How Farmers in Oregon Are Preserving Their Land for the Next Generation

How Farmers in Oregon Are Preserving Their Land for the Next Generation

How Farmers in Oregon Are Preserving Their Land for the Next Generation J an Wallinder and Ron Webb are the farmer-owners of Forest Edge Vineyard , an organically farmed vineyard 24 miles southeast of Portland that also has a fruit orchard and adjacent 22-acre forest. The couple, who have owned this land since 1984, are in their mid-70s and have no children. Yet they are passionate about making sure that their 45-acre property is used as farmland and forest in the future.  “It’s our belief that we have a relationship to the land and what it gives us,” explains Wallinder, 74. “And we need to preserve nature because it’s going away.” It’s also important to the couple, who farm organically and practice permaculture, that the next generation who buys their land value these practices.   Wallinder and Webb opted for a working land conservation easement because they wanted their property to continue being a working farm and working forest. Courtesy of Jan Wallinder Several years ago, the couple st…