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 1
Sonny's Observations
Useless degrees?
In a recent blog post on Yahoo! Education entitled “College Majors That Are Useless” (http://tinyurl.com/6p3sqee), writer Terence Loose states, “Want to make sure you don’t pick a dud of a degree? Check out our list of most useless degrees,” and goes on to list Agriculture as “useless degree #1”, Animal Science as “useless degree #4”, and Horticulture as “useless degree #5”.
Huh?
Read more and leave a commentOSU Update
Student Centered, Community Focused: The 2011 President's Report
It was a revolutionary idea in 1862, and it is still paying off today. When Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, he created the land grant university system and brought the benefits of higher education to the broad public, regardless of social and economic circumstances. Our graduates succeed in the world of work, but just as importantly, they make a difference in other people's lives. They build houses, bring fresh water to remote villages and improve public health. We are increasingly attracting Oregon's best and brightest students and top faculty scholars who guide them, and I am honored to share some of their accomplishments with you. Read more... See video...
OSU charts record $2.06 billion impact
PORTLAND, Ore. – A new study of the size and scope of Oregon State University’s contributions to the economy and society shows the Corvallis-based institution’s economic footprint now totals $2.06 billion – more than $1.93 billion of that in Oregon – making it the largest recorded impact by any four-year university in this state.
Despite the financial realities of a depressed state and worldwide economy, OSU’s economic impact has grown by almost $500 million – an increase of 33 percent – from similar research undertaken five years ago. Read more...
OSU Fall 2011 Enrollment Summary
The annual OSU Enrollment Summary provides a snapshot of key enrollment data for the fall term based on the 4th week census. University headcount is 24,977, a 5.1% change from last year. CAS has 1,742 undergraduate students and 321 grad students for a total of 2,063.
OSU hires 80 faculty
OSU has hired 80 faculty from top institutions to support enrollment, research
The new professors come from such campuses as Harvard, the London School of Economics, Yale, Brown, MIT, Cornell, London’s Imperial College, Stanford, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Florida, Minnesota, UCLA, the University of California-Berkeley and the UC system and West Point.
Other new faculty members are from prestigious non-university settings, including NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and more.
Six faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences are among those hired. Shown from left to right are Ryan Limb, Rangeland Ecology and Management; Frank Andrew Jones, Botany and Plant Pathology; Ramesh Sagili and Yan Wang, Horticulture; Chad Higgins, Biological and Ecological Engineering; and Robert Zemetra, Crop and Soil Science.
Our Best
Outreach and Engagement Vice Provost Awards for Excellence
The Vice Provost Awards for Excellence recognize outstanding contributions by faculty and staff who significantly advance the mission of outreach and engagement. Award winners receive $1,000 provided as OSU funds in a services and supplies index and a commemorative plaque.. Betsy Hartley, Dana Sanchez, Guillermo Giannico, Peg Herring, and Mark Anderson-Wilk were among the honorees. Pictured are the several awardees from Fisheries and Wildlife. See complete list of 2011 awards and recipients
2012 Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) award
Dr. Stacey Harper has just received a five year, $1.9 million "ONES" award as an 'Outstanding New Environmental Scientist' from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Dr. Harper's grant is entitled ‘Integrative Studies to Define Drivers of Nanomaterial Toxicity’ and will focus on elucidating the structural relationships that can predict potential toxicity, understand molecular mechanisms of toxicity, develop safety protocols, and create new, rapid testing strategies and other new tools to help protect both humans and the environment as this new field of nanotoxicology emerges.
This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) targets exceptionally talented early stage investigators who intend to make a long-term career commitment to research in the mission areas of the NIEHS and assist them in launching an innovative research program focusing on problems of environmental exposures and human biology, human pathophysiology and human disease.
Program Highlight: Art About Agriculture
Art About Agriculture: The 2012 season
In celebration of agricultural diversity in the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the West, the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University is presenting its 30th annual Art About Agriculture exhibition, embracing artistic perspectives on the theme, Cultivating the Land for a Harvest of Art.
