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Category Archives: Land use
Are farmland conservation easements associated with greater farm investment?
In this post, I’m going to present an overview of a recently published paper on the relationship between farmland conservation easements and farm investment. Before I dive into the paper, I first want to provide a brief overview of how … Continue reading
Farmland loss and land development: More on the misuse of statistics from the Census of Agriculture
During last week’s hearing for the Oregon Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire, Kelly Howsley-Glover (President, The Association of County Planning Directors) cited some of my blog posts concerning how to interpret the decrease in Oregon’s farmland reported in … Continue reading
Posted in Agricultural policy, Farmland, Land use, Natural Resources
Tagged Census of Agriculture, farmland, land use, Oregon
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Recent trends in the price of Oregon’s timberland
A large proportion of Oregon’s land is forested. Based on a 2024 Oregon Department of Forestry estimate, forestland covers 10.4-11.3 million acres (about 39%) of the state’s non-federal land. Oregon’s forest products sector is nationally significant, as we consistently lead … Continue reading
Posted in Economic policy, Forest land, Land use, Natural Resources
Tagged forestry, land use, land values, timberland
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Do small parcels of farmland tend to sell for more in Oregon?
Note: This post has been updated to reflect a coding error that affected the numbers in the previous version. None of the overall conclusions regarding the differences in land prices between small and large parcels are affected, but it does … Continue reading
Unpacking the 2022 Census of Agriculture
Over the past few months, I’ve been analyzing what the 2022 Census of Agriculture reveals about Oregon’s agricultural sector. Two data points that have garnered attention concern the loss of 667,000 acres of Oregon’s farmland and the substantial 29% gain … Continue reading
Have Oregon’s urban growth boundaries been too conservation-friendly?
Promoting an orderly pattern of land-use change, particularly when it comes to the conversion of farmland and forests to developed uses, is the cornerstone of Oregon’s statewide land-use planning system. A key piece of our system, which largely traces back … Continue reading
Posted in Farmland, Forest land, Land use
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Does the Conservation Reserve Program promote organic transition?
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) spends upwards of $20 million dollars each year in an effort to support and grow the organic agricultural industry. One thing that makes obtaining organic certification difficult and risky for producers is what’s known … Continue reading
Posted in Agricultural policy, Farmland, Land use
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California Forever: A glance at the underlying economic and policy issues
With the housing crisis facing many communities in the western US, who can argue against dense, affordable housing with tree-lined streets and easy access to bike lanes, shops, and schools? It’s a gamble that the investors in California Forever are … Continue reading
What does the EPA Vulnerable Species Pilot Project mean for Oregon agriculture?
Tim Delbridge and Dan Bigelow As the Capital Press and other outlets have been reporting over the last month, there is a draft plan from the EPA to protect a number of endangered and threatened species through new restrictions on … Continue reading
Forestland accounts for a majority of land conversion in Oregon
In my previous post, I showed that there is less land development in Oregon compared to Washington and California. Furthermore, I pointed out that development in all three states has declined considerably in recent decades. From a land conservation perspective, … Continue reading
Posted in Farmland, Forest land, Land use
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