Farmland Protection

For more than four decades, Oregon has maintained a strong policy to protect farmland. The state legislature adopted the policy in 1973. It calls for the "preservation of a maximum amount of the limited supply of agricultural land" (Oregon Revised Statutes 215.243).

The main tool for carrying out that policy is the statewide planning program. Oregon's Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) sets standards and criteria for protecting farmland. The cities and counties then apply these state requirements through local comprehensive plans and land-use ordinances. Under this system, all counties in Oregon have adopted planning and zoning measures to protect agricultural land.