Dave Gerber Jacob Callister Sandra Macias del Villar Jong Han Kim

1. Farms and Farming: Trends, Challenges and Recommendations Dave Gerber Jacob Callister Sandra Macias del Villar Jong Han Kim

2. Presentation Purpose To provide information about issues in the Lane County food system related to farms and farming, based on research from reports, websites and interviews performed in the last four weeks + +

3. Themes Covered 1. The number and scale of farms in Lane County 2. Land conversion 3. Food vs. non-food production 4. Challenges facing farmers 5. Farm related recommendations

4. Basic Approach: 1. What are the existing conditions? 2. What are the challenges of these conditions? 3. What are farm related indicators of a healthy food system? 4. What are recommendations to improve the situation?

5. Lane County Eugene/Springfield Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs) 90% Forest Land

6. History of Lane County Agriculture • In the 1840’s settlers arrive in the Willamette Valley. • In the 1880s, the market opened for timber • The Willamette Valley became one of the most • productive farming areas in the nation. • Food crops such as wheat, barley, vegetables, and • orchards developed throughout this area, along with • cattle, poultry and dairy farming.

7. History of Lane County Agriculture • Over time many food crops have become less important in the economic • development of the county. • In the late 1990’s major agricultural businesses went bankrupt or closed. • Many farmers converted their fields to growing grass seed, flower seed and • vegetable seed. Economy Shift Agricultural and Timber Manufacturing and High Tech

8. Farm Numbers & Sizes

9. The Number of Farms • In 2002 the number of farms was 2,577 • Numbers continuously increased from 1992 through 2002 • The situation of farms appeared to be good source: 2002 & 1997 Census of Agriculture, NASS

10. But these farm numbers are deceiving • Growth concentrated on small farms which • contain less than 49 acres of farmland. source: 2002 & 1997 Census of Agriculture, NASS

11. The smaller farms with value of sales less than $2,500 increased up to 20% More farms making less source: 2002 & 1997 Census of Agriculture, NASS

12. Net gains and losses of farms • The average net gains per farm decreased • The average net losses per farm increased source: 2002 & 1997 Census of Agriculture, NASS

13. Farm Production Expenses source: 2002 & 1997 Census of Agriculture, NASS

14. Land Conversion & Food vs. Non-Food Production

15. Land in Farms • From 1992 through 2002, total amount of farmland decreased as many as 21,608 acres. • The average land size in farms decreased as many as 21 acres. source: 2002 & 1997 Census of Agriculture, NASS

16. Land Conversion Forces Land conversion is taking place due largely to development for both residential and industrial purposes

17. Why? • Developers along with real estate agents are interested in doing business so they can make a living. • Local leaders are often under pressure to create jobs for the community, and increase tax base • Land owners, such as farmers, are capturing profits by selling and subdividing parcels of their land.

18. Food vs. Non-Food • In 1999 less than 20% of Lane County’s Farmland acreage was producing food crops. • The majority of farmland is used for Lane County’s leading agricultural industries: forestry products, grass seed cultivation, and nursery products, leaving little room for local food production.

19. Production Forest Product Trends source: Extension Economic Information Office, Oregon State University

20. Challenges

21. High Costs Leads farmers off the market “Money is not what is keeping us in business as we don’t make any. Its certainly not enough to live off of…” Drives farmers off sustainable practices “Labor costs: every year they get higher and higher, it is hard work and we want to pay people well… but sometimes its just really hard to make it work financially. Unless we can get more dollars for products, and convince enough people that they should pay what we are charging, we’ll have to revert to pesticides (cheaper, less labor).” Prevents young generations from the farming industry“Start up costs for farmers are ridiculously high.”

22. Oversupply Prevents farmers from selling their produce “We need more markets to sell our products.” “The number of farmers who want to sell produce at the Lane County Farmer’s market site near the Lane County Building has exceeded available space.” “At the current farmers market there is no space, no room, no parking, it is a very poor cite which creates a problem if this is one of the main ways farmers can directly sell their produce to the community.”

