| Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program |
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| The Oregon CF&R Program |
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The Century Farm & Ranch Program started in 1958, on the eve of the Statehood Centennial Celebration, to honor farm and ranch families with century-long connections to the land and to recognize Oregon's rich agricultural heritage.
Since the program's inception, 1076 farms and ranches across the state have been registered. Oregon has one of the oldest agricultural heritage programs of this type in the entire nation. The program also introduced a Sesquicentennial Award in 2008. Fourteen families earned this distinction in the award's inaugural year.
All applications are added to the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) Library and provide valuable information about settlement patterns, livestock and crop choices, building design, and family history.
Successful applicants receive a personalized certificate, with acknowledgment by the governor and the director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. A durable metal road sign to identify the family's farm or ranch as having historic Century status is also available.
The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program is administered through the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF) in Salem and is supported in part by a partnership of the Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon State Parks & Recreation Department, Oregon Department of Agriculture, and the Oregon Historical Society, along with additional funding from the Wheat Growers Association, the Hazelnut Marketing Board, Roth's Family Markets, various Oregon county farm bureaus, and many individuals.
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| Wanted! 2009 Sesquicentennial Award nominees |
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Calling all farms and ranches 150 years old or more - Deadline for submission is November 1, 2008
As Oregon celebrates its 150th birthday as a state in 2009, the Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program marks its 51st year of honoring Oregon families who have sustained farming and ranching operations for 100 years or more.
In 2008 the OCF&R Program introduced a new award in addition to century status. Family farms and ranches under continuous ownership and operation of 150 years or more were eligible to apply for the Sesquicentenial Award. Fourteen families were honored on February 14, 2008 at a special ceremony on the Capitol campus.
The CF&R program is looking for families who might qualify this year. An awards ceremony is being planned as part of Oregon's 2009 Sesquicentennial celebration of statehood in Salem early next year.
Of the 1,082 recognized Century Farms and Ranches in Oregon, there are over 400 that were established prior to December 31, 1859, the year Oregon became a state. It is estimated that a percentage of those early farms and ranches may be no longer in the same family ownership, having been sold out of the family during the last fifty years since the Century Farm & Ranch Program was established in 1958.
Many of those that do remain have deep roots in Oregon agriculture thanks to the Oregon Donation Land Law of 1850. That federal legislation validated legal title to land already claimed by white settlers in Oregon Territory and served as an inducement to encourage additional immigration to Oregon by offering substantial acreage of free land. William Robbins, in his book, Landscapes of Promise: The Oregon Story 1800-1940, states that before the act expired in 1855, an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 immigrants, mostly of Euro-American descent, entered the territory. Many of those new immigrants had a farming background, so most of the early Donation Land Claims (DLC) were staked out in the fertile Willamette, Umpqua and Rogue valleys. In the later 1850s, as most of the river valley bottomlands were already claimed, settlers began to seek out unclaimed land in the coastal lowland valleys or into the higher-elevation interior valleys, and finally to eastern Oregon.
Eligible family farmers and ranchers throughout Oregon are encouraged to apply for the 2009 Sesquicentennial Award by submitting a completed application by the November 1, 2008 deadline. If applicants are not yet designated as a Century Farm or Century Ranch, an application for that status needs to be completed as well.
Qualifying rules for the Sesquicentennial Award, application guidelines, and official forms, are available by contacting Glenn Mason, Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program coordinator: 503-297-5892 or by email: orcentury@juno.com Applications may also be downloaded from the resources section below.
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| Contribute to the CF&R program |
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Farm boy and kitten from a bygone era
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The Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF) is recognized by Oregon Cultural Trust. By making a gift to the Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program, your matching gift to the Oregon Cultural Trust is eligible for an income tax credit.
More information on how to make a contribution to the CF&R Program is found at the Oregon Cultural Trust Web site.
The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program has been designated an Oregon 150 Partner. Check the Oregon 150 Web site to learn more about the CF&R Program Sesquicentennial Projects.
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| Heritage cookbook project set for 2009 |
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Old farm recipe for tender beef steak
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The CF&R cookbook project needs your recipe
Inspired by the history of family owned and operated farms and ranches in the state, the Oregon Century Farm & Ranch (CF&R) program management committee is cooking up a new project funded by the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF).
