Extension Service

The Oregon State University Extension Service provides practical, research-based information and engages learners, partners, and volunteers in communities across Oregon to meet local challenges and help every Oregonian thrive.

Our programs, partnerships and volunteer opportunities are focused on:

  • Healthy communities and economies
  • Resilient and productive forestry and natural ecosystems
  • Sustainable agriculture, food systems, and gardening
  • Thriving youth, individuals and families

Yamhill Farm Loop supports family farms and local food systems

Even before COVID-19, there was a trend among consumers to buy local foods, create at-home gardens and support family farmers. More people were turning to local farms and producers for their products. As the prolonged effects ...

Career Connect Day draws 200 students and job seekers in eastern Oregon

For decades, schools in rural Umatilla and Morrow counties have experienced declining high school graduation and college-going rates. More support and resources are needed for high school students to be prepared for college or ...

Garden to Table course reaches traditionally underserved residents

The number of Latinos in Yamhill County continues to grow, making up about 16% of the county’s population. However, Latinos, especially those in lower-income households, along with other underserved residents, have traditionally been...

Farmers get a handle on wildfire prevention from OSU Extension outreach

In 2018, the Substation Fire swept north central Oregon – where wheat reigns as the premier crop – burning 80,000 acres and killing a farm employee. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reacted by ...

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 ...

New rotational crops increase economic viability for Lower Columbia Basin farmers

On the irrigated farmland of the Lower Columbia Basin, growers rotate their high-value crops of onions and potatoes from field to field to help stave off soil-borne diseases and pests, cut down on erosion, suppress weeds and ...

Farm managers gain knowledge in OSU Extension’s virtual Coffee Hours

With its fertile soil and mild climate, the Willamette Valley grows a wide number of crops that are profitable but attract a challenging arsenal of pests and weeds. Growers and field agronomists tell the Oregon State University...

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 ...

Warm Springs students explore ecology in collaboration with OSU Extension

There’s concern among tribal members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs that youths aren’t getting enough outdoor and science educational opportunities, especially opportunities with connections to tribal culture, values and ...

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 ...