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

OSU Extension helps Oregon’s woodland owners manage their land

Oregon's family woodland owners manage close to 4.5 million acres – or 40% of all private forestland in the state. They make substantial contributions to local economic, social, ecological and recreational services. Building ...

May 2023 | Impact Story

4-H teens learn how to prepare healthy meals and teach children how to cook

Clackamas County’s second-largest industry is agriculture, which includes nurseries, field crops, Christmas trees, berries and orchards. Field workers are the heart of Clackamas County’s agriculture industry. Most of them are first- ...

May 2023 | Impact Story

Southern Oregon Juntos youths exposed to college life at Academia Latina

Students from underrepresented communities don’t have enough access to information about their post-secondary options and/or can feel confused about the college application process. Without guidance, these students can have a hard time...

May 2023 | Impact Story

More than 1,200 Benton County students take part in 4-H outdoor learning series

Studies show that American youths today are more connected to screens than to the outdoors. Parents of children 8 to 12 years old report their children spend three times as many hours with computers and televisions each week...

May 2023 | Impact Story

Popular nutrition program returns to help at-risk families in Umatilla and Morrow counties

According to the 2018 Umatilla County Community Health Assessment, 42% of adults are obese and suffer from a variety of health issues such as food insecurity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Oregon State University Extension’s...

May 2023 | Impact Story

Series of livestock clinics enhances 4-H experience in Lake County

Feedback from families, members and volunteers in the Oregon State University Extension Service 4-H Youth Development Program in Lake County indicated the members needed extra education and learning opportunities outside of the club ...

May 2023 | Impact Story

Virtual 4-H workshops expand youth access to projects that enhance life skills

Oregon State University Extension Service’s 4-H Youth Development Program provides opportunities for youths to explore and discover their “spark” but there are some barriers that prevent youths and their families from being aware...

May 2023 | Impact Story

Wallowa County families in need receive meal kits with Food Hero recipes

Emergency food boxes help families in need, but the recipients don’t always know how to use all the foods that are in the box or what to make with the ingredients. In 2019, Oregon State University Extension Service’s ...

May 2023 | Impact Story

OSU Extension Oregon Naturalist program trains volunteers to be ambassadors for Oregon’s natural resources

People from all over the world come to enjoy Oregon’s beauty and natural resources, but few residents have the knowledge that would deepen appreciation of the state such as sharing how animals, plants and insects work ...

May 2023 | Impact Story

OSU Extension research helps wheat growers fight serious stripe rust disease

If conditions are right, stripe rust can wipe out a crop of winter wheat, costing Oregon farmers millions of dollars. In a state where wheat is the sixth-most valuable commodity, a disease that can devastate crops casts a ...

May 2023 | Impact Story