Publication of a hardbound coffee table book featuring recipes from CF&R families is scheduled for spring 2009. Since Oregon's historic farms and ranches have produced some of the finest culinary ingredients for over 100-years, the only logical conclusion is that their kitchens will hold a treasure trove of well guarded family recipes.
The heritage cookbook not only will host recipes, but will feature historic photographs, personal memoirs, and a complete roster of Oregon's Century Farm and Ranches and 150-year old Sesquicentennial Award winners.
OAEF Development Director Janice Reed says, "Agriculture has never been more important to the state's future. Our agricultural heritage and the families that represent that heritage are also our part of Oregon's future."
Members of the CF&R and Sesquicentennial families are invited to contribute recipes, stories, and photographs to the project. "We're looking for favorites, whether they are popular today, or what everyone liked best at a picnic decades ago," says management committee member and editor Richard Engeman. Engeman said all contributors will receive a free copy of the cookbook as part of the 50th birthday celebration of the CF&R program.
CF&R and Sesquicentennial Award families who would like to contribute recipes should contact Engeman by phone 503-235-9032; email to info@oregonrediviva.com or by US mail to Richard Engeman, 8512 SE 13th Ave., Portland, OR 97202.
The book, published by White House Grocery Press, will be available through local bookstores, museum gift shops, online, and by mail order.
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| Stories steeped in history |
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Historic hops harvest on Parrett Mountain, circa 1900
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Agriculture Quarterly captures CF&R honorees with interviews and personal memoirs.
When Parett Mountain was young
Step back into time with the Parrett family matriarch, Crystal Dawn Smith Rilee, as she works alongside her grandaughter to preserve over 400 acres in Yamhill County.
"Mountain top paradise"
Are small farms a vanishing breed?
Clackamas County is the site of the Henry Kraft Farm. Established in 1904, not too far from the Canby city limits, Darin Kraft now manages the farm's remaining 14 acres. With the advice of his father Donald and mother Lucille, Darin ponders the future of farming small acreage, and wonders what life will be like for future farming generations.
"The Kraft Family Farm"
Restoration is the key to education and a firm foundation
When the families of Schmeiser and Davis joined forces through the marriage of their children in 1922, their two Oregon City farms had been going strong since the late 1880s. Today, the Davis-Nelson farm is run by a powerhouse of Davis women, and is the recipient of not only CF&R recognition, but is listed on the National Historic Registry.
"From Strong Women Come Strong Farms"
A Willamette Valley farmer's challenge
Corvallis grass seed farmer, Ken Reynolds, narrates a riveting family story that dates back to the Oregon Trail. Reynolds Farm was inducted into the CF&R program in 1958. Ken makes clear, the many obstacles and challenges now facing farming families such as his, due to shrinking rural acreage across the Willamette Valley.
"It ain't easy being one hundred and fifty"
In Umatilla County, two women help the Elam Piper Farm tell its story through careful archiving
Calling themselves "outlaws," Louise Piper Johnson and daughter-in-law Vicky Piper, reach back to the beginnings of their family wheat farm in historic Milton-Freewater. Although dryland wheat is the main crop, apple orchards and organic Angus locker beef keep the family intererests diversified.
Travel with Louise and Vicky to the late 1800s and find out about how wheat was harvested and milled into flour over 100-years ago. "The Elam Piper Century Farm"
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| Researching your roots |
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Research tips and tools
by Kyle Jansson, Oregon Heritage Commission
A farm and ranch history can be researched and written from many different perspectives. Each topic will help create a unique history for your farm or ranch. Interesting and useful topics that you can research are:
- The land
- The crops
- The animals
- The machinery
- The home
- The buildings
- The business
- Family, friends, and neighbors
- The community
Tools for research
There are probably as many tools to research agricultural history as there are tools on a farm or ranch. Some of these may be found on your farm or ranch. Others may be in the county courthouse or with the county historical society. Some might even be found in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Oral interviews
These planned interviews with family members, longtime friends and neighbors will give you first-hand accounts of life as it unfolded. For questions that you might use during an interview, see our guide to history research questions.
Newspapers and magazines
Look at your community newspapers, as well as agricultural publications such as the Capital Press. If they are not available in your community, you may find them on microfilm at the University of Oregon's (UO) Library. (Unfortunately, most newspapers and publications have not been indexed.) A Web listing of the UO's collection may be found at: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/govdocs/micro/papers.htm
Business records
These are the purchases, sales and other records you've been keeping in file cabinets or boxes for years. These often have a wealth of information about the ebb and flow of life
on the farm. Equipment, tools and vehicle identification numbers and or patent numbers may help identify when an item was made, and reveal clues as to when your family acquired it.
