OSU wins $10 million grant to build youth ag careers

Oregon State University Extension Service was chosen as the national coordination home for a multi-year, $10 million USDA-funded effort to create clearer pathways for young people into agriculture, natural resources and food-system careers. The designation, announced Jan. 13, 2026, tasks OSU with central coordination of what the program calls the YEA Coordination Network and funds a set of national tools and programs aimed at workforce development and STEM connections in agriculture.

The initiative will fund an online clearinghouse of resources, a suite of professional-development offerings for educators and extension staff, national youth leadership programming, and a culturally responsive curriculum package labeled Flourishing ACE. OSU will coordinate partner universities and individual projects, host communities of practice, translate and adapt learning materials for broader use, and publish an annual observations brief that tracks outcomes and best practices.

For Baker County residents, those components translate into more organized support for local 4-H clubs, FFA chapters, school-based ag programs and extension outreach. The clearinghouse aims to streamline curricula and lesson plans for teachers in remote schools, and professional development should give county educators new tools to teach agricultural science and career pathways. Local employers from row-crop farms to cattle ranches and timber operations stand to benefit from a deeper pipeline of young workers trained with applied STEM skills and exposure to modern food-system roles beyond seasonal labor.

Economically, the federal investment signals an emphasis on bolstering rural labor supply in sectors that underpin Baker County’s economy. By connecting youth programming to career options in production agriculture, natural resources stewardship and food processing, the network seeks to reduce recruitment frictions for employers and improve long-term career retention. The emphasis on culturally responsive curricula also aims to reach students from diverse backgrounds, broadening the candidate pool for technical and managerial roles.

OSU’s coordination role includes translating localized lessons into replicable models for partners nationwide and convening communities of practice where extension agents and educators can share implementation lessons. The annual observations brief is intended to deliver measurable outcomes on youth engagement, educator capacity and institutional partnerships that funders and local leaders can use to justify continued investment.

What comes next for Baker County is practical: expect outreach from the county extension office as materials and professional-development dates are scheduled, and watch for opportunities to enroll youth in national leadership programming. Over the medium term, the program could ease hiring pressures for local farms and food businesses and create clearer, credit-bearing pathways from high school programs to technical training and college programs in agriculture and natural resources.