My latest CSA update from Aaron Nichols of Stoneboat Farm in Hillsboro on what to expect in our share included this note:

"As a lot of you know, I spend some of my extra time working to protect farmland around my farm that is consistently under threat of development from data centers and other industrial uses. Unfortunately, it appears that another very big threat to 1,800 acres of Oregon's very best farmland (that is almost visible from my farm) is looming. There is a legislative concept [a draft idea for legislation before it is introduced as a bill] that has had a hearing in Salem that would make the land available for development…despite the city and the state having promised it would stay in farming for at least another 40 years."

If this sounds familiar, you're not wrong. Just last July I wrote that the city of North Plains outside of Hillsboro had "attempted to double the size of the city by proposing the biggest-ever Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion by percentage basis and the largest by acres in the metro counties." The voters of North Plains responded by rejecting the city's ballot measure by a margin of 70 percent.

Well, now it's Hillsboro's turn to take a turn at snatching what has been described as some of the richest farmland in the area, and this time they've upped the ante to four times the size of the North Plains grab.

Oregon has a rigorous process for expanding the UGB that this proposal attempts to shortcircuit. Rather than basing economic policy on verifiable needs, the so-called "Oregon JOBS Act" (LC 237) proposed by Hillsboro state senator Janeen Sollman sets a precedent of awarding land on a “who you know” basis. According to land-use advocates at Friends of Smart Growth, landowners in the area have been trying for years to get their land added to the UGB—not because it serves the public interest, but because their land value would increase by 50 times. The Smart Growth website says "the precedent set by this proposal would lead to a mishmash of laws and an unpredictable regulatory climate for businesses in and out of the UGB and would set aside the rule of law in favor of a system that is open to corruption and mismanagement."

For perspective, figures from the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture show that the number of farms in Oregon decreased by six percent since 2017, and the acreage those farms occupied was down four percent in the same period. 1000 Friends of Oregon detailed that only about 16 percent of Oregon (excluding federal lands) consists of high-value soils, with only about four percent of those rated as prime farmland, and that efforts like the one proposed in this legislative concept endanger those remaining valuable soils.

The threat these data centers pose isn't limited to Oregon's diminishing agricultural land. According to an article in The Guardian, while data centers consume just one percent of the world's electricity now, "their share of U.S. electricity is projected to more than double to 8.6% by 2035."

1000 Friends points out that corporate data centers—the kind of industrial development most often discussed for this parcel—which are touted as super-charging job creation, actually create few, relatively low-paying jobs. Furthermore, it goes on to say that "the bill that Hillsboro state senator Janeen Sollman is proposing will extend tax breaks for these same corporations—companies that can easily afford to pay their fair share.

"Meanwhile, the state is slashing social services budgets that help keep Oregon’s working families afloat, [and] data centers are expected to increase PGE and Pacific Power rates by 50 percent in 5 years (despite the passage of the POWER Act), fresh water is being used and polluted by data centers, and data centers are costing Oregon hundreds of millions in tax revenue each year. Clearly, this industry is not benefiting most Oregonians."

ACTION ITEMS: There are several actions you can take on this issue.

• Click here to send an e-mail to your elected representatives.
• Attend the community meeting and information session: Jan. 30th, 5-6 pm; United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way, Forest Grove.
• Attend Sen. Sollman’s town hall (across the street from the community meeting) immediately following the information session at 6:30 pm; Pacific University’s McCready Hall in the Taylor‑Meade Performing Arts Center, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove.

My very first legislative report from 2015 said:

"This blog is about my ongoing journey to discover the connections between what's going on in the field and what I put on my table. It took me awhile to realize part of that road makes a detour through the halls of the Capitol building in Salem. In other words, the decisions that our elected officials make about agriculture in Oregon directly affect what I'm going to feed my family, whether I buy it at the farmers' market or the grocery store."

