In recent years, several interrelated forces—prolonged drought, growing populations, height-ened environmental protections, sustained agricultural use, and hydrologic alterations due to climate change—have increased pressure on water users in the Western United States, where the agricultural sector accounts for up to 90% of total water withdrawals. Technology im-provements developed since the...
This thesis investigates the success of and challenges facing small farmers operating direct marketing farm businesses in Oregon's Willamette Valley. This qualitative study utilizes participatory methods to gain the unique perspectives of small farmers regarding their success and challenges. Small farms are important players in local food systems and ensuring...
This publication describes basic principles of contract law as applied to planting; growing; maintaining; harvesting; road construction, maintenance, and repair; and selling logs and timber. Includes definitions of common contract terms and sample contracts.
The 158-year-old Commanding Officer's House at Fort Hoskins is one of only two such structures in Oregon representing the pre-Civil War era on the Western Frontier. From 1856-1861, it embodies a link in history between the prevailing ideology of western expansion and replication of Eastern cultural values into the frontier...
Signs of climate change across the Pacific Northwest indicate changing patterns of timing and availability of stream flow. Declining summer low flows, decreasing snow pack, higher temperatures and an increasing fraction of mountain precipitation falling as rain, raise concerns about future reliability of stream flows. These changes will likely affect...
This report provides a quick overview of Oregon’s recent crop and livestock production. The following pages include 2010 preliminary estimates for production and value. In addition, there are revised estimates for 2008 and 2009. Preliminary or first estimates are revised as needed when updated information is received. All of the...
This ethnographic study examined some of the ways that global markets and the infrastructure of agribusiness affect local smallholder farmers in the Ten Rivers region who are transitioning toward more sustainable and traditional agricultural methods. The purpose of this research was to discover what barriers smallholder farmers face in developing...