Oregon State University, LaSells Stewart Center Giustina Gallery, Corvallis, Oregon: April 2-27, 2012. The Center is located at 26th and Western, Corvallis, 97331, across from Reser Stadium. Contact: Tina Green-Price, Assistant Director and Curator, 541-737-3116, or http://oregonstate.edu/lasells/home.
In conjunction, the College is sponsoring a presentation by Ashland artist, Betty LaDuke: Betty LaDuke— Celebrating Slow Food: Drawings, Paintings, and Wood Panels from Latin America; Asia; Africa: and Oregon, U.S.A. The talk is scheduled in the OSU LaSells Stewart Center, Construction and Engineering Hall: Thursday, April 5, 2012, 2:30 to 4 pm. This is a free, public event. However, for parking information and fee schedules, please see: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/facilities/taps/. The talk is sponsored in part by the Benton County Cultural Coalition and the Oregon Cultural Trust. Read more...
History of Art About Agriculture Program by Shelley Curtis, Curator
(Photo by Dan Wise) The College of Agricultural Sciences has sponsored Art About Agriculture since 1983, as a source for education, inspiration, and research enabling people to understand and value agriculture and natural resources through the universal language of visual arts. The program, in part, recognizes regional artists for investigating agriculture and natural resources themes as content and subjects for creating their works of art. It also enables the college to acquire art for a permanent collection of contemporary fine art now representing more than 150 artists with their more than 200 works of art. The Art About Agriculture permanent collection, selected through peer review, comprises fiber arts, mixed media assemblages, paintings, sculptures, watercolors, and works on paper including drawings, photographs, and prints. Many distinguished artists are represented in the Art About Agriculture permanent collection, including Harrison Branch, Sally Cleveland, Betty Feves (1918–1985), Sally Haley (1908–2007), Manuel Izquierdo (1925-2009), Betty LaDuke, Marjorie McDonald (1898–1995), John Rock (1919–1993), Laura Ross-Paul, Nelson Sandgren (1917–2006), Robert Schlegel, Robert Weller, and Renée Zangara. Additional information is available on this web site. Read more...
Oregon Art Beat
(Oregon Public Broadcasting) It’s one of the best art collections you’ll probably never see in its entirety! Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences has amassed an amazing collection of art that all relates to where our food comes from.
The Art About Agriculture program was featured on the Oregon Art Beat television series.
The permanent collection
(Photograph by Harrison Branch) Accessions to the Art About Agriculture permanent collection are made possible from patron-donor partnerships. The College of Agricultural Sciences is grateful for support from the deans of OSU Extension Service, College of Agricultural Sciences, and College of Liberal Arts; Betty Brose; Gene and Cande Buccola; Capital Press; James and Stella Coakley; William Cook and Gwil Evans; the late Margaret Hogg; the late Brenda and Gordon Hood; E. R. Jackman; Larry and Sherry Kaseberg; the Lamb Foundation; Beth and Edward Ray; and the Carey L. and Glen S. Strome Agricultural Art Memorial. All gifts made to the OSU Foundation-Art About Agriculture qualify as contributions under current state and federal tax codes, including the Oregon Cultural Trust, and may be made at any time.
Browse collection...
This Bountiful Place
This Bountiful Place showcases works from the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences' permanent collection, which includes more than 200 pieces of original fine art, including drawings, fiber arts, works in mixed media, prints, sculpture, and acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings. The collection celebrates the natural bounty of the Northwest and the stewardship necessary to maintain it, as well as the science and practices of agriculture as seen through the eyes of the region's artists.
Distributed by University of Washington Press $26 - 256 pages - 209 color illustrations - ISBN 0-87595-303-4
Read more...
