DFI Dry Farm Plot in Albany Oregon Aug 2023
Empowering Growers To Thrive With Less Water
Summer 2023 - Abundance, Updates & Events
Greetings!

With summer comes abundance and we have some exciting updates and events to share with you ! Pictured above is DFI's dry farm plot in Albany, OR where we have just started harvesting tomatoes and melons last week to share at some upcoming events. Hope to see some of you there! Please forward this message on to others who may want to stay in the loop and learn more about how we can all help empower growers to thrive with less water.
What's New at DFI?
We hired our first staff member!
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ο»ΏAmy Garrett started as Director of Operations on June 1, 2023. Amy brings more than 25 years of experience in horticulture ranging from landscape design to organic farming, research, and education. She initiated the Dry Farming Project at OSU (2014) as well the Dry Farming Collaborative (2016) before founding the Dry Farming Institute (2019). She is excited to help build capacity for DFI as we transition from a working board and maintain a work culture that emphasizes transparency, communication, innovation, and collaboration.
NEW PROJECT!
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We are thrilled to be working with American Farmland Trust, Oregon State University Extension, the Washington Water Trust, the California Climate Hub, Northwest Climate Hub, as well as multiple partner farms and organizations on 'Advancing Water Resilient Strategies –
For the next three years, we'll be supporting the adoption of climate-smart farming practices by small and mid-scale underserved producers on the west coast'! Funded by the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

More info can be found on this press release from American Farmland Trust.
Dry-Farmed Tomatoes and Melons πŸ… πŸ‰πŸ…πŸ‰
DFI is partnering with the Culinary Breeding Network and the OSU Department of Horticulture on the 'Collaborative Market Development for Climate Resilient Vegetable in Oregon' project to offer Dry-Farmed Tomato and Melon Sampler Boxes this year! We will be featuring some of the top-performing and best tasting varieties from dry farm trials in the Willamette Valley at The Tomato Festival.

Come explore the diversity of types and flavors of tomatoes and melons that are possible with dry farming in Western Oregon! All proceeds from DFI's tomato and melon sales will go to support our mission of empowering growers to thrive with less water.

The Tomato Festival will be a free, four-hour outdoor event open to the public.

When: Saturday, September 16th, 11am-3pm
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Where: Wellspent Market (935 NE Couch St, Portland, OR 97232)
The β€˜Collaborative Market Development for Climate Resilient Vegetables in Oregon’ project is administered by the Oregon State University Horticulture Department, the Culinary Breeding Network, and the Dry Farming Institute with funding from the Oregon Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant Program.
Dry Farming Resources
What is Dry Farming? - learn the basics
Dry Farming Seed Directory - helps growers to identify and source high quality crop varieties that have been demonstrated to perform well under dry farm or minimally-irrigated conditions. 
Dry Farmed Produce Directory - expanding listing of farms that offer dry-farmed produce
Dry Farming Collaborative YouTube Channel - archived field days and presentations on dry farming from OSU and DFI
OSU Dry Farming Project Website - Includes events, resources, and research led by the OSU Dry Farming Project
Learn more about DFI and our plans to grow...
DFI released this paper in December 2022, to share more about dry farming, how it works, who we are, our programs and activities and what we can do with your support.
Wednesday, August 23rd, 4-6 pm: Dry Farming Field Day at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture, Corvallis, OR
This year their demo includes a variety trial of diverse crops that are traditionally dry farmed in northern Africa and the Middle East, including sorghum, sesame, millet, cowpea, melon and African rice. Furthermore, they will be demonstrating different tillage and interplanting practices in a dry farmed context. Other featured dry farmed crops will include winter squash, potatoes, tomatoes, melons, and cucumbers - there will be plenty of tasty dry farmed tomatoes and melons to try as well!

Thursday, August 31st, 5:30pm-7:30pm: Dry Farming Field Day at OSU Vegetable Research Farm, Corvallis, OR
This field day will feature OSU experiments on dry farm culinary corn breeding, management of blossom-end rot in dry farmed tomatoes, and dry farmed melon and dry bean variety trials. There will be dry farmed melon and tomato tasting at this event!

Wednesday, September 6th, 3-6pm: Dry Farming Field Day at North Willamette Research and Extension Center (NWREC), Wilsonville, OR
Join us outside for an afternoon focused on dry farmed vegetables. There will be field demonstrations of crops that thrive without the aid of irrigation, such as tomatoes, melons, and winter squash. Learn from farmers and researchers as they discuss dry farming vegetables in the Willamette Valley. There will be field tours of the different crops grown in the new agrivoltaic plot (solar panels) as well as out in the control plots. NRCS and SWCD conservationists will be present to share information about programs that support farmers. This event is for farmers of all small-scale vegetable farmers, but is specifically designed to benefit farmers with at least three years of experience.

Saturday, September 16th, 11-3pm: The Tomato Festival (3rd Annual!) at Wellspent Market (935 NE Couch St, Portland, OR 97232)
The Culinary Breeding Network, Oregon State University (Dry Farming Project & Vegetable Breeding Program), the Dry Farming Institute (DFI). There will be a diverse array of tomatoes (many dry-farmed!) to try, learn about and buy. DFI will have an assortment of dry-farmed tomatoes and melons for sale and educational materials available. Come see us!

Saturday, October 7th: American Farmland Trust's (AFT) Veteran Women for the Land in the PNW program will host a Water Resilience Learning Circle in Central Point, OR, with OSU Extension and the Dry Farming Institute. For more information visit https://farmland.org/project/pnw_vwfl or contact Chantel Welch (AFT's PNW Project Manager) at cwelch@farmland.org or 360-726-2676.

Sunday, October 22nd, 6-7:30pm: Mary's River Watershed Council's October Pub Talk at Common Fields (545 SW 3rd St, Corvallis, OR 97333) will be on Dry Farming: What is it and how does it affect our watershed? with Amy Garrett (DFI) and Nate Johnson (Sunbow Produce).

More events are in the works! Check back in! https://dryfarming.org/home/events/

Are you hosting an event designed to help growers thrive with less water in some way? If so, we would love to help get the word out! Please reach out at info@dryfarming.org with any event or opportunities we can help promote!
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