Lisbeth Goddik (Food Science and Technology) provides training for Oregon’s artisan cheese industry, which grew from just two operations in 1999 to twenty in 2013.
Category Archives: Strengthening Impact Throughout Oregon and Beyond
Extension provides research, education in support of Oregon direct farm marketing
Small farms see bigger profits by selling direct to consumers
Direct farm marketing is becoming a big part of Oregon agriculture. According to the 2007 USDA Census of Agricultural, 6,274 Oregon farms sold products directly to consumers, with total sales of $56 million. This is a 144 percent increase over the $21 million in farm direct sales reported in the 2002 Census. It’s a trend that OSU Extension is supporting with direct marketing research and education.
“Farmers’ markets are a great success story for Oregon agriculture,” said Larry Lev, OSU Extension economist. “They create a direct way that communities can support agriculture in the local area, which contributes to the vitality of communities and Oregon agriculture.” Lev works with the OSU Extension small farms program to conduct direct marketing research and deliver outreach education to help Oregon farmers learn how to market directly to consumers more effectively.
OSU helps schools reduce pesticide use, comply with law
With their cafeterias and grassy sportsfields, schools make attractive homes for rodents, ants, weeds and roaches. That’s not good becase some of these pests can trigger asthma — a condition that afflicts 8 percent of Oregon’s children. Custodians have typically used pesticides on these invaders. But dousing them with chemicals can create new health hazards, especially for children whose vulnerable bodies are still developing.
The OSU Extension Service is working to ensure a safe environment for Oregon’s school children. Mandated by state law, Extension has drawn up best practices for schools to implement to reduce their pesticide use. The plans use integrated pest management (IPM), which employs chemicals as a last resort and instead aims to eliminate the conditions that attract pests. As part of the law, each school district must designate an IPM coordinator. As of summer 2014, Extension had provided IPM training to coordinators from 189 of Oregon’s 197 school districts and all of the state’s 17 community colleges.
A 2010 survey of Oregon schools showed just 4 percent of districts had an IPM plan, whereas 75 percent now employ the methods. In addition, 90 percent of schools in 2013 reported using non-chemical pest solutions compared with 66 percent in 2010. More than 70 percent use a low-impact pesticide list compared with just 37 percent in 2010. In addition, specially trained IPM health specialists inspect each of Oregon’s 1,200 public K-12 school kitchens twice each year.
Backers say IPM reduces costs. For example, the Anne Arundel district in Maryland reduced its pest control budget from $46,000 to $14,000 after its first year of IPM.
Read more about OSU Extension’s IPM program for schools in an article in Oregon’s Agricultural Progress magazine.
Sources: National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides; 2013 report The Burden of Asthma in Oregon; Tim Stock, IPM education specialist with OSU Extension.
Pendleton scouts barley growth
AgSci plant geneticist Pat Hayes is testing 44 different lines of fall-planted barley to offer wheat growers an option for crop rotation.
http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/casprovostreport2015/2015/07/29/pendleton-scouted-for-barley-growth/
Hazelnut industry thrives, thanks to OSU research
OSU researcher Shawn Mehlenbacher continues to breed new varieties of hazelnuts that are resistant to disease. Oregon grows 99% of the nation’s hazelnut output—a $129 million industry. New plantings are increasing at a rate of 10%, or 300 new acres a year of OSU-bred varieties. OSU plans to license Wepster, the newest hazelnut variety, for a royalty of 50 cents per tree.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/07/oregon_hazelnut_industry_sides.html
Small Farms Program Advises Local Farmers
The OSU Extension Service’s Small Farms program has played a key role in building Oregon’s small farms since the late 1990s and has an eclectic staff whose backgrounds include anthropology, soil science, economics, and entrepreneurial small farming.
Small farms program offers workshops and online instruction
Small farms have sprouted across Oregon like the seeds they plant. The growth comes as interest in local foods increases, retirees buy small acreages, and ambitious Generation Xers and Yers look for back-to-the-land vocations. But it’s not as easy as picking up a hoe and planting a few tomatoes.
That’s where the OSU Extension Service’s small farms program comes in. Through a series of classroom and hands-on courses, it helps agricultural greenhorns decide if the farming life is for them, what they should do with their land, how to grow fruits and vegetables, and how to market them.
Offerings include an evening class called What can I do With my Small Farm? That’s followed by a four-week class called Exploring the Small Farm Dream that helps people identify their goals and resources. In southern Oregon alone, about 80 people have graduated from it in the past five years. Graduates are then eligible for the six-week Growing Farms business class, which is also offered online. About 150 people have completed that course since 2007 in southern Oregon.
Graduates can sign up for the seven-month, hands-on Growing Agripreneurs training program. With the help of mentors, participants spend about three hours a week farming an acre of land at OSU’s Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point. They also take classes and tour farms. About 20 people have graduated from the program in southern Oregon. Extension also hosts three farming support networks for women around the state.
Watch this video to see how Extension has helped one small farmer in Medford.
Source: Maud Powell, coordinator for Extension’s small farms program in Jackson and Josephine counties
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/programs/ag/small-farms
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/bridges/extension-plants-seed-new-farmers
Branch Experiment Stations Open Their Doors
The OSU Branch Experiment Stations hold over 30 field days per year, in which they open their doors to both industry and the general public. The stations offer practical information to growers and share information gained from OSU research. They network new possible projects based on the needs of industry and local citizens’ concerns.
OSU Expands Pesticide Info Program
A five-year, $5 million grant, funded by the EPA, has enabled OSU’s National Pesticide Information Center to expand its online services. Last year the website had 1.8 million visitors, with 32 million overall hits, and the hotline handled 17,000 phone calls, offering information in over 170 languages.
http://portlandtribune.com/fgnt/36-news/221635-82155-osu-expands-pesticide-info-program
1. OSU Seaweed Bacon Makes National Headlines
AgSci researchers have developed a commercially viable strain of dulse, a fast-growing seaweed, that contains twice the nutritional value of kale and, perhaps more importantly, tastes like bacon. The very concept of a superfood alternative to bacon has landed this story on the webpages of CNN, TIME, and ABC News, shining the national spotlight on OSU’s Food Innovation Center (FIC) in Portland. Jason Ball, a food researcher at the FIC, is experimenting with dulse-based products ranging from trail mix and rice crackers to smoked dulse popcorn peanut brittle. Chris Langdon, the OSU professor and aquaculture researcher who patented the new strain of dulse, originally developed the seaweed to feed abalone, an edible sea-snail. The effort to commercialize the plant has been a collaboration led by Chuck Toombs, a professor in the College of Business, who is currently working with students on marketing strategies, with hopes of retailing dulse food products this fall. In January, Langdon’s new strain of dulse was recognized as a “specialty crop” by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, which has led to new grants to fund further research. Culinary seaweed has enormous potential for growth as an industry in Oregon.
Food Science, economic development, industry, interdisciplinary, research, experiment stations
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/17/tech/dulse-bacon-flavored-seaweed/
http://time.com/3960421/seaweed-bacon-dulse-kale-super-food/
OAP, Summer 2015