With climate change causing ongoing drought and warmer temperatures in the West, there’s a critical need to develop alternative methods of producing the many and diverse vegetable crops grown in Oregon.
Droughts translate into decreased summer water, which often causes wells to go dry. As temperatures increase there’s reduced snowpack that melts earlier and leaves less water overall and less during the growing season. With less water comes more interest in strategies that support farming with little or no irrigation.
In response, the Oregon State University Extension Service Small Farms Program founded the OSU Dry Farming Project in 2015. Dry farming is the ages-old practice of growing crops with little or no irrigation. Crops typically go in the ground early when there’s still plenty of moisture in the soil to get plants established. As the season wears on, roots stretch deep to harvest the receding water. Cultivar selection, wider plant spacing and soil health are also key aspects of dry farming.
The Dry Farming Collaborative (DFC), a group of farmers, Extension educators, plant breeders and agricultural professionals partnering to increase knowledge and awareness of dry farming, formed out of the Dry Farming Project. The Dry Farming Institute, a nonprofit organization that works to engage growers in collectively adapting to less water, also blossomed out of the collaborative.
OSU Extension dry farming research involves the participation of more than 50 farmers with an array of summer vegetable crops. Researchers are finding that the dry-farm production approach can enhance flavor and storability for consumers. Further, the Dry Farming Collaborative marketing committee developed a product label and worked with the Dry Farming Institute to develop marketing materials and piloted them with 10 farmers in 2021.
The OSU Dry Farming Project continues as the go-to resource for dry farming and model for participatory climate adaptation research as growers throughout the West continue to feel the impacts of drought and seek alternatives to unreliable summer irrigation.