A Water-Resilience Movement
We had a moment, but it became a movement grounded in community.
At the center of our story are the people who show up and do this work. To understand our story, we first need to introduce you to the key players who have been engaging in this work since the beginning. There are three interconnected groups at the heart of this work, and there’s understandably some confusion about what distinguishes us from each other.
We are a group of farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and educators in the Pacific Northwest who are deeply motivated to find solutions to growing food in a hotter, drier climate. We have multiple decades of experience in sustainable agriculture research and small-scale farming, and we believe farmers are the ultimate knowledge-keepers and innovators that keep our food system strong and resilient. Collectively, we make up the Dry Farming Collaborative, a community of practice that unites us all.
Player 1: The Dry Farming Collaborative
The Dry Farming Collaborative (DFC) is what unites us. It’s where OSU’s research, DFI’s community organizing, and the lived experience of growers across the region come together. The Collaborative is where our movement lives.
Player 2: OSU Dry Farming Program
The OSU Dry Farming Program is part of the Center for Resilient Agricultural & Food Systems — a research and extension program that connects farmers and food system professionals with dry farming techniques, innovations, and best practices. Through participatory research trials, academic publications, and community outreach via OSU Extension, they ask the foundational question: does this work, and how do we know? Their rigorous research provides the scientific backbone that the entire movement builds on — and their Extension presence brings that knowledge directly to growers across the region.
Player 3: Dry Farming Institute – that’s us!
This work originated at OSU. The Dry Farming Institute was created in 2019 to give it a nimbler, independent home. A home that remained accountable to growers and to our mission.
Where OSU generates knowledge, DFI activates and circulates it. We translate research into accessible pathways, convene farmer networks, amplify grower voices, and build the cultural infrastructure that makes this movement sustainable. We can take positions that institutions cannot. We aim to follow the community wherever it leads.
The desire to build upon and expand this work brought together the founding board members to establish the Dry Farming Institute in 2019, giving this work an independent home, small, nimble, and accountable to the growers who started and continue to contribute to this movement.
