The Willamette Valley, along with all of Oregon, is marked by family farms rather than large scale corporate farming. These farms compete by relying on the power of co-ops to create competitive abilities; however, these systems can be fragile. Strengthening family farms by creating traded sector vertical integration is highly important to the future. As well, providing farmers with additional income streams to diversify their business models will help preserve the family farm foundation of the region. These additional income streams may include produce and meat sales on-site, restaurant services on-site, farm-stays, and other activities.

Two major research universities and one technology focused community college are in the immediate region. This presents great opportunity for using land and resources in the eight cities to help the education institutions pursue and expand their research and development programs.

Oregon State University: Oregon State University is a public land-grant university in Corvallis. Oregon. The university offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral programs. 

Western University of Health Sciences: The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Northwest, also known as COMP Northwest, in a non-profit, private medical school for osteopathic medicine located in Lebanon. Two additional expansions to the Campus are the School for Physical Therapy and school for Occupational Therapy. 

Linn Benton Community College: Linn- Benton Community College is a public community college in Linn County. The school offers more than 80 degrees and certificates. Two specific campuses are located in Lebanon: the Health Occupations Center and the Advanced Transportation Technology & Heavy Equipment Centers. There are two additional class locations one in Lebanon and one in Sweet Home. 

Small businesses and stat ups generally cannot afford the costs necessary to get off the ground in a larger city. Rural cities can provide incubator and micro-business support infrastructure, possible in conjunction with higher education institutions, at much lower costs. This dramatically increase success rates, all while maintaining a highly desired quality of life.  

With recent work-from-home opportunities forced on many businesses by the global pandemic and the availability of high-speed internet access, the opportunity to attract telecommuters and homebased businesses that can operate completely remote has greatly increased. These foot-loose entrepreneurs care as much about where they live and their quality of live as they do about where they work and their overall success.    

While agriculture and timber economies were historically based on growing and harvesting, the expectation in today’s economic world is traded sector where the raw materials created by farm and forest activities are processed locally in manufacturing, food processing, and creation of finished products and distribution of those products globally. The cities each have land and resources to expand traded sector businesses.