Our Mission

What we are: Old McDonald’s Farm, Inc. (OMF) is the only nonprofit organization in Oregon that effectively combines animals, agriculture, gardens and natural resources to provide an educational enrichment program for all children and including at-risk children and youth in a safe and secure farm setting.

Our mission is: “In facilitating healthy social and emotional development, OMF is committed to providing at-risk protective factors to children through structured, educational experiences using animals, agriculture, gardens and natural resources as educational tools.” We are not necessarily teaching children to be farmers, but rather using a farm to teach wholesome, healthy life lessons.

Our assets: All of our programs utilize our 68-acre farm including our 30+ farm animals, to instill in children a sense of connection, compassion and consequences. We have taught over 20,000 students since we began serving children in the autumn of 1996.

Other lessons: Hands-on, meaningful lessons in biology; zoology; animal and agricultural husbandry; care and nurturing; life-cycles and interconnectedness of all living things; commercial uses of animals and plants; recycling and composting are all taught in a safe and structured way. Additionally, academic pursuits in world geography; history; calculation; estimation; measurement; reading; writing; and speaking are all woven into the daily activities as well. All OMF programs are designed to help teachers meet state and federal educational requirements.