The College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University is Oregon's principal source of knowledge relating to agricultural and food systems, and a major source of knowledge regarding environmental quality, natural resources, life sciences, and rural economies and communities worldwide. The College provides undergraduate and graduate education leading to baccalaureate and graduate degrees, and extended education programs throughout Oregon and beyond. Its research programs create knowledge to solve problems and to build a knowledge base for the future. It is a source of information and expertise in integrating and applying knowledge with benefits that are felt in domestic and international settings.
Volume III - Issue 2
Sonny's Observations
... well, it's time to go!
Goodbye, Beavers, well, it's time to go,
I hate to leave you, but I really must say,
Goodbye, Beavers, goodbye.
I never thought that my tenure as dean of the College was going to be so short. I continue to relive the phone call I received late last summer, as Todd Bastian and I were heading to the Portland airport, which invited me to consider this leadership role at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and which has changed my life completely. I do not know what’s in store for me, having never left college, as it were. (Read more and comment...)
Recent News
Sonny Ramaswamy to head National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
Sonny Ramaswamy, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station at Oregon State University, has been named by President Obama to lead the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in Washington, D.C. He will begin his new job on May 1. (Read more...)
OSU names Dan Arp as Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Dan Arp, a longtime microbiology researcher and science educator who has led the University Honors College program at Oregon State University since May of 2008, has been appointed as the Reub Long Dean of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station at OSU.
Arp will assume the responsibilities of former dean Sonny Ramaswamy, who last month was named by President Obama to lead the National Institute of Food and Agriculture in Washington, D.C. Arp’s initial appointment is expected to last for two years. (Read more...)OSU receives full accreditation from international association
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has been awarded full accreditation for the care and facilities of its animal research and teaching programs by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International.
“Our participation in the rigorous AAALAC accreditation process demonstrates our commitment to humane and responsible animal use in research, instruction and testing, as well as dedication to excellent science,” said Rick Spinrad, OSU’s vice president for research. (Read more...)
Oregon posts record $5.2 billion in agricultural sales in 2011
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon's farmers, ranchers and fishing industry grossed a record $5.2 billion in 2011 – thanks to higher commodity prices, according to a report by the Oregon State University Extension Service.
Sales were up 19.1 percent from a revised $4.4 billion in 2010, the largest percentage increase since a 20.6 percent jump in 1979, said Bart Eleveld, the OSU Extension Service economist who compiled the report. It contains estimates for gross farmgate sales for 2011 and revised numbers for 2010 and 2009. (Read more...)
OSU Update
Oregon's preeminent public research university
Oregon State University continues to conduct more research than all other Oregon University System campuses combined. In 2011, Oregon State brought in $261.7 million in research funding — just below the record amount awarded in 2010, when research activity across the U.S. was greatly enhanced by federal economic recovery appropriations.
Analysts say every dollar of Oregon State research funding adds as much as $1.67 in benefit to society and also helps local businesses start, grow and add jobs. In total dollars, the worldwide societal benefits of Oregon State research in 2010 and 2011 represent a combined additional impact ranging from $107 million to $359 million.
OSU: $2.06 Billion and growing
As the state’s land grant university, Oregon State is primarily focused on the needs of Oregon and its people. That focus has produced a growing impact on Oregon’s economy and quality of life that goes well beyond the state’s borders, affecting our nation and our world. This report outlines Oregon State’s current impact in both quantitative measurements and qualitative narratives. It also identifies next steps the university will take to extend its land grant mission, continue making significant, positive impacts and serve the public through excellent teaching, innovative research and outreach and engagement initiatives in increasingly diverse urban and rural communities.
(Read more...)
Capital Campaign goal expanded to $1 Billion
Oregon State University has increased the goal for its first comprehensive capital campaign to $1 billion. The campaign launched in October 2007 and has already raised nearly $800 million. It will now continue through 2014.
