Farmers, educators and gardeners aim to boost dry farming in Oregon

In Oregon, farmers, educators and gardeners are exploring the benefits of dry farming. The method relies on water stored in soil during a rainy season to produce crops during a dry season. The Dry Farming Collaborative at Oregon State University will host an event on Feb. 8 to discuss best practices.

“I think the plants hold a lot of wisdom,” said Amy Garrett, the board president of the Dry Farming Institute, a nonprofit that works to market produce grown through dry farming and raise awareness of the water-conserving technique. “It can be a source of inspiration.”

Dry farming is not a new idea. Native American communities have used dry farming methods for thousands of years. But as some agricultural producers experience more years of drought and face water shortages, interest in dry farming techniques has grown.

“Before the rise of dams and aquifer pumping, [dry farming] was just farming,” Garrett said. “It was how people were growing within the constraints of their climate and soil.”