Family farmers ask to be allowed to sell food grown with domestic water
11 min read
Presenter: Family farmers on Monday supported a bill that would let them sell food grown using their domestic water. At the public hearing April 7, Lane County resident Jenny Jonak:
Jenny Jonak (Eugene-area family farmer): My name is Jenny Jonak. I own a small family farm in the Eugene, Oregon area. The land on which I farm has been used for farming for nearly a century.
[00:00:21] I am legally allowed to use up to 15,000 gallons a day for residential uses, including filling up a swimming pool, draining it, filling it up again. I’m allowed to use it for watering livestock and all kinds of other uses.
[00:00:39] But I cannot use it, not one single gallon, to irrigate crops to be able to sell to my local community. That doesn’t make sense.
[00:00:52] It also perpetuates historic inequities. As an Asian American, I’m painfully aware that when Oregon became a state in 1859, no one described as a ‘Chinaman’ could own real estate. From 1913 until the end of World War II, alien land laws prevented Asians from purchasing or leasing land.
[00:01:18] Today, less than 5% of farmers are persons of color, and less than 1% are Asian American. Because of those barriers, persons of color had no chance to establish senior water rights when they were able to be.
[00:01:36] And in our county, there is a moratorium on granting new water rights. I know, I’ve applied, they simply aren’t being given out. So the implication that we can just fix this by following the process isn’t a reality for most small farmers…
[00:01:54] Small farmers are not asking for unlimited access. We’re asking for fairness to keep our farms alive and to help improve the resilience of our local farm and food systems.
[00:02:09] Rhianna Simes: My name is Rhianna Simes. I’m a third-generation farmer with Verdant Phoenix Farm in Phoenix, Oregon…
[00:02:15] Every season I watch my neighbor flood irrigate his large grass lawn. This is done for aesthetic purposes only. Water is pouring onto the ground for days just so that he can have pretty green grass. I’ve always felt confused that he can personally waste so much water and it’s legal for him to do this. But if he grew vegetables for sale with that same water, that would not be legal.
[00:02:41] In Phoenix here, we are in a food desert. Our grocery store does not sell local food. At the same time, there’s growing interest in farming in our rural community, but with land prices skyrocketing, urban farming is becoming more and more important to our local food system.
In our area of southern Oregon, many folks who want to farm have been priced out of larger acreages because of the wildfires that have impacted our area.
[00:03:09] We recently completed a community food assessment, which reflects that growing movement on farm for smaller acreages more intensively, while still utilizing best practices and thoughtful water use.
[00:03:23] I’m passionate about water conservation, so I’m not advocating for wasting water. I’m advocating for allowing people to grow food or farm products with a gallon restriction on a half acre. HB 3372 would do just that.
[00:03:38] Kellie Frank: My name is Kellie Frank and I own and operate a small produce farm in Harney County. I’m also the Harney County food systems coordinator for a local nonprofit high desert partnership, as well as the manager of the Burns Farmers Market.
[00:03:51] Harney County is considered a food desert. We were reminded how fragile our food system is during COVID. We are located over 120 miles away from the next closest grocery store.
[00:04:03] Following the pandemic, we’ve been working to bolster growing and producing local food and have made some remarkable strides. However, Harney County groundwater faces an uncertain future. It is likely the entire basin could soon be declared a critical groundwater area under the Oregon Water Resources Department. If this does occur, new agriculture water rights will not be approved.
[00:04:26] This will leave the option of small-scale food, produce production, and the sale of these products the only way in Harney County that we would be able to increase our local food production.
Growers should be afforded the opportunity to sell this produce and contribute to a local food economy.
[00:04:45] Jason Kesling (Harney SWCD): My name is Jason Kesling and I’m the district manager of the Harney Soil Water and Conservation District. I am also a small farmer who donates food to my food bank, but I should be able to legally sell that food to help offset my cost or provide a supplemental income.
[00:05:00] Many counties within Eastern Oregon are considered food desert and then also suffer higher poverty levels. Restricting local farmers from supplementing their income while providing a necessary commodity is counterintuitive to solving food insecurity.
[00:05:14] It doesn’t make any sense that somebody could legally run a commercial car wash on their property and use up to 5,000 gallons of water each and every day, but I cannot use even a single gallon of water for commercial agriculture without breaking the law.
[00:05:29] Enforcement from OWRD on technicality is brand-new and quite frankly surprising. It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to spend our state resources cracking down on homestead gardeners trying to feed their neighbors.
[00:05:42] Lynda Mueller (PLUG-Oregon): My name is Lynda Mueller, on behalf of the Permaculture Land Users Group of Oregon, who advocate for policies that promote small-scale food production, enhance water security, support habitat, and foster climate resilience for our communities, ecosystems, and future generations.
