Oregon State University’s Small Farms Conference will take place Saturday in Corvallis. Organizers say this all-day event covers everything small operations need to be successful, from financial information, advocacy and political connections and even market development.
“And then there are a certain proportion of the conferences kind of focused on the nitty gritty of farming,” said OSU’s Nate Stacey. “Like, what do I do if I want to start a small farm from the beginning folks to those who might be having specific challenges with their poultry or who want to use cover crops. So, we cover the whole gamut for a small farm producer from kind of the beginning, middle, and I guess the end.”
A Conference Designed By Farmers For Farmers
Stacey added there will be over 30 sessions to choose from so farmers cand get out of the weekend exactly what they want. He said they expect 800-900 attendees on Saturday, but there’s always room for a few more.
“The topics are farmer-driven, and over half are the farmers there,” Stacey said. “And many of the sessions are farmers themselves speaking. So even if you’re trying to decide what topic you want to select, because there are a lot and it’s hard to choose, one of the main things about going to that conference is that you’re going to get a chance to talk to other farmers and hear what they’re doing. And I think that’s really valuable.”
Most Farms Across Oregon Are Considered Small
According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, a majority of the thousands of farms in Oregon are small acreage, meaning they are 50 acres or less in area. The smallest farms, or those with less than 10 acres, account for 32% of all farms. Meanwhile f arms between 10 and 50 acres account for 35% of all operations statewide…