A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Land sales have
big impact on
ag economy
T
here’s more to an
agricultural land sale
than a willing buyer and
a willing seller.
A farm or ranch changing
hands can impact neighbors
and the local economy almost
as much as the parties directly
involved.
That’s why when ag land goes
up for sale it’s a big deal — far
more important than just dollars
and cents.
The price of exclusive farm
use land — a designation used
by the state to identify the best
ag land — has skyrocketed
in recent years as it changed
hands. Some remained orchards,
vineyards, farms or ranchland,
but other tracts were taken out
of production for a variety of
purposes including conservation,
recreation and even a state park.
In each case, the sale can
have a profound impact. Some
examples:
• Neighboring farmers
and ranchers see the price
of expansion increasing,
potentially beyond their
means. At the same time, the
comparable value of their land
continues to grow, impacting
their fi nances.
• The area where the state
purchased ranchland for
conversion to a state park has
seen mixed impacts. Neighbors
have seen the pool of grazing
land shrink, but nearby towns
have seen the number of
visitors increase.
Overall, the biggest impact
is when land is taken out of
production.
Because agricultural land is
more than real estate, buyers
and sellers need to take the
local economy into account.
For example, taking vast
swaths of ranchland out of
production will impact other
ranchers and their ability to
graze livestock. If livestock
is no longer raised, that
will impact the economy.
Equipment will no long be
bought or serviced in nearby
towns. Seed and fertilizer
dealers will see the number of
customers shrink. Cattle will no
longer go to market, impacting
livestock auctions.
Considering that the average
age of farmers across the West
is about 60, what happens when
agricultural land changes hands
takes on added importance.
Whether land stays in the
family or is sold to absentee
landowners, how it is used
profoundly impacts the region.
Overall, the best case
scenario is the land will remain
in agriculture, supporting
ranchers, farmers and the
economy.
Whether, or how, that can
be mandated will remain a
continuing debate across the
West.
G UEST C OMMENT
Courage, honor, sacrifi ce
By Cameron Smith
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
Memorial Day is a holiday root-
ed in tradition. Every year, thou-
sands of Oregonians participate in
ceremonies, parades and other sol-
emn events. But long before the fi rst
Memorial Day processions wound
their way down city streets, long
before dignitaries across the country
took to podiums to honor service and
sacrifi ce, the holiday started, infor-
mally, with a much simpler tradition:
the laying of fl owers upon the grave
of a fallen service member.
It was in the wake of the Amer-
ican Civil War that communities
began the practice of decorating sol-
diers’ graves with fl owers. This mili-
tary family and community tradition
was later formalized as a national
day of honor in Decoration Day, and
what we now call Memorial Day.
In 1866, no family or communi-
ty was untouched by the Civil War.
America’s bloodiest confl ict result-
ed in over 1 million casualties and
claimed over 620,000 lives. The im-
pacts of the war were intensely and
personally felt across the nation.
Today, over 320,000 veterans call
Oregon home. We are a strong and
diverse community,
spanning four gen-
erations across fi ve
major wars. With
every veteran count-
ed, we must also
recognize the sacri-
Cameron
fi ce of their spouses
Smith
and families, who
served on the home
front while their loved ones were in
uniform.
At the same time, we must ac-
knowledge that today’s battles are
fought by less than 1 percent of our
population. The weight of the most
recent confl icts in Iraq and Afghani-
stan has been borne by the few. Most
of our citizens today have not been
directly impacted by war. The same
cannot be said for our Gold Star
families, who have lost a loved one
in service to our nation.
We can never forget the true cost
of war — a cost far beyond dollars
and cents. A hundred years ago, in
World War I, we lost over 115,000
dedicated service members — al-
most 1,000 of whom were from
Oregon. Those who survived the
battlefi elds in Europe did not come
home to a robust system of veterans’
health care and benefi ts. But they
banded together in service organiza-
tions and fought to advocate for the
nationwide network of support we
have today.
Across the ages, from the beach-
es of Normandy and the Pacifi c is-
lands to the mountains and jungles
in Asia, countless Americans have
stood up to serve and have laid down
their lives. At the most basic level,
they fought to protect the one on
their right and the one on their left,
but ultimately their fi ght protects us
all and preserves the values we hold
dear.
This Memorial Day, as we kick
off the start of summer and turn to
enjoy Oregon’s incredible parks,
beaches, rivers and mountains, we
must encourage all citizens to pause
and honor our fallen and Gold Star
families. We stand on the shoulders
of all those who came before us and
will never forget our veterans’ ser-
vice, especially those who made the
ultimate sacrifi ce.
Thank you for your support of
Oregon’s military, veterans and their
families!
Cameron Smith served three
tours in Iraq as a Marine and is the
director of the Oregon Department
of Veterans’ Affairs.
F INANCIAL PLANNING
Mom and dad, did you cover everything?
