Letters

Farming in the Helvetia Area

Robert Bailey
7455 Northwest Helvetia Road
Hillsboro, Oregon 97124

July 1, 2009

SaveHelvetia.org is a local organization of area residents seeking to protect Helvetia as a Rural Reserve and off limits to the industrial and residential development aspirations of the City of Hillsboro and Washington County. The City of Hillsboro perceives that they lack sufficient lands to expand its base to 325,000 residents by 2040. We contend that the Helvetia area is prime farm land and continues to have a sufficiency of agricultural and natural supports to maintain a vibrant agricultural economy for the foreseeable future. Its soils even hold the promise of becoming more valuable as water conserving methods of agriculture become more critical. The Helvetia area is also an iconic rural landscape that has been sought out by many for rural experiences and special events over the years. Development would take prime farm land away, increase taxes to Hillsboro residents, and delay their own infrastructure improvements in waiting. SaveHelvetia.org is engaged in a range of research and education to establish and acquaint decision makers with criteria based information through which fact based and value based decisions will be made.

On June 25th, I interviewed several area farmers with years of experience with the local lands and the changing farming infrastructure. Bill Hiles and Dick Juda have both farmed for over 30 years from Helvetia to St. Paul. They have been home based in the Helvetia area. Alan Schaaf is likewise a farmer with over 30 years experience in his fields, stretching from Bethany to Helvetia.

For the interviews, I took key Oregon Administrative Rules “criteria” related to the rural reserves/urban reserves determinations and framed them into question areas. I sought their agricultural perspective on the farm lands from Bethany through Helvetia and west to North Plains. Each interview lasted about 90 minutes and I perceived getting a relaxed and thoughtful discussion during both interviews. The farmers knew I would be talking to the other and they encouraged my checking perspectives with the other. They are business colleagues with a mutual respect. They were aware of the pending land use decision making process and were aware that I was representing SaveHelvetia.org, an organization with a goal of attaining rural reserve status for the area.

Parcelization, ownership and tenure of ownership.

They described having adapted to the increased parcels (tax lots) through time. Their task was to create “fields” that could support “crops”. If that “field” contained 7 to 9 tax lots, so be it. They indicated that you would need a surveyor to determine the actual lines that were not visible to them when they farmed.
In nearly all cases, new owners would contact them, seek to continue the “cash rent” arrangement, and continue with the same farmer. The farmers indicated that through time, they have progressively contoured the fields, knew the drainage, and knew which crops responded to what conditions. The owners maintained the farm deferral and had an expert working their parcel.
One farmer indicated that he probably farmed over 200 tax lots between Bethany and Helvetia. Did that require a lot of legal paperwork? No, most were verbal agreements.
The farmers indicated it was easier to farm larger fields than smaller fields. However, the issues that became critical were less related to field size: if there was development near by that might have generated concrete, asphalt, or rock material, this could be destructive of machinery and result in expensive repairs. In addition, any fencing creating tight turn radiuses were problematic and took acreage out of cultivation.
There was some perspective that the smaller the parcels, the more rapid they turned over. In this context, owners might be less understanding of farming practices. The farmers were in favor of keeping the number of parcels as is. The farmers did not consider the current number of parcels to be an obstacle to their current farming practice. They had successfully adapted to the challenges that had arisen.

Availability of water.

The Bethany-Helvetia-to North Plains area is not in the Tualatin Valley Irrigation District. Did this lessen their potential?

The farmers indicated that right now and because of market prices, farmers that were in the irrigation district were not using their irrigation water rights, were stockpiling their “water” and instead growing crops nurtured by “natural water”. Grass seed and wheat were commanding higher prices and farmers watch the market in making agricultural decisions.
The “natural water” is readily available north of Highway 26 and downhill from the Tualatin Mountains. This was partly ascribed to the excellent soils hereabouts which are excellent in retaining both the moisture of rain but also the up filtration of water from the under soils.
Crops identified as thriving with the climate, soils, and natural water of the Helvetia area included: grass seeds and crimson clover, wheat, oats, timothy hay, alfalfa, and hairy vetch.
Crops requiring irrigation include corn, row crops, berries, and some nursery operations.
There are a few wells in the Helvetia area but not a lot supplying agriculture in this area. They are not needed.
With less rain, there is diminished crop return. The farmers assess market prices, weather conditions, their soils, among other variables and make strategic decisions year by year. The Helvetia area was described as being very beneficial in that the soils, rains, and climate allows the farmers a more diverse range of options than in many other locations in Washington County. In their estimation, these soils would become more valuable in a water conserving future.
With uphill development, drainage can impacted downhill soils and farming practices.
Paving or building on acreage removes recharge soils from the system. If development increases, natural drainage routes are lost and the farmers have seen some increased development of wetlands result.

