Published in Fall 2023
By: Maud Powell, OSU Small Farms Program
Southern Oregon is known as a world class seed growing region, and like many parts of Oregon is dealing with hotter and drier growing conditions. Many farmers have little to no irrigation water, farmers are moving, and farms are going out of business. In order to strengthen the viability, economic resilience, and climate adaptability for farmers during this difficult time, it is imperative that we learn from our peers about seed production during times of drought.
A new Western SARE-funded project, Expanding Commercial Drought-Tolerant Seed Production is supporting regional farmers in learning from previous research about non-irrigated farming, local adaptation of heritage grains, and strategies for bed preparation for seed production. Case studies resulting from the grant will provide farmers with valuable information about seed production in drought.
Some farmers have expressed a desire to add heritage grains to their operations, and they want to learn from other farmers. This new project brings together diverse farmers to learn, observe, and share their experiences producing grains and specialty seed crops during drought. Through two seasons of on-farm grain trials and eight tours of seed operations, farmers will learn from their peers about non-irrigated farming, local adaptation of heritage grains, and strategies for bed preparation for maximum yield and biomass production. The research will consist of developing case studies on four differently scaled farms. Additionally, different practices of growing four grains will be compared in order to determine largest yield and greatest amount of biomass produced.
Results from this project will be shared across Oregon through community partner networks and will be included in field day and outreach events. Producers will learn from each other about how to implement non-irrigated grains and seed production into their current cropping plans.
Final Report (SARE): https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fw23-412/