Dry Farming Institute's West Coast Water Resilience Studies
TL;DR: Six West Coast farm case studies highlight affordable, water-wise farming techniques crucial for climate change adaptation.
- Climate change demands innovative, water-efficient farming practices.
- Small farms can thrive with low-cost, dry farming methods.
- Case studies offer practical, farm-specific adaptation strategies.
- Replicable solutions emphasize resourcefulness over heavy irrigation.
- Collaboration between farms and research drives water resilience.
Why it matters: These case studies provide actionable blueprints for farmers struggling with water scarcity, offering proven methods to maintain productivity amidst climate challenges.
Do this next: Explore dry farming principles and assess their applicability to your local conditions and crops.
Recommended for: Farmers, policymakers, and agricultural researchers interested in actionable, low-cost strategies for water-resilient farming in a changing climate.
These case studies, rooted in Dry Farming Institute's decade-long Oregon efforts and 2024 collaborations with six West Coast farms, address grower challenges from climate change, drought, and water policies. Focused on small-scale and underserved farmers, they detail low-cost strategies via farm-specific adaptations. Covered sites: Oregon State University’s Dry Farming Program (Corvallis), Kasama Farm (Gresham), Outback Farm (Bellingham), Tel-tvm’ Siletz Tribal Farm (Logsden), Raptor Creek Farm (Grants Pass), and UW Farm (Seattle). Each case outlines processes, tools, and resources for water-efficient farming without heavy reliance on irrigation. The accompanying toolkit distills farmer-tested methods into actionable guidance, supporting innovation and replication. Practical details emphasize resource constraints, offering concrete pathways for similar operations facing water limitations.