1. Dry Farming Accelerator Program

Dry Farming Accelerator Program

Welcome to the Dry Farming Accelerator Program!

This webpage hosts our Dry Farming Curriculum other resources for Dry Farming Accelerator Program participants and the general public.

 

Dry Farming Curriculum

The Dry Farming Curriculum is a self-paced online course designed to provide you with an introductory overview of dry farming in the maritime Pacific Northwest. The course includes farmer interviews, slide lectures, and supplementary content linked below.

If you have completed any of the course modules below, you can complete this feedback survey to help us improve and build the Dry Farming Curriculum.

 

The Dry Farming Curriculum is divided into three modules:

MODULE 1: Introduction to Dry Farming - Understanding Key Concepts and Practices

MODULE 2: Site Suitability for Dry Farming - The Impact of Soil and Climate

MODULE 3: Crop and Cultivar Selection - Turning our Attention to the Plant

The following farmers graciously provided video interviews for the course curriculum. You can see their locations on the map on the right.

Teresa Retzlaff of 46 North Farm 

  • Location: Astoria, OR
  • Acres Dry Farmed: <1
  • Plant Hardiness Zone: 8
  • Annual Rainfall: 87 inches

Liz Shinn of Camron Ridge Farmstead 

  • Location: Jefferson, OR
  • Acres Dry Farmed: <1
  • Plant Hardiness Zone: 8
  • Annual Rainfall: 44 inches

Dan Schuler of Moondog's Farm 

  • Location: Marcola, OR
  • Acres Dry Farmed: 5
  • Plant Hardiness Zone: 8
  • Annual Rainfall: 53 inches

Jacques Neukom of Neukom Family Farm 

  • Location: Willow Creek, CA
  • Acres Dry Farmed: 45
  • Plant Hardiness Zone: 9
  • Annual Rainfall: 53 inches

Blake Richard of Wild Rose Farm

  • Location: Blue Lake, CA
  • Acres Dry Farmed: 200
  • Plant Hardiness Zone: 9
  • Annual Rainfall: 49 inches

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MODULE 1: Introduction to Dry Farming - Understanding Key Concepts and Practices

 

Once you have completed this module you should be able to:

  • Define dry farming, dryland farming, and rainfed farming
  • Identify successful historic and contemporary dry farming and dryland farming industries
  • Identify six reasons why a farmer might consider dry farming as opposed to irrigated farming
  • Identify crops that you might consider trialing on your dry farm
  • Describe key dry farming concepts and practices
  • Understand the importance of conserving soil moisture when dry farming
  • Understand the importance of weed control when dry farming

Required Materials:

Optional/Supplemental Materials:

Please complete this feedback survey to help us improve and build the Dry Farming Curriculum.

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MODULE 2: Site Suitability for Dry Farming - The Impact of Soil and Climate

 

Once you have completed this module you should be able to: 

  • Understand what factors determine site suitability for dry farming
  • Understand what factors control soil available water holding capacity (soil AWHC)
  • Name potential subsoil constraints that may limit soil AWHC
  • Understand how soil fertility impacts dry farm performance
  • Understand how climate impacts dry farm performance
  • Understand how microclimate impacts dry farm performance and ways it can be altered
  • Understand methods for evaluating your farm for dry farming site suitability

Required Materials: 

Optional/Supplemental Materials:

Please complete this feedback survey to help us improve and build the Dry Farming Curriculum.

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MODULE 3: Crop and Cultivar Selection - Turning our Attention to the Plant

 

Once you have completed this module you should be able to: 

  • Understand how drought stress affects crops
  • Understand what traits might prevent drought stress and improve crop productivity and quality
  • Name cultivars of tomato, potato, winter squash, melon, zucchini, corn, bean, and carrot that the dry farming program and dry farmers have trialed
  • Understand factors affecting the profitability of dry farmed crops
  • Know where you can get materials to help market your dry farmed crops

Required Materials: 

Optional/Supplemental Materials:

Please complete this feedback survey to help us improve and build the Dry Farming Curriculum.

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46 North Farm - Full Interview

Camron Ridge Farmstead - Full Interview

Moondog's Farm - Full Interview

Neukom Family Farm - Full Interview

Wild Rose Farm - Full Interview

Our funding and team

The Dry Farming Accelerator Program was funded by the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program Research to Grassroots. The Dry Farming Accelerator Program was produced by Oregon State University Department of Horticulture and Small Farms Program. The Dry Farming Accelerator Program is led by Dr. Lucas Nebert and Matthew Davis, along with cooperators Amy Garrett and Andy Gallagher. These modules were reviewed by Dr. Alex Stone, Andy Gallagher, Eliza Mason, Jason Bradford, and Amy Garrett. The Dry Farming Site Suitability Project, which these materials are in part based on, was conceived of and led by Dr. Alex Stone.

During 2023, Matt Davis and Lucas Nebert worked with a cohort of 11 new and beginning dry farmers in Western Oregon, to experiment with dry farming practices and cultivars on their farms. Our team hope to work cohorts of growers again in the future, as funding permits.

Attachment: 
File The Soil Available Water Holding Capacity Calculator
PDF icon How to use Web Soil Survey to assess soil available water holding capacity

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