Oregon Agricultural Trust (OAT) is a statewide, agricultural land trust that partners with farmers and ranchers to protect ag lands for the benefit of Oregon’s economy, communities, landscapes—and craft beverage industry!

OAT addresses the interrelated challenges of the loss of farmland to fragmentation and development, and the difficulty of passing land to the next generation. OAT is an agricultural land trust that works collaboratively around the state to safeguard Oregon’s farmland and the rural communities that depend upon it.

Yet the future of this land is under threat. Half a million acres of our best soils and river habitat have been developed in the past 50 years, despite the creation of Oregon’s exemplary land use system. Agricultural land loss is expected to accelerate during a wave of intergenerational transfers, as the average age of Oregon farmers and ranchers is 60, yet 81% lack a succession plan and many do not have successors at all. Their land is more likely to be sold, fragmented and developed—impacting rural livelihoods and communities, the food system, and climate resilience. OAT works with farmers and ranchers to keep agricultural lands in production for future generations.