Connecting information, research and people across the industry

Useful information has to reach the people who can act on it.

Our Outreach & Extension work connects growers, researchers, commodity groups and industry organizations across the Pacific Northwest—helping research findings, technical information and regional updates move into the industry while bringing grower observations and needs back to the people positioned to respond.

Sometimes that means translating research. Sometimes it means getting timely information in front of growers. Other times, it means listening and using our channels to communicate what’s happening in the field, share relevant government updates or bring attention to new regional developments.

Extension isn’t only about distributing information.

Information should move both ways

Growers are often among the first to see changing conditions, emerging challenges and practical gaps in the field. Researchers, commodity groups and industry organizations bring different expertise and resources to those challenges.

Our role is to help strengthen the connection between them so information, observations and expertise can move in both directions.

Through direct conversations, field observations, industry meetings, workshops, research participation and other points of engagement, we can identify and better understand the needs of the people we serve.

Those insights can then move back through industry relationships to researchers and organizations positioned to investigate, communicate or respond to them.

How information moves depends on what the industry needs.

How does Outreach & Extension work?

Research Translation

Technical research findings are valuable, but they aren’t always immediately accessible to someone making on-farm decisions.

This is where our expertise comes in—we help translate research findings and technical information into clear, applicable communication pieces designed for growers and industry members.

That can include research summaries and fact sheets translated into plain language. Other times it involves visual communication, newsletters, web content and other materials we circulate through our channels.

Timely Industry Communication

Some information matters because of when it reaches people.

Through established communication channels and industry relationships, we help circulate relevant regional updates, research information and, when needed, grower alerts.

The goal isn’t simply to publish more information. It’s to help useful information reach the people who need it while it can still be useful.

Workshops & Educational Opportunities

Some information is better shared through conversation and direct engagement.

NBF organizes and supports workshops and other educational opportunities that bring growers, researchers and industry members together around production issues, research findings and regional updates.

These settings also create opportunities for questions, observations, collaboration and grower experiences to move back into the wider industry conversation.

Industry Outreach & Collaboration

Outreach often happens through relationships rather than a single communication channel.

We work alongside commodity groups, grower organizations, government agencies, researchers and agricultural businesses on outreach efforts shaped around a shared industry need.

Depending on the project, that may involve connecting growers and researchers, coordinating communication, supporting engagement, developing shared resources or educational initiatives, or helping information move across participating organizations.

Have information or an industry need that should reach growers? Let’s connect. →

Turning research into something growers can use

Research doesn’t create its full value simply by being completed.

Findings have to leave reports, presentations and research programs and reach the people who can apply them.

For our work with the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research, that includes translating completed research into grower-friendly fact sheets and maintaining digital research information so funded work is easier to find and understand.

The format may change depending on the program or information, but the principle is consistent: preserve the value of the research while making it more accessible to the audience it was intended to serve.

Explore Research & Industry Stories →

Listening is part of extension

The information growers provide matters too.

Direct conversations, field observations, workshops, commission meetings, surveys and research participation can surface questions and challenges that aren’t always visible from outside the field.

Those signals help us understand where information may be missing, where an existing resource isn’t enough or where a larger research or industry response may be useful.

We then bring those needs into conversations with researchers, commodity groups, agencies and other organizations as discussion points—and, where appropriate, help connect the people needed to move an idea forward.

Extension isn’t simply the end of the research process. Sometimes it’s where the next question begins.

The Small Fruit Update

One of NBF’s longest-running examples of this connection is the Small Fruit Update.

Beginning as a faxed grower newsletter around 2000, SFU continues to provide timely regional information for Pacific Northwest berry growers.

Today, it forms part of a broader Grower Resources platform where growers can find current updates alongside information addressing regional production issues, crop stages, pest identification and crop management.

Read the Small Fruit Update →

Need to reach or hear from the industry?

Whether you have research findings that need translating, timely information that should reach growers, an educational opportunity or an industry need that could benefit from collaboration, let’s talk.

Contact Outreach & Extension →