Farm Classification and Technique / Clasificación y Técnica de Granjas
Farm classification is becoming increasingly diversified. Many people are familiar with farms being classified as organic, but other classifications refer to the varied ways that farming is practiced including techniques, commitments to social and environmental practices, and ownership.

Here is a list of some of the farm or farming technique classifications used in the Willamette Valley:

  • Animal Welfare Approved: focuses on animal care standards, and seeks to make sure that animals maintain a way of life that is most similar to their instinctive behaviors and is not restricted to confined spaces, unhealthy feed, and low activity1.
  • Biodynamic: claims to hold the highest agriculture and environmental standards for growth and processing. Adheres to organic stipulations, but is beyond the movement, considering farms to be living organisms2.
  • Century Farm & Ranch: honors farm and rancher families that have been on the land for 100 years or more3.
  • Dry Farming: crop production that uses residual moisture in the soil rather than irrigation4.
  • Family Farm: owned and operated by a family as opposed to a corporation or a partnership.
  • Food Alliance Certified: for sustainable agriculture and facility management practices including fair working conditions, humane treatment of animals and environmental stewardship5.
  • No-till farming: leaves the soil in place to reduce erosion6.
  • LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology): Seeks to encourage vineyards to limit raw materials that are used in the production of wine in the Pacific Northwest7.
  • Organic: the cultivation relies on ecological based practices using cultural and biological pest management, virtually excludes synthetic chemicals and prohibits antibiotics and hormones in livestock8.
  • Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine: certification for the requirements for the agriculture and wine making processes. Must be certified by any of the following for both categories LIVE, USDA Organic, Demeter Biodynamic or Food Alliance9.
  • Salmon Safe: ecologically sustainable agriculture practices protecting water quality to support native salmon, focusing on management that address environmental health and farm practices10.
  • Sustainable: agriculture where the practice of production maintains resources as well as limiting environmental degradation11.
 Farm Classification and Technique / Clasificación y Técnica de Granjas Translation Needed

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Farm_classification

Photo by Frank Miller

References

1. Animal Welfare Approved (2009) Animal Welfare Approved Standards. Available at www.animalwelfareapproved.org/ (accessed July 2009).
2. Demeter, USA (2006) About Biodynamic Agriculture. Available at demeter-usa.org/ (accessed July 2009).
3. Oregon Department of Agriculutre (2009) The Oregon CF&R Program. Available at www.oregon.gov/ODA/ (accessed July 2009).
4. California Agriculture Water Stweardship Initiative (no date) Dry Farming. Available at agwaterstewards.org/ (accessed July 2009).
5. Food Alliance (no date) Food Alliance Certification. Available at www.foodalliance.org/ (accessed July 2009).
6. Huggins, D. and Reganold, J. (2008) No-Till: How farmers are saving the soil by parking their plows. Available at www.scientificamerican.com/ (accessed July 2009).
7. LIVE (2009) Frequently Asked Questions. Available at www.liveinc.org/faq (accessed July 2009).
8. US Department of Agriculture (2009) National Organic Program. Available at www.ams.usda.gov/ (accessed Jul 2009).
9. Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine (no date) Certification. Available at ocsw.org/certification (accessed July 2009).
10. Salmon Safe (2003) Samln-Safe Farms. Available at www.salmonsafe.org/farms/index.cfm (accessed July 2009).
11. Earles, R. (2009) Sustainable Agriculture: An Introduction. Available at attra.ncat.org/ (accessed July 2009).

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