Penn State Extension | The Pennsylvania State University
Lifelong learning you can trust
Practical knowledge to work the land, develop skills, grow your business, serve your community, steward the environment, and raise healthy families.
Learn when, where, and how you need
Choose from thousands of in-person workshops, online courses, publications, and onsite consultations on topics that matter to you.
Solve Problems
Got an issue? Let’s work together to identify and solve the most important challenges impacting your business, home, or health.
Develop Skills
Expert resources to develop competencies for the workforce, build your business, pursue a hobby, or follow your passion.
Earn Certificates
Professional credentials you need to demonstrate that you are safe, competent, and qualified.
Featured Online Courses
Beekeeping 102: Organic Honey Bee Colony Management
$139.00
Venison 101: Harvesting
$29.00
Home Food Preservation: Freezing
$29.00
Ag101: Introduction to Agriculture
$99.00
Landscaping Safety: Pesticides
$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Planting, Mulching, and Watering
$19.00
Grant Writing: How to Find Funds and Write a Winning Proposal
$99.00
Nutrition 101: Healthy Eating Guidelines and Meal Planning
$69.00
Forest Taxation: Forest Finance and Timber Tax Education
$160.00
Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs
$39.00
Growing Raspberries and Blackberries: From Planting to Harvest
$99.00
Private Wells and Water Systems Management
$39.00
Farmers Market Food Safety
$39.00
Orchard Management: Site Planning and Preparation
$89.00
Plant Health Diagnosis: Assessing Plant Diseases, Pests and Problems
$39.00
Totally Veggies
$39.00
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- Webinars
Extension by the Numbers
People, resources, and ideas advancing the extension mission.
320+
Subject Matter Experts
1,500+
in-person and online events per year
6,000+
articles, publications, and fact sheets
Trending Topics
Extension offers the latest information and resources on topics impacting Pennsylvania today.
Avian Influenza
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI): Poultry Owners Should Be On High Alert.
Develop Skills
Expert resources to develop competencies for the workforce, build your business, pursue a hobby, or follow your passion.
Latest News
- News11/11/2024
Drought and Fire Danger Update for November 2024
Fire danger drops to low rating while several burn bans continue, and drought watches persist for 35 Pennsylvania counties.$0.00
- News11/20/2024
Celebrating World Toilet Day
November 19th was World Toilet Day! This is a United Nations observance day to not only celebrate toilets but also raise awareness about proper sanitation worldwide.$0.00 - News11/18/2024
Forest Snapshot November 2024
This bi-monthly article is a collection of forest health observations, plant and animal phenology, important upcoming dates, and hunting season changes.$0.00 - News11/18/2024
New Workbook Empowers Retail Farm Markets to Boost Success
Penn State Extension's PA Farm Markets program has created a Retail Farm Market Development workbook for those who are considering starting a farm market or looking to improve an existing market.$0.00
- News11/12/2024
How to Become a Private Certified Pesticide Applicator
New applicator? First time using restricted-use pesticides? Fumigants? Retesting after a lapsed license? These are the simplified steps to obtain a private pesticide license.$0.00
- News11/12/2024
Weather Outlook for the Week of November 12, 2024
A Little Rain Thursday, Sunny and Mild for the Weekend$0.00
Our Vision
We believe that all people should have access to science-based information.
Penn State Extension is a modern educational organization dedicated to delivering science-based information to people, businesses, and communities. We provide access to face-to-face and online education to our customers—when they want it, where they want it, and how they want it—to help them address problems and take advantage of opportunities for improvement and innovation. Partnering with and funded by federal, state, and county governments, we have a long tradition of bringing unbiased support and education to the citizens of Pennsylvania. We make a difference locally through focused engagement, and more widely to customers connecting in the digital landscape.
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Spotted Lanternfly Management Guide
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Beer and Spirits: Supplying the Craft Beverage Boom with Local Ingredients
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How You Can Comply with the Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Regulations
Tree-of-Heaven
Choosing a Qualified Pest Management or Lawn Care Company
Common Drinking Water Problems and Solutions
Pennsylvania Native Plants for the Perennial Garden
Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for Small-Scale and Part-Time Growers
Proper Handling of Eggs: From Hen to Consumption
Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator Certification
Six Steps to Mushroom Farming
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Featured Articles
Spotted Lanternfly Management Guide
Roadside Guide to Clean Water
Best Practices for Managing and Moderating Community Social Media Groups
Resources for Food Entrepreneurs
Beer and Spirits: Supplying the Craft Beverage Boom with Local Ingredients
Mulching Landscape Trees
How You Can Comply with the Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Regulations
Tree-of-Heaven
Choosing a Qualified Pest Management or Lawn Care Company
Common Drinking Water Problems and Solutions
Pennsylvania Native Plants for the Perennial Garden
Fruit and Vegetable Marketing for Small-Scale and Part-Time Growers
Proper Handling of Eggs: From Hen to Consumption
Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator Certification
Six Steps to Mushroom Farming
8 Things You Need to Know Before Starting Your Own Dairy Farm
Upcoming Workshops
Grain Crops Organic Study Circles
Free
Biocontrol School
$85.00
Dairy Housing Options: My Tie Stall Is Worn Out, Now What?
$10.00
Let's Cook Mediterranean
$30.00
Private Pesticide Applicator Short Course
$40.00
LIFT (8 Weeks)
$60.00
Crops Day
$10.00
Preventive Controls for Human Foods Certification Workshop
$600.00
ServSafe®
$165.00
What our customers are saying
Everything we do is centered around animal welfare and food safety. However, we needed the science. It's all that partnership and education. I've learned so much through the years working with extension. It's been a great thing.
Frank Connett
Manager of Flock Services at Kreider Farms
Management of forest invasives has been a very large problem for me, and I've managed to keep on top of it, but I found the resources offered by extension have been very valuable in that. It is very helpful because if you talk to the professionals who do it, you get a very different view point and in many cases you could be wasting thousands of dollars in doing the wrong thing, or the right thing at the wrong time. I found that having the resources from extension has aided me in many ways.
John Hoover
Bald Eagle Tree Farm
The extension programs have given me reference making me a much better steward of our property and a better understanding of how the ecosystem fits together. Since I've been managing it, we've seen a return of fishers and beavers to our stream so we are getting back pieces to the ecosystem that have been missing.
Susan Shoemaker-Benedict
Beartown Family Limited Partnership
Penn State has been an integral part of the business since I’ve been here. We do about 3.5 million pounds of fresh sausage a year. We’ve relied on Penn State many times because we do not have the budget to have a full-time person here that deals with food safety or research and development.
Len Caric
President/CEO Uncle Charley’s Sausage Co.
We work very closely with Penn State Extension, and that has been instrumental in developing best practices and new processes and technologies, both in the orchard and the packhouse.
Danijel Lolic
Rice Fruit Company
I really appreciate the instructors from Penn State Extension mostly because they serve as a really good resource. They're well-spoken and very clear. They'll take subject matter and dumb it down–so to speak–so that on every level, you understand it.
Ester Betley
Dining with Diabetes Participant
Penn State Extension and the University have provided us uncounted resources when it comes to the education of our employees.
Byron Shaffer
Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance at Kreider Farms
Volunteers are the backbone of extension
Join a highly engaged team that supports Master Gardener; Master Watershed Steward; 4-H; and Nutrition, Health, and Wellness programs.
Pennsylvania 4-H: Transforming kids through doing
4-H is the state's largest youth development organization, with clubs in rural communities, small towns, and big cities–including a club near you. Members tackle projects that build life skills, explore careers, and help young people find their passion in life.
Learn more about Pennsylvania 4-H