The report you're reading now, almost ten years to the day since that first one, has brought me to the opening of the 2025 session of the Oregon legislature, with several bills that will affect whether we will continue to have access to functioning farmers markets and food hubs, or be able to put locally raised meats on our tables or whether farmers will have access to water for their crops, along with many other critical issues to keep Oregon's food system functioning. Here are the bills I'll be following this session with easy actions you can take:

Funding a State Meat Inspection Program

Until 2021, in order to sell individual cuts of meat, farmers in Oregon had to have access to a federally certified United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspected facility. Oregon only has 13 of these facilities spread across the state, which has created situations where farmers need to get processing appointments almost a year in advance, and in many cases drive hundreds of miles to bring their animals to slaughter.

The cost of establishing new USDA facilities is prohibitive for any but the largest industrial producers, so a State Meat Inspection Program was developed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) in 2021, but funding was not provided to hire staff to run the program. The bill before the legislature, HB 2164, would appropriate funding at the ODA to hire staff and manage facilities that are ready to come online shortly and are desperately needed by Oregon's small and pasture-based farmers and ranchers. (Additional details here.)

ACTION NEEDED: Sign your name to this petition urging your legislator to support this bill.

Small Farm Water Access

Since 1955, it has been required to have a water right to plant and grow any crops for sale in Oregon. "Domestic exempt wells"—a well drilled in order to serve a home, and not associated with a water right for irrigation—are not legal sources of water to irrigate commercial agriculture. This means that farmers cannot sell crops commercially that are irrigated with water from these wells.

A bill to allow farmers to sell crops that have been produced with domestic exempt well water, SB 76 and HB 3372—for the moment these are placeholders to fine tune language and clarify which chamber will bring it forward—essentially says that if you can legally grow vegetables, fruits or flowers for your family using a domestic well, you should be allowed to sell those products to your community, while at the same time exercising ethical, reasonable limits on use. (Additional details here.)

ACTION NEEDED: Sign your name to this petition urging your legislator to support this bill.

Additional Food System Bills

• Holding polluters accountable (SB 747). Requires persons with ownership interests in at least 200 acres of irrigated land used for agriculture to annually report information about fertilizer application to the State Department of Agriculture. Authorizes the ODA and DEQ to hold them accountable for violations. 
• Renewal of Disaster Resilience Grants for Food Producers (HB 2979). Funding supports small-scale farmers, ranchers, farmers' markets and food hubs.
• Increased Funding for OSU College of Veterinary Medicine (HB 2167). Addresses the severe shortage of veterinarians in rural Oregon, supports ongoing veterinary education, and enhances the state's capacity to combat significant health threats to animals and humans.
• Assistance for Households Reliant on Septic Systems (HB 2168). Instructs the Oregon State University Extension Service to establish a program for providing assistance to households that rely on wells for drinking water or on septic systems for wastewater treatment.
• Support for Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program (HB 3131). This measure appropriates $17.3 million for the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund (OAHF) to help agricultural and conservation groups to protect farm and ranch land, keep it in production, and enhance its natural resource values. 
• Spanish Language Pesticide Training (HB 3010). Directs Oregon State University to develop a Spanish language pesticide education program.

Conservation of Working Lands

Loopholes in Oregon’s agricultural and forest land policies are being used to authorize high-end residential development, luxury hotels, and elite entertainment venues on land designated exclusively for agricultural and forest production.

In addition to converting our agricultural and forest land into playgrounds for the well-heeled, the mere opportunity to site such venues is driving up farm and forest land prices beyond the reach of family farmers, ranchers, and timberland managers. New and beginning operators are being priced out of the market. In addition, unchecked residential and commercial development in our farm and forest zones threatens other valuable resources protected by large blocks of agricultural and forest land, such as water and wildlife habitat.

This package of bills closes long-neglected loopholes in Oregon’s farm and forest land protection policies:

Replacement Dwelling Reform (SB 78). Stops the conversion of agricultural and forest land for luxury residential development through “replacement” dwellings.

Home Occupation Reform (SB 77). Closes the loophole that allows large-scale hospitality and entertainment facilities being approved on land designated for agricultural and timber production.

