APRIL 23, 2009 ISSUE
Progress Through Partnerships
Watauga County Cooperative Extension Presents Report to the People
Watauga County Cooperative Extension agents presented their 2008 Report to the People—a synopsis of the many initiatives, programs and accomplishments from 2008—on Monday, April 20, at the Agricultural Conference Center in Boone. Photo by Sam Calhoun
After snow cancelled the original meeting date, Watauga County Cooperative Extension presented its 2008 Report to the People—a synopsis of its many initiatives, programs and accomplishments from 2008—on Monday, April 20, at the Agricultural Conference Center in Boone.
Members of the media, Boone Town Council members, Watauga County Commissioners, local farmers and cooperative extension agents, advisory council members and board members attended the Report to the People to hear how the Watauga County Center supported its mission in 2008.
The mission of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension is to partner with communities to deliver education and technology that enriches lives, land and economy throughout the state. Extension agencies leverage federal, state and county resources to create and deliver its programs and educational opportunities in all 100 North Carolina counties and the Cherokee Reservation.
Based on feedback from the community and input from the Extension Advisory Leadership Council, Watauga County Cooperative Extension focused on three main priority issues in 2008: enhancing local food and farm systems, environmental stewardship and building quality communities. Honing in on these three objectives, local extension agents in 2008 provided hundreds of hours of educational programs and provided more than 28,000 documented contacts with Watauga County citizens through workshops, educational programs and personal contacts.
Enhancing Local Food and Farm Systems—Priority 1
Watauga County Cooperative Extension makes it a priority for Watauga County farmers to have the research-based knowledge they need to continue producing a stable, safe and affordable food supply and other crops in economically and environmentally sustainable ways.
Christmas Trees:
Meghan Baker serves as assistant agricultural agent for Christmas trees, commercial horticulture and consumer horticulture. As an active advisor to the Watauga County Christmas Tree Association (WCCTA) and its Choose and Cut Committee and the Caldwell Community College Landscape Gardening Advisory Board, Baker develops and offers educational workshops and field programs and provides resources to the county’s commercial Christmas tree growers.
In 2008, Baker worked with area Christmas tree farmers on cost-cutting Integrated Pest Management practices, such as prescription fertilizing to minimize farm expenses, pest monitoring and grafting Frasier firs onto disease resistant rootstock for Root Rot management. Additionally, Baker worked with the WCCTA to develop the Wholesale Alliance, a group of wholesale tree growers who cooperate with each other on marketing trees from Watauga County.
Baker also secured more than $12,000 in funding in 2008 from the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority to help market Watauga County as the “Choose and Cut Capital” to markets in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.
Watauga County Choose and Cut farms experienced a 3 percent increase in tree sales during the 2008 season.
Livestock:
Extension livestock programs seek to make livestock owners and producers more profitable through educational programs. Eddy Labus is the new livestock/field crop agent and pesticide coordinator for the Watauga County Cooperative Extension.
In 2008, volunteers donated more than 400 hours to livestock and youth livestock programs, and more than $5,000 in sponsorships and donations were contributed to livestock program areas and educational development.
Alternative Agriculture:
A program addressing emerging markets and environmental awareness, the Alternative Agriculture Program of the New River Headwaters continued its work in 2008, highlighting growing markets and the crops to satisfy them. The program is led by extension agent Richard Boylan, who partners with growers in Ashe and Watauga counties and sister agencies to promote alternative crops and innovative market strategies.
The program focused on alternative crops such as medicinal and gourmet mushrooms, fruit production and organic vegetables. Regional sales of organic vegetables increased more than $8,000 in 2008, and the extension secured more than $40,000 in grants for enhanced marketing efforts for the sale of organic vegetables.
Consumer Horticulture:
Consumer horticulture encompasses home vegetable gardening, landscaping, study of insects and diseases, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid control and care of trees. Throughout 2008, Baker assisted homeowners with horticulture questions, providing them with sustainable solutions and educational resources. In 2008, Baker coordinated the Master Gardener Volunteer Program, offering an 11-week series to 10 local residents. Baker partnered with agents Boylan and Wendy Patoprsty to provide holistic learning experiences for the volunteers. Master Garden volunteers worked on projects including rain gardens, developing a youth garden, 4-H summer programs and fruit sales and assisting with the Home Horticulture Hotline. Volunteers answered an estimated 300 inquiries through the hotline from June to September 2008.
Extension agent Margie Mansure, who serves on the board of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, collected a survey in 2008 to identify food-buying practices of local institutions. In addition, Mansure set up a meet and greet between purchasers and growers to begin a dialogue on barriers institutions face when purchasing local foods and possible solutions.
Farm to School Program:
As part of the Childhood Obesity Prevention Act, the extension purchased fruit and vegetables from local growers in 2008 and prepared them for school children to try, while dressed in fruit and vegetable costumes. Students went home with a handout on how to grow and prepare the produce at home.
