News Archives

Youth in the cooking program are measuring out ingredients.  Photo courtesy of DHS

A pilot program that launched in October in order to teach teenagers in foster care, as well as any other teens who are interested, how to prepare and cook healthy meals will be wrapping up in May. The classes, Food Hero Fridays, happen once...

February 2024 | Read full story

Taste tester

Become a taste tester at the Food Innovation Center

February 2024 | Read full story

Jackie Thorsness

The College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) at Oregon State University has named Jackie Thorsness as its new Chief Operating Officer, effective March 1st. In this pivotal role, Thorsness will provide strategic oversight of CAS operations,...


Pinot noir grapes at Oregon State University's Woodhall Vineyard undergoing smoke experiments. (Credit: Sean Nealon / OSU)

To combat the smoke, OSU researchers sprayed grapes early in the season and the coatings grew with the fruit, sort of like an expanding balloon. Yanyun Zhao is an OSU distinguished university professor. She has been working on edible coating...

Yanyun Zhao | February 2024 | Read full story

This undated photo provided by the Hawaii Wildlife Fund shows microplastics at the beach at Kamilo Point in Naalehu, Hawaii. (Megan Lamson, Hawaii Wildlife Fund via AP)

American drinking water has some of the highest concentrations of microscopic plastic waste of anywhere in the world, a group of environmental experts told the Senate.


Sarah Lowder demonstrates the “glove swab method” — without a glove — in an Oregon vineyard in 2021. Lowder, an Oregon State University graduate student at the time, developed the method of simply running your hand through a vine row to collect powdery mi

The glove swab method was developed by Sarah Lowder when she was a graduate student at Oregon State University. Now an extension viticulture specialist at the University of Georgia, Lowder told Good Fruit Grower that the “glove swabs”...

Sarah Lowder | February 2024 | Read full story

Ringtail photo by Jonathan Armstrong, Oregon State University

Secretive species can pose special conservation challenges simply because they are so skilled at staying under the radar that researchers have uncovered comparatively little about their basic needs.

February 2024 | Read full story

Black raspberry fruit and plant

Established raspberries (including Meeker and Willamette) and blackberries (including marionberries, boysenberries and loganberries), need some late winter-early spring care to stay healthy and productive.

February 2024 | Read full story

Blossom blight phase where the infected blossoms are killed and more bacteria are produced as the creamy oozes (red arrow) when weather warms up. These oozes provide more source of bacteria for newer infections of the nearby tissues. Photo: Kate Lundquist

At the Plant Pathology lab at Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center (SOREC) a very old fight against Erwinia amylovora continues. The disease, also known as fire blight, affects pears and apples, and can wipe out entire...


A new study by researchers at Oregon State University found that fish embryos exposed to tiny amounts of pesticides for four days experienced lasting behavioral changes. It also found that the offspring of those fish also experienced changes in...


Mauricio Cantor, a Brazilian biologist and assistant professor at Oregon State University, will examine cooperative behavior among dolphins and humans across three sites in Brazil, India and Myanmar. Cantor will examine whether...


spotted wing drosophila on a cherry

Oregon State University’s Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center (MCAREC) is comprised of two assistant professors in the Department of Horticulture, Dr. Christopher Adams and Dr. Kelsey Galimba. In addition, the station is...


Sara Hutton

The findings raise concerns not just for fish, but for all vertebrates that are exposed to commonly used pesticides — including humans, said study co-author Susanne Brander, an associate professor and ecotoxicologist in Oregon State University’...


Leslie Madsen

Leslie Madsen recently became the new statewide Master Gardener Program manager for the Oregon State University Extension Service

Leslie Madsen | February 2024 | Read full story

The Klamath River flows through what was the Copco Lake Reservoir.  Juliet Grable / JPR

The river becomes re-aerated as it tumbles over rocks; major tributaries like the Shasta River also bring in oxygenated water to the mainstem of the Klamath River. “The farther away you get away from the reservoirs, the less and less impact you...


Researchers with Oregon State University have spent so much time with our local gray whales that they know them by name. Now, they’re sharing those observations to help casual whale watchers become better acquainted with the animals and to help...

February 2024 | Read full story

All about the dead fin whale. Fox 12

Robert Pitman of Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute joins FOX 12 NOW to talk about the fin whale that washed up on the Oregon coast. He’ll talk all about fin whales, how they've become endangered and what the safety tips are for...

