Water availability is already an issue for growers globally and is predicted to become even more so with population increase and rising temperatures from climate change. In some agricultural areas, groundwater aquifers are in steady decline, with no plans on how to reverse these trends. Additionally, under current law, there are few incentives to implement more efficient water use strategies.
The Dry Farming Collaborative is a group of growers, extension educators, plant breeders, and agricultural professionals partnering to increase knowledge and awareness of dry farming management practices with a hands-on participatory approach. While this group started in Western Oregon it is gaining national and international interest. The innovative, co-creative dynamic of this group has inspired a movement engaging growers and communities in collectively adapting to less water.
The desire to build upon and expand this work brought together the founding board members to establish the Dry Farming Institute in 2019 with the mission of empowering growers to thrive with less water.