Extension helps farmers feed us Seminole County Extension Coordinator Rome Ethredge has been helping Georgia farmers grow their crops and livestock for more than 25 years. Field corn, peanuts, cotton, wheat, snap beans and soybeans are the main row crops in his county. But, like all county Extension offices, the Seminole County office answers lawn and garden questions along with family and consumer science questions. “We have all kinds of issues we help folks with, from armadillos to zucchini. I enjoy all of the insect, snake, weed and plant disease identification that we do,” Ethredge said. “The primary issues we work on are ag profitability, youth development through our 4-H project work and judging teams and family and consumer issues such as diabetes and food safety.” Living in the community that he serves
lets his neighbors come straight to him with their questions. “I answered several ag questions at church between Sunday School and the morning service,” Ethredge said. “One farmer asked me what to kill weeds with in his corn field. Being a county agent is a lifestyle.”
4-H Extension develops Ga. youth Each year more than 184,000 students participate in Georgia 4-H programs. Only three percent of the kids enrolled in 4-H today live on farms, State 4-H Leader and Director Arch Smith said. “All 4-Hers, whether they live on farms or in metropolitan areas, are learning life skills that will help them become productive citizens of our state,” Smith explained. Georgia youth can explore their interest in just about any topic imaginable through the Project Achievement program where they prepare a short speech and deliver it to audiences. 4-H also offers kids with performing arts talents the chance to audition for Clovers & Company, which has been entertaining audiences since 1981. 4-H still offers livestock competitions and the chance to compete in livestock judging competitions, which attract both farm and city kids. 4-H camp is perhaps the program’s most popular event. Georgia’s first 4-H camp opened in Athens in 1924 followed by Camp Wahsega in 1943 and the Tybee 4-H Center in 1947. But 4-H camp really took off after the Rock Eagle Center opened in 1955. Dr. Bill Sutton, then Georgia 4-H leader, assigned Harold Darden and Martha Harrison Jones the task of developing a uniform camp program that all counties visiting the camp would use. “The University’s mission is to disseminate information to the people, so we realized we had to have an education component to the camp,” Darden recalled. State Extension specialists trained the college students serving as counselors on subjects such as livestock, home economics and nature. Darden and Jones prepared the
An exhibit, “100 Years of Extension: The Legacy of the Smith-Lever Act in Georgia,” will be on display at the Richard B. Russell Library on UGA’s Athens Campus through June 30. Hours are 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. MondayFriday and 1-5 p.m. Saturdays. Call 706-542-9724 for more information. Visit http://100years.extension.uga.edu to learn more about Extension’s history.
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Photo courtesy of UGA
EXTENSION from page 8 Chester said she and her staff also coordinate three community gardens located at county government centers. “We utilize our master gardener’s program to educate the public about growing gardens in raised beds,” Chester said. “People love growing their own food and eating fresh food.” Walk Georgia is a free, statewide exercise program UGA Extension has offered since 2008 to help Georgians increase their physical activity in a fun, community-oriented way. “We wanted to create something to address the obesity issue in Georgia and to encourage people who aren’t physically active to develop habits of regular physical activity,” explained Bibb County Extension Coordinator Jan Baggarly, who chairs the Walk Georgia Committee. From spring of 2008 through fall of 2013, 24,817 Georgians have participated in the program and walked the equivalent of 4,048,300 miles. The online component of the program provides an activity log to track participants’ weekly activity.
Nekeisha Randall is one of the many Georgians who have benefited from Extension’s 4-H program. She served as president of Georgia 4-H from 2003-2004 and today works at UGA as residence director of Reed Hall.
counselors to work with the 4-Hers. “We were trying to teach the 4-Hers the art of getting along and the give and take of community life,” Darden said. “We were trying to teach them public speaking, manners and how to have patience.” Camp class subjects have changed, but Smith says the concepts and ideas that Darden and Jones developed in the 1950s are still used today. And 4-H camp is still drawing kids to the program. Fort Valley native Nekeisha Randall attended 4-H Camp for five years – at Rock Eagle, Jekyll Island and Wahsega – after being introduced to 4-H through Fort Valley State University’s 4-H Sprouts Camp. “4-H has an outlet for whatever you’re interested in – performing arts, engineering, math or science,” Randall said. She went on to serve as state 4-H president in 2003-2004 and as a 4-H camp counselor for three years. “As a camper, I enjoyed a week of fun,” Randall said. “As a counselor, I learned that camp might be their first time outside of the city or a relief from a bad home life.” Now Randall works for UGA as residence hall director of Reed Hall. Current state 4-H President Oakley Perry is also a testament of how Extension has benefited Georgia’s youth. Bullied as a kid throughout elementary and middle school, Perry credits 4-H with getting him through this tough time. “4-H taught me there is no such thing as a normal person, but we’re all just different individuals with different talents and gifts,” Perry said. After he graduates from Jeff Davis High School this spring, Perry’s long-term goal is to become a 4-H agent. “It’s remarkable and it’s humbling to be part of an organization that’s withstood the test of time for a 100 years,” Perry said. “I want to be part of the next 100 years.” Georgia Neighbors • Spring 2014