[00:06:02] Water and food scarcity are not unrelated. People involved in small-scale food production and land stewardship are acutely aware of the impacts of water scarcity.
[00:06:13] Small-scale producers are often more committed to responsible land stewardship and regenerative practices. They also have the most flexible operations making impactful changes very possible to enact.
[00:06:26] Legislation that sets a gallon cap for domestic wells used in very-small-scale farming represents a pivotal step towards enhancing environmental regeneration and fostering meaningful practices while ensuring food security for our communities.
[00:06:41] Enforcement actions against small growers using minimal amounts of water to produce food for their neighbors is a misguided use of state resources and a waste of our local watermaster’s time.
[00:06:53] Lakshmi Tata: My name is Lakshmi Tata. I’m a gardener in Washington County specializing in growing Asian vegetables. On just one-third of an acre (less than this bill allows for), I grow over 100 varieties of Asian greens, gourds, pumpkins, and eggplants, and beans, all heritage foods that hold cultural significance for the Asian community.
[00:07:19] As James Beard said, ‘Food is our common ground, a universal experience.’ Thus, food is central to our identity, a bridge between cultures, a living repository of cultural memories and stories.
[00:07:37] By growing Asian vegetables with historical and cultural significance, many for the first time in the Pacific Northwest, I have been able to increase the culinary diversity of locally grown produce in Washington County and beyond.
[00:07:54] Over the years, through trial and error and help from OSU Extension Service, NRCS, and many other local small farmers, I have identified several new Asian vegetable varieties that can thrive in our corner of Pacific Northwest.
[00:08:13] My garden uses regenerative farming practices to enhance soil health, increase biodiversity, and retain moisture. I minimize farm water usage by employing drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting, and careful crop selection.
[00:08:32] Allowing small farmers like me to use domestic wells for commercial irrigation will help us continue our work towards building a more diversified resilient local food system, while also ensuring the continuity of Oregon’s vibrant farm and garden heritage.
[00:08:53] Presenter: Michelle Townsend:
[00:08:55] Michelle Townsend (Oregon Farmers Markets Association): On behalf of Oregon Farmers Markets Association, my name is Michelle Townsend…
[00:08:59] The amount of fossil fuels necessary to transport food products from the point of origin to the point of consumption is unsustainable and it is estimated that the average vegetable travels 1,500 miles in this country before it goes to market…
[00:09:12] Seventy years ago, when we were all able to produce victory gardens, the need for small farms and farmers was not as crucial as it is today. There are so many small towns that do not have accessibility to fresh, affordable produce, especially in rural communities. Effectively, these areas are known as food deserts.
[00:09:28] Farmers markets and CSAs are often the only place that people can access fresh food within dozens of miles, and we should encourage households to sell excess produce within their local communities, not make it illegal.
[00:09:39] A 70-year-old statute makes it illegal for domestic well users and we are urging you to fix this. Food scarcity is a huge concern and the need to be able to access local food is becoming more important now than ever before. We should be empowering households to sell surplus produce within their communities, not restricting them.
[00:09:56] Alice Morrison (Friends of Family Farmers): My name is Alice Morrison, and I am testifying on behalf of Friends of Family Farmers.
[00:09:59] Right now it is legal to water a garden on a half acre using a domestic well with no restrictions on the amount of water used. In addition, it is currently legal to use water from a domestic well for any single industrial or commercial purpose other than irrigated agriculture with a cap of 5,000 gallons per day.
[00:10:16] Let me reiterate this. It is legal in Oregon to use however much domestic well water you want, just to have green grass on a half acre. It is also legal to use however much well water you want to grow food for your family on that half acre.
[00:10:28] It is also legal to use up to 5,000 gallons of water per day to sell literally anything you want from your domestic well, except for food you’ve grown.
[00:10:37] This discrepancy in our current law is unacceptable, illogical, and does not align with our goal of protecting our natural resources, promoting local food systems, supporting Oregon’s agricultural economy, and protecting our water supply.
[00:10:48] HB 3372-5 would add a new limit for all gardens, commercial and noncommercial, of no more than 3,000 gallons per day, less than the limit on all other types of commercial activity, to ensure there is no mismanagement or excessive use of this exemption.
[00:11:01] Friends of Family Farmers strongly urges you to support this policy proposal. It’s unacceptable for commercial agriculture to be the only restricted use from domestic wells.
[00:11:09] And quite frankly, it has been a common practice on domestic wells for the last 70 years. Many farmers I’ve heard from had no idea that a half-acre commercial garden was illegal until very recent changes in enforcement activity at the department, given that commercial activity and personal gardens of a half acre are both legal already.
