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products, the cost of purchased livestock shall be deducted from the total gross income attributed to the <br />tract. Only gross income from land owned, not leased or rented, shall be counted; <br /> <br />The Meyers purchased the subject parcel in the fall of 2021 and took over the existing farm operation. <br />This operation includes approximately 11-acres row crop fields, and 10-acres of a hazelnut orchard. The <br />orchard extends onto the south adjacent parcel where there are another 17-acres of hazelnuts. Under <br />previous ownership the subject parcel was managed together with the south adjacent parcel, and the <br />hazelnut orchard still stretches between both without clear delineation. This south adjacent parcel was <br />purchased in 2021 by the Grimms. Nolan Grimm and Taylor Meyer co-own and operate an irrigation <br />business serving farms in Marion County. The Meyers and the Grimms harvested the orchard that <br />stretches across both parcels, and the strawberry fields on the Meyers parcel, together in 2023 in a profit- <br />sharing agreement. The applicant provided receipts for the total harvest, the harvest from his own <br />property, and his schedule F tax form from 2023. <br /> <br />Reported on the 2023 schedule F is only the applicant’s portion of the profits from this combined harvest. <br />This value is less than the annual minimum income requirement for this criterion. However, the applicant <br />provided receipts for from the Willamette Valley Fruit Company showing weights for all his strawberry <br />deliveries in 2023, as well as the income from the harvest. These receipts confirm that the applicant did <br />earn on the subject tract over $80,000 of gross income from the sale of strawberries grown and harvested <br />on the subject parcel. As a result of the profit-sharing agreement with Nolan Grimm, this income is not <br />fully reflected on the applicant’s schedule F from 2023. This criterion specifies that, “Only gross income <br />from land owned, not leased or rented, shall be counted.” The 2023 agreement between Nolan Grimm and <br />Taylor Meyer was neither a lease nor rental agreement. The farm operator, Taylor Meyer, earned on the <br />subject tract more than the minimum standard, and subsequently shared in the profits after completing the <br />harvest as part of a cooperative agreement with his neighbor and business partner. The intent of the <br />income standard criterion is not infringed by this agreement, and the applicant has provided sufficient <br />evidence that he was the farm operator who harvested the crop from his own land and delivered that crop <br />to market at a value above the minimum standard of $80,000. <br /> <br />In 2024 the Meyers and Grimms harvested the crops on their properties independently. The applicant will <br />be filing a schedule F for 2024 early next year, so in the meantime he provided receipts from the <br />Willamette Valley Fruit Company for the weights of his strawberry deliveries in 2024, as well as separate <br />receipts showing the income from that harvest. The receipts show a harvest in excess of 23,000 lbs/per <br />acre in 2024, up from 12,000 lbs per acre in 2023. Marion County requested additional information. The <br />applicant explained that a combination of this being the second year for the high-yield variety (Sweet <br />Sunrise) that he planted after purchasing the farm, bolstered by a drip irrigation system installed by the <br />applicant utilizing an injection of liquid fertilizers and nutrients, and the particularly favorable weather <br />leading up to the June harvest, resulted in the surprising yield in 2024. The gross income from the 2024 <br />harvest exceeds the minimum standard required by this criterion. The applicant provided a letter from his <br />Certified Public Accountant, Kyle Walter, confirming the accuracy of the 2024 receipts. <br /> <br />The applicant provided a letter from Eric Cope, the Fruit Procurement Manager of the Willamette Valley <br />Fruit Company, and member of the Oregon Strawberry Commission. Mr. Cope confirms that all of the <br />strawberries the applicant delivered in 2023 and 2024 came from the subject parcel. He also explains in <br />the letter that 2023 was a particularly bad year for strawberries in Oregon. The total harvest fell 2.5 <br />million pounds, from 9.7 million in 2022 to 7.3 million in 2023. While final numbers haven’t been <br />calculated, Mr. Cope suggests the statewide strawberry harvest for 2024 will be over 11 million pounds. <br /> <br />The financial documents provided by the applicant, along with his written statements and those of Kyle <br />Walter and Eric Cope, show that the applicant is the farm operator who has earned on the subject parcel in <br />the last two years at least $80,000 annually from the sale of farm products grown on the subject parcel. <br />The criterion is met. <br /> <br />3. The subject tract is currently employed for the farm use that produced the income required in <br />subsection (A)(1)(b) of this section;