February 2024 | Read full story

One of the highlights of the conference will be a keynote address by Ken Frost, a renowned plant pathologist from Oregon State University. Frost is well-regarded for leading an extension program dedicated to research-based improvements in...

Kenneth Frost | February 2024 | Read full story

Image of the front entrance of the Food Innovation Center in Portland, Oregon

Dr. Marcia Walker recently spent years working with big food companies. But she’s now the director at the Food Innovation Center, a Portland-based part of Oregon State University.

Marcia Walker | February 2024 | Read full story

red and white potatoes

Oregon State University has received $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study ways to keep organic potatoes from spoiling, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting’s KLCC. The Pacific Northwest has a $2.2 billion potato...

February 2024 | Read full story

Those looking to prepare for the state’s pesticide applicator test can drop in on an afternoon course Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the OSU Extension Service for Malheur County.

February 2024 | Read full story

Food Hero logo

Get a garden growing with the Grow This! Oregon Garden Challenge! Michelle Markesteyn, Oregon State University Extension’s Farm to School Coordinator, joined KATU to share more about the statewide seed giveaway,


James Lange, a Jefferson County 4-H member and Madras High Student, works the OSU Extension Service booth at the Central Oregon Farm Fair. Photo: Michael Kohn/The Bulletin

The Central Oregon Farm Fair & Trade Show. The fair, held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Wednesday and Thursday, is an annual gathering of farmers, ranchers, equipment dealers, agronomists and others in this area’s agricultural...

February 2024 | Read full story

Gray Whales

“While these reports always inspire some awe for the ability of a whale to travel such an incredible distance,” doctoral candidate Clara Bird wrote in a recent blog post, “they also inspire questions as to why and how these whales end up so far...

Clara Bird | February 2024 | Read full story

jersey cows

As an ingredient, hemp is rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that can benefit an animal’s immune system, performance, and overall health. The study’s lead investigator, Massimo Bionaz, PhD, of the Department of Animal and...


John Desek at graduation

The list, published today, ranks Oregon State No. 4 out of nearly 350 higher education institutions in the category of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs. The university received its highest marks based on faculty expertise and its ability to...

February 2024 | Read full story

Wheat Research trials

Land grants, in their original form, were given to each state to teach agricultural sciences, military tactics, mechanical arts and classical studies as part of the Morrill Acts of 1862. The intent of providing these grants was to allow the...

February 2024 | Read full story

Left; Calhoun Lark, right; Michael Sonza. Photo is from the 2023 Cultivating Change Foundation’s summit at the USDA’s headquarters in Washington DC.

Two clubs in Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Science are working to help underrepresented students find community and careers in agriculture.

February 2024 | Read full story

Naked barley. Photo: OSU

Efforts to develop new markets for naked barley recently crossed the $10 million mark with the award of a $3.5 million grant from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Brigid Meints | February 2024 | Read full story

2024 Barry Goldwater Scholarship nominees

Oregon State University’s National and Global Scholarships Advising office is pleased to announce that five students, three from the College of Agricultural Sciences, have been nominated to represent OSU and compete nationally for the 2024...

February 2024 | Read full story

David Bohnert of OSU explains to listeners at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise how virtual fencing can keep livestock in or out of a designated area.

Ranchers and officials heard a presentation on virtual fencing Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise by David Bohnert of the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center at Union.

David Bohnert | February 2024 | Read full story

Barley at Oregon State University's Hyslop Field Lab. Photo: Sean Nealon, Oregon State University.

“Interest in naked barley is increasing, particularly because of the health benefits,” said Brigid Meints, a barley breeder at Oregon State and project director of the grant. “The problem is, compared to crops like wheat or rice or corn, naked...


Pinot noir grapes at Oregon State University's Woodhall Vineyard undergoing smoke experiments. Photo: Sean Nealon.

Oregon State researchers are developing a product that vineyard managers could spray onto their grapes to protect from wildfire smoke before it reaches their vines. The researchers expect to have a spray coating to prevent smoke damage...


Ramesh Sagili was appointment to serve on the new 9-member USDA National Pollinator Subcommittee appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to advise the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics...


A student learns how to plant and grow microgreens in 2023 at Woodlawn K-5 School in Portland. The students used seeds from Food Hero Grow This! classroom seed-starting kits. Photo by Amanda Loman.

