With residential and commercial development taking over, it’s an uphill battle to preserve working orchards and ag land
Here comes the neighborhood: Houses on former orchard and agricultural lands, like this one under construction in Oregon’s Hood River Valley, are displacing a legacy. Photo: Jurgen Hess
By Andrew Engelson. March 20. 2025. Mike McCarthy, a pear orchardist who has been farming in Oregon’s Hood River Valley since 1980, says skyrocketing land prices and challenging economics are causing an unprecedented loss of farmland in the state.
“Low incomes are the real issue. Many farmers don’t want to farm anymore. Or your kids don’t want to take over because there’s no money—and it’s hard work, says McCarthy. “Plus, there’s a lot of people with money that would like to own rural properties.”…