The Capital Press, a weekly agricultural newspaper covering farming, ranching and agriculture industries in the Pacific Northwest, featured Applied Economics Professor Jeff Reimer in an article entitled "Northwest agriculture: You're not in Kansas." The article covers Professor Reimer's upbringing on an Illinois farm, and the differences in crop diversification in the Pacific Northwest compared to the middle of the country.
Professor Reimer noted that corn and soybeans alone can make a good-sized agricultural operation in the Corn Belt, but the farms in the Willamette Valley often grow multiple crops. The upside to crop diversification can be a better economic situation since the farmers are not as reliant on the health or price of one or two crops.