Grow Your Customer Base & Make Local Produce More Available to Low-Income Households Heather Morrill, Program Manager, Farmers Market Fund; Lisa Roach, Regional Representative, MarketLink; Jemall Pittman, Section Chief, USDA Food and Nutrition Service; Eden Olsen, Lucky Crow Farm; Carrie Juchau, Josephine County Farm Collective; Luke Klimaszewski & Lily Matlock, Lil Starts Farm;  Eliza Mason, Lilliputopia Tiny Farm & Store

There are 750,294 average monthly SNAP participants in Oregon. SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious foods essential to health and well-being. In the first half of this session, you will hear from a panel of farmers on their experience with SNAP authorization, SNAP Online and the nutrition incentive program Double Up Food Bucks for CSA, Farm Stands and Farmers Markets. Double Up increases purchasing power for customers using SNAP by matching SNAP benefits for the purchase of Oregon-grown fruits and vegetables. In the optional second half of the session, staff from USDA and MarketLink will be in attendance to authorize farms to accept SNAP (usually a 6-8 week process). Registrants should bring this information with them if you’d like your farm to become SNAP Authorized during this session.

Beef Carcass Quality Factors for Small FarmsKylie Burriss, NMPAN Outreach Specialist/Ore. State University Meat Science Instructor; Dennis Adams, Clark Meat Science Center Manager

Additional fee of 15 dollars to cover transportation, tour, and demonstration.

This session outlines the major quality influencing factors for beef producers and their impact on finished beef products. It will discuss the differing types of meat inspection and their relationship with product sales jurisdiction. This session includes a tour of the Clark Meat Science Center and a beef carcass quality demo. Limited to 25 people.

Small Farms and Community Food Systems at the 2025 Oregon LegislatureRachael Ward, Executive Director, Farmers Market Fund; Greg Holmes, Working Lands Director, 1,000 Friends of Oregon; Alice Morrison, Co-Director of Policy and Development, Friends of Family Farmers; Nellie McAdams, Executive Director, Oregon Agricultural Trust; Melina Barker, Executive Director, Oregon Farm to School Network; Sarah Weber-Ogden, Co-Executive Director, Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon ; Rachael Ward, Executive Director, Farmers Market Fund

In 2025, the Oregon Legislature has a long and packed session, including legislation and funding programs that really matter to farmers and community food systems. In this session, you’ll hear from a panel of farm and food system advocacy organizations about 2024 legislative outcomes and 2025 priority bills and funding programs they are tracking.

Multi-Species Grazing: Tricks of the TradeJohn Deck, Deck Family Farm; Geoff Scott, Marion Acres and Helvetia Poultry Processing; Gwynne Mhuireach, Black Tansy Farm

Should chickens follow cattle rotations? How do you incorporate pigs into a grazing system? What is the best portable shelter? Grazing multiple species on the same land can help improve both ecological outcomes and the bottom line, but implementation can be complicated and highly variable. Jumpstart your diverse grazing operation by joining a panel of experts to learn their tricks of the trade.

Become a Pollinator! Intro to On-Farm Plant Breeding and Seed SavingBrigid Meints, Todd Anderson, Lucas Nebert, Jim Myers, Andrew Still, Hayley Richardson, Ryan King, Emma Landgraver

Come learn from OSU, USDA, and farmer plant breeders about on-farm plant breeding and seed saving! This session will cover the basics of pollination biology, why you might want to breed your own crops, opportunities for participatory plant breeding at OSU, and tips & tricks for breeding on-farm. Speakers will provide crossing demonstrations for a variety of vegetables, legumes, small grains, and perennial fruits. Afterwards participants will have the chance to try these methods themselves.

