Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center: Burns
We are proud to collaborate with USDA-ARS in research that supports beef cattle production while addressing issues critical to rangeland ecology. Learn more about our unique partnership below.
Who we are
Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC) is a cooperative research effort between Oregon State University and USDA-ARS (Agricultural Research Service) focusing on rangeland ecology and restoration of wildlands, environmentally compatible livestock systems, forage crops, and alternative livestock systems in the sagebrush-steppe of the Great Basin and inland coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest. The Center's research program is unique in the integration of research about beef cattle, rangeland, wildlife, watershed, and forest management.
Research on the Range
OSU’s research at the two agricultural experiment stations that comprise EOARC (Burns and Union) focuses on beef cattle production and management. Cattle have been raised in Oregon since John Quincy Adams was elected president in 1824. Cattle and calves ranked as the state’s second-leading agricultural commodity in 2016, with a value estimated at $701 million.
Virtual Fencing - In-Service Meeting 2023
A USDA NIFA Ag2PI grant, funded a working group of Federal and State researchers, land managers, and producers to discuss virtual fence research, the creation of common terminology, standardization of data processing and analysis, and how to communicate about virtual fencing effectively to various audiences.
Virtual Fencing: Making a Base Station Mobile
Chad Boyd, USDA-ARS Research leader and member of the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center's Precision Agriculture Technology Workgroup, talks about how virtual fence technology works and some innovative solutions to make virtual fence base stations mobile.
Virtual Fencing: A Riparian Exclusion Application
David Bohnert, OSU Professor and member of the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center's Precision Agriculture Technology Workgroup, talks about utilizing virtual fencing to increase management options and flexibility when grazing montane riparian areas that are often critical habitat for threatened and endangered anadromous fish such as salmon and steelhead.
Ecosystem Management for Sage-Grouse
The Great Basin area of the western United States faces a host of challenges and threats to the health of the ecosystem including invasion of exotic annual grasses, altered fire cycles and juniper encroachment. There is substantial and growing concern over a number of sagebrush obligate wildlife species and greater sage-grouse have become the cumulative face of these concerns. This video discusses the need to address sage-grouse concerns within an ecosystem management framework which can benefit all the goods and services the land supplies, including habitat for sage-grouse.
Sage-Grouse Conservation: Linking Practices to Habitat Metrics
College Range & Ag Clubs
Science in the Sagebrush Steppe
College Range and Ag Clubs provide a great conduit to explore career opportunities in the rangeland science field and to begin meeting those who work in this field. At EOARC we conduct extensive rangeland research that becomes "science managers can use" to enhance and improve rangeland management. We can learn together about the real issues facing rangeland management. You will gain some extra experience on the land in a fun setting!
We are glad to have you out on the range!
Join us in 2024
The use of virtual fencing to manage cattle grazing on sagebrush rangelands has the potential to create fuel breaks needed to help fight wildfires, a recent Oregon State University and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Resear...
Dr. David Bohnert, Director and Professor, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Burns & Union Stations, Oregon State University says the challenge with sexed semen in the beef industry is that we don’t use AI as much. This...
How does drought influence the photochemical performance of reproductive structures of native and exotic bunchgrasses of the Great Basin?
October 2021 – Dr. David W. Bohnert is the recipient of the Western Section American Society of Animal Science Extension Award, presented to him during the 2021 Western Section Meeting held in Fort Collins, Colorado.