A Crop Of Good Advice
1000 Friends of Oregon's Farmer Advisory Committee

What does a rancher from the high desert of Klamath County have in common with a vintner growing pinot noir grapes in the Willamette Valley? What does a pear orchardist from Bear Creek Valley just north of the California border have to say to a cherry orchardist who farms just across the Columbia River from Washington?

A great deal, as it turns out.

A group of 29 farmers and ranchers from all the agricultural regions of the state have come together to advise and assist 1000 Friends of Oregon on how to improve Oregon's farm and range land protection program. Their combined expertise in commercial agriculture and the intricacies of Oregon's land use planning program have made them very effective advocates for protecting Oregon's valuable farm and range lands. Staff Attorney Carrie Kuerschner is the current administrator for the group. She took over after Staff Attorney Blair Batson left 1000 Friends in Fall of 2000.

Batson first assembled the group in the fall of 1994. At meetings in Portland, Albany, and an echoing parish hall in Madras, they spent long days debating such esoteric subjects as a fair sunset date for "lot of record" dwellings and proper standards for land divisions. For hour after hour the discussion went on, a joint seminar on land use law and politics, agricultural methods and challenges, and principles of fairness.

The result was a comprehensive analysis and critique of Oregon's farm and ranch land preservation program. (This analysis is published in a booklet entitled "Position Statements and Policy Recommendations of the 1000 Friends of Oregon Farmer Advisory Committee.") The Farmer Advisory Committee (FAC) urged 1000 Friends to adopt stronger positions on a number of issues including urban growth boundary expansions and standards for building new houses in exclusive farm use zones (see sidebar). The Board of Directors adopted virtually all of the committee's many recommendations as official 1000 Friends policy. Today FAC members continue to advise 1000 Friends on agricultural policy and standards.

Spreading the Word

FAC members have made educational presentations to a number of key audiences on the importance of and best methods for protecting farm and range lands. Groups who have been briefed by committee members include the Oregon Board of Agriculture, the Land Conservation and Development Commission, and county commissions or planning commissions in Hood River, Jefferson, Linn and Union Counties, as well as the Metro Council (Portland-area elected regional government), the Madras City Council and Hillsboro city staff.

Committee members have also met with Governors Kitzhaber and Kulongoski several times. At these meetings, farmers have the opportunity to express their concerns about pending legislation. FAC members have also presented powerful testimony before the House and Senate Committees during multiple Legislative Sessions.

Cultivating Understanding

Farming and ranching are challenging careers without taking up the difficult and often highly controversial defense of Oregon's farmland zoning regulations. Why do FAC members do it?

Mike McCarthy, an orchardist from Hood River County, replies that the Advisory Committee is a "very well organized and orchestrated approach to working with the Legislature." And he finds it rewarding to "network with other farmers who share the same concerns for protecting farmland for future generations of farmers."

According to Bill Blosser, former Chair of the Land Conservation and Development Commission (himself both a professional planner and a wine grape grower), "any group that makes the effort to show up to make a presentation and comes armed with studies and data that prove their point has a real impact on the Commission, and the Farmer Advisory Committee has done both. The Commission needs that kind of on-the-ground information from people who live there and experience it."

The farmers, ranchers, and timber producers working on 1000 Friend's Farmer Advisory Committee have become an integral part of Oregon's citizen planning infrastructure. Without them, Oregon's productive and beautiful range and farmlands might have been planted with their final crop: houses.

Members of the Farmer Advisory Committee

Oregon Coast Shawn Reiersgaard, Tillamook County Creamery Association Sharon Waterman, Coos County: cows, calves, Sheep, timber Willamette Valley Thomas Bedell, Benton County Diana Gardener, Marion County: Christmas trees, perennial rye grass oak and other hardwoods Jim Gilbert, Clackamas County: nursery stock Clif, Lois and Peter Kenagy, Benton County: row crops David Lett: wine grapes Ellyn McNeil, Washington County Jim Monroe, Linn County: sheep, timber Sam Sweeney, Yamhill County Dave Vanasche, Washington County: wheat, clover, grass seed Dick & Joan Vanderzanden, Washington County: diversified row crops

Columbia Plateau Bob, Barbara and Ken Bailey, Wasco County: cherries, apples, pears Rick & Sydney Blaine, Hood River County: pears, cherries, apples, cattle Mike McCarthy, Hood River County: pears, apples, timber, hay, cattle Fritz von Lubken, Hood River County: pears, apples Eastern Oregon Mark Tipperman, Union County: cattle and timber Central and Basin Region Mickey Killingsworth, Jefferson County: sheep Susan McAuliffe, Klamath County: cattle and calves, sheep, horses Southwest Oregon Rich Holcomb, Douglas County: cattle, sheep,hay, timber Judson Parsons, Jackson County: pears, timber, wine grapes Darryl & Katherine Ray, Douglas County: cattle, calves, sheep