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CapitalPress.com
Editorials are written by or
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Capital Press Editorial Board.
December 22, 2017
Opinion
All other commentary pieces are
the opinions of the authors but
not necessarily this newspaper.
Editorial Board
Editor & Publisher
Managing Editor
Joe Beach
Carl Sampson
opinions@capitalpress.com Online: www.capitalpress.com/opinion
O ur V iew
Douglas County plan raises plenty of questions
A
Area in
detail
Douglas Co.
mulls plan to
rezone 35,000
acres of farm-
land and
forestland
Pacific Oce
an
land use fight is shaping
up in Oregon’s Douglas
County that pits the
broader interests of agriculture
against the interests of urban
developers — and perhaps the
interests of specific land owners
who might want to sell.
Douglas County
commissioners are considering
changing the designation of
nearly 35,000 acres in farm and
forest zones to “non-resource
transitional lands.” That would
allow up to 2,300 20-acre home
sites to be carved out of land
now reserved for agriculture and
timber harvests.
According to the county,
the sites are of low quality for
commercial farm production
and taken together represent
only about 1 percent of farm and
forestland in the county.
101
LANE
5
Coos
Bay
138
COOS
Roseburg
42
62
JACKSON
JOSEPHINE
199
Medford
N
20 miles
Capital Press graphic
They speculate that no more
than half the lots would ever be
developed.
The county contends that
current zoning doesn’t support
the demand for “rural lifestyle”
dwellings.
It’s unclear who is clamoring
for these types of properties, but
it’s a safe bet there would be
demand from wealthy retirees
and out-of-towners looking
for vacation properties to take
advantage of the area’s good
weather and scenic beauty.
Not so fast. State land
use regulators and farmland
preservation advocates are
concerned by the proposal.
Advocates at 1,000 Friends
of Oregon say the county hasn’t
proven the need for more rural
housing stock and is pulling a fast
one by misapplying authority it’s
granted under Oregon’s land use
laws to meet its objectives.
Oregon’s Department of Land
Conservation and Development
shares some of the group’s
concerns.
As in many of these land use
issues, we are conflicted.
We have always maintained
that private property owners
should generally be allowed to
use their land for the purpose
that provides the highest return.
For an owner, land suited for
only marginal crop production
might well be worth more as a
sizable plot for a “rural lifestyle”
dwelling.
At the same time, we know that
once truly productive farmland
is used for something other than
farming the soil is often lost
forever to agricultural production.
Significant loss of production
leads to a loss of infrastructure
that supports farming — storage,
processing, packing, transportation.
And that hurts farmers with
otherwise viable operations.
We haven’t heard much from
the people who own the land,
which is scattered around the
various cities in the county. That
could explain the county’s low
estimate of just how much of this
land could ever go on the block.
Willing buyers need willing
sellers.
Indications are good that this
dispute will end up with the state
Land Use Board of Appeals.
We’d like to know, on a plot-
by-plot basis, the true productive
potential of the land. Is any of it
improperly categorized?
That question is moot if the
county is exceeding its authority.
Anyone hoping to pull up
stakes in favor of a prime “rural
lifestyle” dwelling in Douglas
County will just have to wait for
these issues to be resolved.
Here’s how ag
lenders can help
farmers succeed
O ur V iew
By CRAIG CARPENTER
For the Capital Press
T
It’s about
public perception
Gary King, center, pours wine for patrons in the tasting
room at Chateau St. Jean winery in Kenwood, Calif.,
on Nov. 24. The winery reopened in mid-November
after being closed because of a wildfire in October that
burned an adjacent hillside and forested area.
Tim Hearden/For the Capital Press
W
Fallout from disasters and
for business. The down side:
hen it comes to the
other occurrences often hurts
Customers were staying away.
public, perception is
innocent bystanders. Eleven years
It’s bad enough being the
reality.
ago, spinach was identified as
victim of a terrible natural
Even the facts don’t get in the
the source of food-borne illness
disaster. It’s almost worse not
way of how John Q. Public views
and the California farm where it
to be a victim, only to have
an event or issue.
was grown issued a recall. But
Take, for example, the wildfires the public stay away in droves
the widespread fallout from that
because of some assumed
that burned parts of California
recall was amazing. Farmers
damage.
wine country. The images and
in Washington state
stories on the fires two
months ago showed
It’s almost worse not to be a victim, only reported that customers
refused to buy their
horrific scenes of
to have the public stay away in droves
spinach — even though
whole neighborhoods
because of some assumed damage.
it was grown 1,000 miles
and thousands of acres
from the fields linked to
that were decimated.
the recall.