Recent News
Cool weather could be an advantage to this year's Oregon wine vintage
While it might make it difficult for gardeners to ripen backyard fruit, the cool weather this season could be an advantage to Oregon wine grapes, according to researchers at Oregon State University.
OSU study questions cost-effectiveness of biofuels and their ability to cut fossil fuel use
A new study by economists at Oregon State University questions the cost-effectiveness of biofuels and says they would barely reduce fossil fuel use and would likely increase greenhouse gas emissions.
The idea that biofuels can reduce dependency on fossil fuels and mitigate climate change has led governments to promote them as substitutes for gasoline and petroleum-based diesel, using mandates and subsidies, said Bill Jaeger, the lead author on the study. Read more...
1000 Fungal Genomes
ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2011) — A 79-year-old collection of fungal cultures and the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station are part of a team that will sequence 1,000 fungal genomes in the next 5 years. Dan Lindner, a research plant pathologist with the Northern Research Station's Center for Forest Mycology Research (CFMR), is one of 13 scientists participating in the '1000 Fungal Genomes' project, which in collaboration with the Department of Energy's (DOE) Joint Genome Institute will sequence two species from every known fungal family.
The 1000 Fungal Genomes project involves an international team of researchers lead by Oregon State University scientist Joseph Spatafora. Team members include Lindner, scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and scientists from universities in the United States, the Netherlands, and France.. Read more...
International influence in research, education and production boosts Oregon Agriculture
(Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian) ...key research, education and production positions also are filled by people who weren't born here. Sonny Ramaswamy, the Indian-born dean of Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences, may be the most visible example, but he isn't alone. When the Oregon Legislature funded a honeybee research position in 2009, OSU hired Ramesh Sagili, a promising scholar from Texas A&M by way of India. Read more...
End of “Secure Rural Schools” payments will hurt Oregon economy
Oregon faces significant job and income losses when funding expires next year for the Secure Rural Schools Act, according to a new report from economists at Oregon State University produced these new economic impact estimates as an update to an earlier OSU report, based on the findings of the 2009 final report of the Governor’s Task Force on Federal Forest Payments and County Services. Read more...
New phone app will help stranded winter motorists
(NDSU Extension Service) A new smartphone application from the North Dakota State University Extension Service will help motorists stuck in winter weather. The Winter Survival Kit app can be as critical as a physical winter survival kit if you find yourself stuck or stranded in severe winter weather conditions, says Bob Bertsch, NDSU Agriculture Communication Web technology specialist. It's available free for both Android and iOS systems. The app is available for free in the Android Market (download now) and the Apple Store (download now)
"Our app will help you find your current location, call 911, notify your
friends and family, calculate how long you can run your engine to keep warm
and stay safe from carbon monoxide poisoning," Bertsch said. "You can use
the Winter Survival Kit app to store important phone and policy numbers for
insurance or roadside assistance. You can also designate emergency contacts
you want to alert when you become stranded."
If you become stranded, the Winter Survival Kit app will help you determine your geographic location and contact emergency services. The app's gas calculator will help you estimate how long you can run your engine on your remaining fuel. The Winter Survival Kit app will alert you every 30 minutes to remind you to turn off your vehicle's engine periodically and check the exhaust pipe for snow buildup. These alerts are critical in helping you avoid deadly carbon monoxide poisoning, Bertsch says.
The Winter Survival Kit app also provides NDSU Extension Service information
on how to put together a physical winter survival kit, prepare your vehicle
for winter driving and stay safe when stranded in a storm or stuck in snow. The app was developed by Myriad Devices, a company based in the NDSU Research and Technology Park incubator, which was founded by students and faculty in the NDSU Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and College of Business. The NDSU Extension Service provided design and content input, and funded the project with a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Smith-Lever Special Needs grant. Learn more about the apps at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension/apps
Students
October Student of the Month - Internships
Mee-ya Monnin
Mee-ya is on a six month internship with Dr. Markus Horning of the Marine Mammal Institute, studying the thermoregulation of Weddell seals. Four months of her internship was at the Hatfield Marine Science Center for preparation and calibration of equipment, followed by six weeks in Antarctica participating in field work.
