Crooked Tine Farm in Troutdale was purchased/protected through a land easement program. (Courtesy photo: Crooked Tine Farm)

After 16 years of farming experience, a duo was looking to purchase farmland to continue their dream. But time and time again Saruh Wynes and Bear Carter were priced out of the market.

Then stepped in the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District. Wynes and Carter were connected to a program that permanently protects land for agricultural use while reducing the cost of the land for the next generation of farmers.

The Working Farmland Protection program allowed the duo to purchase a long-established 10-acre farm in Troutdale. Thus the ribbon was cut on Crooked Tine Farm. If that property had gone on the open market, there was a large chance a non-farmer would have again out-bid them for the property.

Crooked Tine Farm was preserved through a “buy, protect, sell” strategy, ensuring a thriving agricultural economy that also protects water quality and habitat for fish, wildlife and people. It is done through working land easements, which place development and use restrictions on protected land in perpetuity. That creates a “forever farm.”

The conservation easement proved crucial for financing. Wynes and Carter qualified for loans with longer terms, lower interest rates, and lower annual payments. Throughout the process the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District handles easement documentation, coordinated surveys, secured tax assessments, and connected the duo to grants for pollinator habitat and water catchment improvements.

The need for these kind of protections is higher than ever before. Oregon continues to lose agricultural land at a steady and alarming rate. From 2017 to 2022 the state lost 4% of farmland and 5.5% of farms.

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Learn more about the organization online at emswcd.org