Amy currently works part-time with OSU Extension Small Farms Program in the Southern Willamette Valley. As an Assistant Professor of Practice, she is devoted to learning and teaching others about ways to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of our food production systems. Amy has 20 years of experience in the horticulture industry ranging from landscape design, installation and maintenance to organic farming, research, and education. Her special interests are in organic crop production, season extension, permaculture design, and dry farming.
Drought mitigation tools and strategies for growing with little or no irrigation have become a focus in her work over the past several years. The Dry Farming Project she is leading will be expanding over the next couple of years to include several Dry Farming Demonstration sites in Oregon, a ‘Growing Resilience: Water Management Workshop Series’, and Participatory Dry Farming Research with interested growers throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Dry Farming in the Maritime Pacific Northwest. Up to a 50% reduction in summer water availability is predicted in Oregon within 50 years. It will be critical for the viability of farms in our region and the security of our food system to increase knowledge and awareness of methods of crop production that require little or no irrigation. To initiate this project, a Dry Farming Demonstration was established in Corvallis, Oregon in 2015. This demonstration expanded to three OSU sites in 2016 and more than 10 farms in Western Oregon hosted dry farming trials via the Dry Farming Collaborative. Learn about how the OSU Extension Service is partnering with growers to increase knowledge and awareness of dry farming management practices and hear about some of the results from their field trials.