Some blame “the media”
One could hardly fault members of
It’s all about public perception.
the public for assuming all was lost for such assumptions. They are
There was no conceivable way that
missing the point. Newspapers,
in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino
Washington-grown spinach had
counties, three of the crown jewels websites and television stations
anything to do with the recall, yet
cover the action when and where
of the West Coast wine world.
consumers steered clear of it.
State officials estimated the insured it occurs. They really don’t have
Similarly, only 11 of 1,200
damages at $3.3 billion. Combined the resources to cover the wineries
that don’t catch fire. You never see wineries were destroyed by
with the stories of destruction and
the wildfires in California, yet
death, the public assumed the area a news story about the bank that
customers assumed the worst.
wasn’t robbed.
was a total loss.
But by promoting themselves
That’s where the power of
Except for one thing: That is
and the fact that they are open for
advertising and social media
wrong.
business wineries are overcoming
can pick up the ball. Through
While the property damage
those inaccurate public
promotions and social media
and death toll — 43 people died
perceptions.
in the fires — were awful, the vast wineries are reaching millions
The other good news: The
majority of vineyards and wineries of people in the Bay Area and
elsewhere who might enjoy a visit public has a famously short
remained untouched.
memory.
to wine country.
Better yet, they were still open
he agricultural indus-
try is the backbone of
Oregon in many ways,
but it’s hardly for the faint of
heart. Commodities markets
ebb and flow, the weather
changes from year to year,
long days stretch from sun
up to sun down, and the
need for new equipment and
technology is constant.
More than anything, be-
ing a farmer or rancher is
personal. It’s generational,
and often multi-generation-
al. And each farm is unique,
with needs that are different
for each producer.
This makes a rock-solid
relationship with your finan-
cial institution all the more
valuable. Farm businesses
go through cycles and your
ag lender has to be a partner
you can trust for the long-
term, through thick and thin.
Finding the perfect fit
is not always easy. Many
large, for-profit commercial
banks struggle to understand
the agricultural industry. As
Oregon has grown increas-
ingly urban over the years,
many of the state’s most fa-
miliar commercial banking
institutions have either dis-
appeared — swallowed by
larger banks based outside
Oregon — or now avoid ag-
ricultural lending altogether.
For many in the farm busi-
ness, it can feel like com-
mercial lenders don’t even
speak the same language.
The evidence of a chang-
ing financial industry is
hardly anecdotal. In 2006, 36
banks were chartered in the
state, according to Oregon’s
Department of Consumer
and Business Services. That
number had been cut nearly
in half by the end of 2016,
dwindling to just 20. By con-
trast, the number of credit
unions chartered in Oregon
has remained steady at 21
over the same time period.
This makes locally based
community credit unions
and banks all the more im-
portant, particularly in the
agricultural industry. At lo-
cal credit unions and com-
munity banks, consumers
tend to receive more person-
alized service at branches
that are typically more inti-
mate, and people who live
and work in the community
make decisions locally.
Smaller,
communi-
ty-based financial institu-
tions tend to have deeper
insights into what drives
the local market, but with
an eye on the larger world
markets that affect us all.
For this reason, community
banks and credit unions are
Guest
comment
Craig Carpenter
typically better positioned
to serve agricultural pro-
ducers. Those relationships
tend to live on a more per-
sonal level, in which the de-
cision-makers for both the
business and financial in-
stitution work directly with
one another, which is criti-
cal for the health of a farm
or ranch.
Of course, the needs of
a producer in Ontario, Ore.,
are often not the same as
one in the Willamette Val-
ley. Whether you’re farming
alfalfa, wheat, hops, onions,
grapes, or something else,
loan decisions are made lo-
cally — where they belong.
They aren’t shipped off to a
corporate office in Seattle or
San Francisco.
The result is a stream-
lined process, with relation-
ships that are forged face-
to-face, so you always know
with whom you are dealing.
And from operating lines of
credit, machinery and equip-
ment term loans, and real es-
tate term loans, everything
community banks and credit
unions do is tailored to each
farmer’s individual needs.
In our experience, what
most producers want is an
ag lender who will listen to
your needs, truly understand
your plans, and who builds a
deep understanding of your
business. A truly personal
relationship with your lend-
er can be so important, so
when the inevitable storm
comes, your financial insti-
tution can help you weather
it by remaining nimble.
The financial system is
healthiest when there is a di-
verse mix of institutions of all
sizes that can adequately meet
the needs of all producers,
both big and small. And the
farmers and ranchers of Ore-
gon should know that strong
local financial institutions
remain committed to serving
the agricultural industry.
To put it simply, pro-
ducers are at their strongest
with a financial partner that
understands the local land-
scape and the business they
are trying to build.
Craig Carpenter is
senior vice president of
lending and business
solutions for SELCO
Community Credit Union.
A graduate of Eastern
Oregon University and a
native of Ontario, Ore., he
is an expert in agricultural
lending with more than 30
years of experience in the
banking industry.