Frequently Asked Questions

It is important to assess the natural resources on your farm before deciding on what crops to grow. Below are some resources that will help you get more acquainted with the soil and water on your property. Taking the time to investigate these resources will help inform your decisions and potentially save you time and resources in the future.

Soil

• Web Soil Survey: If you would like to get an idea of what soils you have on your property, the Web Soil Survey is a tool developed by the USDA Natural Conservation Service. You can search for your property by following the instructions on their website.
• Soil Testing: We recommend having your soil analyzed for some for some of the essential nutrients for plant growth, prior to purchasing and applying fertilizers. There are nutrient management guides to help determine which nutrients are needed and the application rate, but it’s nearly impossible to get specific information for your own soil without first having test results. For information on how to collect a soil sample, a list of analytical labs serving Oregon and how to interpret soil test results, go to the OSU Small Farms Soil Testing page.

Water

Water availability will impact your ability to irrigate and thus the crops you can grow. Domestic or home wells are not intended for irrigating crops you plan to sell. Check with your local water master if you are uncertain about your water rights. For more information visit the Oregon Water Resources Department.

For more information about water rights, read the Frequently Asked Question: “Why do I need water rights for irrigation?”

What Can I Grow?

Determining your crop options is not a simple question. In addition to matching the crop with your soil and water resources, you also need to consider what you like growing, what skills you have and what you can market in your region, either directly to consumers or to a wholesaler.

What Can I Do with My Small Farm? Selecting an Enterprise for Small Acreages is a publication that helps you move through the process of looking through different opportunities for your small farm.

Agritourism encompasses a wide range of activities that bring the public on to your farm. Whether you see this as an opportunity for diversification of income or as a marketing strategy, since every county, farm, and farmer is different - determining if it will work for you requires answering a series of questions. Agritourism is not a good fit for every farm or farmer. You will wan to consider if agritourism fits with your skills, goals, interests, your specific property, and your marketplace.

OSU's Agricultural Tourism Extension program has developed an on-line, self-paced course that will walk you through the steps of assessing adding agritourism to your farm or ranch and help you answer the question, "Is agritourism right for me?".

Developing a Successful Agritourism Business in Oregon

If your assessment is proving positive then we recommend gaining first hand insight into some other operations that match your vision or are operating in your county. Ask questions, experience, and observe.

Often landowners are seeking the current rental rate for farm land in their area. They want a $/Acre range. Unfortunately the answer is not as simple as the question. Reliable data collection related to current lease prices is a challenge. Some people wish to keep their arrangements private since neighboring properties can have wildly different lease rates. The reason for the variance is that lease agreements are often personal.

Leases are not just about the land, they are a part of a relationship. The value of the land is only one part of the asking price, often for a land owner the management practices and personalities of the farmers using the land are just as important. The motivations for leasing land can range from a need for income to a desire to see the land stewarded.

Some items for consideration in a rate negotiation:

• Length of lease
• Size of parcel
• Who will carry insurance on the property and/or crops?
• What is the soil type/quality? drainage?
• Are there water rights?
• Is the land certified organic?
• What infrastructure is included? Fencing?
• Current weed pressure
• Proximity to market or distribution channels for the farmer or proximity to other land farmed

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) compiles county-level statistics for per-acre cash rental rates for irrigated farmland, non-irrigated farmland, and pasture every year in August. However, it is not recommended that you base rental rates solely on such benchmark data. The rates are averages that don’t consider the differences in land rental rates across a county. Actual rates vary from these statistics, as there is no standard for determining a rental rate. One of the best methods for getting data in your local area is to talk with your neighbors.

The ‘word of mouth’ data that we have collected shows a range of $50/Acre - $400+/Acre (some even lease for free). Longer term leases for berries and nursery crops and land for certified organic production are on the higher end of the spectrum while non irrigated land with poor soil quality is on the lower. Pasture rental rates can be figured by animal size or weight, condition of the pasture (forage quality and quantity), and labor offered by both parties. For more information on pasture rental rates go to:

• Setting pasture rental rates

The most common way that land in the Willamette Valley is leased is with annual cash rent. Another model is crop share agreements, where the owner can receive up to 25-33% of gross sales in exchange for sharing in expenses related to the operation. Others exchange farmland use for services the farm operator may be able to provide, like plowing or mowing. Farm products are also used as currency for rental.

