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By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
December 2, 2006
Hood River Valley’s farm families are
faced with a new dilemma: Many of their children can make a lot more
money working at a job with “bankers’ hours.”
“When we grew up we lived to work and this generation works to live,”
said Gary Willis of Pine Grove. He recalls many springs of being awake
for up to 72 hours in order to keep frost away from 300 acres of fruit
frees.
“I was so tired that I was hallucinating. Those are the times that
this job is not very fun,” said Mark Laurance, a third-generation
orchardist with 400 acres in Parkdale.
“I’ve been ready to fall into bed at 9 a.m. more than a few times and
then seen that the temperature was going down so I just got back up
and made more coffee,” said Camille Hukari, a fourth-generation grower
with 70 acres in or near Pine Grove.
Added to the long hours is the constant worry about a labor shortage,
competition from foreign markets, rising production costs and an
ever-increasing burden of regulation.
Willis said most younger members of his family have first-hand
experience with the demands of farm life — and have opted for another
career. His son, Ryan, and nephew, Chip, are the sole members of the
fourth generation to follow in their fathers’ footsteps.
“Farmers aren’t motivated by greed; otherwise, they wouldn’t be
farmers,” said Jon Laraway, a third-generation orchardist with 100
acres near Pine Grove.
Hukari and Laurance have no children to pass on their holdings to.
They have joined Willis and Laraway, whose daughter, Justine, has also
chosen not to farm, in filing Measure 37 claims to preserve an “exit
plan.”
Debra and Jon Laraway enjoy the rustic
quality of farm life but their only child, Justine, has chosen another
career path.
“Most farmers don’t have a 401K — their
retirement plan is their land,” said Willis. “We’ve poured everything
that we have into our farms.”
“We are being counseled by our insurance carriers and legal advisors
to file claims to protect our investments,” said Hukari.
Laraway said the answer to keeping Hood River’s valley filled with
pears, apples and cherry orchards is simple — restore the
profitability to farming.
“The solution to Measure 37 isn’t zoning. I think the solution, at
least for this valley, is the economics of the tree fruit industry,”
said Laraway. “If you can improve the farming conditions then Measure
37 will become moot.”
For example, Willis said this year’s harvest yielded a bountiful crop
of high-quality fruit — and a good monetary return. But the family had
to shell out $300,000 of that revenue to cover losses from the 2005
season.
Farmers have also seen a huge spike in the price of fuel this past
year and even the cost of plastic bins has risen sharply. In 2005, the
Willises paid $66 per bin that included transportation costs from
Yakima, Wash. By 2006, the price had gone up to $100 — and they had to
pay for delivery of the bins.
“The truth anymore is that the only day the farmer is going to have
any real money is the day he sells his land,” said Willis.
But he contends that Oregon’s stringent land-use rules have stripped
away most development rights on farm land. So, it would be difficult
to even make a profitable sale. For example, an 80-acre minimum lot
size was imposed on properties that once could be divided into
five-acre tracts. Plus, the owner can no longer build a farm house
unless he/she can prove that $80,000 of gross income can be made
annually from an agricultural activity.
Camille Hukari is one of the valley’s
fourth-generation orchardists.
Laurance said most people can’t afford
to get into farming today if they have to add a mortgage payment to
their other expenses.
“Let’s be realistic about this. Who is going to be able to afford to
start up a farm today?” he asked.
Willis said the restored development rights brought by Measure 37
provide security in a time of economic uncertainty. For example, area
farms faced labor shortage this summer and fall that are expected to
worsen. His work force was reduced by 15 percent, which added another
week to the picking schedule.
Laraway, who was also down 20-30 percent of the usual number of
workers, said the only thing that saved the day was that upper and
lower valley harvest dates were closer than in past years. So, workers
were already in the area and willing to tackle another job.
The farmers believe the national debate over illegal immigration
contributed to the problem. But another part of the equation is, once
again, financial.
Laraway said his average worker made $15 per hour — and lived in free
housing — during the season. But harvest can be an exhausting job so,
like their American counterparts, Mexican youth are increasingly
seeking employment in other vocations.
Farmers are worried that the worker shortage could hike the three to
four percent annual increase in labor costs. Laraway said the American
farmer is already competing in a global marketplace with countries
that pay laborers $1 per day. In addition, he said many foreign
growers are not being held to the same environmental and safety
standards — so their production costs are much cheaper.
“Our real concern with any immigration bill that passes is that there
is some sort of guest worker program. There isn’t going to be anyone
who will be able to replace this workforce,” he said. “I hope we don’t
get into a price war of grower against grower.”
Because of the labor crisis, Laraway said more and more orchardists
have become interested in replanting fields with fruiting walls. He
said these compact trees can be picked with greater efficiency — or
even by machine.
However, Laraway said a potential legal threat looms with any change
in traditional farming practices. The “right to farm” laws that once
protected farmers from nuisance challenges are being re-examined in
Washington State and on other fronts. And several courts have ruled in
favor of plaintiffs who moved into homes near a farm and then filed
complaints about the noise and spray drift.
Laraway said legal protection for farming only seems certain today if
the uses remain the same. And that renders a farmer unable to adjust
commodities to meet market demands.
Willis said opponents to Measure 37 are quick to say that profits
await if farmers pursue “value-added” products. However, he said his
family sacrificed for five years to get the Gorge Delights pear bar
operation running in the black. To future diversify their income
stream, the Willises operate a cold-storage facility and have planted
35 acres of wine grapes on leased land.
“If you go into value-added you have to have deep pockets or some kind
of outside backing,” said Willis.
“Plus, if everybody got into value-added, there would be no value,”
said Laurance.
He and his wife, Deanna, don’t plan to trade in farming for
subdivisions on their property in the Cooper Spur area. They just want
the security of knowing that they can carve off some housing lots if
it becomes financially necessary.
“Believe me, it is going to be an emotional issue for any one of us to
sell because farming is our life,” said Laurance.
And then, of course, there is a belief among farmers that Measure 37 —
which was approved by 61 percent of voters statewide — restored their
private property rights. The law only allows a property owner to
regain use of the land that was taken away by regulation, or be
compensated for the lost value.
“All I want is the same rights that I had when I bought the place,”
said Hukari.
As all four farmers approach middle age, they are growing tired of the
worry and both the physical and mental wear and tear of farming.
Meanwhile, Ryan Willis, 31, is trying to figure out how to combine the
rigors of modern farming with the demands of fatherhood.
“I guarantee that I’ve probably changed more diapers than my dad did.
And most wives now have a side job to offset the farm income. So there
are a lot more challenges to overcome,” he said.
Ryan is determined to farm as long as it is fiscally possible.
However, he said there is security in knowing that Measure 37 provides
the option for development if all else fails.
“I want to do what I’m doing for as long as possible, I enjoy it,” he
said. “But this is a business and we need to be looking out for our
own interests.”
Willis said there is a way that communities across Oregon can help
preserve the rustic countryside.
“If people are willing to pay a few more cents for Oregon fruit then
the farmer will become the best Measure 37 regulator that you can
have,” he said. “But if agriculture doesn’t turn around, I’m sure that
this is it; my son will be the last of our family to farm.” |
