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

Malheur County food pantry launches with Extension serving as resource

Nearly 40% of Malheur County’s children live in poverty, more than double the state average and ranking second only to Wheeler County, according to Oregon by the Numbers. Thirteen percent of the county’s roughly 30,500 ...

Sep 2020 | Impact Story

$1 billion Oregon nursery industry benefits from OSU plant trials

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

Sep 2020 | Impact Story

OSU plant pathologists monitor new wheat virus

Wheat in Oregon is a $300 million industry, and a $2 billion industry in the Pacific Northwest, so growers keep an eye out for diseases that can affect their yield and quality. Soilborne wheat mosaic virus is responsible ...

Sep 2020 | Impact Story

Healthy Kids Club addresses food insecurity through home cooking skills

About 11% of Oregon’s 4.1 million residents said they faced food insecurity in 2018, similar to the U.S. average. Oregon has more than 300,0000 food insecure children, according to Oregon by the Numbers. Compounding food and ...

Aug 2020 | Impact Story

Rangeland faculty help mitigate spread of invasive grasses

Invasive annual grasses are a threat to the Great Basin desert ecosystem that includes much of eastern Oregon. They compromise habitat diversity for important wildlife species such as the greater sage-grouse. They shorten the ...

Aug 2020 | Impact Story

Organic vegetable producers finding new ways to fight weeds

Organic produce continues to be in high demand in Oregon, but what consumers don’t see are the weeds growers fight to keep out of their fields. In surveys, organic vegetable growers in Oregon consistently identify weed ...

Aug 2020 | Impact Story

Research shows quinoa has potential to be a viable crop in Oregon

Quinoa has been grown for millennia in present-day Peru and Bolivia. Farmers there have cultivated thousands of varieties to provide consistent harvests in their diverse growing regions. The quinoa plant is a nutritious food, with...

Mar 2022 | Impact Story

Developing Oregon’s winter vegetable market project fills need

Winter squash is a delicious and nutritious vegetable. Pacific Northwest retail winter squash sales peak in October/November and decline through April when almost all the squash sold in Oregon is imported from California or Mexico....

Apr 2023 | Impact Story

Extension grass seed study helps improve farm efficiency

Grass seed is big business in Oregon, with a value of $458.3 million in 2020 – making it the fourth most valuable crop in the state. Growers use swathers to harvest the crop, but a significant portion of seed can be ...

Jul 2020 | Impact Story

Extension 4-H Snapchat geofilters viewed more than a million times

Looking into the future of social media marketing for Extension events, programs and educational opportunities, Extension educators must seek innovative strategies beyond the posts shared by staff and faculty. To engage, inform and ...

Jul 2020 | Impact Story