Meet OGC Mission Fund Recipient: Clackamas Community College Organic Farming Certificate Program

If you’ve ever wondered where the next generation of organic farmers is coming from, look no further than Clackamas Community College’s (CCC) Organic Farming Certificate Program.

This one-year program focuses on following the seasons and giving students hands-on farming experience while building the practical business skills they need to run a successful farm. Along with coursework, students grow about 35 crops and experiment with new techniques and also get real-world experience running two CSAs (one for produce and one for cut flowers) and an on-campus farm stand. Any leftovers are donated to the Cougar Cave, the school’s food pantry. 

CCC shows students what it looks like to solve problems. This year they’re focused on increasing their skill at producing in the heated hoop house. They’ve seen some disease build up, so they’re investigating how they sterilize soil, incorporating winter cover rotations and expanding their use of biological controls.

The program was created in 2011, with Chris Konieczka stepping into the Lead Instructor role in 2013. In the time he’s been there, they’ve increased production space by 100%, created the farm stand, added the CSAs, built healthier soil and started a dry farming initiative to adapt to an ever-changing climate.

In 2025, OGC gave CCC’s Organic Farming Certificate Program a Mission Fund grant. Chris shared that “the Mission Fund grant went directly into creating an endowed student scholarship fund. Financial aid has a real gap during the summer, at a time when the farming program still has multiple classes and important things happening. So, I wanted a way to bridge that gap for students. The college policy is that you need to get $25,000 to endow a scholarship. With the help of OGC’s Mission Fund grant, individual donors and a fundraising campaign, we’ve more than reached our goal and can start giving out scholarships.”

‍OGC’s Mission Fund Grant Program supports organic farm viability, youth education, increased access to organic food and more. The CCC Organic Farming Certificate Program is just one of many organizations the Mission Fund supports. Find the complete list of grant recipients here.