Rural Conservation

Services

We can help on your land

We help organic and non-organic farms build healthy soil and provide healthy pastures for horses and livestock. At the same time, we help improve habitat for beneficial pollinators and other wildlife, and conserve and protect water.

We can work with you to develop a conservation plan for your land.

A few ways we can help your farm or pasture:

  • Improve soil quality and crop production
  • Add cover crops to planting rotations
  • Reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides
  • Manage mud to improve animal and pasture health
  • Reduce erosion and compaction
  • Improve pollination with a pollinator hedgerow
  • Decrease pests
  • Protect water quality for irrigation, livestock, and wildlife habitat
On this page:

    Cover crops

    Do you want to use less fertilizer? Plant cover crops. Use the power of nature to help you build heathy, robust soil. Feeding the soil will help you improve crop production and reduce inputs over time.

    Resources:

    Find which cover crops are right for your farm.

    Manage mud and manure

    Proper management of mud and manure is the responsibility of livestock owners. Manure contains high concentrations of bacteria, phosphates, and nitrates. When it enters surface or ground water, it damages water quality and sends disease carrying bacteria to livestock and people. Mud can not only be a nuisance, it can also be a health risk for horses and livestock if they don’t have a dry place to stand.

    Resources:

    Learn more: Farm Manure Management.

    Erosion and compaction

    Whether you are farming on a slope or flat ground, how you farm can have good or bad impacts on the soil. Contour farming, good farm roads, and proper livestock management can help prevent erosion and compaction. Healthy soil is also resistant to erosion and compaction, and resilient to climate change.

     

    Services

    Find out if you're in our service area.

    Service Area

    Related services to help you with rural conservation:

    Rural conservation resources

    • Managing Cover Crops Profitably

      Managing Cover Crops Profitably explores how and why cover crops work, and provides all the information needed to build cover crops into any farming operation. Publication by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.

      View and download resource

    • Farm Manure Management

      Learn how to properly store and compost farm manure. 

      View and download resource

    • Tips on Land & Water Management for Small Acreages in Oregon

      Learn a variety of useful tips on managing land, including land and water conservation, weed management, soils, grazing management, irrigation, mud and manure, wetlands and wildlife habitat, and more. Publication by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

      View and download resource

    • Managing Small-acreage Horse Farms

      Learn how to have green pastures, clean water, and healthy horses. Publication by Oregon State University Extension Service.

      View and download resource

    • Conservation Directory

      Find products and services from local businesses that can help you get your conservation project done. This directory is maintained by East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District and may not be a comprehensive list of providers. 

      Find resources for your conservation project.

    Staff contact

    Scott Gall

    Farms & Soil Conservationist

    Contact me about:

    Soil health, farms and livestock
    503-238-4775
    x 105
    971-265-9868