By JJ Montanaro
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
W HERE TO W RITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-
575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax:
541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@centu-
rylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day,
97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-
575-1721. Email: cityjd@centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax:
541-421-3075. Email: info@cityofl ong-
creek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monument
97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-2025.
Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax:
541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website: www.
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State Capitol,
Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180.
Website: www. leg.state.or.us (includes
Oregon Constitution and Oregon Revised
Statutes).
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
• State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario (Dis-
trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900
Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone:
503-986-1460. Email: rep.cliffbentz@state.
or.us. Website: www.leg.state.or.us/bentz/
home.htm.
• State Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R — (District
30) Room S-223, State Capitol, Salem
97310. Phone: 503-986-1950. Email: sen.
tedferrioli@state.or.us. Email: TFER2@aol.
com. Phone: 541-490-6528. Website: www.
leg.state.or.us/ferrioli.
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol or
messages for legislators) — 800-332-2313.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
• The White House, 1600 Pennsylva-
nia Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500;
Phone-comments: 202-456-1111; Switch-
board: 202-456-1414.
• U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D — 516 Hart
Senate Offi ce Building, Washington D.C.
20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Email:
wayne_kinney@wyden.senate.gov Website:
http://wyden.senate.gov Fax: 202-228-2717.
• U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D — 313 Hart
Senate Offi ce Building, Washington D.C.
20510?. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email:
senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-
228-3997. Oregon offi ces include One
World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St.,
Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; and 310
S.E. Second St., Suite 105, Pendleton, OR
97801. Phone: 503-326-3386; 541-278-
1129. Fax: 503-326-2990.
• U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R — (Second
District) 1404 Longworth Building, Wash-
ington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-225-6730.
No direct email because of spam. Website:
www.walden.house.gov Fax: 202-225-5774.
Medford offi ce: 14 North Central, Suite 112,
Medford, OR 97501. Phone: 541-776-4646.
Fax: 541-779-0204.
It’s the American coming-
of-age: After high school grad-
uation, proud parents send their
kids off to college, the service or
the wider world, with one simple
instruction: Go figure it out.
“Johnny, Jane: At long last,
it’s time to start thinking about
your values, your beliefs, your
work ethic. Finally, you can be-
gin to explore life’s most import-
ant truths.” Not!
Good parents just don’t do
that. We spend years nurtur-
ing and preparing our chil-
dren, cultivating the qualities
they will need to be success-
ful, productive, happy human
beings.
Too often, though, we forget
about preparing them in a cru-
cial area that will have lifelong
effects: personal finance. How
much time do we spend teaching
kids about money and how to use
it wisely? Do we think they’ll
just figure it out once they leave
home?
A reader recently shared her
success story. She focused on
teaching her son about finances,
helping him learn about making
smart choices. Now, years later,
her son and daughter-in-law have
a beautiful home, no credit card
debt, robust TSP accounts and a
solid financial foundation. Their
good position didn’t come by ac-
cident; it came from sound finan-
cial training that began during
childhood and has continued over
the years.
Here are five lesson plans that
I hope you’ll consider building
into your effort to help equip
your kids with the financial tools
they’ll need to be successful:
1. Differentiating needs from
wants. Understanding the differ-
ence – and knowing to satisfy the
former before the latter – will
prove essential in day-to-day fi-
nancial decisions.
2. Avoid falling victim to peer
pressure. You’ve certainly hit
on this as it relates to other ar-
eas of your kids’ lives – drugs,
alcohol and the like, but there’s
also a money slant to it. Wheth-
er it’s buying the latest gad-
gets, a slick vehicle or trendy
fashions, kids shouldn’t blindly
follow the herd into financial
problems.
3. Capitalizing on the pow-
er of time. Time and compound
returns are your child’s best fi-
nancial friend. Make sure they
know it. Matching what they
save, setting up a Roth IRA with
their part-time employment in-
come and sharing your own
experiences with long-term in-
vesting can help drive home this
message.
4. Make saving and investing
a priority. There’s not a right or
wrong here, but they are differ-
ent and there’s probably a place
for both in their financial life. It’s
important to create savings for
short-term goals and emergencies
and invest money for longer-term
plans like retirement and, here’s
the kicker, not only with what’s
left over at the end of the month.
5. Understand the rules of
the credit game. Credit can be a
useful financial tool and a dan-
gerous temptation. How our kids
manage it can affect them in a lot
of different areas. Getting a job,
renting or buying a house, insur-
ing a car, receiving government
security clearance or being ap-
proved for a competitive loan are
all examples of where effectively
managing credit can yield posi-
tive results.
Outfit your kids with the tools
they need to succeed. And re-
member, the parenting doesn’t
stop after their initial venture
into adulthood. It’s a lifelong en-
deavor. The good news: If your
kids are like mine, the older
they get, the more receptive they
become.
JJ Montanaro is a certified
financial planner with USAA
Military Affairs. This article was
published in the American Legion
Magazine April 2017 and was re-
published with permission.
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