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Oregon Tilth, Inc. Records, 1975-2018

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon Tilth, Inc.
Title
Oregon Tilth, Inc. Records
Dates
1975-2018 (inclusive)
1988-2008 (bulk)
Quantity
17.00 cubic feet, including 1,352 black and white photographs, 429 color photographs, 60 video recordings, 104 audio cassette tapes; 14.1 Gbytes (210 files), (22 boxes, including 5 oversize boxes)
Collection Number
MSS OrTilth
Summary
The Oregon Tilth, Inc. Records chronicle the establishment and emergence of Oregon Tilth, Inc. from Tilth, which originally was established in 1974 in Washington State.  Oregon Tilth, Inc. is an organic agriculture certification and education organization based in Corvallis, Oregon. The materials reflect the growth of sustainable agriculture in the Northwest and later, globally. It includes materials generated and collected by the organization.  The collection includes Oregon Tilth board materials, newsletters, audio recordings, video recordings, manuals, photographs, the organization's websites, and educational materials.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Materials are open for research.

Languages
English, Spanish;Castilian
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Historical Note

The Oregon Tilth, Inc. was incorporated in 1986. It is an organic agriculture certification and education organization based in Corvallis, Oregon. Oregon Tilth emerged from Washington State's Tilth, that was established in 1974. Tilth established several regional chapters in Washington and Oregon in the late 1970s. The regional organizations began to dissolve In the 1980s and the opportunity arose to create other state organizations such as Oregon Tilth. In 1986, Oregon Tilth incorporated and in the following year received its official non-profit status.

Oregon Tilth’s mission involves educating the public how to integrate organic practices into farming and gardening and to establish practices to promote sustainable marketplaces. For example, the standards and procedures for organic production were developed with input from California and Washington certification organizations. These standards would eventually be adopted by other organizations and would become the model for the National Organic Program. The passion for sharing education and research in the field of organic certification with the public is evident in this collection. In this regard, former Certification Director, Yvonne Frost is especially of interest as she was one of the leading pioneers of the Research and Education Department. Frost, like many other board members, served in several roles at Oregon Tilth. She served as Executive Director in the early 1990s and retired in 2000. Other notable members of Oregon Tilth include former Executive Director Harry MacCormack who helped author the Transition Document, and Lynn Coody, author of many documents regarding agricultural policy such as the General Materials List. Lastly, Chris Schreiner, the current Executive Director, took over the role in November 2009, but has worked at Oregon Tilth since 1998.

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Content Description

The Oregon Tilth, Inc. Records consist of Oregon Tilth board materials, newsletters, manuals, photographs, websites Oregon Tilth and In Good Tilth, and educational materials. Educational materials include guidebooks, reports, and handbooks. The predominant dates in this collection range from 1988 to 2008, with only a few materials from 2017 and contributions from 2018 are available online.

The collection embodies the establishment of organic farming practices and standards, some of which were developed through collaborative efforts. The collection demonstrates Oregon Tilth's efforts to provide organic certification internationally, such as in Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries, especially in Series 2: Correspondence and Series 6: Manuals, Standards, and Procedures series. Oregon Tilth is also ardent about spreading their message of organic food production and its benefits. This is especially evident in their outreach materials (Series 4), publications (Series 5), and videos (Series 15). The Oregon Tilth Board as governing body for the organization has been responsible for determining the direction and actions of the organization, which is evident from Series 1: Board Records and Related Documents.

In 1975, the parent organization of Oregon Tilth, Tilth, used newsletters (Series 3) to inform farmers and concerned consumers about organic practices in the West Coast region, and the advantages of organic food. Due to Tilth’s regional model, several chapters were involved. One included the Willamette Valley chapter, which produced its own newsletter. The Willamette Valley newsletter ceased production once the chapter assumed Tilth’s non-profit status and became Oregon Tilth. The regional model had proved difficult to manage and this is reflected in the newsletters. During the shift from a regional to a state organizational model the Seattle and Portland chapters continued to produce newsletters. The Oregon Tilth newsletter suspended publication from 1986 to 1987. Once the organization found sure footing, Oregon Tilth produced its own self-titled newsletter which would later become In Good Tilth.

