Oregon Report

SARE Professional Development Program Annual Report for Oregon
January 1-December 31, 2011

State SARE Co-Coordinators:

Summary of 2011 PDP Activities and Results

For 2011, the Oregon SARE PDP program had five primary areas of focus which included funding the 2011 Oregon Small Farms Conference; Measuring Impacts for Sustainable Agricultural Programs Workshop; North Willamette Horticulture Society Annual Meetings; Agriculture Composting Resources and Education Series Workshop; and Beef Cattle In-Service Training. These programs are part of the Oregon PDP focus on encouraging long-term changes in the use of sustainable agricultural practices by providing yearly funding for a three-year period. This was the second year of a three-year project funding.

Context and Overview

In 2010, the Oregon SARE PDP program began to focus more on longer-term and sustainable results. The Oregon SARE PDP program is now providing mini-grants on a three-year basis (contingent upon Western SARE Funding) to encourage longer-term projects. In the fall of 2009, the Oregon SARE PDP program selected five projects for three-year funding. Projects which are noted in #4 include training programs for agriculture professionals in the areas of agriculture composting, measuring sustainable agriculture impacts, direct marketing, livestock and horticulture. Again it is felt this is a more sustainable program for Oregon and will provide more effective use of SARE PDP funding. In the summer of 2012 we plan to issue an RFP for the next round of three-year funded projects to start with the FY 2013 SARE funding cycle.

Activities and Methods

2011 OSU Small Farms Conference

The OSU Extension Small Farms Conference (SFC) was held on February 26, 2011 at the LaSells Stewart Center and the Alumni Center on the campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. This was the 11^th consecutive year for this event.

The conference’s focus was three-fold:

• scale-appropriate sustainable production practices for beginner, limited resource and traditionally underserved small-scale commercial farmers;
• scale-appropriate viable alternative marketing channels for the same group; and
• business and policy information for food and nutrition advocates.

Conference Expenses

Total expenses for the SFC were more than $45,000. This figure includes the conference coordinator’s salary (soft funding) and costs associated with administrative support funded by Benton County. It does not include salaries for Small Farms and other faculty who conducted outreach and education activities at the conference. Oregon SARE PDP project provided $2,000 in support for this program.

Conference sponsors in 2011 were:

• Oregon Department of Human Services and the WIC Nutrition Program,
• Oregon Department of Agriculture,
• Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program,
• OSU’s Rural Studies Program,
• Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation and Development, and
• Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.

Agricultural Composting Resources and Education Series (ACRES)

In 2011 the two-day hands-on ACRES agricultural composting workshop was held on March 14 and March 21 at the North Willamette Research & Extension Center in Aurora, OR. Nick Andrews, Metro-area Small Farms Extension Agent, organized the workshop. The curriculum consisted of morning classroom sessions followed by afternoon hands-on activities where participants built their own compost piles and learned to make several compost measurements including pile volume, pile temperature, bulk density, application rate and spreader calibration, compost maturity, compost pH and feedstock moisture content. In the first workshop participants built compost piles with several types feedstock donated by community partners (i.e. dairy manure, chicken manure, horse manure, leaves, spoiled hay, mint slugs and spent hops).

Participants received a resource binder (about 170 pages) and a field manual for use during the hands-on activities. Workshop sponsors included Oregon State University, Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District and the Western SARE PDP program. Other community partners included the West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Workshop information, photographs and resources are available on-line.

Measuring Impacts for Sustainable Agricultural Programs

In 2011 we continued our work to enhance tools and protocols to measure impacts from sustainable agriculture programs. In 2010 an impact assessment workshop was organized for OSU faculty and staff, as well as community partners from governmental and non-governmental organizations. A collection of impact measurement resources was distributed to 2010 course participants. In 2011 these resources were revised to create an impact measurement manual, which will be used in the planned 2012 impact assessment workshop. In addition, in 2011, faculty worked with USDA-NIFA program leaders and staff to create a nationally broadcast webinar discussing the creation of useful impact statements for federal funders. Faculty also collaborated with the American Society for Horticultural Sciences and NIFA program leaders to coach NIFA-SCRI and -OREI grant recipients in writing and compiling impact statements about agricultural projects funded under these programs, targeting legislative and voter audiences. The presentations and tools developed for these efforts will be adapted for use with Oregon State University Extension faculty from all program areas, to improve documentation of program impact. Resources, templates and tools will be distributed during the May 1-2, 2012 Outreach and Engagement Spring Training on the Corvallis, OR campus. They will be revised to incorporate feedback from workshop participants and made available as an online resource.

North Willamette Horticultural Society Annual Meetings

The partnership between OSU Extension and the North Willamette Horticulture Society continued in 2011 with the 56^th Annual Society Meeting, including the fourth annual Organic Crops Section. The conference was held at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby, OR. The Organic Crops Section was held on January 11, Vegetable Section was on January 12 and Berry Section was on January 13. Tim Parsons (Parsons Farms) presided as President.

In 2011 attendance remained strong with 158 people registered for the Organic Crops Section, 130 at the Vegetable Section and 148 at the Berry Section. Approximately 40% of participants were agricultural professionals including OSU Extension faculty and staff, Soil & Water Conservation District staff, NRCS staff, organic certifiers, Oregon Department of Agriculture staff, agricultural consultants, input distributors and non-profit staff.

