Category Archives: Conservation Legacy

Cover Crops at Headwaters Farm

closeup of cover crops

As a farmer, it’s extremely satisfying to see a healthy, robust stand of cover crop germinating. Cover crops can provide a myriad of benefits, including soil retention, transferring atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, suppressing weeds, adding organic matter, reducing compaction, and improving soil depth—saving a farmer time and money in the long run. There are many types of cover crops, and proper selection depends on soil necessities, season, budget, equipment available, weed pressure, climate, and other factors. Given the dynamic problem-solving nature of cover crops, it should come as no surprise that they are a key piece of our conservation agriculture program at Headwaters Farm.

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First Steps Towards Sandy River Delta Dam Removal

Sandy River dam removalOn August 15, 2013, the first scoop of a 1930s era dam was removed from the Sandy River Delta, representing a decade of planning to restore the original flow into the Columbia. EMSWCD grants staff attended the ceremony sponsored by the Bonneville Power Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers to witness the first step of many in this complex restoration project. Sandy River Basin Watershed Council, another partner involved in Delta’s restoration,  will begin a multi-year restoration of the Toucan Wing of the Delta with funding from EMSWCD’s Partners in Conservation grant program. Read more about it at in The Gresham Outlook.

 

Thistle-weeding party

Join us for a fun, family-friendly community event to help new farmers fight back thistle! It’s also a great opportunity to meet fellow growers and small farm appreciators, learn about Headwaters Farm and the Headwaters Incubator Program, and take out any frustrations you’re harboring on spiky, invasive plants.

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International Visitors at Headwaters Farm

Headwaters Farm is a dynamic space! Besides leasing land and helping new farm businesses get established, it also serves as a demonstration site for conservation agriculture practices — utilizing modern agricultural technologies to improve production, while also protecting and enhancing the resources that production depends on.

On June 11th, that exposure went global when ten agricultural professionals from Tajikistan visited to learn about the Headwaters Incubator Program, and about how EMSWCD manages farmland. This delegation was part of the International Visitor Program at the World Affairs Council of Oregon, and included directors of agricultural districts, senior agronomists, hydrologists, and other high ranking agricultural specialists. Read more

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