The Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service partners with local communities, providing trusted expertise and science-based knowledge to respond to local needs, challenges, and opportunities.

Our work is as richly diverse as Oregon’s communities. We’re helping kids reach their full potential and expanding educational access through 4-H and other youth programs. We’re encouraging resilience across the food chain — from pollinator health to farm and ranch productivity. We’re supporting sustainable natural resource management and enhancing health and well-being for every stage of life.

Our mission, put simply, is to help every Oregonian thrive. Our relationship with Oregon counties is crucial to fulfilling that mission.

A strong partnership

OSU Extension has a presence in every Oregon county and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. 

Local governments provide important financial and advisory support, ensuring that our work is directed toward community priorities.

Twenty-six counties support Extension with voter-approved service districts or levies; nine others provide general fund allocations. Every $1 invested by counties in OSU Extension leverages $2 in state funding as well as federal, grant, and philanthropic funding. These county dollars directly support county needs, including facilities and local program support.

In January 2023, we were honored to again partner with the Association of Oregon Counties to offer County College. This biennial program provides a comprehensive overview for new commissioners, judges, chairs and high-level staff and opportunities to explore the strong partnership between counties and OSU Extension.

A look ahead

OSU Extension is one of three statewide OSU public service programs, along with the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station and the Forest Research Laboratory. These programs, known as the OSU Statewides, receive a state funding allocation separate from the university’s general budget.

Guided by stakeholder input, in the 2023-25 biennium the OSU Statewides will seek $206 million in state legislative funding, which is a $50 million increase. This investment supports:

  • Full base funding to sustain program and service levels.
  • New funding to bolster capacity and expand programming to support resilient food systems, natural resources, and communities.

While Extension efforts are included in all aspects of the request, they are the centerpiece of the community resilience focus and will directly benefit rural and urban communities by:

  • Expanding proven Extension programs to support agricultural production, and in turn, economic development.
  • Strengthening our network of field-based educators who provide nutrition, mental health, and physical well-being programming.
  • Supporting college and career access and expanding positive youth development programming. 
  • Building more sustainable urban environments and community food systems.
  • Expanding existing, effective Extension community mental health promotion and substance use programming.
  • Build capacity to provide applied research and evidence-based solutions to help communities mitigate detrimental health effects of houselessness and improve other health outcomes.

State funding is a critical complement to investment by counties in OSU Extension, and provides for delivery of statewide programming that is responsive to local needs. 

We value, and depend on, the support and collaboration we receive from Oregon’s counties. And we look forward to what we will continue to accomplish together.

We invite you to learn more about how OSU Extension is serving Oregon: extension.oregonstate.edu/impact

Contributed by: Dr. Ivory W. Lyles | Vice Provost, Division of Extension and Engagement, Director, OSU Extension Service

*AOC Partner sponsored article.