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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2003)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, September 24, 2003 Oregon farm income rises in 2002 Nurseries share travel costs It might be too early to call it an upward trend, but Oregon farmers and ranch- ers generally made a little more money this past year, according to newly re- leased statistics. Oregon’s net farm in- come for 2002 was up around 8 percent from the previous year, to nearly $356 million. The good news is tem- pered by the fact that 2001 net farm income was at its lowest level in 18 years. Still, it appears the agricul- ture industry in Oregon is holding its own despite a number of challenges. Net farm income is the amount retained by grow- ers after paying all ex- penses for their business. “Certainly, we are en- couraged to see the num- bers go back up and we hope the net farm income for Oregon bottomed out the previous,” said Katy Coba, director of the Ore- gon Dept. of Agriculture (ODA). “This is one more indi- cation that our farmers and ranchers are hanging tough while the economy strug- gles to right itself.” Other economic indi- cators confirm Coba’s con- tention that Oregon agri- culture remains a vital eco- nomic contributor. The value of agricultural pro- duction is at $3.5 billion. Many individual com- modities have done well this past year. Agricultural exports are rebounding, and the value of the U.S. dollar has softened, which helps the producer. And as the over- all economy improves, there is every reason to believe agriculture’s bot- tom line will improve as well, said ODA. It continues to be a roller-coaster ride for Ore- gon agricultural producers. Figures from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Economic Research Ser- vice show a volatile year- to-year net farm income figure. In 1990, net farm in- come stood at $533 mil- lion. It peaked at $681 mil- lion and $672 million in ‘93 and ‘97 respectively. In contrast, times were tough in ‘95 ($437 million) and ‘99 ($354 million). The 2000 net farm income of $422 million was a modest increase from the previous year, but was fol- lowed by the low mark of $330 million in 2001. An analysis of the sta- tistics reveals some of the reasons for the gains this past year. Gross sales and cash receipts last year were roughly equal to 2001. But after several years of in- creasing expenses, it ap- pears a drop in the cost of doing business is most re- sponsible for the improved net farm income figure during 2002. “Farm expenses -- what it costs farmers to produce the crops and live- stock -- were down by around 3 percent from 2001,” said Bent Searle, ODA analyst. “So even though the gross farm in- come was down very mod- estly, expenses decreased even more. “That’s a good sign that the industry in Oregon is making crucial adjust- ments and finding ways to adapt while maintaining productivity with fewer inputs.” Reflecting the trend in the overall economy, lower interest rates have also trimmed the cost of doing business for Oregon farm- ers and ranchers. Growers paid around $186 million in interest payments on real estate, operating loans, and other forms of credit during 2002. Lower land rents are also a factor in the better bottom line. Farmers and ranchers paid $217 million in 2002 to rent land from non-operator landlords -- a IVHS Activities Calendar Brought to you by the folks at 592-3556 Cave Jct . 469-7545 Brookings/ Harbor THURSDAY, SEPT. 25 *Frosh/Soph football at North Valley - 5 p.m. *JV/Varsity volleyball vs. Phoenix - here 5:15/6:30 p.m. *Boys soccer vs. Hidden Valley - here 4 p.m. SATURDAY, SEPT. 27 *Varsity football vs. North Valley - here 1 p.m. *Varsity volleyball at Bonanza - 9 a.m. *Boys soccer at North Valley - 10 a.m. *Girls soccer vs. north Valley - here 10 a.m. TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 *JV/Varsity volleyball at Rogue River 5:15/6:30 p.m. *Boys soccer vs. Henley here - 4 p.m. *Girls soccer vs. Cascade Christian here - 4 p.m. Support the merchants who advertise in the ‘Illinois Valley News’ 10 percent decrease from the previous year. But there are some higher costs in the latest report. Labor costs in Ore- gon climbed a modest half a percent in Oregon last year to $756 million, still making it the highest sin- gle expense cost for Ore- gon producers. In fact, the amount paid to employees is more than double the amount retained by pro- ducers as net farm income. Machine repair and maintenance costs continue to rise for Oregon farmers, which indicates producers are making efforts to lengthen the life of existing equipment and machinery. All in all, Oregon’s agricultural producers are taking whatever manage- ment steps they can to con- trol the expense side of the balance sheet. “Farmers and ranchers are looking real closely at how they are doing things,” Searle said. “They are being careful in what they are spending and be- coming much more effi- cient in their operations.” While there are a num- ber of Oregon industries that may not be enjoying an increase in the bottom line, agriculture is demon- strating its resilience as one contributor to the state’s economy that is showing some signs of recovery, ODA said. Our opinion of people depends less upon what we see in them than in what they make us see in ourselves. -Sarah Grand- When Willamette Val- ley’s Fisher Farms needed to send only a small order of plants to Philadelphia during spring this year it didn’t have enough to fill a 50-foot-long trailer to be trucked east. But thanks to the Internet other nurseries in similar situations were found, and together they had enough plant material to fill the trailer. The result is an eco- nomical and efficient pro- gram to maximize avail- able transportation, a key issue for Oregon’s number- one agricultural commod- ity, said ODA. Funded largely through a $40,000 specialty crop grant administered by ODA, the partial-load web- site provides a primary communication tool for nursery growers who need to ship less than a full load. They can find other grow- ers with the same need for timely and more cost- effective shipments. The Web site, LoadView, is managed by the Oregon Association of Nurseries. So far there have been nearly 10,000 visits to the website. Hundreds of par- tial loads and dozens of truck transports have been posted, said ODA. The overall success is difficult to measure because most arrangements are finalized via telephone calls, ODA said. Page 13 Mixed-use travel focus of meeting Establishing a rural transportation system plan is the topic of a meeting set for Monday, Sept. 29 by the Josephine County Rural Planning Commis- sion. The meeting will be held in Anne Basker Audi- torium adjacent to the county courthouse in Grants Pass from 7 to 9 p.m. Such a plan is re- quired by State Planning Goal 12. It must address all travel modes for people and commodities. For more information phone Steve Hodges at (541) 474-5460.