Feature Agriculture

Dry farming could help agriculture in the western U.S. amid climate change

Forgoing irrigation can save water and produce more flavorful fruits and vegetables

An overhead image of tomatoes in four crates.

A lot of produce can be dry-farmed, such as these Native Sun and Marmande tomatoes grown near Portland, Ore.

Catherine Nguyen

By Katherine Kornei

In the parking lot behind a grocery store in Portland, Ore., last September, several hundred tomato aficionados gathered on a sunny, breezy day for Tomato Fest. While many attendees devoured slices of tomato quiche and admired garlands of tomatoes with curiously pointed ends, I beelined to a yellow-tented booth hosted by Oregon State University.