November Student of the Month - Service Learning
Jessica Budge
Jessica has been serving as the 2011 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador. Over the course of her service, she has made over 100 appearances throughout the state of Oregon doing presentations in schools and Farmer’s Markets. She has found it rewarding to work with kids and see their faces light up when they learn something new.
December Student of the Month - Leadership
Jon Calhoun
Jon has had opportunity to put into practice his own leadership style as the owner of a groundskeeper/landscape design business, as a manager and prep cook at a pizza restaurant, as an officer in the Agricultural Executive Council, Collegiate FFA and as a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He is currently a Fellow in the Leadership Academy
New Leadership Academy grooms students to become top-notch workers
A new program in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University aims to help agricultural sciences and forestry students succeed in the workplace – and show employers that these OSU graduates are top-notch employees. Read more...
OSU announces Agricultural Honors scholarships
Agricultural Honors scholarships totaling $89,800 were been awarded to deserving students for the 2011/2012 academic year. The Agricultural Honors Scholarships Program is designed to attract talented students to the College of Agricultural Sciences. Awards vary between $1,000 and $2,000 and come from gifts that are made to the college.
Service Learning - Education beyond the classroom
Service-learning is a teaching method that combines service to the community with classroom curriculum. Students in James Cassidy's Fall CSS 205 Intro to Soil recorded their service learning observations in blogs. Click on a few to see for yourself the engagement of students in various service learning settings. The stories and photos will intrigue you!
Food Science students on international exchange with Fu Jen University in Taiwan
Meredith Anderson, Alex Bowman, Timothy Cohan, Emily Del Bel, Marlin Mueller and Virginia Usher were recently on international exchange with Fu Jen University in Taiwan. Get a feel for the experience through the blog that Emily Del Bel wrote during the trip. She captured some wonderful experiences with the student hospitality, culture, food, and sensory overload. Read blog... The students collectively wrote a final report detailing their experience.
OSU Student named Oregon Dairy Princess
(Statesman Journal) Kristen Kaste of Tillamook was named the 53rd Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador tonight in Salem. Kaste, 20, is a graduate of Tillamook High School and Oregon State University, where she is pursuing a degree in agriculture.. Read more
Kaste, representing Tillamook County, received a scholarship and the title during a banquet held at the Red Lion Hotel. The event is sponsored by the Oregon Dairy Women.
Kaste, 20, is a graduate of Tillamook High School and Oregon State University, where she is pursuing a degree in agriculture.
Griffin interning in Washington, DC
Thomas Griffin, a senior majoring in Environmental and Economic Policy and Management, is interning in Congressman Greg Walden's Office in Washington, DC during winter term.
He is sharing his experience via his blog and there are some great photographs of our nation's capitol.
Read blog...
Research
Biotech beets debated
(The Capital Press) CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Carol Mallory-Smith, a weed science professor at Oregon State University, said coexistence between sugar beets and other crops is possible but "gene movement will occur at some point."
She also said that cultivation of glyphosate-resistant sugar beets will create "tremendous selection pressure" that favors the development of weeds that can also tolerate the chemical.
Study finds Great Plains river basins threatened by pumping of aquifers
The draining of aquifers for agriculture in the Great Plains is lowering river levels and endangering native fishes, which face a "bleak" ecological future, according to a newly published study.
Zumwalt Prairie Research
OPB's Oregon Field Guide has featured two episodes on research done by Dr. Pat Kennedy, OSU avian ecologist.
Zumwalt Prairie Songbirds (Oregon Field Guide) This prairie of rolling hills and grasslands is home to a wide variety of animals, but this valuable ecosystem is now in danger from development. Dr. Pat Kennedy an OSU avian ecologist is your guide to the wildlife and dangers which threaten the Zumwalt. Dr. Kennedy studies the many bird which live in the Zumwalt such as Western Meadowlarks, Savannah sparrows, Brewers Blackbirds and Red Tailed Hawks.