There are several reasons why your pastures may not be producing as well as you feel they should right now. The first is that if livestock have been on the pastures, continuously grazing this winter, the grass plants are likely overgrazed. Since most perennial grasses grow very slowly from about November through February, any leaf material eaten closer than 3” above the ground is robbing the plants of energy the plant needs to spring growth and lacks leaf area for capturing energy from the sun. Therefore, it takes longer for the plants to start growing when daylight increases and soil temperatures warm.

One strategy to help with this issue is to dedicate a smaller pasture or feeding area called a “sacrifice area” for the animals to stay, knowing that the area will get beat up hard and keep the animals off the rest of the acreage. By “resting” the other pastures through the winter, the grass will have the energy and structure to begin growing. When the pasture has grown is 6 to 8” high, let the livestock in to graze that pasture and then begin rotating the animals to separate pastures keeping the 3 to 4” stubble height left for the grass plant to regrow.

This practice will also help reduce soil compaction in the winter, when the wet soils are most vulnerable to heavy animals.

Soil fertility may also be an issue. Most plants are seeking for nitrogen (N) at this time of year, as much of the plant available N has either been incorporated into leaf material or leached out of the root zone during the winter rains. Some nitrogen is available from livestock manure, but often isn't enough to meet the plant's needs or is not evenly distributed around the pasture. Other nutrients like phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and sulfur (S) may also be limited. Nutrient Management for Pastures in Western Oregon is a helpful resource to learn more about split applications of N, liming and other fertilizer requirements for pasture growth.

We recommend that you have your soil analyzed for nutrient content and use the results to determine fertilizer rates. Review A Guide to Collecting Soil Samples for Farms and Gardens for more information.

With soil test results in hand, contact your local county Extension Service office for assistant and recommendations. Service.

Ask five people and you’ll get five different answers. The renovation options that await you are numerous, diverse and are often based on your access to equipment and other resources.

Renovating and reseeding a pasture requires time, money, and a little luck, so it’s important to plan ahead. Non-irrigated, western Oregon pastures are typically planted in early September to early October, depending on weather conditions, but start planning long before then to save you from trying to make hasty last minute decisions in the fall.

Preparing a good seedbed should be a top priority. The first step is reducing weeds and weed seeds if possible. You may choose to use selective herbicide to kill broad leaved weeds or the entire pasture or use tillage practices, leaving the land fallow for the summer while periodic cultivation to reduce weed pressure, plant a fall cover crop a year prior to reseeding, or in the least implement a mowing regime to keep weeds from going to seed.

Consider what method you’ll be using for seeding. Seed to soil contact is required for perennial forage stand establishment. Simply broadcasting or spreading grass seed on an existing pasture with no soil preparation yields poor results. In smooth field, drilling seed to the appropriate depth creates seed to soil contact.

Try to match the grass seed species with your soil conditions. For example, orchardgrass doesn’t thrive in wet, ponded soils while tall fescue can better tolerate that environment.

Plan to also take soil samples from your fields for analysis. Prior to renovating is a perfect time to evaluate the soil’s fertility and amend the soil as needed.

Perhaps most importantly, evaluate your current pasture management and determine ways to improve. Sometimes keeping the existing vegetation and improving grazing practices is the most economical approach and has desirable results. However, if you feel the solution to a better pasture is to finance a complete renovation, also be ready to implement management practices that include rotational grazing, winter feeding areas and active weed control, so the new seeding is a long-term investment.

The Pasture and Grazing Management in the Northwest (chapter 4) and Pasture and Hayland Renovation for Western Washington and Oregon publications are two excellent resources to learn more about pasture renovation, planting and establishment.

The first step is identifying what you actually have. Moles, voles, and gophers all dig tunnels under ground, but their diet and impact on your land varies. Gophers prefer bulbs and roots. Voles eat above ground going for grass, shrubs and stems near their holes. Moles are important predators on subsurface invertebrates (worms and insects), but the largest bodied species (such as Townsend’s mole) eat bulbs and below-ground plant tissues. All three offer benefit to the soil through aeration and moisture retention. They also bring leached nutrients back to the root zone for plants to access. Their diets or tunneling behavior can also cause unwanted damage to your land or crops. So what do you have?