23. Lack of documentation Prevents decisions makers from seeing the big picture “One of the most critical challenges that we are facing is that decision makers do not have information that represent the importance of local farms to the local economy.” “Nobody is gathering data for local farms and demonstrating how important they are to the economy. ” “The ODA only counts farms that make high levels of production and thus small farms get overlooked.” “Policies, not market forcers, are making it hard to stay in business.”

24. Lack of, and Disappearing Support Services Creates another obstacle for farmers to sell their products “There is only one mobile butcher in the county” “There are no services available for food storage” “No place to freeze to expand selling season, no packaging facilities. All private, no access for smaller farmers.” Network strength and economies of scale are lost “Tractor supply place leaves the area, that ups your costs and opportunities. Also as other farmers leave you lose the value of there strength within networks for purchasing, and things like that. ” “Farmers need a critical mass, and when services and other farmers leave there is a domino effect.”

25. Taxes Death, Inheritance and Capital Gains taxes complicate the transfer of farms to next generation “I want to continue farming into the future, but have concerns about inheritance tax. When my father passes the farm on to me he will be charged this tax, which can be a great challenge for some.” “Often farmers have to sell part of the land to pay for taxes.”

26. Public Support Most consumers favor inexpensive imported foods “…we survive on the relatively small portion of the population that values fresh, natural down home farm produce, and purchasing direct from the farm. Unfortunately, The majority of people don’t care where it came from.” Increasing human-farm adjacencies creates tension and conflict “The best neighbor to a farmer is a farmer.” “There is a disconnect between what people imagine farming to be and what it actually is. Noise, traffic, and dust are problems with my neighbors, and I seem to be getting more of them.”

27. Land Land prices are prohibitively high “My son had bought land for $4, 000 an acre south of their place, a few years later he sold it for $25, 000 an acre to a person who was renting it to farmers. How can we compete with that? ” Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) zoning lawslack integrity “EFU zones are not protected enough. They are easily amended to become park or school land.”

28. Skill Demanding skill sets increase potential for failure “Today’s farmers have to be very skilled to survive. Budget, Economic, Marketing, Management, and Farming skills must be combined.”

29. General farm related indicators of a healthy food system Policies supporting and encouraging farming Sufficient market opportunities Available and affordable farmland Critical mass of farmers and farm suppliers Existence of “appropriate scale processing facilities” A supportive public/consumer base

30. Recommendations From: Our Interviews Willamette Food and Farm Coalition Lane County Action Group 2003 High Costs Promote the available funds from the Farm Service Agency to new farmers looking to purchase land and retiring farmers who wish to keep their land in agriculture. Pursue solutions to the increasingly high costs and lack of farm labor Skills Provide or procure zero-interest loans to small business officers and farm operators who maintain enrollment in the LCC Small Business and Farm Management programs. Lack of Documentation Create a more precise form of small farm documentation. This information must be gathered and put in the hands of policy makers

31. Support Support a branded buy-local campaign for regional food producers. Lane County organic farmers, natural foods companies, and related businesses should form an industry association to pursue common goals. (Food Organizations should also come together more) Support Farm to Cafeteria Projects in Lane County (schools, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes). Change the economic vision of Eugene to reflect its situation of urban vs. rural communities and support both in terms of sustainable growth Infrastructure must be created to link production to value added processes Consider creating a public recognition program to acknowledge and reward sustainability practices.

32. Land Identify level 1 farmland in Lane County and develop policies to keep it in food production. Investigate opportunities for selling development rights to preserve farmland To investigate the requirement of farmlands inventory, like the buildable lands inventory Oversupply Develop incentives for food businesses (restaurants, processors, stores) that use locally grown or produced products. Better site for the County Farmer’s Market, and more days, year round

33. Data Needs/Further Research Specific figures for the size of the local Natural Foods Industry in terms of annual employment, sales, revenue, and crop production. Learn whether there are specific advantages for the industry in the Eugene Northwest Industrial Corridor to determine if this is a logical area to focus cluster development. Conduct impact studies of current land use practices on local food systems. A synthesis of existing reports and data

34. Questions?