The nonprofit Trust will for the second-year running be collaborating with 18 separate breweries and cideries throughout Oregon to help protect the state’s farmland from developers, and help create succession plans for the next generation of farmers. Participants will donate a portion of their Oregon-sourced beer or cider sales to the campaign. Banner printing services are often employed for fundraising campaigns like this.
Steve Light of The Dalles’ Freebridge Brewing, a participating brewery, explained the reason for the campaign:
"Farming in this country is the backbone of our existence. And the depletion of the small farms is significant to that."
According to information provided by the trust, a quarter of Oregon land is taken up by farms and ranches, with the average age among farmers in the state being 60. It is estimated that due to age and retirement over the next 20 years, approximately 64% of the land will be changing hands and many of those retiring have no plans for the succession of their operations.
The 2022 Oregon Agricultural Trust Cheers to the Land campaign garnered $12,000; this year, the organization hopes to raise twice that amount. The official launch of the campaign is October 10, with a view to possibly running through November.