Small Farm News - Oregon Small Farms - Oregon State University

OSU Extension Service
Small Farms Program
Garry Stephenson
Small Farms Program
Coordinator
Corvallis, OR 97330
Nick Andrews
Clackamas & Washington
Counties, 15210 NE Miley Rd
Aurora, OR 97002
503-678-1264
Melissa Fery
Benton, Linn, & Lane
Counties, 1849 NW 9th St,
Corvallis, OR 97330
541-766-6750
Amy Garrett
Benton, Linn, & Polk
Counties, 1849 NW 9th St,
Corvallis, OR 97330
541-766-6750
Melissa Matthewson
Special Programs, Statewide,
Applegate, OR 97530
Elizabeth Murphy
Jackson, Josephine, &
Douglas Counties, 569 Hanley
Rd, Central Point, OR 97502
541-776-7371
Maud Powell
Jackson, Josephine, &
Douglas Counties, 569 Hanley
Rd, Central Point, OR 97502
541-776-7371
Chrissy Lucas
Small Farms Program
Assistant, 1849 NW 9th St,
Corvallis, OR 97330
541-766-3556
Oregon Small Farm News Layout by:
Chrissy Lucas
Cover Photo:
Chilling at Century Oak
Packing Company, Mount
Angel, OR. Story on page 3.
Photo by Garry Stephenson
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OSU Small Farms Program Staffing
Reductions & Staffing Increases
By: Garry Stephenson, Small Farms Program, Oregon State University
The Bad News
During 2011, three Small Farms faculty positions were lost. A new Extension
Service administrative model created opportunities for two faculty to be promoted,
vacating their Small Farms positions on the central coast and central Oregon. One
other faculty member stepped down. It is unlikely that these positions will be refilled
until the 2013-14 legislative session or perhaps beyond.
The Good News
However, there is good news. The core of the Small Farms Program remains intact. We
have taken an entrepreneurial approach to continue to grow the program and meet the
demand of small, young, beginning and women farmers. The innovative research and
education partnership with Oregon Tilth, Inc. plus grant and other external funds have
allowed us to increase staffing in programmatic and geographic areas of opportunity.
Funds from Oregon State University currently support 4 Small Farms faculty totaling
3.0 FTE (full time equivalent). External funds (non-OSU) now support a number of
additional faculty and program assistants totaling over 4.0 FTE.
Current programs and research that are enhanced by external funds include: A project
to develop a toolkit and curriculum for establishing teaching farms on OSU research
farms; a workshop series to enhance alternative livestock production for small scale
producers; a workshop series on winter farming in southern Oregon; Women’s
Farming Networks; ACRES compost trainings; research related to the research,
education and policy needs of organic farmers; cover crops; and developing degree
day models for vegetable varieties, weeds and nitrogen.
Faculty & program assistants currently supported by external (non-OSU) funds include:
Amy Garrett and Jennie Cramer based in the southern Willamette Valley (Benton,
Linn, Lane and Polk Counties).
Shaina Bronstein, Elizabeth Murphy, Heidi Dawn, and Tracy Harding based at the
Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center (Jackson and Josephine Counties).
A recently hired small farms program assistant based in the north Willamette Valley
(Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah Counties).
In addition, Melissa Matthewson continues to work for the Small Farms Program
on special projects on a limited basis and former small farms program assistant
Kristin Pool is now an OSU graduate research assistant in the Department of
Horticulture.
Several of these positions are part-time and fit individual family, farming and other
employment commitments.
Sources of external funds include the Oregon Tilth/OSU Small Farms Program
Research and Education Partnership, USDA Western SARE, USDA Risk Management
Agency, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA Risk Management
Education, Specialty Crop grant (via Oregon Department of Agriculture), West
Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, plus funding from the Polk
Extension tax district and the Clackamas Extension tax district.
This approach to funding the Small Farms Program requires being nimble and has
some risks but it has helped us weather a period of substantial budget decline.
Oregon Small Farm News Vol. VII No. 2 Page 2