Zumwalt Cooperation: Cattle and birds co-exist in harmony on the largest native prairie in the Northwest. (Oregon Field Guide) Despite a century of cattle grazing, Oregon's Zumwalt Prairie remains healthy. A new study by Oregon State University shows low to moderate levels of grazing does not harm the survival of ground nesting birds. The Nature Conservancy's Zumwalt Prairie Preserve also allows grazing in a rare partnership of ranchers and conservationists.
Oregon Experts React To "Zombie Bees" Discovery
MEDFORD, Ore. -- A new scientific discovery could solve the mystery of dying and disappearing honeybees. Now, local entomologists and bee experts are responding.
Entomologist Rick Hilton at the Oregon State University extension office says these parasitic flies take over honeybees’ bodies by laying eggs inside the bee, causing the bee to leave their hives and eventually die. Hilton says these “zombie flies” have already taken over other insects in the past and now are taking over bees. Watch Video on KDRV see also KEZI
Willamette Valley clay soil is where the wild rice grows
(Oregon Live) Though he's known as a barley breeder, Oregon State University's Pat Hayes also planted the wild rice seed here. He researched wild rice domestication for his doctorate in Minnesota. Upon moving to Corvallis in 1987, Hayes stocked his backyard pond with wild rice. It grew -- much to the delight of the raccoons. With his late colleague Daryl Ehrensing, Hayes then helped Oregon's first wild rice growers, in Brownsville and south of Salem, get their start. Read more...
The Spin on Research by Rick Spinrad
Research Development – How best to do it
Recognizing the growing importance of research that addresses complex societal challenges, we know that innovative integrative approaches to the research process itself are required. At the same time, many sponsors have been emphasizing projects requiring interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams.
To succeed in an increasingly competitive funding environment, most major research institutions have invested in capacity for “research development”* – many have thus dramatically increased their research proposal success and revenue.
Vice President Rick Spinrad would appreciate your thoughts about strategic support for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research.
Multimedia Connections
Progress on the Multi-Animal Teaching Facility
The Multi Animal Teaching Facility has been 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 building progress
Explore Oregon farms, farmer’s markets through new website
Oregon's rich diversity of farms and farmer's markets can now be explored digitally through a new website. The Oregon Farm Explorer (http://oregonexplorer.info/farm) maps Oregon's rural and urban connections through an exploration of farms and markets using a variety of data collections, mapping tools, stories and other resources. Read more...
Facebook Pages
College of Agricultural Sciences
Biological and Ecological Engineering
OSU Beavers
OSU Extension
OSU Agricultural Executive Council
OSU Department of Horticulture
Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center
Fisheries and Wildlife
OSU Superfund Research Program
Compost This! CSS 205 Sustainable Ecosystems blog
Food Science and Technology
Terra Magazine
Botanist leads international fungal genome project
Fungi are master recyclers, turning waste into nutrients and providing humankind with everything from penicillin to pale ale. Although fungi are members of one of the world’s most diverse kingdoms, we know relatively little about them. That is about to change. A new study headed by Joseph Spatafora, an Oregon State University professor of botany Read more of this article... Read Terra magazine...
Oregon's Ag Progress Magazine
The current issue of Oregon's Ag Progress demonstrates the contribution of Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station research to jobs and the economy. It has stories of industry partnerships and research supporting economic development from Burns to Bandon. Excellent writing and engaging photography turns to such topics as:
A story of yeast that launched a thousand industries
From marbling to marketing, research helps brand Oregon beef
OSU makes sure fancy foods are safe to eat
Reconnecting people and their landscapes
Local food to local jobs: An economic engine for rural communities
Oregon Wine Research Institute Newsletter
Dear OWRI Friends and Colleagues,
We hope you enjoy this first copy of what we hope will be monthly OWRI eNewsletters!