Local Foods for Local Kids
In 2008, extension agents collaborated to bring the Local Foods for Local Kids day camp to Watauga County youth. The week involved a group of 11 youth who explored the community for ingredients to make pizza. They visited a dairy, cheese factory, mill and farms and gardens to find the ingredients. As a result of the camp, 80 percent of participants reported they tried a new fruit or vegetable, and 100 percent said they learned something new about where their food comes from.
Environmental Stewardship—Priority 2
The Cooperative Extension promoted environmental stewardship in 2008 through water quality programs, forestland management and alternative energy.
Water Quality:
Extension agent Wendy Patoprsty, who received funding for her position this year through North Carolina A & T University and Watauga County, implemented Water Quality Best Management Practices—innovative ways to mitigate the effect storm water has on our streams and rivers—across Watauga County.
In 2008, $552,000 in grant funds were received through the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the Environmental Protection Agency to construct storm water wetlands in Boone and Banner Elk, including a 5,000-gallon cistern in Boone that the town uses to clean fire trucks. With the wetland construction completed in Boone, volunteers will help this spring with the installation of more than 5,000 native wetland plants.
During 2008, Patoprsty organized multiple workshops for engineers, realtors, government officials and community members to learn about ways to improve water quality. Patoprsty coordinated workshops on rain barrels, rain gardens, water conservation, stream restoration, groundwater and storm water. More than 350 community members participated in the workshops.
Also in 2008, Patoprsty and Watauga River Conservation Partners Dick and Joan Hearn delivered the Kids in the Creek program to every 4th grade class in Watauga County. The awareness campaign touched 1,200 students.
E-Conservation:
The E-Conservation program was created to inform local consumers about ways to reduce energy use and increase energy efficiency in the home. More than a dozen Watauga County homeowners attended weatherization workshops in 2008 and received energy audits from the N.C. Energy Office for a total subsidiary amount of $4,550.
Building Quality Communities—Priority 3
The Cooperative Extension contributed to the quality of the local community in 2008 through family and consumer sciences programs, volunteerism and youth development programs.
Family and Consumer Sciences:
Extension Family and Consumer Sciences programs are based on the premise that healthy eating and physical activity are critical to achieving optimal health and to prevent or delay the onset of chronic disease. To achieve this goal, Mansure teaches a variety of health promotion topics at child-care centers, schools, worksites, churches and senior centers. In 2008, more than 300 program participants reported increased skills in planning and preparing meals at home, increased fruit and vegetable consumption and increased physical activity. On example is the Step to Health Program, a 12-week program that teaches 3rd graders at Bethel and Mabel elementary schools about nutrition and food safety practices.
4-H—Developing Responsible Youth:
The mission of 4-H is to develop responsible youth and Cooperative Extension Interim Director Karee Mackey works with the 4-H youth development program to create opportunities for young people to learn and develop life skills.
In 2008, through the Cooperative Extension 4-H Program, more than 100 volunteers provided more than 1,300 hours of work in the community for youth. As a result of 4-H and extension programming, more than 240 youth received multiple opportunities to practice life skills, such as communication, decision making, social skills, teamwork, leadership and thinking skills.
Further Program Integration
One of the goals of the Watauga County Cooperative Extension team is to integrate program areas for a more holistic educational approach toward issues. One of the ways this was accomplished in 2008 was through Watauga Leadership, Environment & Agricultural Discoveries (LEAD), a summer camp designed for girls in 7th and 8th grades. After the weeklong camp, the girls got together one a month through the end of the year to perform service learning projects, meet with female scientists as role models, perform experiments and complete other science-related activities.
The Low Impact Living workshop series represented another way the extension staff was able to bring all program areas together in 2008. The series included topics from all the staff disciplines and included multiple day workshops on how to live a more sustainable life in the High Country. More than 230 people participated in the workshops that included topics such as water, organic gardening, backyard chickens, home weatherization and sustainability around the holidays.
Funding
Watauga County Cooperative Extension partners with federal, state, county and community agencies to bring together resources for its programs that are developed for and provided to Watauga County residents.
The total Watauga County Cooperative Extension budget for 2008 was $789,000. In 2008, North Carolina State University/A & T University provided $290,000, or 37 percent of the annual working budget; Watauga County provided $255,000, or 32 percent; and grants provided $244,000, or 31 percent. Extension agents also helped write more than $580,000 in grants for local farms and nonprofits.
Overall, the extension office involved more than 500 volunteers with extension efforts, who served a total of 4,000 hours, connecting with more than 5,000 people at a value of more than $90,000.
New Director
Mackey is currently the interim director of Watauga County Cooperative Extension, filling the position left vacant after Sue Counts retired last year. Mackey said the extension board is “in the process” of choosing a new director, but that it would probably not be announced until July 1.
Counts retired in 2008 after 10 years at the helm of the local extension office. In October 2008, the extension formed the Sue Counts Family and Community Development Endowment. When the fund builds to an endowment status that totals $15,000, the interest will be used for family and community development educational programs.
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