Tag Archives: Caitie Smith

Internship won’t be my last chapter with Extension

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My name is Caitie Smith I am a current senior at Oregon State University studying agriculture science and will be returning for my master’s in agriculture education this fall. During my internship at the Linn County Extension Office, I have learned so much and the time has just flown by. I am so grateful to everyone at the office that has welcomed me and made me feel at home throughout the summer.

A woman stands against a cloud-streaked sky, wearing a backpack with long flags.
Caitie Smith carrying flags and drone ground control points for a grass seed trial.

I have mostly been working with Christy Tanner, assistant professor of practice and Extension field crops specialist, on several ongoing research projects throughout the summer. I wouldn’t be getting the full Linn County experience without doing some work with grass seed. So of course, one of the projects that took up the majority of our time involved assessing several grass seed fields for vole damage. This project was made easier with the use of multispectral images from a drone that allowed us to view the field from above. The most rewarding part of this project for me was being able to have a hands-on experience with several steps of the research process, from collecting samples to processing drone images and data.

Purple flower stalks peeking above a large field of dense green mint leaves.
A flowering mint field while pest scouting.

Another project that I worked on with Christy was monitoring variegated cutworm and mint root borers in several mint fields throughout the mid-Willamette valley. Every Tuesday I drove to four different fields, collected data, and changed the pheromone traps that were used to attract mature moths. After this, I would make graphs with the data that would go into the weekly “Mint Pest Alert” newsletter.

I also worked with Elizabeth Records, a community horticulture and Master Gardener educator, and the Extension Master Gardener content team. Weekly I edited master gardener trainee’s blog posts before posting them alongside a few social media posts. Not only did I learn a lot about editing and posting blogs but I also learned a great deal from the blog posts themselves. The trainees did copious amounts of research on each of their subjects from weeding tools to maximizing your harvest’s nutrients.

Once again, I can’t thank the Linn County Extension staff enough for allowing me to make the most out of this opportunity. I am sure that this is not my last chapter working with extension and I am looking forward to ways that I can use the knowledge that I gained in my future endeavors.

Combining my love for research with my future in education

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Hi there, my name is Caitie Smith. I am a senior at Oregon State University studying agricultural sciences and this fall I will be returning to get my master’s in agriculture education with hopes of becoming a high school ag teacher. This summer I am interning at the OSU Extension office in Linn County with Christy Tanner and Elizabeth Records as my supervisors.

I live in Corvallis at the moment but will be moving to Salem in August. Outside of school I like to hang out with my dog, Filbert, ride horses, garden and play guitar. I am also a first generation U.S. citizen as my parents immigrated to Lake Oswego, Oregon, from South Africa in 1998. I do not come from a background in agriculture but found a passion for it when I came to OSU originally intending to study animal science. Through meeting people, taking classes and joining clubs in the college of agriculture I was able to find my interest in crop science and education.

Caitie Smith holding a pea pod.

It is because of my background that I want to become an agriculture teacher and share what I love about the industry with my students that may not be able to find it elsewhere.

Before starting my internship with Extension, I worked for the OSU Wheat Research program for two years. Through this experience I was able to learn what goes into crop breeding and research and how it can be used to increase the food supply. My current internship position with Extension allows me to combine my love of research with my future in education.

I am working with Christy, assistant professor of practice and Extension field crops specialist, on a few different research projects, one of which is assessing damage in grass seed fields from voles. We use a drone to view the field from above and look for weak spots. Another project I am doing some work on this summer involves the effect of different pests on mint. This is done by setting traps in several mint fields throughout the mid-Willamette Valley and then checking them weekly for signs of mint root borers and variegated cutworms.

In addition to my work with Christy, I am working with Elizabeth, community horticulture and Master Gardener educator, and the Extension Master Gardener program. With the help of the Master Gardeners seasonal content team, I am publishing blogs and social media posts about gardening issues and topics throughout the summer. These topics so far include container gardening, native plants, beginner gardening, trendy houseplants and so much more.

I am beyond excited to learn as much as I can this summer about extension and apply it to my future as a teacher!