The Oregonian/OregonLive’s article on efforts to clarify agritourism rules provided an incomplete picture, (“ ‘We’re sounding the alarm’: Oregon’s farmers and land use advocates square off over farmstand rules ,” Aug. 8). To be clear: U-picks, pumpkin patches and other forms of low-intensity agritourism don’t require a permit and there was no effort to ban them. The fears posted as part of a social media campaign were unfounded. Unfortunately, misinformation included in some of these posts spread broadly.

In truth, there needn’t be a divide between farmers and land use advocates. Farmers who want to farm – like us – are some of the biggest land use advocates. We have to be, because our livelihoods are under constant threat from data centers, filtration plants, strip malls and subdivisio

See Full Page