(Read more in the Biz Journal, Register-Guard, Columbian)
Our Best
Thomas Shellhammer named Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists
Professor Thomas H. Shellhammer of the Department of Food Science and Technology was recognized for his leadership in working with universities and professional societies to establish collaborative research and educational programs in brewing and non-thermal processing. He has garnered international attention for his research and breakthroughs in brewing science and high pressure processing of food.
Learn more about Thomas Shellhammer
Andrew Ross wins AACCI teaching award
Dr. Andrew Ross, OSU Cereal Chemist (Crop and Soil Science and Food Science and Technology), has been named the winner of the 2012 American Association of Cereal Chemists International Excellence in Teaching Award. The award will be presented at the early October AACCI annual meeting in Hollywood, Florida. Dr. Ross is being recognized for his tireless dedication and creativity in teaching university classes on starch and polymer food chemistry as well as for his renown in teaching millers, bakers and cereal growers about the wonders of cereal chemistry.
Lynda Ciuffetti elected AAAS Fellow
Lynda Ciuffetti, Professor and Head of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, has been elected an AAAS Fellow. The organization annually elects fellows whose “efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished.” Ciuffetti leads a research group in the College of Agricultural Sciences that investigates the genetic and molecular elements that control pathogenicity. This internationally recognized team is funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Ciuffetti is a member of the State Board of Higher Education and past president of the OSU Faculty Senate.
Learn more about Lynda Ciuffetti
Yanjun Zhao named Fellow of Institute of Food Technologists
Professor Yanyun Zhao in the Department of Food Science and Technology, was recognized for her expertise and innovative research in edible films/coatings and the safety and quality of fruits and vegetables during post-harvest storage and processing. Her research is focused on post-harvest technologies that enhance the quality, microbial safety, nutraceutical properties, and extended shelf life of fruits and vegetables.
Anita Azarenko elected Fellow of ASHS
Anita Azarenko has been elected a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science. This is the 49th Annual Class of Fellows to receive this distinction in recognition of outstanding contributions to the science, profession, or industry of horticulture. Azarenko is Head of the OSU Department of Horticulture.
Learn more about Anita Azarenko
Walton and Rondon recipients of 3 awards
Vaughn Walton of the Department of Horticulture and Silvia Rondon of Crop and Soil Science, have been named to receive the Excellence in Integrated Pest Management Award, the team award, and the Excellence in Extension award, respectively, from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
Juyun Lim selected for American Chemical Society award
Juyun Lim, Assistant Professor of Sensory Science, in Food Science and Technology, was selected as the 2012 recipient of the AChemS Moskowitz Jacobs Award for Research Excellence. This prestigious honor is presented to an outstanding junior scientist in the field of psychophysics of human taste and olfaction. The award recognizes Juyun’s research accomplishments to date, and her promise to emerge as a leader in the field. The award consists of a $2,000 honorarium and a plaque, and will be presented at the Association for Chemoreception Sciences annual meeting in Huntington Beach, California in April.
EESC takes 3 awards at CASE
Congratulations to Extension and Experiment Station Communications who garnered 3 awards this year from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Gold: Oregon's Agricultural Progress magazine
Special Constituency and Research Magazines
Silver: O&E: 100 years of OSU Extension Service
Other Publications
Bronze (individual Features or Articles): Wet Pet Vet, by Tiffany Woods
Kenneth Johnson named Fellow of American Phytopathological Society
Ken Johnson of Botany and Plant Pathology has been named a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society (APS). APS grants this honor in recognition of distinguished contributions to plant pathology or to APS. Ken is recognized for his exceptional contributions to understanding fundamental mechanisms of signal importance in plant disease epidemiology while simultaneously using that information to develop improved management proactices for growers of vegetable, tree fruit, and nut crops.
Learn more about Kenneth Johnson
Program Highlight - Fermentation Sciences at OSU
Fermentation: it's the culture (by Peg Herring, OAP)
A story of the yeast that launched a thousand industries
As we celebrate Oregon's finest wine, beer, bread, and cheese we raise a toast to all the people who create this exceptional northwest cuisine.
