About Dry Farming Project...
It is important to note that dry farming is not a new way of farming, but knowledge sharing has been limited because practices have primarily been passed down from farmer to farmer. Compounded by the fact that there is only a very small subset of farmers that experiment with dry farming and an even smaller number have extensive experience in these farming practices, the OSU Extension Dry Farm Project plans to explore, revive, and expand awareness of dry farming.
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: careful timing of tillage, early planting, cultivation or surface protection to prevent crusting and cracking of soil surface, diligent weed management, improving soil quality and water retention with organic matter addition (cover crops, compost, rotational grazing), increased plant spacing, and use of drought-resistant varieties.
There have been dry demonstrations in Western Oregon every year since 2015.
To gain a foundational understanding of Dry Farming you can watch the recorded presentation: Introduction to Dry Farming Organic Vegetables presented by Amy Garrett, OSU Extension Services Small Farms Program LINK HERE.
Recordings of the 2020 Dry Farm Project Virtual Field Tours, Virtual Adaptive Ag Water Symposium, and annual Dry Farming Collaborative (DFC) Winter Meeting can be found in events tab.
2021 Dry Farming Field Day:
The Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Small Farms Program and OSU Department of Horticulture is pleased to be offering the 7th annual Dry Farming Field Day. Come learn about multiple dry farming research projects, join the field tour, taste different varieties of tomatoes and melons, and visit with other growers and researchers in the Dry Farming Collaborative! The Dry Farming Field Day will be held on Thursday August 26th from 4 – 6:30pm at the OSU Vegetable Research Farm (34306 NE Electric Rd, Corvallis, OR 97333).
The 2021 Dry Farming Field Day is supported by USDA NIFA, Western SARE, The Dry Farming Institute, Baggett Frazier Endowment, and Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network.
Field day is now full. To join wait list and be notified about future events please contact Teagan Moran at 541-713-5011 or TEAGAN.MORAN@OREGONSTATE.EDU.
Field Day Flyer:
Revised Agenda for Field Day
Please arrive 15 minutes early as we will start the tour at 4:00pm sharp!
3:45pm – Arrive, park, check-in
4:00pm – Welcome, Intro, Break up into 3 groups
15 min presentation at each station (tomato, corn, bean, soil management), 3 min for Q+A, 2 min to walk to next station
4:10pm – Station 1
4:30pm – Station 2
4:50pm – Station 3
5:10pm – Station 4
5:30pm – Reception, Tomato & Melon Tasting, and Raffle
6:30pm – Adjourn
OSU EXTENSION SERVICE PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION IN ALL ITS PROGRAMS, SERVICES, ACTIVITIES, AND MATERIALS. ACCOMMODATIONS ARE AVAILABLE, CONTACT TEAGAN 541-713-5011 TEAGAN.MORAN@OREGONSTATE.EDU
