College of Agricultural Sciences

Black Raspberries grow at OSU's North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora
(Photo credit:  Tiffany Woods, OSU EESC)

Program Leader

The Oregon State University Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Extension Program aims to promote improvements in the economic, environmental and social well-being of Oregon citizens. Oregon agriculture is immense; in 2011, it was a $5.2 billion dollar industry just at the farm gate for 220 commodities.  This translates into about $11 billion in total economic benefit and 150,000 Oregon jobs. We have 40,000 farms, almost 90% of them owned by individuals.  And, of 17.2 million acres of land in agriculture, over 62% of these farms are less than 50 acres, so family farming remains vibrant here. 

The Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Extension Program serves diverse audiences in Oregon communities having specialized interests by delivering information through 90 FTE of faculty who have a presence in 36 county offices, 11 branch agricultural experiment stations at 15 locations, and who represent 11 academic departments at Oregon State University.

Audiences:

• the Master Gardener  program serves homeowners and communities;
• the Small Farms program serves those with varied acreage who have  lifestyle ambitions relating to natural resource utilization, stewardship and economic profitability;
• Commercial or industrial agricultural interests;
• Food processors, marketers and others adding value to raw products.

The Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Extension Program is organized by 19 work groups relating to these broader areas of subject matter:

• Crops and plant products
• Animals and animal products
• Economics and policy related to natural resource agricultural and technology issues and opportunities
• Environmental quality
• Food processing and value-added products

All of these integrate into economic, social and environmental improvements in various communities or for various industries.  For more information, please see Oregon Invests! the online accountability database.

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