Photographs
Your family may have taken many photos of your farm. Your neighbors may have taken photos, too. In addition, photos may have been taken by government agencies whose programs your family participated in. Your local historical society and the Oregon Historical Society may also have photographs of your farm or ranch.
Census records
In addition to US population and agriculture census records, state and county censuses have been conducted. These will list every one living at a location, including hired help.
Journals
If you or your ancestors kept any kind of diary or journal while living on the farm and ranch, it may provide a gold mine of information on day-to-day life and other challenges. Some early journal keepers kept a daily record of farmwork and the weather.
Organizational records
Some of the organizations that members of your family members have been involved in may keep older records. Minutes and scrapbooks may give glimpses of family activities.
County records
All land transactions are recorded by the county clerk, including full sales agreements. Some marriage, birth and death records may also be recorded by the county. For a detailed listing of your county's records, visit the Oregon State Archives Website at: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/banners/local.htm
State records The Oregon Department of Agriculture has kept records on the work of its many commissions and programs. You can find a listing of these records at: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/state/ag/ag.htm
Federal government records
Many agricultural and conservation agency records are kept by the National Archives. This includes records at the national records center in Suitland, MD, and the regional archives in Seattle, Washington.
Your farm and ranch history products
There are many ways to share what you know of your farm or ranches history.
Exchanging photographs at picnics and sharing stories while repairing equipment or
branding are two ways. Other methods to consider include:
Writing
You don't have to create a book to tell your family history. You can write shorter articles on limited topics and give them to family members as holiday gifts.
Video
You could put together tapes of your photographs and oral history interviews and give them to family members. Please be aware that the film will have a limited shelf life.
CDs
Putting images of maps, photographs, journals, written stories, and important family documents is easily done now. Again, be aware that archivists believe this electronic format only has a limited life and future use will be limited by changing technologies.
Displays
For your next family gathering, put together a display of photographs, important family objects, and written stories. It may stimulate people to tell you more stories, or create more questions you can research.
Creating an archives
Don't forget that creating an archives of all the information you found about the farm and ranch will provide a gold mine for future family historians to easily find information.
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| Interviews make the difference |
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Questions for researching your family farm or ranch
by Kyle Jansson, Oregon Heritage Commission
Every ranch and farm has its unique history. However, sometimes finding that history can be a challenge. These are the types of questions that researchers can use to help write the history of their farm or ranch. These questions can also be used when you make oral history interviews with family members.
The land
- What soil conservation programs has the family participated in? When? Why? Where?
- When did the family begin using no-till farming methods? Who made the decision? Why? When?
- When did the family begin using GPS-based precision farming methods? Why? Where?
- What land has the family purchased? When? Why?
- What land has the family leased? When? Why?
The crops
- What crop rotations have been used over the years in different fields? Why would rotations be changed?
- How many acres of each crop have been raised annually?
- What changes in crops have been made? Why?
- When did the family begin using chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides? Why? Where were they purchased? Where were they used?
- When did the farm begin using bioengineered seeds? Why? Where?
- Has there been a kitchen garden? What was grown in it? Who has been responsible for it?
The animals
- What kinds of animals have been raised on the farm? When?
- What milk products were made on the farm? Who made them, how did they make them, and when did they make them?
- What feed supplements have been used and when?
- Where have animals been bought and sold?
- Who are the veterinarians used by the family? When are they typically called?
- What animals have been slaughtered on the farm? By whom? What was done with the meat?
The machinery
- What machinery has the family purchased? Was it new or used? What was it used for and where?
- What machinery or equipment has the family rented? Why? What was it used for and where?
- When was the first combine and other harvesters purchased?
- Which pieces of equipment used animals for power?
- What steam-powered equipment did the family use? Why? What was it used for?
- What equipment has the family jointly purchased with neighbors?
- When did the farm begin using gasoline-powered equipment? Who made the decision to begin using it? Why?
- What types and brands of trucks have been used? Why?
- Who has maintained the equipment? Who has repaired it?
- When was the first milking machine acquired? Who made the decision to get it? Why? Was the number of animals increased to make better use of it?
