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Small Farms, Local Food, and Wildfires What do you need to know? Index: How do I stay up to date on the location and status of wildfires? What about air quality? What resources are available for evacuation? What do I need to know about wildfires and livestock safety? What do I need to know about food safety and wildfires? What about farmer’s markets? What funding is available for farms impacted by the fires? How can I help others who have been impacted?
Pequeñas Granjas, Comida Local y el COVID-19
Small Farms, Local Food and COVID-19: What do you need to know?
COVID-19 Advisory. OSU Extension is working to keep our communities safe. All Extension programming is being provided virtually, postponed or canceled. Extension county offices are closed. We are available via email, phone and webconference.
Our mission is to advance sustainable agriculture, community food systems, and economic progress for Oregon's small farmers and ranchers and provide a leading-edge experience for students.
Flexible online courses designed for people considering starting a farm business, those within their first five years of farming and others who may be considering major changes to their farm business.
Oregon Small Farm News is a free online newsletter that concentrates on both commercial small farm entrepreneurs as well as non-commercial small acreage landowners. Our focus embraces organic/biological and conventional farming systems.
Farming is a business, as well as a way of life. Whole Farm Management is a comprehensive guide developed by the Small Farms Program at Oregon State University to help aspiring and beginner farmers make smart business decisions to ensure lasting success. In clear, accessible language, this book covers every essential step, from developing a strategic plan to acquiring equipment, establishing infrastructure, finding markets, budgeting, managing day-to-day operations, and selecting a business structure for long-term viability. The emphasis throughout is on using sustainable agricultural systems and managing the whole farm, whether raising grass-based livestock, perennial food crops, or annual crops such as flowers. Case studies of successful farms, along with guidance and solutions to common problems from long-time farmers, round out this essential handbook.
Order on: Amazon.com or story.com
In this free introduction course, you will learn what exactly is "urban agriculture," along with essential definitions and concepts to help you get started on this exciting journey!
Throughout this intro course, you will explore some of the scholarly literature in the field of urban agriculture and investigate and record the basic requirements of your single chosen crop.
By the end, you will have a good understanding of urban agriculture and will know if you would like to continue in the series.
This course is part of ourOnline Urban Agriculture Program. Other courses in the series include:
You can take this course by ...
Read full story.Mark your calendars! The 2020 Dry Farm Project field tours will be held on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM in August and September. There will be nine field tours featuring different elements of the five core projects listed below. View more information and a final schedule once posted.
The Dry Farming Project began in 2013 with case studies of farms in Western Oregon and Northern California (coordinated by Community Alliance with Family Farmers) that dry farm a variety of fruit and vegetable crops. These case studies revealed a suite of management practices that support crop production without supplemental irrigation including:
Small Farm School is going online in 2020.will be offered on the Zoom platformTuesday and Thursday evenings from mid-September through mid-November.
Registration allows you access to sign-up for and participate in as many sessions as you are able to attend. Most sessions will be recorded and registered participants will have access to recordings and session resources.
The program consists of18 individual sessions with topics ranging frommarketing and business management to vegetable and hemp production, and equitable food access.
Schedule:Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. September 17 through November 19. Schedule of classes are listed on the Small Farms School 2020 class page.
Follow theSmall Farm School Facebook Pagefor updates on featured sessions and ...
Read full story.In this course you'll examine the life-blood of any successful urban agriculture business operation: cash-flow, efficiencies and forecasts. These granular details may be less romantic than digging your hands in the dirt, but they can help you succeed long term. The next time you read headlines like "Couple makes $85,000 a year on a 1.4 acre lot" or "$1,000 a week from a front yard garden" you'll know how they did it!
This course isn't only useful for those striving to make a profit, however. Hobbyists, amateurs and others will also benefit from learning about the tools used in the business world. We will examine ways to minimize start-up costs, how to comply with local city codes and ensure that ...
Read full story.This 3-video presentation revisits a live workshop by Susan Schoenian. Learn about SIPM-Sustainable Integrated Parasite Management in Goats and Sheep. Speaker: Susan Schoenian, Sheep and Goat Specialist at the University of Maryland's Western Maryland Research & Education Center. She represents the American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control.
Gastrointestinal parasites of sheep and goats are becoming increasingly resistant to currently available commercial de-wormers. Parasite loads not only reduce performance, but can lead to animal death. When sold, infected animals may spread parasites to other pastures. Learn more sustainable methods at this presentation.
Access these three webinar presentations at the reduced price of $25. The links are listed on your registration confirmation. After you have watched the three presentations, contact Maud ...
Read full story.In 1980 Jack Gray and Mary Jo Wade started Winter Green Farm just 20 miles west of Eugene, five years later Wali and Jabrila Via joined them and in 2009 long-time employees Chris Overbaugh and Shannon Shipp-Overbaugh a...
Manure and bedding collects rapidly on most livestock farms, especially in the winter. Instead of pitching the waste out the back of the barn, consider turning the materials into a valuable, usable product. Compost. If an active compos...
As summer approaches and the soil dries, forage plants become dormant. Some years in drier areas of Oregon dormancy may begin in the late spring. If you have irrigation rights, your pastures can provide supplemental nutrition even duri...
Gophers are useful animals in the wild as they aerate the soil, eat insects and mix surface soil layers, but they are a nuisance on the farm when conflict surfaces between the farmer and the gopher over land use. Their economic impact...