Integrating Agroforestry into Western Oregon FarmsJared Gardner, Nehalem River Ranch adaptations; Kara Huntermoon, Heart-Culture Farm Community; Ed Easterling, Crestmont Farm Family; Ben Larson, My Brothers’ Farm, Abel Kloster, Center for Rural Livelihoods, Resilience Permaculture Design

Agroforestry intentionally combines agriculture and forestry to create productive and sustainable land use practices. Understanding how farmers have adapted agroforestry to their farms in western Oregon is helpful to promote adoption and best management practices. Speakers will provide insights as to how they utilize various agroforestry practices such as silvopasture, alley cropping, forest farming and riparian forest buffers that are specifically adapted to their farm operations and lands.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Small Orchards in the Pacific NorthwestLogan Bennett, OSU Small Farms Program

Grow healthy fruit sustainably! This workshop is designed specifically for small-scale orchard growers. Learn how to protect your trees and fruit using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies. Discover how to:

  • Identify common pests and diseases in your region
  • Monitor for pests effectively
  • Utilize low-impact and control methods when possible
  • Create a healthy orchard ecosystem that supports beneficial insects
  • Grow delicious fruit while minimizing your environmental impact.
    This session emphasizes the relevance of IPM for small farms with limited resources and focuses on practical and cost-effective solutions.

Irrigation Scheduling for Annual CropsGenevieve Flanagan, Farmer, Urban Acre Homestead; Evie Smith and Heidi Noordijk, OSU Extension Small Farms

In this session, we will explore how to use various tools to design irrigation schedules for annual crops based on soil and weather conditions. We’ll cover understanding crop water needs and integrating soil moisture sensors and/or weather information on your farm to determine when to water. You’ll learn from Genevieve Flanagan of Urban Acre Homestead about how they schedule irrigation on their farm. By the end of this session, you’ll have ideas to implement as you create or adapt an irrigation plan for your annual crops, optimizing water use and enhancing crop health. Please bring a list of the soil types on your farm or a printout your farm’s soil map.

Not for Profit Business Structures: Making Smart Choices for Your OperationRachel Armstrong, Executive Director of Farm Commons; Leo Ndondwa, Arise and Shine; Ryan Elwood, Kindness Farm

Many producers take on the business and lifestyle of farming because they want to serve their community. From healthy food to environmental benefits, the social values are clear. But does this mean the farm should be organized as a nonprofit? What about other social benefit entities like benefit corporations? In this session, you’ll have the chance to work through the pros and cons of each option to make an effective choice for individual operations, including attention to funding sources and regulations. Folks who already have chosen a social benefit entity will get tips on the legal implications and best practices for the various options. This program will also touch on how to optimize donations or sponsorships, rather than forming a social benefit business structure. Presented by a legal expert and a farmer who’s been through the process, this interactive session will be full of practical information.

Integrating Flowers into a Diverse Farm MarketKelly Hardin, Willow and Oak Farm

Interested in cut flower production, but not sure how to make it work with other enterprises on your farm? This session provides a case study of how two seemingly “odd couple” enterprises, cut flowers and pasture-raised chickens, work together in Willow & Oak Farm’s unique farm context on leased conservation land. We’ll talk about establishing a new farm with two very distinct agricultural products, how we design and manage multiple production systems, what’s worked (and hasn’t worked!) for joint marketing and sales venues, and how we’ve analyzed data to make production and business decisions over the past four seasons. We’ll also take a look at which cut flower crops have proven to be most successful in our context with diversified sales venues. Our hope is to help build confidence in establishing a cut flower enterprise, no matter what else you’re producing, and provide an example “roadmap” for decision-making as your flower farm grows and changes.

How Soil Life Promotes Plant Life and What You Can Do About ItMargaret Lloyd, PhD, University of California Cooperative Extension

Soil life is working underground to suppress disease and create conditions that optimize plant health. In this session, we will discuss the science of disease suppressive soil and the mechanisms at work. We will explore how production practices impact soil life, and learn about the visual clues and lab tools to assess life in your soil.

Pricing Info For 2024

  • Registration $85 per person until Feb. 3rd
  • After Feb. 3rd $100 per person
  • At the door registration may NOT be available due to venue capacity.