Jefferson County
Jefferson County has an area of 1,791 square miles, or 1.1 million acres of which 570,000 acres or 49% of the county is privately owned and 257,000 acres or 22% of the county is Tribal lands. The USDA Forest Service owns 276,000 ac including 120,000 ac of the Crooked River National Grassland and 156,000 ac of forest. USDI Bureau of Land Management has about 37,000 ac. There are about 97,000 ac of crop land with about 52,000 acres irrigated. Much of the irrigated land is used to produce high value seed crops including 85% of the nation’s carrot seed. Parsley, radish, coriander, garlic, onion and flowers are also grown for seed. The vegetable seeds are often grown in rotation with hay, grain, grass seed or mint.
Current Financial Assistance Opportunities for Farmers, Ranchers and Forest Owners in Jefferson County
The following Conservation Implementation Strategies are available to help Jefferson County agricultural producers address targeted resource concerns identified in the Long Range Plan. Click the project names below for more information:
- Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Forest Stewardship
- Food Security Initiative
- Hydrologic Restoration for Steelhead in Jefferson County
- North Unit Soil Health and Sustainability
- Three Sisters Irrigation District Innovation
- 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.