Farm Bill conservation programs allow Oregon family farm to thrive
Siblings Caryn and Warren Seely represent the fourth generation on the farm, and both want to not only continue farming but expand their operations, so they reached out to the Oregon Agricultural Trust.
In Clatskanie, Ore. — near where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean — the Seely family have been growing mint for four generations. Mint was once a huge crop in the area, but with the rise of synthetic mint additives, former mint farms tore out their mint and planted other crops like blueberries. But not the Seelys, who maintained their financial viability in part due to their value-added operation of mint oil and mint products.
Siblings Caryn and Warren Seely represent the fourth generation on the farm, and both want to not only continue farming but expand their operations. Caryn’s passion is for beef, not mint, and several years ago she envisioned launching her own direct-market ranch called Harbor Master Beef. Caryn needed more land for her operation, so her father Mike reached out to Oregon Agricultural Trust to see if staff could help his daughter connect with financing options, and then pay off her mortgage early by using proceeds from the sale of an easement on the property.
Oregon Agricultural Trust is a statewide agricultural land trust that partners with farmers and ranchers to protect agricultural lands for the benefit of Oregon’s economy, communities and landscapes. While the organization is only 3.5 years old, our staff collectively have more than 50 years of experience working with rural communities on conservation, farmland access and agriculture finance. This institutional knowledge comes with relationships — like the connection to the Seely’s. It also comes with diverse experience in farm and ranch business health, including connections to agricultural lenders and the capacity to brainstorm land access solutions with landowners.
After pursuing half a dozen lenders, Caryn was finally able to purchase her property in 2022. Immediately after, the land trust began working with her on an easement. The property abuts not only the family farm but also Port Westward Industrial Park, which includes a deep-water dock and energy facilities.
The Port has been threatening to expand onto neighboring farmland for years, with the Seelys and others in the drainage district as primary opponents. The soil is incredibly rich and unique, composed of accumulated deposits from the Columbia River. Its high water table makes it perfect for grazing, and its soil composition makes it excellent for specialty crops like blueberries or mint. It also provides essential waterfowl habitat along the Columbia River.
An ACEP-ALE funded easement on Caryn’s 814 acres is helping her pay down her mortgage, as well as permanently protecting unique and threatened farmland and habitat along the Columbia River in Clatskanie, one of our strategic investment zones. The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program was established in the 2014 Farm Bill and provides matching funds to purchase conservation easements to protect farms, ranches and grasslands through the Agricultural Land Easement program. The program is managed by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service.
ACEP-ALE funding is being matched by landowner donations and the state’s working land easement grant program, the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program.
The Harbor Master Beef easement is phase one of a potential three-phase property project with Caryn, her brother and her father — all of whom are passionate about farming and farmland protection. The Seelys also hope to serve as an example of what neighboring landowners can accomplish on their own agricultural lands.