculture at the county level rebounds a bit in Oregon
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2/9/2011
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Article Content Suggested lead
Oregon's farmers, ranchers, and fishermen are showing signs of rebounding from the economic downturn, based on recently released statistics:
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Audio 01
After a dismal 2009, last year's agricultural sales in Oregon increased 3.8 percent to 4.3 billion dollars according to new statistics from Oregon State University. Out of 36 Oregon counties, 23 had higher ag sales in 2010. The biggest increase was in Morrow County, which jumped 50 million dollars in sales:
JOHNSON: "Morrow County is just more and more a powerhouse in agriculture in Oregon. They are not only growing in terms of production yield, they are also growing in terms of production acreage. It's got a lot to do with irrigation, changing markets, wheat, livestock, and dairy." :16
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Jim Johnson of the Oregon Department of Agriculture says Umatilla and Malheur counties are two more on the east side of the state that did well last year. On the west side, the Portland metro counties- Clackamas, Washington, and Multnomah- didn't fare as well:
JOHNSON: "Some of the big crops that have always been important in that part of the valley, the north valley, are having bad times right now. Nursery, grass seed, and to some extent, the fruits and vegetables are down overall." :13
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The top five ag counties in terms of sales last year were Marion, Umatilla, Morrow, Clackamas, and Malheur. Rounding out the top ten are Linn, Klamath, Washington, Yamhill, and Polk counties. Bottom line- agriculture remains an important part of each county's economy. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney.
Additional audio: Audio 03
JOHNSON says several counties on the east side are rebounding fairly well from 2009's disastrous ag sales numbers. Three of Oregon's top five ag counties are now east of the Cascades:
"It just goes to show you the importance of agriculture to rural Oregon, that agriculture is really driving the economy and is one of the few bright spots in the economy out there." :12
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Additional audio: Audio 04
JOHNSON says agriculture plays an important role in the economy of all 36 Oregon counties:
"In rural Oregon, agriculture is what it's all about in terms of long term sustainable economic development. But even in the urban counties- Marion County producing nearly 500 million dollars at the farmgate, let alone what the influences are on all the associated things whether it's food processing or servicing or whatever- it's still key." :19
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Full story
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/110209county.shtml |
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