• Voles leave a lot of small holes and you will see damaged grass connecting them where they have been dining.
• Moles leave volcanic, ‘cone shaped’ round mounds with the plug (sunken circle) in the middle.
• Gopher holes appear similar to mole mounds, but are flatter on top or fan shaped (compared to round/volcano shaped mole hills), and the slightly sunken plug will be found closer to the edge of the dirt mound.

“How you deal with them depends on what you have,” said Dana Sanchez, a wildlife specialist for OSU Extension. The management option that you choose will be based on your particular situation, cost limitations, equipment and labor availability. Just as important as knowing what you actually have is to understand their biology and habits before implementing a control strategy. Here are some research based recommendations, see links at end for details:

Voles: Habitat modification can prevent population booms. This includes mowing, clearing weeds and debris from affected areas, light tillage of field perimeters and aluminum flashing around areas of concern. You can protect trees and shrubs with 3/8 inch netted wire. Wooden mouse traps without bait will work for voles. Baiting with Zinc phosphide, or anticoagulant baits can be used with extreme caution. Both tools are registered, restricted-use pesticides, so only those who are trained and licensed through the OR Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide program can purchase and apply these. Absolute adherence to the label is legally required, because toxic bait and the dead voles that consume them a risk to pets, livestock and wildlife. Zinc phosphide and anticoagulant baits are lethal to other animals when consumed. Predators like owls, hawks, snakes, cats, and dogs will help control a vole population but not eliminate it.

Moles: Trapping in the Spring or Fall by placing a scissor-jawed trap into an active tunnel is the most effective method. Because moles are insectivores, eating mainly earthworms and insects, toxic baits are not readily eaten. Packing the soil with a roller or reducing soil moisture may make an area less habitable for moles. Fumigating is not effective for moles as their tunnel systems are too long and porous.

Gophers: Understanding gophers’ burrowing systems and identifying active burrows is key to effective control. Due to the prevalence and potentially destructive effects of gophers in some settings, a combination approach is recommended. Methods include trapping, hand or mechanical baiting, fumigation, combustion, cultivation, crop rotation, fencing and predators.

In an informal survey of local farmers many shared that they hired a professional, and felt it was worth the cost (after years of battling gophers, etc. themselves). There are private companies as well as Wildlife Control Operators (trained and licensed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife). Find out more about Wildlife Control Operators.

For additional details on the management strategies listed above and the pest’s biology and habitat see Controlling Nuisance Moles and the OSU publication Meadow Voles and Pocket Gophers: Management in Lawns, Gardens, and Croplands.

Many new and beginning farmers as well as long time land managers are unaware that a legal right is needed to use surface water and groundwater for irrigation of any crops that intended for sale. This includes small-scale production for a farmer's market or CSA.

There are many demands on the Oregon’s water resources, which are publicly owned. Even though water, a stream for example runs through your property, it doesn’t belong to you; it belongs to everyone in Oregon. The same is true with groundwater in aquifers deep in the soil. You may have access to a domestic well but that intended for home use and few other exemptions, such as a personal home garden and livestock watering.

If you do not have a permitted irrigation well or designated water rights from surface water, here are ways to legally obtain water for commercial irrigation:

1. Capture rain water from an artificial impervious surface (roof), store in tanks and use when needed. Exempt under ORS 537.141
2. Haul water in from a legal municipal source, store in tanks and use when needed. No water right required.
3. Apply for a new Groundwater Permit
4. Apply for a right to store water in a pond and then a secondary water right to use the stored water for irrigation
5. File a Transfer application to move an existing water right to a new property.

The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) regulates water law, including water rights. We recommend contacting your local OWRD Watermaster if you have specific questions.

In addition, you can access these resources to learn more:

• Overview of water rights and water law in Oregon, refer to the Aqua Book.
• Introduction to wells in Oregon, refer to the Water Well Owner’s Handbook.
• Research information about wells using the Well Log Query.
• Identify Water Rights and other information in your area using the Water Right Mapping Tool.

If you do not have access to irrigation water you can learn more about OSU's Dry Farming Project at https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms/dry-farming