Oregon Ag Foundation

In a remarkable and generous gift designed to benefit Eastern Oregon University, Glen and Jean McKenzie established the Oregon Agriculture Foundation to manage their family farm and ranch to benefit EOU after their deaths. Jean McKenzie passed away in the early 1990s and Glen passed away in August 2006

Farm Facts

• The McKenzie Farm was established in 1875 by Tolbert Glenn (Glen McKenzie’s maternal grandfather) on 160 acres west of Summerville, Oregon, in the Grande Ronde Valley. 
• Officially designated as a “Century Farm,” the property was owned and operated by the Glenn and McKenzie families until Glen McKenzie passed away in 2006.
• Today the farm comprises approximately 850 acres located on either side of McKenzie Lane. 
• Originally included on the farm were two barns, two houses, a bunkhouse, a shop, various other outbuildings and an assortment of farm machinery. Two barns and some other outbuildings remain with the farm; the houses, bunkhouse and related buildings are part of the Homestead and have been sold to a private party. 
• Over the years, the farm has produced wheat, barley, hay and a small herd of cattle. Today, the farm ground is leased to local farmers for agricultural production.
• Several streams, including Willow Creek, run through the farm. The Willow Creek section on the farm property is part of a federal conservation easement program to restore fish habitat and provide stream restoration.

Management of the Farm

Structure of the Trust and benefit to EOU

• The McKenzie Family Trust, established by Glen and Jean McKenzie in 1991, designated the McKenzie Farm to be given to the “Oregon Agriculture Foundation, an Oregon non-profit corporation and subsidiary of the Eastern Oregon College [University] Foundation.”

• The Oregon Agriculture Foundation (OAF) oversees operations and activities on the McKenzie Farm. The finances and day-to-day business of each organization are separate and distinct from each other in accordance with state and federal regulations.
• The OAF is a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) corporation governed by a board of directors who are confirmed by the EOU Foundation Board of Directors.
• While the farm is intended to benefit EOU, the University does not own it. Rather, it is owned and managed by the OAF Board and therefore must be viewed as private property. 
• Access to the farm is restricted and permission must be received by the Board prior to visiting the property. 

Guiding principles for operation of the farm (from OAF Articles of Incorporation):

• The farm is to support farming and agricultural education as a part of the regular curriculum at EOU.
• The farm is to be operated in an efficient, productive and profitable manner utilizing farming techniques and methods of the local community including traditional techniques if possible. Glen did not intend for the farm to be used for experimental purposes.

Current Status of the Farm:

• Farmland: currently leased out to two local farmers. Cattle operations have ceased.
• Timber: the property north of McKenzie Lane is being managed primarily for infestation and blow-down.
• Property management: The Board has added land around Willow Creek to a federal easement program for stream and riparian restoration.
• Education use: The Board is keenly interested in using the farm for educational purposes.
• The Board is interested in possibly utilizing the barns to provide additional revenue.