Farmers Want to Grow Semiconductors, Not Crops
The rapidly growing digital age has prompted some farmers to lend their land to semiconductors in lieu of crops. That’s right. Farmers want to grow computer chips. But, the Oregon farmers are being held up by a pesky 50-year-old land use law.
The Business of Farming Semiconductors
Surrounded by urban uses, Cindy and Chris Hodges want to lend their 80-acre farm to the tech sector. However, lawmakers and other farmers are not as happy about technological development in Oregon. The Hodges see the laws as a means to make farm life even more difficult because of an Urban Growth Boundary that just happens to have been on their land for 50 years.
Smaller Farmers Are Not Into Urbanization
While the Hodges are pro-semiconductor and urban life, some farmers aren’t as keen on the idea. Farmers like Jason Flint, who turned a farmhouse from the 1800s into a loving home on the UGB line, which is now a target for urbanization. Urban life that the Flints simply do not want. However, several large farms have sided with the Hodges and joined to lobby the legislature to let them lend their combined 1,200 acres of land to semiconductors.
The Oregon Legislature vs. Small Farms
Since the first U.S. Urban Growth Boundary, also known as UGB, was established in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1958, UGB lines have become one of the most popular urban growth management tools. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting:
“The Oregon Legislature is rushing to pass a $210 million package lawmakers believe will help the state secure major federal investments — a piece of the $52 billion Congress approved last year to expand the domestic semiconductor industry. Part of Senate Bill 4 is old-fashioned state subsidy. Lawmakers want to pony up cash that can help semiconductor companies develop plots of land, plan projects, and secure even greater amounts from Washington, D.C. The thinking goes that such tech expansion if it emerges, will pay off in billions of dollars in future tax revenue and thousands of high-paying jobs for Oregon. Lawmakers pushing the proposal frequently describe the opportunity as “once in a lifetime,” urging their colleagues to act quickly.”
Simply meaning, the Hodges might get their wish to farm semiconductors very soon.
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