But the unsung heroes of this great bounty are easily overlooked. Although they are swirling in and around us, we ignore the legions of yeasts, mold, and bacteria that have been harnessed to make some of our finest foods possible. If we think of microbes at all, we think of them in terms of dread and disease. (Read more...)
The Age of Cheese (by Rachel Robertson, OAP)
Bedecked in hair nets, OSU food science students crowded around four plastic rectangular vats filled with a milky white liquid. The students stirred, removed some liquid and added other liquid, and generally marveled as curds slowly thickened into their final product—Havarti cheese.
BreadKernel Chemistry (by Tiffany Woods, OAP)
Andrew Ross’s lab at Oregon State University smells like a bakery. That’s because it is. The cereal scientist wears checkered chef’s pants and a white chef’s coat. There’s an oven in the corner and an empty 50-pound sack of flour near the emergency shower. Golden loaves of sandwich bread are lined up on a metal rack. Flour dusts almost everything.
BeerA Heady Success (by Theresa Novak, OAP)
OSU's fermentation science comes of age as Oregon bubbles to the top of the microbrew industry.
It took German beer crafters the better part of 600 years to combine barley, hops, yeasts, and water into the classic definition of modern beer. But Oregon has bubbled to the top of the microbrewing industry in just over 20 years. (Read more...)
WineFrom Vine to Wine (by Tiffany Woods, OAP)
On a hillside vineyard in Yamhill County, the sun gently coaxes grapevines out of their winter hibernation. Tender green shoots, tempted by the warmth, emerge from the trellised arms of the craggy, weathered vines. From these shoots, clusters of tiny flowers reach toward the sky. As the days warm, the flowers will swell into fruity, purple Pinot noir pearls. (Read more....)
iFermTM
The College of Agricultural Sciences is proposing the establishment of a new, University-wide research and education center called The Center for Innovations in Fermentation. The proposed Center is intended to advance science, technology, and innovations for products involving microbial fermentation. Among them are beer, wine, cheese, bread, and yogurt.
We aspire to bring the disparate components of iFermTM into a single facility on the campus of Oregon State University. More than a physical space, iFermTM we hope will address the people, program, facility, and equipment needs. Faculty involved in fermentation‐related research and education work in several departments and buildings across campus; and the equipment for research and learning is not up to tomorrow’s needs and opportunities.
(Read more...)
Students
February Student of the Month: Warren Gawlik, Team Building
Warren has put into practice his own style of team building as president of the OSU Turfgrass Club. Warren implemented a club calendar so club members knew what was expected of them ahead of time. He employed weekly emails, texting and Facebook to communicate. He found that club meetings don’t have to be entirely academic; having fun also creates a natural environment to build strong relationships that are essential to building a team. The results are improved involvement.
Warren is Horticulture major, with a turf management option, who expects to graduate in June 2012.
March Student of the Month: Casey Kernan, Participation in Student Organizations
Casey is President and founding member of OSU Global Water Brigades. This group raises awareness about global water issues in developing countries. Casey led 12 members to Honduras to plan, construct and implement a new water system for the village of Joyas del Caballo in Summer 2010.
What began as providing medical relief in the short term revealed a more pressing basic need, clean water. A fruitful collaboration with water experts and community leaders led to construction of a clean water system, a sustainable project with lasting impact in the village.
Casey is an Honors Bioresource Research major specializing in Toxicology, with minors in Chemistry and Toxicology. He expects to graduate in June 2012. He plans a career in medicine.
New Fields Blog - Agricultural Executive Council news and events
If you haven't already bookmarked the New Fields blog, you should. Constantly changing, it tells the story in words and pictures of the many student activities and clubs in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Comments are welcome and Danielle Lorenz, the editor, welcomes additional stories.
Agricultural Executive Council Facebook Page and Twitter
The Ag Exec Facebook page is one more way you can keep up on student activities in the College of Agricultural Sciences! "Like us" to get the latest news in your feed.
