During a recent conversation with an Oregon Women for Agriculture member, President Sarah Puls shared information about the work of Oregon Agricultural Trust. Their program is both exciting and offers many opportunities our members could benefit from. The article below, provided by Sal Lopez, Communications Manager at Oregon Agricultural Trust, shares more about their efforts.
Oregon Agricultural Trust (OAT) is a statewide, nonprofit agricultural land trust with a mission to partner with farmers and ranchers to protect agricultural lands for the benefit of Oregon’s economy, communities, and landscapes.
As the only organization working statewide and exclusively with farmers and ranchers to protect agricultural land, we address three interconnected challenges: the difficulty of passing land to the next generation, the rapid loss of farmland to fragmentation and development, and the need to safeguard the habitat and community benefits tied to agricultural land.
The urgency of this work is clear. According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, Oregon lost 660,000 acres—4 percent—of its farmland in just five years. Nationwide, 20 million acres of farmland disappeared between 2017 and 2022, an area the size of Maine. Oregon’s strong land use laws help slow this trend, but they are not enough to guarantee farmland will remain farmland.
Founded in 2019 and incorporated in 2020, OAT emerged from extensive input from farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Today, our women-led, 11-person organization delivers programs that keep working lands in production and supports those who steward them.
Through our Land Protection program, we’ve protected nearly 31,000 acres through five working land conservation easements, with 67 more easements in progress. These lands span the state and reflect the diversity of Oregon agriculture: organic and conventional farms, vineyards and orchards, small direct-market operations and expansive ranches. In each case, the landowners shared a common goal—to ensure their land remains in agriculture forever and to make it more affordable for the next generation
And our Ag Business Support program is on track to educate nearly 1,000 producers and service providers this year through workshops on succession and business planning. Our recently launched one-on-one business and succession advising program is filling a much-needed gap in support for farm and ranch families facing complex financial and generational transitions.
We find that it is often women who initiate succession conversations. But no matter how the conversation starts, it can be helpful to have someone by your side who is an expert on farm financials and succession structures as well as how to handle the interpersonal struggles and feelings that often come up during succession planning. Our Farm and Ranch Succession Advisor, Tess Baker, is a former ag lender and the manager of a multi-generational agricultural operation in Paisley, Oregon. Tess brings both deep business expertise and a keen understanding of the emotional dynamics at play, helping families navigate succession with confidence.
With every farm and ranch protected, and every family supported through succession, OAT is helping ensure that farmland remains in production for generations to come. Join us in supporting the farmers and ranchers who keep Oregon’s agricultural economy alive and thriving.
Interested in business and succession planning? Reach out to tess@oregonagtrust.org
For questions about working land protection, you can reach out to tara@oregonagtrust.org.
And to support OAT, please visit oregonagtrust.org/donate