By Oregon Farm Bureau,
At the annual awards ceremony at the Oregon State Fair, families from across the state will receive recognition for operating as Century or Sesquicentennial (150-year) Farm or Ranch. The 2018 ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 25, 2018, at 11:00 am at the Oregon State Fair. The public recognition ceremony and awards celebration will be held in the Picnic Grove Area. Please join us for this special event that celebrates Oregon’s agricultural heritage.
Twelve farms and ranches from eight different counties will be honored this year as Century Farms or Ranches and two farms reached Sesquicentennial status, bringing the total number of Oregon Century Farms and Ranches to 1,212 & Sesquicentennial to 41.
> Find the 2018 family narratives here
The Century Farm and Ranch families being honored in 2018 are:
J.G. Kuenzi Farm, H.M.K., 1917-Lyle and Nelson Kuenzi, Kuenzi Brothers Farms, LLC
Watts Ranch, 1910- James C. Watts
Brown Farm, 1912-Chris E. Brown
Wilsonview Dairy Inc., 1918– Don, Desi, Derrick, & Kaycee Josi
Henry W. Jones Farm, 1918-Steve & Gretchen Jones Select Seed Promised LLC
Howard Ranch, 1884–Richard & Dorothy Howard Allstott
Rockwell-Doherty, 1906-Richard Doherty Brand X Ranch LLC
Tilla-Bay Farms, Inc., 1918–Bart, Terry, & Kurt Mizee
DeLano Farms, 1916– Karen & Sharon DeLano; Renata Squier,
Sandoz Farm, 1880-Ted Sandoz
The Beitel Farm, 1915-John Beitel
Tideman Johnson Farm,1880-Steve Johnson
The Sesquicentennial Award program began in 2008 in honor of Oregon’s 150th birthday celebration. Sesquicentennial awards recognize Oregon families who have continuously farmed portions of their original family acreage for 150 years or more. Forty-one families have now received this prestigious sesquicentennial award.
This Sesquicentennial families being honored in 2018 are:
Mullen Farms, 1852- Gerald P. & Kathleen A.; James H. & Nadine L. Mullen
Robinson, Stillwell, Taggart Farm, 1844-John & Lois Taggart
Every Oregon farm and ranch has a unique history and special family story. The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch program encourages agriculture families to share, with a broader audience, these stories. By promoting family stories, rich cultural heritage is passed down to future generations while educating Oregonians about the social and economic impact of Oregon agriculture.
The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program began in 1958 to honor farm and ranch families with century-long connections to the land. To qualify for a century or sesquicentennial award, interested families must follow a formal application process. Members of the Application Review Committee review each application against the qualifications, which include continuous family operation of the farm or ranch; a gross income from farm use of not less than $1,000 per year for at least three years out of five prior to application; and family members must live on or actively manage the farm or ranch activities. Application documentation may include photos, original deeds, personal stories, or other historic records. These records help support Oregon’s agricultural history by providing valuable information about settlement patterns or statistics on livestock and crop cycles. All documents are archived for public access.
Award winners receive a certificate signed by the Governor and Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Historic roadside signs are imprinted with the founder’s name and the year the ranch or farm was established.
> Find the 2018 family narratives at https://centuryfarm.oregonfb.org/.
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