Suitability of soils.

The farmers described the soils from Helvetia to Glencoe Road as the “cream of the cream” of tier one soils.
The soils are deep and naturally layered. They are undisturbed by development.
The soils were “excellent” in retaining moisture. They also retained the moisture from the up filtration of water from the under soils.
The soils don’t require any resting and can be planted year after year with no fallow year required. The last fallow year in memory was in the 1980s when the federal government paid farmers to fallow because of a national overproduction of certain crops.
The farmers cautioned about disturbing the layering of the soils. Once development occurs, soils are compacted making it more difficult to plow. The compaction effects drainage. When soils are disturbed, their layering is changed and it is very difficult to get them re-layered. The overall tilth of the soil is effected which in turn impacts crop yield and soil drainage.
The top soil depths between Helvetia and North Plains were described as “deep”. The soil depths are less deep as you approached Hillsboro, south of Highway 26. The soils are shallower as you elevate up into the highlands of the Tualatin Mountains.

Is there a sufficiency of agricultural infrastructure?

If grass seed is the crop, Cameron Seed in North Plains is readily available for seed cleaning and storage. Truck time is a significant economic factor that must be considered.
For fertilizers and other “ag” products, Wilco and Farm Production in Cornelius were close enough.
One farmer indicated that wheat needed to historically be taken to terminals in Portland and the increased traffic and resulting time factored into his decision making about whether to grow this crop. This would be true for any wheat farmer in Washington County, however. I wondered about the potential for rail connection from Helvetia into Portland over Cornelius Pass. There were instances when train loads of wheat were developed in Cornelius for train passage ending in Kalama, Washington. If this expanded, that was close enough.
On occasion, government decision making impacts agricultural infrastructure. At the time of the interview, Washington County had issued a notice of closure of the southern portion of Helvetia Road for 10 days in mid July. This was undertaken without understanding the farming cycle in the area and without advance consultation. Area farmers quickly estimated that there would be a minimum of 900 truck trips required on this road during this time frame as harvest was due. They began negotiating for a deferred date of bridge repair.
The county issues permits for special events that close the roads for periods of time independent of crop cycles or consultation with area farmers.

Boundaries and buffers.

Concrete, asphalt, and rock are not the farmer’s friend. These items should be taken into strict account along any boundary or buffer zone.
Weeds. Metro and other governments have zoned land for development but then the land may sit idle for years. There are no standards placed on these lands for sufficient weed abatement to protect adjacent farm lands. This is especially true of the Intel property near NW West Union and Cornelius Pass Roads. Winds blow weed seed toward productive farm land and with grass seed crops that demand high standards of seed purity.
There are more special events that are permitted into the rural areas whether run marathons, bike competitions, among others. These are permitted by the county and tend to be based out of the Hillsboro Stadium. Typically the events are calendared and permits issued without consultation of area farmers or an understanding of their agricultural cycles. The movement of farm machinery is critical during certain times. There was thinking that a standard of communication and consultation would protect farm practices in the area.
Some adjacent property owners may negotiate for dust abatement at times. This can interfere with the “right to farm” if the time for harvest is present. Farmers indicated that they negotiated on a case by case basis and they sought cooperative relations among their neighbors as they would have others approach them.

Summary

The area north of the Sunset and specifically from Helvetia Road to Glencoe Road was described as having excellent farming conditions. The combination of excellent soils, sufficiency of “natural water”, the general climate and the Helvetia micro-climate, and the crops that would prosper in the conditions allowed farmers the opportunity to assess market prices and in combination with the mix of conditions, select their crop. The farmers indicated that this has always been profitable. They could remember little land left “idle” over the years, unless during the period when the federal government subsidized land left fallow because of national overproduction.

Helvetia farmers felt fortunate compared to others they knew who must make decisions in a context of higher risk. In a water conserving future, disrupting the soils of Helvetia would be become more valuable. Thee was a sufficiency of agricultural infrastructure within reasonable distances to support their operations.

Submitted,

Robert Bailey
June 26, 2009

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