The Transition Document found in Series 5 represents an important contribution of Oregon Tilth to the organic farming community.  A joint effort between Dr. Alan Kapuler, Harry MacCormack, and Diana Tracy, the initial editions provided the informational tools of how to transition into organic farming and food production.  The documents strive to show the benefits and need for the implementation of an environmentally sound agriculture. With the current issues of genetically modified foods, the interest in organic foods has dramatically risen. The latest issue of the Transition Document is solely authored by MacCormack but has input from Kapuler and Tracy, as well as others versed in agricultural practices. Series 11 demonstrates the influence Oregon Tilth has had on the public with newspaper clippings and highlights the organization's work with organic certification.

Series 13 (Photographs) provides a different look into the people of Oregon Tilth. Day-to-day activities such as farm inspections and sheep shearing are featured as well as special occasions. Some examples include Tilth Fest and the Oregon Tilth Christmas Party. Those featured in this series are often members of Oregon Tilth but are not limited to the organization's staff and board. Oregon Tilth has largely been about the people, and providing reliable, dependable sources, which is evident in the creation of its directories (Series 10). The directories list steadfast providers of certified organic food, which was especially important before the advent of the Internet.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Oregon Tilth, Inc. Records (MSS OrTilth) Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The records are arranged in 16 series. 1: Board Records and Related Documents, 1985-2017;  2: Correspondence, 1990-2007; 3: Newsletters, 1975-2017; 4: Research and Education Department, 1998-2013; 5: Publications, 1976-2010; 6: Handbooks, Manuals, Standards and Procedures, 1986-2006; 7: Reports, 1995-2008; 8: Conference Materials, 1996-2014; 9: Reference Materials, 1980-2010; 10: Directories, 1986-2008; 11: Newspaper Clippings, 1994-2005; 12: Certificates, 1999-2005; 13: Photographs, 1987-2004; 14: Posters, 1989; 15: Video Recordings, 1985-2009, 16: Oregon Tilth and In Good Tilth Websites, 2018.

Acquisition Information

Materials were donated by Oregon Tilth, Inc. in 2017

Processing Note

Technical accessioning of 84 digital media objects received with the records resulted in 8.54 Gbytes (616 files) of born-digital materials. These were reviewed and appraised for long-term historical value; derivative video files in .mp4 format were created. This review and processing resulted in 0.17 Gbytes (202 files) of born-digital materials that are available to researchers on the Electronic Records Use Copies shared drive and 13.9 Gbytes (8 video files) delivered through MediaSpace. All of the materials are described as part of the Oregon Tilth Records in Series 4, 9, and 15.

Related Materials

Other materials relating to Oregon Tilth can be found in the Entomology Department Records (RG 027) and the OSU Memorabilia Collection. The Research Accounting Office Records (RG 026) include documentation of the "Sustainable Agriculture in the Oregon Maritime Region" project at OSU in the early 1990s. The project was sponsored by Oregon Tilth, Inc. The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holds various records of agriculture in Oregon.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Agricultural education--Oregon.
  • Agricultural education.
  • Organic farming--Certification.
  • Organic farming--Congresses.
  • Organic farming.
  • Sustainability.
  • Sustainable agriculture--Oregon.

Personal Names

  • MacCormack, Harry, 1942-

Corporate Names

  • Oregon Tilth, Inc.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Audiocassettes.
  • Born digital.
  • Digital photographs.
  • Photographic prints.
  • Sound recordings.
  • Streaming video.
  • Video recordings.

Finding Aid Authors: Sylvia Podwika, Ruth Vondracek, and Elizabeth Nielsen.
2018

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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