320-acre Certified Organic farm located in Western Willamette Valley

Oregon

8 reviews • Updated 1 year ago

Our farm is a 320-acre Certified Organic farm located in Western Willamette Valley. Our focus is on regenerating the soil using pasture based animal systems. We raise heritage Red Wattle pork, Galloway beef, Heritage poultry, Lamb, Raw dairy from Jersey cows and Goats, & organic eggs, fruit, nuts, and vegetables. Current practices include restoration, management intensive grazing, humane animal handling, nutrient management, and ethical business practice & transparency. Interns are accepted year-round and participate in all aspects of animal handling, care, and management as well as marketing and community building. A typical week might consist of working a farmers market, milking cows/goats, making butter, yogurt, or cheese, cracking nuts, slopping out pig stalls, helping to bring newborn lambs, piglets and calves into the world, running spreadsheets, feeding chickens, collecting eggs, chopping wood, and/or preparing a meal for the community. Opportunities are only limited by the imagination. Work day begins at 7 AM with an all-farm meeting, milking, and farm chores. We break for an hour at noon and finish with evening milking and a shared dinner. The work week is 5 days on 2 days off, 8-10 hours/day. We appreciate flexibility depending on the season and workload. Accommodations are modest, either shared housing in an intern room or tent camping. All meals are provided, and there is a family-style shared evening meal 5 nights/week. Kitchen, bathroom and laundry facility are in the main house. No experience required, however must have: a strong work ethic, ability to work long hours, ability to follow directions, willingness to work on communication skills, interest in working with a range of cultures and ages, live in community and share community meals. We are currently offering three types of internships for the 2022 season: 1 year farming internship: Interns will rotate in at least two enterprises during the first year, usually in one of the following: Pastured Pork, Raw Dairy, Vegetables Market Garden, Beef Herd & Management Intensive Grazing, Lamb, Pastured Poultry, Marketing. Interns will rotate through as many areas of the farm as possible but personal interest, aptitude and availability plays a key role in placement. Short-term internship: Similar details as the one-year, but for a negotiable amount of time as short-term intern. Homesteading & Hearth holding Companion program: Deck Family Farm is strongly rooted in community living and in the spirit of building a sustainable and healthy farming lifestyle. This program has its focus on homemaking and homesteading skills that include but are not limited to: meal preparation and clean up, household management, gardening, harvesting, canning and preserving, dairy and cheese making, basically all the skills needed in keeping the home hearth healthy and happy! The companion program is for folks who value and understand the value of making a home and supporting the members in it. In a world where homemaking is almost a lost art, this is your chance to hone that skill. Organic methods: Management intensive grazing, deep bedding composting, top dressing and pasture rennovation. Certifications: Oregon Tilth Certified Organic Current projects: Animal feeding and care year round. Management intensive grazing Spring and Summer farrowing and calving (dairy) year round. Lambing and calving (beef) in the Spring. Veg spring and summer. Summer 2020 building new dairy parlor, creamery and pack house. Internet access available

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Poultry farming

Pig farming

Cattle farming

Sheep or goat farming

Dairy farming

Meat processing

Methods or systems

Regenerative agriculture

Host type

Production farm

Certified organic

129.5 Hectares | 320 Acres

Accommodation

2 WWOOFers

Camper / RV

Campsite

Yurt / Tipi

Cabin / Mobile-home

Children accepted

Pets not accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Length of stay

Less than a week

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Christine

Member since 2013

Languages spoken: Arabic, English, French, Spanish Response rate: 70% Response time: typically within 6 days

November 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Reviews

Zachary

United States • March 2024

In December of 2023 I decided to branch off from my position in southern California as a full-time shepherd and livestock manager and join the family and their interns for 10 days of a fully immersed, multi faceted experience engaging with the animals, people, and the elements in a manner that I had not yet experienced in my life. I was first greeted and escorted to the farm by Eve, an extremely hard working and motivated individual who fulfills her duties to the fullest extent and beyond, a character who needs to be acknowledged for her humility and passion for the work. I feel an immense amount of appreciation for the atmosphere that John and Christine have curated at this farm along with the many wonderful employees and interns that I engaged with during my stay. John and Christine are extremely kind and welcoming individuals who have truly established a lively and credible working farm in rural Oregon. This is a community, these are some of the most humble and hardworking people I have encountered in my life. Expect to get dirty, expect to smell like pig poop(sometimes), and expect to form strong bonds with the family, the animals, and the daily routine. Also expect to be well-fed, I did not go hungry during my stay. I did cry during my return flight back home to California and I returned home with a full heart, a rejuvenated spirit and I expect anyone who wholly engages with this farm to leave with the same sentiments. I highly recommend this experience to anyone!

Julianna

United States • March 2024

I had the ability to pass through and work here for a while! It was a muddy and cold time of year but I still really enjoyed learning and working there. I'm grateful to Christine for letting me spend time in many different areas of the farm during my short stay. The community is great and of course, I cannot leave out all the yummy farm-made dairy products!

Guillaume

France • December 2023

A great experience, wonderful and welcoming people Christine and her family do everything possible to ensure that you are in good conditions so that you understand the tasks that are to be signed for you. A very pretty farm in a sumptuous setting in the heart of nature. The work is interesting and well explained the tasks can be varied there is a good understanding within the team and constant mutual assistance there is also plenty of time to do many activities in your free time.

Max

United States • October 2023

I had a great time staying at this farm. They were accommodating and easy to work with. I was surprised by how much is going on day to day at the farm. It is a close knit community that is connect to the local area. Plus, there is a good group of people living there with enough turnover that it doesn't feel culty or closed off. I found I had plenty of time to explore the area and branch off.

Caroline

United States • November 2021

It was such a pleasure to WWOOF at the Deck Family Farm! The operation is impressive. Because there are so many enterprises on the farm I had a lot of input in regards to the work I did and what I ended up learning about. Also, everyone on the farm was friendly, inclusive and receptive to all my questions. The best part of the experience, however, was the community living and the level that everyone present contributes to make it better than just farmwork. If you find yourself here, you’ll find that it’s difficult not to fall in love with the people, the animals, and the beautiful Oregon landscape. If any wwoofers reading this review have the opportunity to visit here, I’d highly recommend it! Also, feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

James

United States • July 2019

Great farm, great people, great fun. I loved my time here, it’s hard work but very rewarding. Great if you are looking for a big family experience, lots of diversity. The food is great, the house is clean and overall things workout well.