02/28/07 Willamette Faces Impact

Willamette Valley Faces Impact. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. More than 132-thousand acres of some of the best farm land in the Willamette Valley could potentially be impacted by development claims made under the Measure 37 property rights initiative. Individual county data collected and analyzed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture paints a clear picture of what could be the impact of Measure 37 on agriculture, according to ODA land use specialist Jim Johnson. JOHNSON: The majority of these claims are occurring on agricultural land that involves high value soils- in many, many cases, prime farmland soils. For the Willamette Valley, nearly nine percent of the farm-zoned, privately-owned land involves Measure 37 claims. If all the claims result in development and loss of farm land, the amount would be more than two-and-a-half times the amount of Ag land lost in Oregon over a 15-year period prior to 1997. ODA has actually mapped the Measure 37 claims as they compare with other farm uses in individual counties. JOHNSON: It`s a Swiss cheese effect, but also you`ll see blotches, so to speak- large area that will stand out as large islands. This development casts a shadow on existing nearby farms, potentially impacting them by creating compatibility issues between farmers and nearby residents along with irrigation impacts. Johnson says all these factors need to be considered as the State Legislature currently wrestles with possible changes to Measure 37. Johnson says the potential impact from Measure 37 development claims has a tremendous effect on what is some of the best farm land in the state. JOHNSON: The Willamette Valley is Oregon`s agricultural industrial park. It`s where the vast majority of our production comes from. We`re talking great soils, we`re talking irrigated land, we`re talking high-value crops. Johnson says the county-level data and the maps produced by ODA are designed to help answer the question of how Measure 37 is impacting agriculture in Oregon. JOHNSON: Whichever side you are on, Measure 37- if it plays out the way it shows on these maps today- is going to have major implications on Oregon agriculture, especially in high-value agricultural areas. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.