Spot Zoning Reform (SB 73). Stops the case-by-case rezoning of individual ag and forest properties to residential and industrial use outside a state-authorized planning process.

Nonresource Dwelling Reform (SB 79). Prohibits new houses that have nothing to do with agriculture or forest management from being built in critical groundwater areas, priority wildlife habitat and migration corridors, and on high‐value farmland.

ACTION NEEDED: Oregon residents can sign your name to this letter to legislators.

Thanks to Friends of Family Farmers, 1000 Friends of Oregon and Oregon Rural Action for their help in compiling this report. You can follow these organizations on social media and sign up for their newsletters to get alerts about actions you can take on these issues.

Some of the Oregon's richest farmland and the state's nationally heralded land use laws are under attack due a measure passed by the state legislature in its 2023 session. Ostensibly SB 4 was meant to provide grants and loans that semiconductor companies could access to acquire and develop land for new facilities and carry out research. These companies could then use that money as a gateway to apply for some of the $52 billion available in the federal government's 2022 CHIPS and Science Act to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

So far, that makes sense, right? Spend a little and possibly gain a lot of new business from a burgeoning industry.

What's alarming farmers, advocates and land use watchdogs is the second part of SB 4 that gives Governor Kotek sweeping powers to unilaterally shift a city's urban growth boundaries (UGBs) without a public process and no assessment of impacts on public utilities—semiconductor facilities use vast amounts of water and electricity—area farmers, the food system, and the environment. Then there's the influence that monied developers could potentially have on susceptible city and state officials. (But that wouldn't happen here in Oregon, right? Right?)

The website Friends of Smart Growth, established to promote a holistic, responsible, longterm approach to the state's lands, states that "Oregon’s working lands are imperiled, nowhere more so than in Washington County. Right now the city of Hillsboro has asked the governor to use her supposed authority under SB 4 to circumvent land use laws, good planning, and the public process to add 373 acres of first class farmland that are classified 'rural reserves' for the next 35-plus years."

Furthermore, "it allows the governor to unilaterally bring our farms, ranches, forests, and watersheds into urban areas with no guarantee that it will result in high-quality jobs for Oregonians or that it would leverage federal funding to the state. There is also no requirement for the governor to look first to the lands available inside UGBs," according to 1000 Friends of Oregon.

ACTION ITEM: Friends of Smart Growth is asking farmers, eaters, residents and lovers of Oregon's working and wild spaces to sign a petition urging the public to protect the state's farmlands and respect the land use system that has built a vibrant and livable Oregon. Sign it here.

UPDATE: Friends of Smart Growth has sent out a notice about a public meeting with Gov. Kotek at 6 pm on Thursday, October 10, at the Hillsboro Civic Center. It is the one opportunity the public will have to express an opinion on this issue. Members of the public can testify in person or virtually (information here). There is also a rally starting at 5 pm outside the center. The public can submit written testimony by Oct. 30 by e-mail or by mailing a letter to 900 Court Street Suite 255 Salem, OR 97301.

Issues to mention are:

• Hillsboro already has the land: There are 10,000 acres of industrial land inside existing UGBs, including hundreds of acres of large lots in Hillsboro.
• Hillsboro would have had more land if it hadn't squandered hundreds of acres on wasteful data centers.
• Residents will likely ultimately pay for a lot of the increased cost of water and infrastructure for this expansion.
• The facility does not need this much land: a similar facility in New York takes up just 73 acres.
• At stake is some of the best farmland in the world: it can grow anything while sequestering carbon and providing habitat.
• Intel should not receive more giveaways: Intel got $8.5 billion in federal CHIPS Act dollars this year and $800 million in state property tax breaks over 5 years, but is laying off 15% of its workforce. Intel's success doesn't depend on 373 acres of farmland.
• The process is undemocratic: There is only one hearing, details are posted only 1 week beforehand, and appeals are severely limited. 

Top photo from Friends of Smart Growth. Photo of semiconductor facility from Wikipedia.