And... you can also follow on Twitter: @OSUAgExec
Ag Day on May 8
By 2050 there will be 9 billion people on the planet. That gives us less
than 40 years to double our food output on less land. How is Oregon State
contributing to "Feeding the Future?" On May 8, 2012, Oregon State
University College of Agricultural Sciences addresses this question through
their various club's participation and student involvement. Come join us from
9AM to 3PM in the Memorial Union quad to actively learn how Oregon State is
helping impact this solution and how you can get involved, too!
BLOG: Ryan King's adventure in New Zealand
Ryan King, majoring Horticulture, and his wife, Hannah, are blogging about their travel experience in New Zealand, which includes a study component for Ryan at Lincoln University. The photography and prose are beautiful.
URISC Awardees
4 students in the College of Agricultural Sciences have received Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity (URISC) awards during 2011/2012. Hundreds of opportunities exist for students to become actively involved in the scholarly pursuits of the faculty and to take part in a compelling learning experience. This kind of involvement provides insight into the creation of knowledge that is often not a part of classroom learning.
Congratulations to Joshua Averitt, Rangeland Ecology and Management; Charlie Ta, Microbiology and Bioresource Research; David Taylor, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences; and Elyssa Trejo, Bioresource Research with Toxicology option and Chemistry minor.
Alejandra Marquez Loza recipient of Barry M Goldwater Scholarship
Alejandra Marquez Loza, Bioresource Research major, has received a prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. Passionate about research sciences, Alejandra is currently working with Dr. Kathy Magnusson in Veterinary Medicine on research involving neurosciences and aging aimed at preventing and/or declines in learning and memory. She previously worked with USDA-ARS plant pathologist Dr. Bob Martin, learning and using biotechnology tools for tracking plant viruses in NW berry crops.Grit and Glimmer: OSU Senior Miriam Hawks finds balance in the world's wine industry
(By Aimee Brown) Miriam Hawk is a senior studying Viticulture and Enology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. This spring, after tossing her mortar board she’ll move to Livingston, California and begin a position with the E.&J. Gallo Winery, the world’s largest family owned winery and the largest exporter of California wines. Though Hawk is just 21, the job marks her fourth stint within the wine industry, and places her farther down her dream career path toward wine sales and marketing. It’s a path she started only four years ago. Read more...
Student-run Clark Meat Science Center open Friday afternoons
Did you know you can buy wonderful sausages and cuts of beef and pork right here on campus? The Clark Meat Center is open every Friday from 1:00 - 5:00 with undergrad students running it. Stop by the store/lab just after the Motor Pool on SW Campus Way and stock up for warmer weather barbecues; You will be supporting student opportunities.
Jamie Hanna to spend year on fellowship in Germany
Food Science and Technology Senior, Jamie Hanna, has been selected to participate in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), a year-long, federally-funded fellowship for study and work in Germany. Jamie was selected as one of 75 participants (among more than 500 applicants) for this unique fellowship program. Since 1984, over 1,600 Americans have been awarded this opportunity to gain cultural, theoretical, and practical work experience in Germany, and Ms. Hanna will be participating in the 29th year of the CBYX program (2012-2013). (Read more...)
MANRRS wins regional and national awards
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University student chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) has won the Region VI Outstanding Chapter Award for the seventh time and was one of the top three chapters in the country to continue in the competition.
The national second place award for Chapter of the Year was presented to the OSU chapter at the annual career fair and training conference in Atlanta, Ga.
2012/13 Ambassadors selected
The Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry announce the new Ambassador team to promote, support, and represent our colleges. This year’s team is: Brittney Alves SO in BioResource Research; Todd Bertwell JR in Forest Management; Jessica Budge SO in Agricultural Sciences; Jon Calhoun JR in Agricultural Business Management; Elise Cowley SR in BioResource Research and Chemistry; Stephanie Jenck JR in Crop and Soil Sciences; Meg Johnston SR in Agricultural Business Management; Jillian Redmond SR in Microbiology & BioResource Research; Alex Pederson SR in Natural Resources; Jeremy Porter SR in Forest Management; Alyssa Weger JR in Recreation Resource Management.Research
The Spin on Research
OSU Vice President for Research, Rick Spinrad, noted in his blog: "Coming back to Corvallis, I was delighted to learn that Science Pubs are now an active part of OSU’s relationship with the community, at the Old World Deli – a familiar local venue with its own unique charm."
