Linn

Innovative harvest system reduces labor costs and boosts competitiveness for Oregon’s blueberry industry

Oregon and Washington produce more blueberries than any other region in the world. In Oregon alone, growers harvest approximately 150 million pounds annually, with a farmgate value exceeding $120 million. A large share of this ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

OSU study identifies optimal forest management practices for carbon sequestration

Forest managers in the Pacific Northwest face the challenge of balancing timber harvests with maximizing carbon storage. Carbon stored in forests helps offset climate change — U.S. forests absorb about 13% of the country’s ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

OSU Extension helps Oregonians respond to avian influenza outbreaks

When highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was first detected in Oregon in May 2022, commercial poultry farms were forced to cull infected birds, backyard chicken owners worried about their flocks, and 4-H members faced ...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

OSU Extension trials expand drought-tolerant plant options for Oregon’s nursery industry

As climate change transforms the weather in Western Oregon, more nursery owners, landscapers and home gardeners are looking for plants that are fully drought tolerant and cold hardy. Development of genuinely low-input landscapes will...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

OSU hop research supports craft beer innovation and farm sustainability

The Pacific Northwest is one of the best regions in the world for growing hops, thanks to its unique terroir and access to irrigation. In Oregon, the Willamette Valley’s rich soil, mild climate and consistent rainfall create...

Jan 2025 | Impact Story

OSU research enhances landslide hazard assessment following wildfire

Landslides, often triggered by extreme events such as heavy precipitation, wildfires and earthquakes, pose significant environmental, societal and economic risks. In the mountainous, forested terrain of the West, including Oregon, shallow...

Dec 2024 | Impact Story

Oregon State research guides fertilizer use in berry crops

Over the past two decades, the Oregon State University Extension Service and the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station have focused research on fertilizer practices for blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and kiwiberries. ...

Dec 2024 | Impact Story

Online course helps Oregonians prepare for big earthquake and tsunami

Scientists estimate there’s a 37% chance that a magnitude 8.0 or greater earthquake will strike off the Pacific Northwest coast in the next 50 years. When it happens, the Cascadia Subduction Zone event — and the tsunami ...

Nov 2024 | Impact Story

Bread dough shows promise as low-cost, effective slug bait

Slugs have plagued crops since ancient times — and they continue to cause billions of dollars in agricultural damage globally each year. In Oregon, slugs inflict an estimated $60–100 million in damage to the grass seed ...

Nov 2024 | Impact Story

Using science to inform policy for a wildfire-adapted Oregon

In response to longer and more severe wildfire seasons, a growing population living in the wildland-urban interface and the extensive impacts of the 2020 Labor Day fires, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 762 in 2021, ...

Sep 2024 | Impact Story