College of Agricultural Sciences

Wine writer Katherine Cole (OSU Press) says that the best wines, like the best books and movies, make her weep. When she noticed a few years ago that some of those tears were being shed for biodynamic wines, she decided she wanted to learn more about this agricultural philosophy.

“Nassau groupers form large aggregations to spawn,” said Scott Heppell, a fisheries ecologist at Oregon State University. “They are very predictable.

Call it “Green Acres,” Portland style. On a two-acre parcel in Troutdale, a new Multnomah County program is teaching former computer engineers and other city slickers how to become farmers. Multnomah County is partnering with Oregon State University Extension on the internship program, and using a curriculum pioneered by the University of California Santa Cruz farm program.

When Dan McGrath was a teenager growing up in California, he looked forward to the arrival of the annual Nichols Garden Nursery catalog. Decades later and now chairman of Linn County’s OSU Extension office, McGrath watched proudly Thursday afternoon as Rose Marie Nichols McGee and her husband, Keane, received the OSU Community Impact Award.

The Oregon State University Extension Services' statewide Orange Tour will make a stop at Marion-Polk Food Share today.As a way to celebrate OSU Extension's 100-year anniversary, the tour has been honoring businesses and individuals with Community Impact Awards.

Farm Manager Gary Beck looked over the 500 acres of organic barley growing south of Bellevue at the Hillside Ranch. Over the past four years, John and Elizabeth Stevenson’s farm has become a showcase in conservation through its collaboration with MillerCoors and The Nature Conservancy, which manages the neighboring Silver Creek Preserve.

Crimson clover, a common cover crop, has nitrogen-producing qualities that make it a potential boon to both the environment and farmers, Oregon State University researchers want growers to know.The crop, which turned Oregon fields to a striking red in spring, is now being promoted nationally for its functionality.

The tiny specimen — just described by an Oregon State University researcher

Having a green thumb may come naturally for some people, but others need a little guidance. With that in mind, the Pringle Creek Community partnered with Friends of Salem Saturday Market and the Oregon State University Master Gardener Program to develop a course to teach home gardening.

“It showed up, and now it’s just continuing to spread throughout the county,” said OSU Extension agent Ross Penhallegon.