Polk

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

Stinging nettle publication uplifts importance of Indigenous ‘superfood’

Stinging nettle is a plant that can sting and cause welts, but when the sting is removed a traditional “superfood” emerges. Native Indigenous peoples have gathered stinging nettles since time immemorial. They can be used ...

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

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

OSU Extension Fire Program fosters place-based partnerships

As a land grant university, Oregon State University takes research and innovation out of the labs and puts them into practice in the communities and landscapes around the state through Extension programs. While OSU’s influence ...

Aug 2024 | Impact Story

OSU facilitation of teacher-led Growing Healthy Kids program expands reach of farm-to-school concepts

Farm-to-school educational opportunities have been shown to result in positive impacts on young people, including introducing them to creative ways of learning about how to grow their own food and understanding a local food system....

Aug 2024 | Impact Story

OSU Extension helps livestock producers follow stricter antibiotic rules

Antibiotics are a powerful tool against bacterial disease, but widespread use in people and animals has led some bacteria to evolve into drug‑resistant strains. Each year in the United States, more than 2.8 million ...

Jun 2024 | Impact Story

Mint Pest Alert Newsletter improves pest control and reduces costs for Oregon growers

Oregon is the nation’s third-leading producer of peppermint, harvesting approximately 840,000 pounds with a crop value of $28.7 million in 2022. But pests like mint root borer and variegated cutworm threaten crop yields and ...

Apr 2024 | Impact Story

Extension research educates producers on leaf removal in Oregon vineyards

Wine grape vineyards are highly susceptible to powdery mildew and botrytis bunch rot — two fungal diseases that can ruin fruit and result in unsellable wine. One proven, non-chemical method for reducing these diseases is the ...

Mar 2024 | Impact Story