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Extension faculty honored for agriculture communications, outreach

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Faculty in the Oregon State University Extension Service Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources program have been recognized by peers with national and regional awards.

Jenifer Cruickshank, Melissa Fery and Audrey Comerford received national honors at the 2024 National Association of County Agricultural Agents annual meeting, held in July in Dallas.

Cruickshank, Oregon State University Extension Service’s statewide dairy specialist, received the national achievement award. The honor recognizes excellence in professional Extension for members with fewer than 10 years of service.

Melissa Fery, associate professor of practice with the Oregon State University Extension Small Farms Program in Benton, Lane and Linn counties, received a national award in newsletters for Oregon Small Farms News. The free online publication serves both commercial small farm entrepreneurs and non-commercial small acreage landowners.

Research and communications honored

Fery also earned a regional award for An Initial Economic Impact Estimate of Agritourism in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The report was designed by OSU College of Agricultural Sciences Communications and published by OSU Extension Communications.

Audrey Comerford, Extension agritourism coordinator, was recognized as a national winner for best published photo. The image depicts adults learning how to make a dried flower wreath on a Willamette Valley flower farm.

Outreach and education excellence

Chrissy Lucas, Extension groundwater quality outreach program coordinator, was named a national finalist for a video explaining what not to flush in a septic system. The video has been incorporated into multiple Living with Your Well and Septic System webinars and self-paced lessons.

Brooke Edmunds, Oregon State University Extension faculty member in community horticulture, and LeAnn Locher, statewide Master Gardener outreach coordinator, each received regional awards for a fact sheet and online content, respectively.

Previously titled Agricultural Extension faculty recognized nationally by their peers

Cow's head
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