North Willamette

Led by OSU Extension Fire Program, statewide campaign prepares Oregonians for wildfire

In addition to climate change and a century of vegetation buildup, people contribute to wildfires more than ever. This is especially true as they move into houses that were built next to forest and agricultural lands where ...

May 2022 | Impact Story

OSU Extension Fire Program shares benefits of prescribed burning

For thousands of years, fire supported environmental health in many parts of Oregon through both natural occurrences and cultural practices of Indigenous peoples. But after more than a century of fires being suppressed, Oregon’s ...

May 2022 | Impact Story

Networks foster support and learning as women in agriculture surge

Throughout the country, the number of women in agriculture is surging and that includes Oregon where 44% of the state’s farm producers are women. Still, working in an industry that is largely dominated by men causes some ...

Apr 2022 | Impact Story

OSU Extension Master Gardener Program increases diversity, equity and inclusivity

With 2,796 volunteers across the state, the 46-year-old Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener program made contact with 78,700 Oregonians in 2022 – a significant increase from 2021's COVID-influenced 38,000. ...

Feb 2023 | Impact Story

As climate changes, interest grows in OSU Extension Dry Farming Project

With climate change causing ongoing drought and warmer temperatures in the West, there’s a critical need to develop alternative methods of producing the many and diverse vegetable crops grown in Oregon. Droughts translate into ...

Apr 2022 | Impact Story

Clackamas County youths reconnect with outdoors through OSU Extension forestry education programs

By the summer of 2021, after more than a year of remote learning due to COVID-19, many Clackamas County elementary and middle school students hadn’t experienced hands-on enrichment activities and field trips that enhance ...

Mar 2022 | Impact Story

OSU Extension researches alternative pesticides to fight cabbage maggot

In the Willamette Valley, cabbage maggot devastates a wide variety of crops, causing substantial economic loss for many farmers. Most often, farmers used to control the damaging insect with chlorpyrifos insecticides. In 2020, the ...

Mar 2022 | Impact Story

OSU Extension supports small-scale and historically marginalized farmers

Oregon's farmers continue to suffer losses from drought, heat waves, wildfire and other problems related to climate change. Traditional crop insurance and relief funding programs often don't work for affected small-scale farmers who ...

Mar 2022 | Impact Story

Fledgling olive industry gets support from OSU research

Interest in growing olives, a high-value specialty crop, grows by the year in Oregon. Yet, research-based information about the feasibility of growing olives in the state doesn’t exist. Research is essential due to climate and ...

Feb 2022 | Impact Story

Teen learning experiences transformed by dive into VR app creation

Coupled with broad, societal misconceptions about food and agriculture, an aging crisis is threatening farming. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, the average age of an American farmer is 57, 10 years older than the ...

Feb 2022 | Impact Story