Early spring in Eastern Oregon Farming

This is farming country, an hour northwest of Boise Idaho, the Treasure Valley. Among other crops one quarter of the nations onions are grown here - it is also the birthplace of Ore-Ida french fries.

I woke up yesterday to a backhoe in my front driveway area. The irrigation company is cleaning out the ditches in preparation for the turnout of water. This is desert and farming is done with irrigation water from reservoirs or pumping.

There is a sense of excitement, the winter has been mild and farmers will be able to get in the fields very soon - a few already are. Prices have been good especially for hay, but farming is always a gamble on the markets and the weather.

Farm real estate has been moving. Unlike other categories the true farming acreages have been increasing a little in price. I'm talking real farms, not hobby farms. Oregon's land use laws protect farms - it is very difficult to change the zoning of a farm parcel so that keeps the prices reflective of farming not development. This has caused farmers from other areas who have been priced out to come to eastern Oregon.

I am not a farm specialist but do my share of farm sales. My last one was interesting .. the seller was a nightclub owner from Los Angeles who had family in the area. That was the one I blogged about last year where the big issue was whose cows got to feed on the cornstalks in the fall. They didn;t cover that one real well in real estate school.