Capital Press
EMPOWERING PRODUCERS OF FOOD & FIBER
Friday, December 17, 2021
Volume 94, Number 51
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Even though some farmers have benefi ted, critics say
fi nancialization of farmland is moving high-value soil out of ag
Urban growth
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
M
adeleine Fairbairn, a
University of Califor-
nia-Santa Cruz profes-
sor and author of the
2020 book, “Fields of
Gold: Financing the
Global Land Rush,” recalls attend-
ing a conference in a “stately hotel”
with men in suits at tables shrouded
in
white
table-
cloths under a crys-
tal chandelier dis-
cussing investment
opportunities.
“The
subject
being
discussed
among all this fi nery
was not the future of Madeleine
Fairbairn
international bank-
ing or the latest in
high-frequency trading,” writes Fair-
bairn. “It was farming. These well-
heeled men were in the market for
dirt.”
In recent years, more and more
domestic investors have set their
sights on farmland. Some have
been high-net-worth individuals
like Warren Buff ett and Bill Gates.
Corporations, as well as institu-
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Lyle Spiesschaert on a hill overlooking his farm, which has been in his
family for more than a century.
tional investors — including univer-
sity endowments, private founda-
tions and pension funds — are also
increasingly adding farmland to their
investment portfolios.
Oregon, known for its high-value
cropland, has been a hot commodity.
Some farmers have benefi ted,
but critics say the fi nancialization of
farmland is moving high-value soil
out of agriculture, raising land prices
and de-localizing rural communities.
So, who is buying farmland in
Oregon?
Researchers have identifi ed sev-
eral actors: family-based farm oper-
ations scaling up, wealthy individ-
uals, institutions, corporations and
real estate developers and “amenity
owners” who buy farmland to live in
the country and perhaps run a hobby
farm but not a commercial operation.
Historically, experts say, the
majority of outside investment in
farmland came from developers.
According to the American Farm-
land Trust, between 1992 and 2012,
62% of development occurred on
farmland. Nationwide, almost 31
million acres of agricultural land was
lost.
This is the story for Lyle
Spiesschaert, 74, a fourth-generation
Forest Grove, Ore., farmer.
On a recent December morning,
Spiesschaert climbed out of his UTV
on a hillside and looked down on the
valley.
Straight ahead lay cropland that
had been farmed by his family for
more than 100 years.
To the southeast, bordering his
property, stands Forest Grove High
School and scores of homes sur-
rounding it.
“When I was a kid in FFA, I used
to grow wheat right there,” said
Spiesschaert.
Spiesschaert’s family lost 20 acres
under imminent domain to the school
construction project. It was too diffi -
cult to farm next to the school, so the
See Dirt, Page 11
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
A hill overlooking Lyle Spiesschaert’s farm, which has been in his family for more than a century.
Economists: Infl ation to persist in ag economy
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Infl ation will continue to chal-
lenge food producers next year, an
agricultural economist says.
“We are moving to a new and
higher level, and we are going to
be there for a long time,” Brett Stu-
art of Global AgriTrends, based in
Preston, Idaho, told a University
of Idaho Ag Outlook videocon-
ference Dec. 13. “I would suggest
that without some major event, it’s
going to be a soft landing. Infl ation
is going to weigh on us. It could
carry us into stag-
fl ation,” which is
infl ation with a
slowing economy.
Price increases
since August 2020
include 166% for
Brett
natural gas, 110%
Stuart
for fertilizer, 101%
for crude oil and
54% for diesel, he said.
Gains in the prices of agricul-
tural commodities include 85%
for corn, 75% for wheat (Kansas
City benchmark), 61% for chicken
breasts, 57% for pork bellies, 44%
FOR RELATED STORY
SEE PAGE 7
for hogs, 34% for beef and 30% for
steers.
The surges refl ect pent-up
demand as COVID-19 restrictions
ease, port congestion and other
supply-chain challenges, and a
money supply that grew by about
40% in two years, Stuart said.
Cheese prices are down 22%
since August 2020. Stuart said
Class III milk futures improved
recently, and there is room for opti-
mism next year.
Dairy producers “have been late
to the party,” he said. “I hope they
get a piece of this.
“The game is now: How do you
manage cost, and how do we keep
revenue going up and even try to
hope that we can keep pace with
infl ation?” Stuart said.
He said the U.S. government
can’t aff ord to increase interest
rates substantially to combat infl a-
tion, as it did in the early 1980s,
given its debt load.
“We’re going to see inter-
est rate hikes next year,” Stuart
said. “Maybe a quarter point in
the fi rst quarter, maybe a quarter
point in the second quarter. What
that equates to is a BB gun. I don’t
think it’s going to slow it down.
Infl ation is going to run hotter and
longer than most people realize.”
China is a big importer of U.S.
meats and other commodities. Chi-
na’s rising incomes and a phase
one trade agreement with the U.S.
are factors in recent and antic-
ipated demand, he said. China
reduced its swine herd due to dis-
ease in 2018-19.
See Economy, Page 11
$40M approved for forgivable disaster loans for Oregon farmers
SALEM — Oregon farm-
ers who’ve suff ered from
drought and other disas-
ters will gain access to $40
million in forgivable loans
under a legislative package
approved Dec. 13.
The money will serve
as a “bridge” to keep farm-
ers afl oat while they wait
for USDA assistance, but
the loans will be forgiven
if growers don’t qualify for
federal disaster relief.
“We’re telling farmers
and ag workers across the
state that we acknowledge
how hard it’s been to survive
this year,” said Rep. Bobby
Levy, R-Echo, before the
House fl oor vote.
Throughout 2021, farm-
ers have been plagued by
winter storms, drought, heat
waves, insect infestations,
wildfi res and fl ood damage,
all during a global pandemic.
“It’s been the hardest year
for natural disasters in many
Founded in 1945
by Farmers and Ranchers.
Who saw a need for Rural Lending.
Oregon producers’ memo-
ries,” said Mary Anne Coo-
per, Oregon Farm Bureau’s
vice president of public pol-
icy, during a legislative hear-
ing on the bill.
The forgivable loans are
intended to allow farmers to
stay in business, but won’t
actually result in a profi table
year, she said. “I just think
that’s out of reach for the
2021 year.”
The Oregon Farm Bureau
estimates about $75 million
was made available to disas-
ter-affl icted growers in the
legislative package, which
was passed during a Dec. 13
special session.
The idea for forgivable
loans sprang from concerns
that niche Oregon farmers
face “gaps” in USDA disas-
ter programs, which are pri-
marily designed for major
commodity crops.
For example, damage
from the ice storm and heat
wave this year may not
directly kill hazelnut trees
or nursery stock. However,
yields and marketability are
adversely aff ected.
“Assistance is needed to
help producers with losses
not covered by federal pro-
grams,” said Megan Kem-
ple, director of policy advo-
cacy for the Oregon Climate
and Agriculture Network
nonprofi t.
Farmers with adjusted
gross incomes of less
than $500,000 will qual-
ify for loans of up to
See Loans, Page 11
Hector Lopez and Michael Broeckel are
Experienced Lenders with a focus on
Agricultural and Commercial Loans
and Operating Lines of Credit.
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Capital Press
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