Vegetable farmers in Oregon’s Willamette Valley face growing pressure to stay profitable. Labor shortages, high costs and new regulations have added challenges for producers already competing with low-priced imports.
Oregon’s most urban region has regained access to the state’s foremost agriculture experts with a renewed partnership between Multnomah County and Oregon State University’s Extension Service.
“There is not another land grant university that has a team this size and with this potential,” said Chris Schreiner, chief executive officer of Oregon Tilth, a leading organic certifier. “It’s historic.”
A new strawberry called Finnito is on the verge of being released and continues the legacy of Chad Finn, a USDA Agricultural Research Service berry breeder.
“I think it could be one of the largest kiwiberry research plots in the U.S.,” said Scott Lukas, an OSU small fruit researcher. Kiwiberry, also called hardy kiwi, is from northern Asia, but vines grow well in Oregon and Washington.
As Priya Rajarapu explains it, Justin Whitehill, the leader of the Christmas Tree Genetics Program at N.C. State, would take lab members to meetings of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association so they could meet growers.
Would you like your homegrown potatoes to stay fresh and last longer? Research has shown there are best practices to harvesting and storing potatoes to ensure freshness.
Following a national search, Dr. Steve Young has been named the new Director of the North Willamette Research and Extension Center, effective June 16.
Oregon’s weather is becoming less predictable. That can make running a farm harder, and it’s pushing farmers to be more climate resilient
Nick Andrews, Oregon State University Extension Service’s organic vegetable specialist, is one of the university’s resident experts on cover crops and a founding board member of the Western Cover Crops Council.
Just as it took a small-but-enthusiastic group to invest in wine production more than 60 years ago, today a new group is equally determined to start another new Oregon agriculture industry in the state: olives.
OSU Extension is participating in a multi-state, multi-university research team to determine the climate readiness of selected ornamental plants.
Scott Lukas, Oregon State University associate professor, said some fruits grown in the Northwest have tight margins, and farms face international competition.
Hobby growers and professional producers are optimistic about the upcoming harvest in Oregon.
The practice has already drawn interest from some solar developers who hope to implement the systems on a wide scale.
This short video introduces a new WSARE-funded project to help farmers detect voles in the environment and target their control efforts. Can detection dogs do this more efficiently than humans alone?
Nik Wiman, an associate professor in the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences, stated that the first BMSB to be detected in Oregon was found in Portland in 2004. Wiman says OSU has been researching the bugs for a decade.
Event to be held in September on OSU’s North Willamette research farm, featuring West Coast researchers and agricultural industry representatives who share the latest advances in technology and technique.
We're excited to welcome these outstanding media fellows to learn more about our research, teaching, and outreach that supports diverse food and ag industries across Oregon!
Newer varieties of hazelnut trees proved more resilient in the ice storm as well as to diseases according to Nik Wiman, an orchard specialist at Oregon State University.
100 years of Extension Service in Clackamas county is the feature story in the 2017 Extension Community Report.
Solar Array Project
Down on the Farm
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NWREC "In the News"
Articles from publications and industry sources.
- Tractor Safety Class a Big Hit, article in the Capital Press, 7/6/12
- Blazing a trail for a better bounty of Oregon berries in Oregon Live, 7/26/11
- Keep those fuzzy strawberries in check in Oregon Live, 5/31/11
- OSU Researcher Driving Blueberries up a Tree, in Oregon Blueberry Update
- Oregon plant pest warnings: Borers, wooly beech aphids, waxy excretions and weeping wounds in Oregon Live, 5/17/11
- In New Food Culture, a Young Generation of Farmers Emerges in The New York Times, 5/5/11
- Spring planting in Estacada needs watchful eye in the Portland Tribune, 2/23/11
- West Linn High School's Ann Bernert wins semifinals in Intel Science Talent Search with research on Himalayan blackberries in Oregon Live, 1/12/11
- Oregon nurseries explore unmanned drone technology to monitor fields in Oregon Live, 5/5/11
- A SWAT team pursues a tiny new invader in Oregon Agricultural Progress Magazine, Summer 2010
- ODA awards nursery research grants in the Daily Digger, 2/1/11
- Farmers: OSU statewides budget deserves funds in the Capital Press, 4/7/11
The Charbonneau Villager
NWREC Director, Mike Bondi, is a regular contributor to The Charbonneau Villager, a monthly newspaper from the local community of Charbonneau. These articles connect Charbonneau's residents to the services and information provided by NWREC. View articles authored by Mike Bondi for The Charbonneau Villager.
Clackamas County Extension Community Report
“Our goal with the Community Report is to showcase our key education programs, outreach, and research for the past year—and the difference these activities make in people’s lives here in our communities.” Paper copies of the Clackamas County Extension Community Report can be obtained at the Extension office in Oregon City or at NWREC in Aurora. To veiw online or print PDF, please see links below for each edition.