The Grow This! Oregon Garden Challenge, Oregon State University Extension’s statewide seed giveaway, has returned for a fifth year in 2024 featuring a continued partnership with the Oregon Bee Project.

Individuals and households,...

January 2024 | Read full story

Hazelnut Orchard with EFB

Reports of worrisome symptoms prompted OSU to conduct a test last year that has verified the strain affects otherwise resistant hazelnut cultivars, said Nik Wiman, an OSU Extension horticulture specialist.

Nik Wiman | January 2024 | Read full story

whale bones

Discovery nearly a decade ago of a dead blue whale on the southern Oregon coast drew flocks of sightseers and scientists, all curious to gape at and inspect the relatively intact remains of the largest animal ever to populate the planet.


Collecting juvenile Pacific cod. Image courtesy of Ben Laurel, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

Marine heat waves appear to trigger earlier reproduction, high mortality in early life stages and fewer surviving juvenile Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska, a new study from Oregon State University shows.


Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon has whipped up a storm - after scooping snow to make a coffee-caramel drink.

Staci Simonich, professor of environmental and toxicology at OSU, told the BBC that snow is safe to eat as long as it is from "a non-urban area" and that people wait "until the first few centimeters fallen".


Scientist man standing with cereal grass

Christopher Mundt spent his youth outside with his hands in the dirt and his head in the clouds, hoping to help feed the world one day. Now, Mundt is retiring after nearly 40 years in the botany field at Oregon State University, having led...


In 2017, a few small-acreage farmers reached out to Oregon State University Extension Service about possible research on olives, an unlikely new crop they hoped had potential in Oregon. Olives were on their radar because these warm-weather-...

Neil Bell | January 2024 | Read full story

trees down in the road after a storm. Photo: Michael Dame

Q: As of this morning, we have been without any power for more than five days and it is still out, with a prediction of 2-4 more days until we reconnect. I have been assuming that we would lose the contents of our entire freezer. How can I most...

January 2024 | Read full story

Asian Farmer. photo: Getty Images

U.S. Senate officials said that OSU’s Multicultural Scholars Program will receive $250,000 to provide scholarships for multicultural students who will earn baccalaureate degrees with a focus in science, technology, engineering and mathematics...

January 2024 | Read full story

Shawn Mehlenbacher

Oregon State University has a world renowned hazelnut breeding program, and the newest variety, Thompson, has recently been released. Thompson has some impressing features pacific northwest growers will be interested in.  Watch this brief video...


Dr. Ricardo Mata-Gonzalez, the associate dean of academic programs for OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences, said the federal grant funds will help foster opportunities in agriculture, food, and natural resource areas for underrepresented...


seaside town along the northern Oregon coast. Photo: Sara Monk

According to Dr. William Hanshumaker of Oregon State University, sea foam can happen more in winter due to more local waves crashing, which stirs up the sea foam. “When I say stirs up the sea foam I mean what creates the sea foam,” Hanshumaker...


Bombus flavidus female lateral Photo by Josh Dunlap, Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Pollinator enthusiasts and scientists have new online tools to identify native bees in the Pacific Northwest.

The publicly available “keys” resemble the field guides familiar to fans of fauna and flora but contain the extraordinary...

James Rivers | January 2024 | Read full story

Paul Broccolo

Following an extensive search, the College of Agricultural Sciences has named Paul Broccolo as its new Director of Advising.

Broccolo brings over 13 years of advising experience to this crucial role, as well as a diverse skillset in...

January 2024 | Read full story

Chinook salmon. Photo: OSU

Christopher Suffridge, senior research associate in the Department of Microbiology at OSU, and doctoral student Kelly Shannon examined concentrations of thiamine and the microbial communities in rivers of the Sacramento River watershed....

January 2024 | Read full story

Ashley Thompson, OSU Extension fruit tree specialist, examines a pear tree for pear scab. Dormant oils applied in winter can help prevent diseases and pests,Stephen Ward/Courtesy of OSU Extension

Just when you’re ready for a long winter’s nap, it’s time to tend your fruit trees. If you don’t, chances are they’ll struggle in the coming season. Giving them attention now helps ward off insects and diseases, said Ashley Thompson, an Oregon...


house plants. Photo: Oregon Live

Timely advice on garden chores, fertilizing, pest control, and more from OSU Extension.

January 2024 | Read full story