New staff joins Osage OSU extension office

Two new additions to the staff of the OSU Extension Office — Kenda Woodburn and Bruce Peverly — were recently introduced by Osage County Extension Director, Donna Robbins.

Kenda Woodburn was born and raised in Florida and North Carolina. She received her bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and master’s degree, with an emphasis on fruit and vegetable production from the University of Florida.

While working for the University of Arkansas at its Fruit Research Station in Clarksville, Woodburn helped with all aspects of growing blueberries, blackberries, table and wine grapes, peaches and apples. Some of the fruit varieties that she helped to get commercially released include Natchez, Osage and Chickasaw blackberry and White Cloud, White Diamond and White River peaches and Neptune Jupiter grapes.

Woodburn has a small farm in Skiatook where she breeds and develops race horses. She has worked as a horticulture extension educator for OSU Tulsa County Extension for four years.

Raised on a stock farm in central Kansas, Bruce Peverly has resided in northeast Oklahoma since 1982. He has 37 years of experience as a county extension educator and area livestock specialist in Kansas and Oklahoma. Bruce has a master’s degree in beef cattle nutrition from the University of Kansas and he is excited about the opportunity to become involved in Osage County.

Peverley hopes to utilize his training in livestock and forage management in order to benefit area farmers and ranchers. He is planning to offer Master Cattlemen classes. Both of the new staff members are excited about the programming in Osage County, Robbins said.

Woodburn will be offering a master gardener program that starts April 19. Master gardener classes will meet on Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., although the April 19 kick-off meeting will last from 9:30 to noon, with lunch afterward. Average cost for master gardeners programs in the state is $100.

Actual classes will follow on April 26, May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 and June 7, 14 and 21. After that, the class will do 45 hours of service projects. Once those are finished, there will be a graduation ceremony. In order to retain their designation as a master gardener, each graduate will need to complete 45 hours of service annually. For those who do, there will be an awards banquet each year.

Anyone interested in the master cattlemen program or the master gardening program should call the Osage County Extension office at 918-287-4170.