These board members and planning committees for each one-day section of the conference set the agenda. Western SARE PDP resources are used for outreach efforts and travel expenses for speakers addressing sustainable agriculture topics. Presentations are archived. The 2011 sustainable agriculture speakers included:

• Andy Bary (WSU Extension): Adapting Cover Crops to Vegetable Rotations
• Don Horneck (OSU Extension):
  • Soil Amendments, Which Ones Are Real?
  • Organic vs. Conventional Soil Amendments and Fertilizer
• George Clough (OSU Extension): Growing Better Melons

The conference includes the annual meeting of the Society where new Board members are elected (see table). Most board members serve three year terms. The annual follow-up meeting was held on March 23, 2011 at the North Willamette Research & Extension Center in Aurora. Paul Borgen was appointed as President for the 2012 annual meeting, and Nick Andrews was appointed as Secretary of the Society, replacing Bob McReynolds who served in this position for about 15 years.

2010 Beef Cattle In-Service Training

The 2011 Beef Cattle In-Service Training was offered in December 2011. This event was organized by Dr.Reinaldo Cooke – Assistant Professor and Beef Cattle Specialist with Oregon State University.

Participants

A total of 13 OSU extension faculty members attended the event, in addition to four speakers (two from Oregon State University, one from University of California – Davis, and one from USDA – ARS Miles City). All presentations provided during the 2011 Beef Cattle In-Service Training are available for download at the Beef Cattle Sciences website.

Schedule and Locations

December 5th, 2011 Baker City, OR

December 6th, 2011 Burns, OR

December 7th, 2011 Prineville,

December 8th, 2011 Roseburg, OR

December 9th, 2011 Albany, OR

PDP-funded Publications/Educational Materials and Products

Information from the 2011 OSU Small Farms Conference is available at Conference information is archived. All presentations provided during the 2011 Beef Cattle In-Service Training are available for download at the Beef Cattle Sciences website. Photographs, registration information and resources from the ACRES Agricultural Composting workshop are available on-line. Presentations from the 56^th Annual North Willamette Horticulture Society meeting are available on-line. 

Changes in Ag Professionals’ Knowledge, Skills and Action

OSU Small Farms Conference

One-hundred ninety-four written evaluation forms were submitted by participants for a response rate of thirty-one percent. Fifty percent of the respondents indicated that they had never before attended this conference.

Here are the response averages for the overall conference evaluation questions, on a 1 to 5 scale.

Qualitative assessments were also highly favorable. Among the noteworthy aspects that participants appreciated were:

• Knowledge and experience of the speakers
• Quality and direct applicability of the information provided
• Value of the networking opportunities provided,
• Organization and smooth functioning of the event.

 SFC attendance totaled 625 participants. Conference registration was up slightly from 2010. We attribute this year’s record-breaking enrollment to two factors:

• The current economic downturn and interest among farmers in general in exploring new market segments and diversifying their enterprises, and
• OSU branded press releases distributed to more than 200 media outlets by EESC.

Below is attendance distributed across participant categories.

Agricultural Composting Resources and Education Series (ACRES)

A total of 25 agricultural professionals and 15 farmers attended the workshop in 2011 including instructors and volunteers. Instructors included Dan Sullivan (OSU Soil Scientist), Andy Bary (WSU Soil Scientist), Bob Barrows (Oregon Department of Environmental Quality), Wym Matthews (Oregon Department of Agriculture), John Eveland (Gathering Together Farm), Jason Faucera (Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District) and Nick Andrews. In addition to instructors and registered participants, about five University and agency staff attended the workshop as volunteers.

North Willamette Horticultural Society Annual Meetings

In 2011 attendance remained strong with 158 people registered for the Organic Crops Section, 130 at the Vegetable Section and 148 at the Berry Section. Approximately 40% of participants were agricultural professionals including OSU Extension faculty and staff, Soil & Water Conservation District staff, NRCS staff, organic certifiers, Oregon Department of Agriculture staff, agricultural consultants, input distributors and non-profit staff.

2010 Beef Cattle In-Service Training

The evaluation questionnaire included the following questions.

 Please rate the following using a 1= strongly disagree, 3=neutral, 5=strongly agree

The 2011 Beef Industry Tour evaluation survey contained the following questions:

A - The event was well prepared and organized

B - Topics discussed were timely and relevant to beef production.

C - Information provided will support your extension efforts

D - Presentations were appropriately geared to the audience

E - Information provided can be directly applied in the field

F - Presenters interacted effectively with the audience

G - Audience participation and questions were encouraged

H - Visual aids and other educational materials were effective

I - Overall, the program will benefit your extension program

Total of 13 forms returned

Do you plan on attending the 2012 Beef Cattle In-Service Training?

Yes = 13 (100%)

No = 0 (0%)

Additional comments:

1) Great! We need more of these.

2) Really good!

3) Difficult to see LCD monitor.

4) Continue to challenge the level of knowledge presented to the audience. That is, provide a bit more technical informational and management suggestions than we think advanced producers can comprehend or use. That way we can help the “advanced” thinkers and adapters. However, we need to help less knowledgeable producers feel included in the programs and be helped by the information supplied. Having local agents do the “basic” or intro presentations does some of this and is great. Thank you so much for putting this together. 

Involvement of others in state PDP planning and implementation

We have an Oregon SARE PDP Advisory Board which is made up of OSU Extension Faculty (Agents and Specialists and Program Leaders). We did not meet formally in 2011 but did communicate via e-mail.