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8 CapitalPress.com July 21, 2017 Oregon OSU’s dry farming project hosts field days in August By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Oregon State University’s dry farming project, which be- gan when drought still gripped much of the West, has expand- ed to the point that 30 farms are hosting field trials this year on the prospects of growing vegetables and orchard crops with little or no irrigation. Twelve Western Oregon sites will host field days in Au- gust, with visits available ev- ery Tuesday — Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. The cost is $10 per person per date. Registration and other details are at http:// smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/ dry-farm/dry-farming-collab- orative Amy Garrett, an assistant professor who heads the proj- ect for OSU Extension’s Small Farms Program, said the idea of reducing or even elimi- nating irrigation continues to draw interest from farmers and gardeners across the coun- try and even internationally. This year, project participants in Western Oregon are grow- ing squash, melons, zucchini, dry beans, tomatoes or corn in 100-square-foot plots that allow for replication and com- parison of results. Garrett, who has been re- searching dry farming since 2013, said the project is 10 times larger than when she started. The project’s Facebook group, Dry Farming Collabo- Eric Mortenson/Capital Press File Amy Garrett, an instructor with Oregon State University Extension’s Small Farms program, with vege- tables grown without irrigation in Corvallis, Ore., in August 2015. rative, now has more than 270 members. The program particular- ly attracts small farmers and new farmers, who are drawn to growing food but run up against one of agriculture’s ba- sic problems. “What started me off on this path is that I work with a lot of landowners who are on land without water rights,” Garrett said. The most recent, or “ju- nior,” water rights holders are the first to be shut off during shortages, and Garrett said some people interested in dry farming came to it after losing irrigation in 2015. Others lack the capital to sink a well or set up an irrigation system. In urban areas, master gar- deners who are paying for ex- pensive city water make up a growing contingent of people interested in dry farming, Gar- rett said. It’s not for everyone, how- ever, and it’s not as simple as keeping the sprinklers turned off. Dry farming is best suited for Western Oregon and West- ern Washington, where the soil soaks up plentiful rain from fall, through winter and into the spring. In addition, dry farming requires careful site selection, soil preparation and planning, Garrett said. Seeds and plant starts are planted deep to put them closer to the damp soil below. Garrett said melons, peach- es and tomatoes grown by the dry farming method attain in- tense flavor. Allen Dong, who operates Regulus Associates farm in Elmira, Ore., west of Eugene, is hosting one of the field day events. He’s a former Univer- sity of California-Davis irri- gation researcher, and said dry farming comes with trade-offs. Dry farming hastens plant maturity and shortens the sea- son, he said, but yield decreases in a linear relationship to water availability. Dong grows dry beans and garlic for market, and dry farms the garlic to help with disease control. “I get a higher yield if I irrigate, but it’s not very mar- ketable when they get all that gray mold.” Plants don’t care where wa- ter comes from, he said, and will seek it out in the soil profile if not getting it from irrigation. “For people with no water rights, they can do dry farm- ing with no irrigation, but they have to keep in mind there’s a lot of competition for that wa- ter stored in the soil profile — mainly weeds.” He said people trying to dry farm must reduce planting density, remove cover crops that will compete for water and make sure no tree roots are snaking underground to steal moisture. He said a model of reduced irrigation, rather than no irri- gation, is a better choice for farmers. “There are things you have to pay attention to with dry farming,” he said. “You can make a lot more mistakes when you reduce irrigation, and still come out ahead.” Landowner blows whistle on plumeless thistle EO Media Group HEPPNER, Ore. — A new in- vasive weed has been spotted for the first time growing in southern Morrow County. Plumeless thistle, which has previously been identified in neighboring Grant County and a few small locations in Wallowa County, was recently found by a landowner while out spraying for other types of thistle in the area. While it may look similar to Scotch thistle or musk thistle — with their distinctive rose-colored flowers — plumeless thistle is distinct from its fellow invasive brethren. The weed can grow more than 4 feet tall, with spiny leaves measuring 4-8 inches long. Blooms usually occur between May and July, and each plant can produce up to 1,000 seeds. Once established, plumeless thistle can degrade pasture land by crowding out more desirable forage, making it all but impossible to graze cattle. Landowners who suspect they may have plumeless thistle on their property should call the Mor- row County weed control office at 541-989-9500. Early detection and rapid response is key to con- trolling the weed before it can be- come widespread. Plumeless thistle, a state-listed noxious weed, was recently found in southern Morrow County. Photo contributed by Dave Pranger John Deere Dealers See one of these dealers for a demonstration 29-1/#4N Noted wine climatologist will head program at Linfield College By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press In the wine world, and in the curious niche it occupies in Or- egon agriculture, it is big news that a professor, a wine clima- tologist, is moving from one college to another. Greg Jones, although as un- assuming an academic as you’ll find, carries that kind of heft. Linfield College in McMin- nville, Ore., in Yamhill County where the state’s wine industry came of age, announced that Jones has been hired to oversee its Wine Educa- tion Program. The college of- Greg Jones fers an interdis- ciplinary minor in the subject, which seems unfair to previous generations of college students. Nonetheless, Jones is leav- ing Southern Oregon Uni- versity in Ashland, where he directs the Division of Busi- ness, Communication and the Environment and is a research climatologist with SOU’s Envi- ronmental Science and Policy Program. He’s considered an expert on how climate variabil- ity and change affect grapevine growth and wine production. The website Great North- west Wine said Jones’ move to Linfield is “international news.” Tom Danowski, president and CEO of the Oregon Wine Board, described Jones as a “longtime friend to Oregon’s grape grow- ers and winemakers.” “His stellar global reputation for excellence in his field contin- ually reminds us how lucky we are to have him here in Oregon’s wine community,” Danowski said in a prepared statement. Linfield President Thomas Hellie said Jones has “earned an international reputation for his research on wine, climate and the environment.” In a pre- pared statement, he said Jones is a “perfect fit for Linfield.” Jones agrees. The opportu- nity was unexpected, he said, but came at a time when he was ready for change and new chal- lenges after 20 years in Ash- land. The move puts him phys- ically at the nexus of Oregon’s expanding and well-regarded wine industry, with 100 winer- ies within 50 miles. Equally exciting, Jones said, is the chance to shape Linfield’s wine education program. The first task, he said, is to make wine studies an academic ma- jor in addition to a minor. He said Linfield will not compete with universities to crank out winemakers, but instead will offer a broad liberal arts over- view of how wine functions as a business and a sustainable ag- ricultural enterprise. He envisions students get- ting a four-year degree in wine studies from Linfield, then perhaps going on to master’s degrees in viticulture from Or- egon State, Washington State, the University of Califor- nia-Davis or elsewhere. Jones organized the indus- try’s Terroir Congress that was held at Linfield in the summer of 2016, with about 100 scien- tists attending from around the world. Wine Business Monthly named him one of the top 50 in- dustry leaders last year as well. The Oregon Wine Press chose him Wine Person of the Year in 2009 and the website intowine. com picked him as one of the 100 most influential people in the industry in 2012 and 2013. He’s one of 10 Americans hon- ored for his work with the Por- tuguese wine industry. Jones, 57, said his interest in wine climatology is a “chicken or egg” question. His parents, Earl and Hilda Jones, founded Abacela Winery in Roseburg, Ore., in 1995. It was questions his father asked while starting the Tempranillo varietal win- ery that started Jones thinking about the niche science of wine climatology.