The home
- When was the main house built? How many bedrooms did it have?
- What were other rooms in the house originally used for? Are they used for the same purpose today?
- Where has the room used for conducting farm business been located? Why?
- What kinds of fuel have been used to heat the house?
- When did the house get electricity?
- When did the house get a telephone? Who else was on the party line?
- Has the family canned food in the kitchen?
- How have meals at harvest been different than the rest of the year?
- Who has done the laundry?
The buildings
- How have the location of buildings on the farm been decided?
- Who has built the buildings? Family members? Contractors?
- When was each building built?
- Where were the materials purchased or obtained?
- Has the family always waited until it had cash to pay for a building, or has it borrowed money?
- What have each of the buildings been used for?
- What federal price support and marketing programs has the family participated in? When? Why?
- What federal production control programs has the family participated in? When? Why?
The business
- When did the farm begin using a computer for record-keeping? Why?
- Who first learned how to use the computer?
- When did the farm or ranch begin using the Internet? How?
- When have crops been sold? How? Why? Where have they been sold?
- What cooperatives has the family participated in? Why?
- What have been the best financial years? Why?
- What have been the worst financial years? Why?
- Has the farm or ranch ever been threatened with foreclosure?
- What types of cooperative extension programs has the family participated in?
- What agricultural newspapers or publications have been subscribed to?
Family, friends and neighbors
- Who has been the primary cook?
- Who has held off-farm or off-ranch jobs? Why? When?
- What agricultural organizations have family members joined? Who has been active in these groups?
- Who has participated in 4-H or FFA programs? When?
- How has it been decided who lives on the farm or ranch?
- Who have been the family's hired help?
- How have friends and neighbors helped with farm and ranch work?
- How have off-farm relatives helped with farm and ranch work?
- What disputes have there been with friends or neighbors? How were they resolved?
- Has the family jointly farmed or ranched with neighbors?
- Have family ever dated or married neighbors?
- How have children helped with farmwork or ranchwork?
The community
- Where has the family purchased groceries, clothes and vehicles?
- What schools have family members attended? How have the school locations changed over the years?
- What churches has the family attended?
- What activities have the family been involved with? Have these activities affected farm activity?
- Have family members ever held public office? What issues did they run on?
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| Program partners |
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The CF&R Program Board
The all volunteer board is comprised of individuals from the CF&R partner agencies, as well as the State Historic Preservation Office, the Oregon Heritage Commission, and the Oregon State University Agricultural Extension Service.
- Don Schellenberg, Chair - Oregon Farm Bureau
- Richard Engeman - Public historian
- Kimberly Dunn - State Historic Preservation Office
- Kyle Jansson - Oregon Heritage Commission
- Larry Landis - Oregon State University Archives
- Dale Buck, board liason - Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF)
- Madeline MacGregor - Oregon Dept of Agriculture
CF&R administrative support team
Not-for-profit associations require many long hours of secretarial, archival, and administrative duties. The CF&R Program exists because of the tireless efforts of its dedicated work-force.
- Janice Reed, director of development - OAEF
- Judith Mason, associate program coordinator
- Glenn Mason, program coordinator
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| Photo gallery of the 2007 OCF&R awards ceremony |
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A special celebration on September 1, 2007
In 2007, six families were awarded century farm or ranch status. They were treated to a celebration held at the Oregon State Fair where family histories and photographs were shared.
ODA Director Katy Coba presented each family with their OCF&R award certificate and thanked them for their unique and vital contributions to Oregon agriculture.
Visit the images in our photo gallery
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| Resources |
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Contact
Century Farm and Ranch Program
8890 NW Ash St.
Portland, OR 97229
Phone: 503-297-5892
Fax: 503-399-8082
E-mail: orcentury@juno.com
Glenn Mason - Program Coordinator
Sesquicentennial Award application
The eligibility criteria for the Sesquicentennial Award, along with the application guidelines and official form, are available by contacting Glenn Mason, Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program coordinator at (503) 297-5892 or orcentury@juno.com , or you may download the complete guidelines and application.
The Sesquicentennial Award is offered once every two years, while the Century Farm & Ranch Award is offered annually.
Word document (180K)| pdf file (312K)
Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Award application guidelines
You may review the guidelines and instructions for the 2008 award by downloading the following pdf. (Adobe Acrobat required) pdf (1.6 MB)
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