The 12 authors are part of the Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems at Oregon State University or in other educational capacities in farm production, food system development, and family and farm business management. Our approach to all our research and educational programs and this book is grounded in our partnerships with farmers. Sometimes we call this “the farmer and the egghead.” The strength of this approach is seeing the big picture and understanding the “system” and its linkages on one hand, and articulating the ways specific farms put all of that into practice on the other.
Garry Stephenson is Oregon State University Extension Small Farms specialist and Director of the Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems. He has over 30 years of experience working with small farmers on educational programs and applied research. Over the years, his work has focused on alternative marketing, sustainable farming practices, beginning farmer education, and the production and policy needs of organic farmers. Garry coauthored the introduction, “Growing a Farm,” plus chapter 1, “Dream It,” chapter 2, “Do It,” chapter 3, “Sell It,” chapter 5, “Grow It,” and chapter 6, “Keep It.”
Nick Andrews is an Associate Professor of Practice with the Oregon State University Extension Small Farms and Organic Extension Programs. His work focuses on organic vegetable production, cover crops, nutrient management, and pest management. He was previously an organic farm and processing inspector with Oregon Tilth, an independent IPM consultant in Hood River, and vegetable pest management consultant with the UK’s Agricultural Development and Advisory Service. Nick coauthored chapter 5, “Grow It.”
David Chaney is a lead consultant for DEC Education Services. He works nationally with universities and nonprofit groups to design and produce innovative educational resources to enhance learning that goes beyond information, to knowledge and action. He has more than 30 years’ experience developing educational programs and materials related to sustainable agriculture. David coauthored chapter 5, “Grow It.”
Melissa Fery is an Associate Professor of Practice with the Oregon State University Extension Small Farms Program. She has been working to support Oregon agriculture in the areas of soil quality and land management for over 20 years. Melissa and her family live on a small acreage where she enjoys a rural lifestyle growing plants and raising animals. Melissa coauthored chapter 1, “Dream It,” and chapter 6, “Keep It.”
Amy Garrett is an Assistant Professor of Practice with the Oregon State University Small Farms Program. She has more than 20 years of experience in the horticulture industry ranging from landscape design, installation, and maintenance to organic farming, research, and education. Drought mitigation tools and strategies for growing with little or no irrigation are a current focus of her work. Amy coauthored chapter 3, “Sell It,” and chapter 5, “Grow It.”
Lauren Gwin is an Oregon State University Extension Community Food Systems Specialist and Associate Director of the Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems. For the last 15 years, her work has largely focused on infrastructure, value chains, and public policy related to sustainable agriculture and local and regional food systems. In the last 5 years, her work has increasingly focused on the intersection of farming, food, health, and equity. Lauren coauthored the introduction, “Growing a Farm,” and chapter 6, “Keep It.”
Melissa Matthewson owns and operates Barking Moon Farm with her husband near Applegate, Oregon. She is former Oregon State University Extension Small Farms faculty. She is the author of a forthcoming book of nonfiction. Melissa coauthored chapter 2, “Do It,” and chapter 6, “Keep It.”
Tanya Murray is an Organic Education Specialist with Oregon Tilth, Inc. She has over 10 years of experience working on and managing organic vegetable farms. Her work is focused on developing and delivering programming that supports farm viability. Tanya has an MBA from Portland State University and a bachelor’s degree in Education for Sustainable Agriculture from Prescott College. Tanya coauthored chapter 4, “Manage It.”
Heidi Noordijk is an Outreach Program Coordinator with the Oregon State University Extension Small Farms Program. She has over 15 years of experience in applied research and education for farmers, and 10 years of experience working on and managing farm crews on small farms and not-so-small orchards. Her current focus is integrated pest management, sustainable farming practices, beginning farmer education, and farmer networks. Heidi coauthored chapter 5, “Grow It.”
Sherri Noxel is the Director of the Austin Family Business Program at Oregon State University. Sherri designs educational programs and networking opportunities for Oregon’s multigenerational businesses and family business students. Sherri has an Advance Certificate in Family Business Advising from the Family Firm Institute and was the leader of two USDA projects to support families in transitioning farm management responsibilities. Sherri coauthored chapter 6, “Keep It.”
Maud Powell is an Associate Professor of Practice with the Oregon State University Extension Small Farms Program. She and her husband own and operate Wolf Gulch Farm in the Siskiyou mountains of Southern Oregon, where they grow certified organic seeds and winter vegetables and manage the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative’s seven-farm CSA program. Maud coauthored chapter 2, “Do It,” and chapter 5, “Grow It.”
Josh Volk is the proprietor of Slow Hand Farm in Portland, Oregon, and has been working on and managing small farms around the United States for the last 20 years, studying the systems that make them efficient. He travels around the world, consulting with farmers and researchers, teaching new farmers, and presenting workshops. Josh coauthored chapter 4, “Manage It.”
Tye Fountain, Pacific Ag Systems, Inc., contributed to chapter 2, “Do It.”
Todd Moss, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, contributed to chapter 6, “Keep It.”
Kristin Pool, Kristin Pool Productions, Portland, Oregon, contributed to the introduction, “Growing a Farm.”