OSU Resources

Small Acreage

The Small Farms/Small Acreage program in Central Oregon provides research-based educational programming and resources to help commercial and non-commercial small farm entrepreneurs and small acreage landowners achieve their goals.

Central Oregon's landscape is rapidly changing as properties are divided into smaller units. People move to the country to enjoy a rural lifestyle and are interested in learning how to be good stewards of their land. Some also pursue the idea of "niche" farming. They are exploring options of what can be produced on their land as well as learning about specialty markets, production practices and business and financial planning. 

Through the OSU Extension, educational workshops, materials, consultation and resources are provided to help clientele become better informed. The small acreage program for central Oregon is conducted from the Deschutes County Extension office in Redmond and provides coverage for Jefferson, Deschutes and Crook counties.

For more information contact Deschutes County Extension Office: 

Deschutes County Extension Service
Oregon State University
3893 SW Airport Way
Redmond, OR 97756-8697
Phone: 1-541-548-6088
FAX: 1-541-548-8919

Livestock/Range

Livestock and Range:  Scott Duggan conducts the livestock program for central Oregon from the Warm Springs Extension Office and Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center, while Tim Deboodt is responsible for rangeland management with a focus on Juniper control.

Upcoming Events:

Waitlist for AI in Cattle Clinic

Recent Articles:

Contact Information for Scott Duggan:

Contact Information for Tim Deboodt:

Yard/Garden

Landscape and Garden:  Amy Jo Detweiler conducts the landscape and gardening program from the Deschutes County Extension office in Redmond. This includes programming for the central Oregon landscape and golf industries, as well as conducting the Master Gardener program.

Providing seminars, workshops, publications are only some of the ways Central Oregon Horticulture Program  provides education to residents of Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes Counties. The OSU Master Gardener Program training is offered annually in the tri-county area for those interested in a volunteer opportunity.  Locally, volunteers assist at the Madras Saturday Markets which start the first weekend in June through the second week-end in September.  Also, in Madras, Central Oregon Agriculture Research Station has a Demonstration Garden that is available for the public to learn from and enjoy, as well as have local schools come and take field trips.  

See Central Oregon Horticulture Program for more information.

Master Gardeners are no longer located in the Jefferson County Office. Call the Deschutes County Extension Office at 541-548-6088 to speak with one of their Master Gardeners.

Forestry and Natural Resources

Our agents and specialists share knowledge about the latest techniques in natural resource management through educational programs and materials. We work with forest owners, foresters and other natural resource managers, educators (PreK-12), Christmas tree growers, loggers and forest workers, and others.

Website

Weather

The weather station at the Madras site provides real time weather data, as well as archived weather data from both the Madras and Powell Butte locations. This weather data is managed by AgriMet, an agricultural weather station network operated by the Bureau of Reclamation.

AgriMet network consists of over 70 agricultural weather stations located throughout the Pacific Northwest. Real-time AgriMet data is transmitted from individual stations once an hour. The AgriMet site can be used for searching the weather data and determining crop water use per season.

The OCS site has a tremendous amount of data that can be difficult to sort through. Historical temperature and precipitation can be found under ‘Climate Data’; this will indicate how much it rained on a certain day or what the temerature was. The OCS site also has observations from seven weather stations around the state found under ‘Observations’.

Precipitation and Estimated Dryland Pasture Production Data compiled by Mylen Bohle, OSU Extension Agronomist - Emeritus. Data is from selected central Oregon locations focuses on Crook County.