Resources
HDFFA has worked in Central Oregon for years. This history is important to us, to the community and the longevity of our projects. Dig in and learn more.
- Resources for new farmers
- Central Oregon post harvest handling guide
- Partner Logo
- Farm and Ranch profiles
- Chef Resources
- Local Food Economic Impact Report
- Community Food Assessments
Resources for New Farmers
Why re-create the wheel(line)! There are some great websites that provide farmer resources. Here are a few of our favorites:
- OSU Small Farms Program: great for beginning and small farms (classes, workshops, trainings and online tools).
- Friends of Family Farmers: land linking, farm succession, leasing land, financing and more. Check out the grants resources page
- ODA’s New and Small Farmers: a variety of resources for Oregon small and beginning farmers.
- USDA Start2Farm: library of resource for young and beginning farmers and ranchers, including financial, training and technical resources.
- The National Center for Appropriate Technology has fantastic resources on everything from education to funding
- When you are ready, get yourself certified. A Greener World helps you tell your customers you are Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Grass Fed, Non-GMO, or Organic.
- Pricing is a mix of art and science. Start with this article that covers the basics.
Post Harvest Handling Wholesale Guide
HDFFA created How to Wholesale, a guide to post-harvest handling in Central Oregon in partnership with Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council and Agricultural Connections and with funding from the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant. Many thanks to the Wholesale Success guide by FamilyFarmed for allowing us to use their resource.
Focus on Central Oregon crops including: basil, beets, braising greens, cabbage, carrots, garlic, greens, leeks, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and winter squash.
If you are interested in receiving a printed of the document, please email us at info@hdffa.org
Take the Pledge, Become a Partner, Use the Logo
HDFFA Partners – Co-promote with us! One of your many benefits is the exclusive use of each years’ HDFFA partner logo. Please feel free to download the partner sticker to the left and place on your website, on your menu or in any fashion that will help us promote local food in the High Desert region! Just click and download the image. Please email info@hdffa.org if you need other file formats.
- Use only official and unmodified versions of HDFFA brand graphics and language including the yearly partner logo
- Utilize the brand materials for a period of one year (May-April each year)
- HDFFA Promo Materials are for HDFFA Partners only – for more information on becoming a partner, click here.
Producer Profiles
We provide promotional profiles free of charge as a resource for community members to better know local food producers and for farmers and food businesses to help tell their story. Click this link to view and download these profiles. Interested in a having a farmer profile created for you? Email laurie@hdffa.org.
- Upload your farmer profile to your website
- Display your farmer profiles at events
- Encourage your food business partners to link to your producer profiles on their website
Chef Resources
Farmer Chef Mixers:
It’s all about who you know. For years, HDFFA has organized workshops and networking sessions aimed at building relationships between farmers, troubleshooting barriers to getting local food to market, celebrating successes. Click here to see our video about the Mixer in partnership with our sponsor, Zolo Media.
Resources for farmers and chefs
Local Food Economic Impact Report
Local food connects communities with their farmers, ranchers and is a value that is important yet difficult to measure. In 2017, HDFFFA partnered with Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, and OSU Extension and the Center for Small Farms and Community Food Systems to measure the value of local food on our region. An interview of 28 Central Oregon farmers and ranchers was conducted in the summer of 2016 and found that they provided $1.5 million in sales and $248,000 in wages and salaries on their farm operations. We also found that:
- For every dollar spent on local food, $0.76 stays in Central Oregon compared to $0.28 when you buy imported food.
- If we had more season extenders, improved farm and ranch infrastructure, and increased productivity and efficiencies, we could produce $5.4M more in sales.
- Economic activity from every 5 on-farm jobs generated 2 additional off-farm jobs.
- If residents shifted 10% of our food purchases from commercial stores to local food from farmers, we would gain 13 jobs and invest $263,000 in wages for Central Oregonians.
Overall, the report demonstrates that local food producers have an important role in our economy, and that with minor shifts in overall production there could be additional jobs and revenue throughout the region.
Economic Impact of Local Food on the Central Oregon Economy
Economic Impact Study, Visual Overview (2 pages)
The issues we face as a region are, in many ways, no different than those facing communities nation-wide: the need to build fertile soil, preserve farmland, and address hunger, food insecurity and health disparities. What sets this community apart is the ways in which we come together to address these issues. In building community food systems it is up to us to give shape and definition to that nebulous idea of community; some issues may need to be addressed on a regional-scale, and others on a very localized scale of neighborhood, city or county.
