2025 Dry Farming Collaborative Winter Convening

10th Annual Dry Farming Collaborative Winter Convening - Online

Wednesday February 5th 9am to 12pm on Zoom (with additional time for focus groups)

Registration Link: https://beav.es/GWx

Agenda

 

 

Meeting Attendee Directory

Link to Directory of meeting participants who chose to be in the directory when registering. Only accessible to people who registered.

 

Agenda with Links to Slides and other Resources

Introductions

9-9:20: Lucas Nebert, Oregon State University Organic Agriculture Program. Intro to dry farming, & Dry Farming Collaborative updates.

• Presentation Slides
• OSU Dry Farming Program
  • Register for DFC listserv
  • Dry Farming Accelerator Program Curriculum

  • Dry Farm Melon Project

  • 2024 Melon Varieties Descriptions

• Dry Farming Institute
  • Dry Farming Seed Directory
  • Dry Farming Institute Resources
  • Dry Farm Suitability Map
  • DFI 2024 Year in Review
• 2025 DFC Winter Convening Feedback Survey

Session 1: Dry farming in Western Washington and British Columbia

9:20-9:40: Naomi Robert & Micheal Robinson. Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, B.C. Emerging dry farming community of practice in the Salish Sea ecosystem, British Columbia, Canada

• Presentation Slides
• Sign up for the our B.C. Dry Farming Collaborative newsletter for events and project updates
• For more information on drought impacts in the Comox Valley and what initiated this project, see Building Drought Resilience: Summary report from the Comox Valley regional farmer dialogue on drought

9:40-10:00: Jennifer Clark, Roots Farm, Poulsbo, WA. Dry farming on sandy soils using a deep mulch method

• Presentation Slides
• Roots Farm Website

Session 2: Dry-Farmed Wine Grapes 

10:00 - 10:20: Patty Skinkis, Viticulturist, Oregon State University Statewide Extension, Corvallis, OR. Considerations for dry-farm viticulture in Oregon’s Willamette Valley

• Presentation Slides

• OSU Extension Wine Grape website

• How to measure pruning weights (for long-term vine stress response)

• Instructional videos on how to use a pressure chamber to monitor vine stress: part 1 and part2

10:20 - 10:40: John Paul, Cameron Winery, Dundee, OR. Bringing your dry-farmed vines to fruition

• Deep Roots Coalition: Recent Press, News and Research Resources
• Become a Producer Member of the Deep Roots Coalition
• Cameron Winery Website
• Interview with Deep Roots Coalition farmer: John Paul
• Interview with Deep Roots Coalition farmer: Rory Williams
• Interview with Deep Roots Coalition farmer: Phil London

Session 3: Dry-Farmed Tomatoes

10:40 - 11:00: Matt Davis, OSU Dry Farming Program, Corvallis, OR. - How to grow dry-farmed tomatoes

• Presentation Slides
• *Farmer Survey: Desired Traits for Dry Farm Tomatoes*
• Webpage: The Blossom-End Rot Toolkit for Dry-Farmed Tomatoes
• Webpage: Principles of Tomato Grafting

• Publication: Socolar et al. 2024, Tomato dry farming as an agroecological model for California's drought resilient future: Farmers' perspectives and experiences

• Publication: Dumroese et al. 2015, Using container weights to determine irrigation needs: a simple method

• Publication: Moore 2022, Updated lime requirement recommendations for Oregon

• Publication: Bowman 2002, Steel in the Field 

• Publication: Leap et al. 2017, Organic dry-farmed tomato production on California's Central Coast: A guide for beginning specialty crop growers

• Publication: Floor Management and Amendment Applications Affected Dry-farmed Tomato Production during a 2020 Experiment in the Willamette Valley of Oregon

• Publication: Grafting onto Tomato Rootstocks Improves Outcomes for Dry-farmed Tomato

11:00 - 11:20: Vidi Castro, UC Santa Cruz PhD Candidate - The physiology of dry farmed tomatoes

• Presentation Slides

Focus Group Discussions

11:20+: Various topics:

• Dry farmed grapes | Facilitator: Patty Skinkis | We will discuss anything pertaining to dry farmed grapes, including dry-farmed vineyard establishment, maintenance, and marketing.

  • Notes

• Dry farmed tomatoes | Facilitator: Matt Davis | Discussion of all things dry farmed tomatoes, including variety recommendations, grafting, blossom end rot, and marketing strategies

  • Notes

• Dry farmed seed saving and seed production | Facilitator: Lucas Nebert | This focus group discussion is about breeding and improving crops in a dry farming setting, as well as benefits and challenges with dry-farmed seed production.

  • Notes

• Dry farming warm season forage and cover crops | Facilitator: Shayan Ghajar | A discussion of warm season livestock forages and cover crops that can be dry farmed, including promising species and best practices, as well as opportunities for future collaborative research.

  • Notes

• Maritime Washington and B.C. Growers | Facilitators: Naomi Robert & Micheal Robinson | A meeting of new and experienced dry farmers from Western WA and British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands, and other areas of the region with a coastal-influenced climate.

  • Notes

• And more, based on group interest- Sign up here to lead a new Focus Group

 

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