Prop. 1 is bad for farmers

Subdivisions and farming are facts of life. But agriculture and subdivisions don’t always mix.

There is planting, harvesting, dust, machine noise and probably fertilizers and insecticides. There is animal waste, composting and some smells that not even the farmers enjoy. There are hours that start earlier and end later than most people realize. All these farming realities next door to a major subdivision asks for trouble.

Mat-Su Borough Prop. 1 will increase the number and density of rural subdivisions located next to operating farmland. That means more wells and more septic systems tapping into the water table that farms depend on for crops and animals. That’s more traffic on rural roads and more interaction between farming equipment and motorists. Neighbors will complain about the noise, the smells, the chemicals and the early hours. That poses a risk of farmers losing their property values because of pressures from residential development.

Don’t think it can happen. It is already happening in Oregon, where this disastrous law originated. Just ask Suzie Kunzman or the Lorenzo family — or the Rhinharts, or David and Ann Papworth. Real people, and farmers all. They are just a few of the hundreds of farmers whose way of life is being destroyed by Oregon’s Measure 37. High density subdivisions, incompatible businesses and — yes — even some gravel pits.

The sponsors of Prop. 1 will tell you that this just can’t happen. They’ll tell you that Prop. 1 defends property values. They’ll tell you that this won’t cost anyone anything. They’ll tell you it’s all just a lie.

They’re wrong, and they know it. Mat-Su Borough Prop. 1 is bad for farmers. Vote “no” on Oct. 2.

Mimi Peabody,

Palmer