Science Pub is held every second Monday of the month from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
A growing relationship
(Mail Tribune) Comice pears aren't suited for growth just anywhere, said David Sugar, a horticulture professor at the Oregon State University Extension Service office in Medford, has worked with growers and food industry representatives in Chile and Argentina and keeps in contact with former students in both countries.
"Worldwide, commercial pears are mostly grown in relatively dry interior valleys like ours," Sugar said. "Chile has one huge central valley (between the Pacific and Andes). It tends to be a little more humid and has a little more rainfall than us, so they tend to get a little more russet on the pears." (Read more...)
Farmers find fish in fields
(PBS) Researchers in Oregon's Willamette Valley found young native fish thriving in ditches that fill with water during the winter months. The unrecognized habitat meant farmers had been inadvertently raising fish in their fields, in addition to their intended crops, for years. This report first appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Resistant weeds trouble growers
(Capital Press) In Oregon's Willamette Valley, new populations of glyphosate-resistant annual ryegrass have been popping up among crops that haven't been genetically engineered.
In 2011, two new populations of glyphosate-resistant annual ryegrass were confirmed in Oregon, bringing the total to eight populations discovered since the early 2000s, said Carol Mallory-Smith, a weed science professor at Oregon State University. (Read more...)
New Website: OSU Marine Sciences
Oregon State University, a land, sea, space, and sun grant institution near the Oregon coast, brings together a wealth of educational, research and public outreach programs in marine science. Here you will find a world-class oceanographic institute, the world's largest wave tank, a coastal marine science center, and a wide range of marine programs, research facilities, and collaborative education programs that cross departments to study the Earth as a system. The new website pulls together the breadth of marine sciences activities in one location. (Go to OSU Marine Sciences website)
Cheese Culture: Incubator program gives new cheesemakers a start
by Steve Werblow, Furrow, John Deere Magazine
New cheesemakers are a lot like a fresh batch of cheese - they need good ingredients and a dose of starter to get going. At Oregon State University, dairy and cheese specialist Lisbeth Goddik resurrected an old campus cheese plant as a teaching faculty as well as a launch pad for artisan cheesemakers. (link to pdf)
Multimedia Connections
Progress on our Multi-Animal Teaching Facility
Visible progress is being made on construction of the Multi Animal Teaching Facility, designed to replace seventy year old barns on the OSU Animal Sciences farms. These buildings will support teaching and research in Animal and Rangeland Sciences, General Agriculture and Agricultural Education and the outreach effort of the College of Agricultural Sciences. There will be a multipurpose building containing teaching classrooms and laboratories, a farm shop and an animal research facility at the site. The live camera is centered on the site of the old sheep barn and will essentially be the center of the new complex of buildings. (Watch the progress)
OSU Motor Pool Blog - Tales from the road
An unexpected and delightful blog is being written from the perspective of Motor Pool customers (OSU Faculty, staff and students) out in the world doing great things. You know, those stories where you pick up your vehicle and off you go to do interesting research, or meet with stakeholders, or you have an unplanned adventure.
Read some CAS tales from the road.
Facebook Pages
College of Agricultural SciencesBiological and Ecological Engineering
OSU Beavers
OSU Extension
OSU Agricultural Executive Council
OSU Department of Horticulture
Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center
OSU Superfund Research Program
Shout out to new websites
Operating units in the College of Agricultural Sciences are revamping their websites to conform with the branding identity guidelines of OSU. Hats off to these early adopters:
Agricultural and Resource Economics
Biological and Ecological Engineering
Bioresource Research Program
EOARC-Burns
Terra Magazine
In "Against the Grain", see how farmers like Walter Powell of Condon partner with Oregon State researchers to maintain production in the Northwest’s fabled wheat fields.
Are you Powered by Orange?
Find out how people connected to Oregon State University are making this world a better place. Read their stories and find out how you can be involved.
