The Farm

About Rusted Gate Farm

Rusted Gate Farm is a nonprofit demonstration farm located in Central Point, Oregon that includes six separate properties purchased between 2014 and 2020.

The Farm was founded in 2019 and included five farm properties assembled by founder Christy Walton and her sister Rachel Hall. As a long time Central Point resident, Rachel was keenly aware that small farms were in peril and disappearing from her neighborhood. Together, Rachel and Christy became a resource for farm owners seeking a way to sell and retire without losing the farming legacy they had worked hard to build. Rusted Gate Farm’s commitment to continue farming the land for food products resulted in the purchase of 154 acres which comprise Rusted Gate Farm today.

Klamath Lake Property

Rusted Gate Farm is excited to announce the newest addition to its ‘exclusive farm use’ land base inventory. In early 2020, RGF purchased 669 acres of the former Wampler Ranch on Upper Klamath Lake.

The Wampler family came to Fort Klamath in the early part of the 20th century and became successful loggers and ranchers. Much of the ranch property has been sold over the years but the logging business remains in the hands of the new generation of the Wampler family. This scenic and pristine grazing land provides a unique opportunity for RGF’s beef program.

The natural characteristics of the property include a peat-based soil that was formed and nurtured by years and years of snowfall and marsh conditions for six months of the year. In addition, the property’s water supply during the dry season includes a system of canals that bring lake water to the pasture and sub-irrigation conditions that lengthen the growing season. The rich soil and lake water support a meadow of highly nutritious meadow grasses for cattle.

Rusted Gate Farm intends to continue this legacy by adding the pasture to its cattle grazing rotation In addition, stay tuned for a new line of beef products that benefit from the unique and quality feed grown on land that has never been fertilized or tilled. The Wampler Ranch is a stunning part of Rusted Gate Farm and our cattle are very pleased to spend their summer on the Upper Klamath Lake!

Lot 601

Through sharing outcomes of experimentation with traditional, alternative, and innovative farm practices, Rusted Gate Farm (RGF) intends to identify a mix of income-producing activities that will increase average farm income and ensure long term financial security for small farms. This work includes trials to increase gross farm income while maintaining or decreasing costs and tackling the barriers that challenge that goal.

Currently, RGF is transforming 30 acres into multiple individual pastures, which will accommodate multi-species grass feed for cattle grazing and allow for intensive rotational grazing. This trial’s goal is to enhance the weight gain and marbling of grass-fed beef to achieve a net increase in revenue while maintaining a healthy pasture at no additional cost. RGF will share the results of this trial with the farming community.