OWRI Research Updates:
In the fall of 2011, the OWRI Technical Committee considered and recommended that four OWRI Pilot Projects be initiated in 2012. Read newsletter
Reaching Out
OSU Extension's online help center answers 2,600 questions in first nine months
Since its launch in late March, the Oregon State University Extension Service's online help center has answered more than 2,600 questions about everything from how to sanitize birdhouses to how to make compost with manure. Read more...
'Growing Farms' planning book is available to public
Over the last three years, 250 new and would-be farmers in Oregon have learned to dream strategically in an Oregon State University Extension workshop series called "Growing Farms: Successful Whole Farm Management."
The Growing Farms workshops are for people who want to start a farm business, are in the first years of owning a farm or want to make major changes to their existing farm. They learn how to make a reality of their dream farm with a strategic plan and how to consider production options, manage finances, produce and sell its products and deal with liability.
Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom honored with Ag Connection Award
The Agri-Business Council, at their recent Denim and Diamonds event on November 18, 2011, awarded Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom their Ag Connection Award. AITC is dedicated to helping children grow in their knowledge of agriculture, the environment and natural resources for the benefit of Oregonians today and in the future. Tami Kerr is the Executive Director of Agriculture in the Classroom and is also President of the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization. Learn more on video.
OSU posts 100 years of farming research, homemaking advice online
More than 6,000 documents from Oregon State University that cover a century of agricultural research and homemaking advice are now available to the public online.Dating as far back as 1888, the publications were produced by OSU's Extension Service and the university's agricultural research centers around the state. The materials include annual research reports and instructional guides covering everything from agricultural techniques to housecleaning.
The project was the result of a partnership between OSU Libraries and the university's department of Extension and Experiment Station Communications (EESC). Read more...
Registration opens for OSU's small farms conference on Feb. 25
Registration has opened for the 12th annual Oregon Small Farms Conference on Feb. 25 at Oregon State University.Kristin Kimball will open the daylong event with a talk about Essex Farm, which she and her husband run in New York. She'll discuss the evolution of their farm, the advantages and disadvantages of scaling up and the importance of holding on to a clear vision in the face of rapid change.
Kimball, a graduate of Harvard University, is the author of "The Dirty Life," a memoir about her first year farming after abandoning a career as a writer in New York City. Read more...
Faculty and Staff
Photo exhibit features Clint Shock
A new exhibit of landscape photographs by Clinton Shock, professor and superintendent of the OSU Malheur Experiment Station, will open the weekend of Jan. 20 at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, Ore. The exhibit is called “Landscapes: Exploring The Back Country Of Malheur and Owyhee County.” It opens Friday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m., with a presentation by Shock at 6. The exhibit runs through March 20.
New tag technology reveals how sea lions live.....and die
Markus Horning has been studying how juvenile predation is preventing Steller sea lion population recovery: “It is generally accepted that most pinniped populations suffer from high attrition in the juvenile years, but this study suggests that predation accounts for most, if not all of this attrition in the case of Steller sea lions,” said Markus Horning, an Oregon State University marine mammal expert and lead author on the study. The news article below covers the general issues of the research. Markus developed the "life history" tag mentioned below and his willingness to take on such complicated topics and solutions is one of the reasons he was hired by the Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute.
Faculty and staff showcase hidden talents in art show
(Life@OSU) While only a small percentage of Oregon State University faculty and staff can call themselves professional artists, there are myriad hidden talents among the OSU community, and a few of those are now being revealed at the OSU Invitational Staff Art Exhibit, on display through Feb. 17 at the LaSells Stewart Center Galleria. Betsy Hartley, director of external relations for the College of Agricultural Sciences, first bought a camera when she was working in South Dakota. She began taking photos of the thousands of geese who were flying by her on a migratory flight path, in order to share the experience with her parents back home.