NEW PNW Plant Disease Management Handbook Website
The PNW Plant Disease Management Handbook website has been updated and re-designed. Enjoy the new features and the updated 2012 content.
This new website is a collaboration between Extension and Experiment Station Communications and the handbook senior editors Dr. Jay W. Pscheidt and Dr. Cynthia Ocamb. Within EESC, Jennifer Alexander coordinated the project and served as liaison between handbook senior editors, web developers, and the handbook copyeditor Erik Ackerson; Bryan Mayjor led web development; and student employee Ian Rose assisted with web development and testing.
Reaching Out
Cheesemakers find whey to launch businesses, thanks to OSU
(KVAL.com) "About a year ago we decided to just branch out on our own," said Kate. "We wanted to make our own product." Brian had a degree in food sciences from Oregon State University, but they still needed help.
"I have no idea how we would have done it without this pilot plant," she said. She and Brian signed up for Oregon State's business incubator program for cheese-makers, to help launch their company, Full Circle Creamery.
Summer Agriculture Institute
Summer Ag Institute (SAI) is a three-credit, week-long, graduate-level class through Oregon State University that educates K-12 teachers with little or no background in agriculture. (For more info...)
The goal of SAI is to help educators use agriculture as a context for teaching standard subjects like science, math, social studies, and English. Current, factual, and scientific information about agriculture is presented, and participants are provided with educational materials to help them incorporate what they’ve learned into their classrooms.
Community Garden Project blossoms in Hermiston
(OPB) The Hermiston Community Garden is sprouting and blossoming.
George Clough and Don Horneck, of Oregon State University’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center, recently tested the land to evaluate the soil condition and depth. Clough said the ground will be useable for the garden.
Organizers hope to have something growing in the garden this summer.
In Portland, Food Innovation Center links farms to forks, and rural Oregon to international markets
(The Oregonian by Eric Mortenson) The rest of the state's agricultural experiment stations are where you'd expect them: nestled among North Willamette Valley farms, out in Columbia River basin wheat fields, amid the orchards of Hood River and serving Klamath Basin potato growers.
Then there's the Food Innovation Center, on the edge of Portland's Pearl District. (Read more...)
Art About Agriculture piece on loan to Museum of Contemporary Craft
#15 Landscape Segment, a ceramic by Betty Feves, is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in partnership with Pacific Northwest College of Art, during March 15-July 28, 2012. Betty Feves was awarded the 1984 Lamb Foundation Purchase Award for acquiring this sculpture for the Art About Agriculture permanent collection. According to curator Shelley Curtis, #15 Landscape Segment was the signature art for our Art About Agriculture 25th Anniversary show in 2007.
OPB Think Out Loud: Pink Slime or Lean Finely Textured Beef
AIR DATE: Tuesday, March 27th 2012
(OPB Think Out Loud) "Pink slime" is the pejorative nickname given to what the food industry calls "lean finely textured beef." What both terms refer to is ammonia treated ground beef made from the fatty, unused trimmings of other cuts. OSU's John Killifer, Head, Animal Sciences, was a participant in this audio discussion. (Read more and Listen)
Alumni, Donors and Friends
Please mark your calendars for our College Tailgater on October 20, 2012! Join us during Homecoming Weekend when we take on (and beat!!!) Utah. Look for more details in early Fall available on our website or on our Facebook page.
E.R. Jackman Friends and Alumni is established and chartered by the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences as a membership organization for the College’s alumni and friends. We are aligned with the OSU Alumni Association in a mutually supportive affinity relationship and eager to have our alumni and friends join our organization. The dedicated volunteers and members are committed to being the champion of lifelong relationships among the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences and its students, alumni, and friends. E.R. Jackman Friends and Alumni plan, participate in, and support student programs, alumni relations, friend building, and fund raising on behalf of the College of Agricultural Sciences. E. R. Jackman Friends and Alumni will lead in developing relationships that support the mission of the College of Agricultural Sciences.
The OSU Alumni Association provides you with additional information – and a link to join this dedicated volunteer organization.