[00:11:26] Even small farms on just a half acre make meaningful differences in our food supply. We have farmers with water rates operating commercial gardens around a half acre in size who can feed more than 20 families per week with two to four people per family through CSAs, while also attending two farmers markets serving hundreds more people each week.
[00:11:42] Unfortunately, because of the existing language and statute and recent enforcement measures, there are now people literally throwing food away that could go to families in need, simply because it is illegal to sell that food. That is a disgrace to our natural resources and must be fixed this session.
[00:11:55] Christopher Hall (Water League, executive director): My name is Christopher Hall. I serve as the executive director of Water League. We believe in prioritizing the highest beneficial uses of water to ensure such a precious resource is clean and remains abundant for the future.
[00:12:09] HB 3372-5 is a perfect example of prioritizing beneficial uses of our water, as it would allow for domestic well water to be used for selling small-scale food through farmers’ markets, CSAs, and farm stands, or other forms of local community commerce.
[00:12:29] I would like to challenge concerns that allowing for commercial gardening on domestic wells would create a flood of people looking to farm. Farming is renowned for its difficulty and its cost-prohibitive nature, and there is no evidence to suggest that allowing commercial sales on domestic wells would increase usage of domestic wells.
[00:12:50] And more importantly, House Bill 3372-5 will not increase the allowable use of water on domestic wells. The only thing it will change is the allowable commerce that can be sold from domestic wells, which is currently allowed for every other type of commercial activity except for farming.
[00:13:09] We know that the impact on the state for this type of well water use is minimal. Domestic water supplies account for only 1% of all annual water diversions of surface water and groundwater in Oregon.
[00:13:23] Presenter: Two speakers opposed the bill. Ryan Krabill:
[00:13:28] Ryan Krabill (Oregon Farm Bureau): My name is Ryan Krabill and I’m here on behalf of the Oregon Farm Bureau, which represents more than 6,500 family farms and ranches across the state who are committed, responsible stewards of our land and water.
[00:13:40] Oregon’s agricultural community operates are some of the most rigorous water regulations in the country. And over the last year, those regulations have only grown more restrictive.
[00:13:51] In September, the Water Resources Commission adopted new rules requiring scientifically credible data to support any new groundwater right. In many regions where that data doesn’t exist or where aquifers are already stressed, this has created a de facto moratorium on new groundwater development.
[00:14:11] That’s the landscape Oregon’s farmers are working in. They are being asked to invest in monitoring, mitigation, and compliance, just to maintain existing access.
[00:14:21] And increasingly, they’re being told that new access is not available at all. In that context, exempt wells, those allowed for limited low-volume uses, have become even more important.
[00:14:35] While the bill is framed as a clarification intended to support small-scale growers selling at farmers markets, it goes much further. It alters the structure of exempt uses, grants them legal standing equal to certificated water rights, and opens the door to expanded commercial activity with no real oversight.
[00:14:52] Proponents of this bill want to have it both ways. On the one hand, they acknowledge that Oregon’s groundwater is under pressure, that aquifers are in decline and new rights are extremely difficult to obtain. On the other hand, they asked the legislature to expand access through a side door, allowing commercial activity to proceed without the very requirements that everyone else is being told to meet.
[00:15:13] This is not just a technical fix, it is a policy choice, and it creates a parallel track, one that allows some to bypass the system altogether, not by conserving or innovating, but by operating just below the regulatory threshold.
[00:15:27] Even more concerning is the long-term impact. One exempt well might seem minor, but multiply that by hundreds or thousands across groundwater-limited basins and the cumulative effect becomes significant. Yet HB 3372 provides no meaningful tools to monitor or manage those impacts.
[00:15:47] On behalf of Oregon Farm Bureau, we respectfully urge the committee to reject HB 3372.
[00:15:53] Kimberley Priestley (WaterWatch of Oregon): My name is Kimberley Priestley and I’m here representing WaterWatch of Oregon. House Bill 3372-5 would allow irrigation of small commercial farms without a water right, a loophole to modern-day permitting requirements.
[00:16:07] There is no advanced review of the impact on other water users or the environment; no review to understand if water is available or if the use will lead to groundwater declines, injury to other water rights, whether in-stream or out-of-stream, diminishment of scenic waterways, impacts to water quality or harm to other public value.
[00:16:29] No advanced review puts farmers, cities, tribes, fish, and our state’s natural or water resources at risk.
[00:16:37] We urge the committee to reject this bill. Rejecting this bill does not mean that small farmers can’t farm. It just means they need to go through the regular water right process to ensure that their use causes no harm, again, to other water right holders or the environment.
[00:16:52] Presenter: Small growers and the permaculture coalition ask lawmakers to let them sell food grown with a limited amount of their domestic water. Learn more and follow House Bill 3372 at the legislature’s website.
Edited for length and clarity.
