A10
AGRICULTURE
East Oregonian
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Northwest research effort explores dry farming possibilities
By MATTHEW
WEAVER
Capital Press
CORVALLIS — North-
west farmers and researchers
are exploring how to expand
the use of “dry farming.”
Dry farming is a low-in-
put approach to farm-
ing. Some farmers draw a
distinction between “dry
farming” and “dryland
farming,” while others use
the terms interchangeably.
Those participating in the
research use the definition of
“irrigated once or not at all.”
Dry farming was more
prevalent before farmers
turned to irrigation, said
Amy Garrett, president of
the Dry Farming Institute
and Oregon State Univer-
sity Extension small farms
programs instructor. She’s
met longtime dry farmers
raising crops that research-
ers weren’t aware could be
grown without irrigation.
Crops include winter
squash, tomatoes, dry beans,
orchards, zucchini, melons,
carrots and corn.
“As soon as you say,
‘These are the only crops you
can dry farm,’ there’s always
going to be somebody inno-
vating...,” Garrett said.
More than 50 farmers
are participating in research
efforts involving crops rang-
ing from vegetables to wheat.
Most of them are using
small parcels, some as small
as 1,000 square feet, Garrett
said.
Water availability in the
soil is the most important
factor, said Alex Stone, OSU
vegetable specialist. The
more water-holding capacity
in the soil, the more likely it
is to produce a higher yield,
she said.
Some dry-farmed tomato
yields on some sites in
Oregon were comparable to
irrigated yields in California,
Stone said.
“You don’t have the irri-
gation expense and you can
have lower weeding costs,”
she said.
Researchers also are
analyzing prof itability.
Yields are lower, so the cost
of dry-farmed produce tends
to be higher, according to the
Dry Farming Institute.
One goal is to entice
customers to pay more for
dry-farmed products than
for irrigated products, said
Emily Dick, project manager
at the Washington Water
Trust, a nonprofit dedicated
to improving and protecting
stream flow and water qual-
ity.
A pilot project involving
11 farmers developed a label
for dry-farmed produce.
Benefits of dry farming
for farmers can include 50%
lower weeding costs and
lower input costs.
For consumers, benefits
can include enhanced flavor
and better storability, Garrett
said.
The researchers have
conducted t aste test s
comparing dry-farmed toma-
toes, melons and berries to
their irrigated counterparts.
DRY FARMING
INSTITUTE
To learn more,
visit dryfarming.org.
Oregon State University/Contributed Photo
Oregon State University Dry Farming Project student re-
search assistants Kelly Andrus, Asher Whitney and Meaghan
Herlihy host a dry-farmed tomato tasting at the Corvallis
Farmers Market.
About $1 million has been
devoted to research so far.
The researchers hope
to f ind more f unding
Chamber of
Commerce
PO Box 1 • 101 Olson Rd. • Boardman, OR 97818 • 541-481-3014
www.boardmanchamber.org • email: info@boardmanchamber.org
This newsletter proudly
sponsored by the
following businesses:
Prudential
seeks millions
more from
Easterday
bankruptcy
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
YAKIMA — Prudential
Insurance Co. claims the
bankrupt Easterday estate
owes it more than $9 million,
a demand opposing lawyers
call unreasonable and if paid
will come “out of the hide”
of other creditors.
Easter n Washing ton
cattleman Cody Easterday
borrowed $50 million from
Prudential in 2020, about
one year before he filed for
bankruptcy as he was being
investigated for defrauding
Tyson Fresh Meats.
Pr udential recovered
with interest the loan out of
the $209 million that Farm-
land Reserve Inc. paid to buy
Easterday farms in Benton
County.
The New Jersey-based
lender, however, says it’s
still due nearly $7 million
because the 10-year loan
was repaid early and $2.1
million because Easterday’s
bankruptcy triggered a 12%
default interest rate.
Attorneys for the bank-
rupt Easterday businesses
say there is no evidence
early payment har med
Prudential and have asked
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Whitman Holt in Yakima to
deny the prepayment penalty
and default interest.
The attorneys called the
formula used to calculate
the early payment penalty
“unconscionable” and that
every dollar paid in default
interest is “a dollar that
comes out of the hide” of
other creditors.
On Wednesday, Oct.
6, Prudential filed a brief
responding to accusations it
was being unreasonable.
Cody Easterday — along
with his wife and parents —
were sophisticated borrow-
ers who understood the
nature of Prudential’s busi-
ness, according to the brief.
“At its core, the prepay-
ment formula employed by
Prudential is ubiquitous in
the real estate finance indus-
try,” according to Pruden-
tial.
The two sides are due
to appear in front of Holt
on Oct. 20. The resolu-
tion will affect how much
money is left for other cred-
itors, including Tyson, who
was defrauded out of $233
million.
for research, said Lucas
Nebert, an OSU post-doc-
toral student. He hopes to
start mapping sites where
dry farming is likely to be
successful.
Gar rett thinks more
recognition in the market-
place will lead to more
demand.
“ T h i s y e a r, e s p e -
cially with temperature
extremes, water issues and
the backdrop of the fires,
people are thinking about
how to adapt,” she said.
“It’s not the solution (by
itself), but it can be part of
an adaptive strategy.”
If you are a Boardman Chamber member
and would like to help sponsor this
Chamber newsletter page, call 541-564-4538
or email aworkman@eastoregonian.com