Hood River County

Hood River County has an area of 533 square miles, or approximately 334,308 thousand acres. Of the private land cropland makes up the majority of the agricultural land consisting of 26,952 acres or 8% of the county of which 16,409 acres are irrigated. The majority of the irrigated land is in orchards (14,741 acres) with the main crop being pears (11,002 acres). The rest of the irrigated land is used to produce high value crops including cherries, peaches, apples, blueberries, nuts, lavender, berries and grapes. Public land makes up the majority of the county. The public land is managed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bonneville Power Administration, and U.S. Forest Service.

Current Financial Assistance Opportunities for Farmers, Ranchers and Forest Owners in Hood River County

The following Conservation Implementation Strategies are available to help Hood River County agricultural producers address targeted resource concerns identified in the Long-Range Plan. Click the project names below for more information:

• Pollinator and Beneficial Insects for Mid-Columbia Basin Fruit Crops
• Hood River County Forest Resilience Initiative
• Farmers Irrigation District's On-Farm Irrigation Improvement Project
• Food Security Initiative
• Hood River Air Quality
• Middle Fork Irrigation District On-Farm Irrigation Improvement Project
• Climate-focused sustainable livestock production in Oregon

Additional Funding Opportunities...

In addition to the local projects above, producers may also apply for statewide programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Organic Initiative, Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative, On-Farm Energy Initiative, and conservation easement programs. Visit with your local District Conservationist for more information on these and other programs, or visit the NRCS Programs webpage.

Local Work Group Meetings

Every year, NRCS hosts a Local Work Group meeting where farmers, landowners, conservation partners and other members of the community discuss the natural resource needs for the county. Based on feedback from those meetings, NRCS updates the county's Long Range Plan and develops new Conservation Implementation Strategies to address those resource concerns. You may contact us anytime to express concerns or comments about conservation needs in the county, and we encourage you to attend the next Local Work Group meeting in your county. For more information about Local Work Group meetings, contact your local NRCS office.