海角官方首页 Extension agents, staff and trained volunteers keep local communities informed through county Extension offices. We offer reliable information and programs in the areas of agriculture, food, families, the environment, and 4-H youth development. Let us help you learn, grow, and do more!
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is working hard for its constituents. The following are examples of Extension’s impact in the county over the past year.
Crops and livestock that are primarily grown and sold in Early County include cotton, peanuts, corn and beef cattle. In 2024, the total Farm Gate value for the county was reported at $121,355,453. In 2024, Early County ranked 10th in the state for overall total row/forage value, 10th in the state for cotton production, 13th in the state for corn production, 10th in the state for beef cows, and 14th in the state for stockers raised. That same year, Early County ranked 5th in the state for peanut production, with a total value of $36,240,026 in peanuts alone.
This is why the Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Agent in the Early County Extension office has been committed to facilitating on-farm corn, cotton, and peanut variety trials. On-farm research trials are a collaboration between the county ANR Agents, 海角官方首页 State Specialists, and local growers. We firmly believe that there is no better way to gain un-biased variety data regarding disease risk, vigor, yield, and grade, than by conducting research within our own soils. This year, we are conducting a corn trial with ten varieties, a cotton trial with ten varieties, and a peanut trial with at least seven varieties. Also, with the peanut variety trial, we will be implementing plant growth regulator (PGR) research; this will enable us, within Extension, to provide the most current and reliable data to the local growers pertaining to the management of their chosen varieties. ?
Other impactful work being done within Early County includes a silverleaf whitefly trap that is checked and reported weekly, egg candling classes, which provide attendees with licenses to sell shelled eggs throughout the state, and a partnership with Miller County to implement an on-farm deer damage survey within a cotton field.
With Agriculture being Early County and the State of Georgia’s largest industry, our goal is to provide support and give local growers practical information so that they can produce and manage their crops with the goal of profitability. We have also held several production meetings related to the major crops of the county, in which 海角官方首页 Specialists present their data and expert knowledge to the growers. This is a convenient way for the growers to have access to yearly research information and get to know those working diligently to assist them through Extension. In turn, the growers can implement recommended and proven strategies of production on their farms with confidence each year. The recently held production meetings included a Peanut Production meeting, a Cotton Production meeting, and a Weed Control meeting. Other relevant production meetings will be held later in the year.?
Family and Consumer Sciences
Poverty is defined as a lack of financial resources that prevent people from obtaining basic needs. Those needs range from adequate housing to healthy food to even good healthcare. With the lack of these basic essentials means that the health and wellness of individuals is generally less than adequate. Identified as one of Georgia’s poverty counties, Early County has 21.1% of its population living in poverty, which is significantly higher than the state average of 11.8% and the national average of 11.1%. Georgia also ranks 158 of Georgia’s 159 counties, as one of the unhealthiest counties in the state. This staggering information shows the needs of the community to improve quality of life for citizens in Early County.?
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With the goal of improving the health and wellness of Early County citizens, the Family and Consumer Sciences agent focused on four key areas: nutrition, food safety, healthy home environments and financial wellness. In the area of nutrition, the agent provided education on healthy living and livestyles to youth in kindergarten, 2nd grade and 5th grades at the local public and private schools in an effort to lay the foundation for healthier eating and life choices at younger ages. These lessons were conducted monthly in the classrooms with a total of 32 classes taught and 514 students educated on healthy living topics. The agent also reached older citizens at the local senior citizens center and residents of the local housing authority to teach about nutrition and cooking healthier, also to include lessons on diabetes, asthma and other chronic disease prevention and control programs.
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An increase in foodborne illnesses across the United States in 2024, continues the need for food safety education. To address this, the agent offered ServSafe? Manager's training quarterly, as well as on an as needed basis not only for local community members but for individuals in the surrounding areas. In 2024, nine individuals received?ServSafe? certification. To educate the public on food safety topics, the agent published food safety news articles for the local newspaper, as well as on social media to encourage practicing food safety at home.
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Healthy and sustainable housing is an issue, especially in high poverty areas and plays a critical role in both individual well-being and the health and vibrancy of the community. To increase the knowledge of individuals in Early County the agent has provided programming within local community outlets, news articles in the local paper, as well as in a quarterly Extension state-wide health environments newsletter reaching an audience over 24,500, on improving and creating healthy home environments. Topics on identifying environmental hazards in and around the home, understanding radon and how to test and how to treat,? green cleaning and poison prevention, and decluttering were some of the topics addressed to improve living environments for better quality of life for individuals.
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Financial security is tough for individuals living in poverty. To assist individuals with tax preparation, the agent offered the Volunteer tax assistance program known as VITA,? a free tax service to the public during tax season.? In 2024, VITA tax services in Early County netted $5,880 in federal tax refunds and $720 in state refunds with $600 in Earned Income Credits and $1,439 of Child Dependent Credits claimed to the clients served during the 2024 season. This tax service saved individuals money on tax preparation fees, as well as served as a financial literacy opportunity in addressing financial topics; including the importance of savings accounts and avoiding financial scams.?In addition, financial programming was conducted to individuals at the local senior citizens center and residents at the local housing authority to cover financial literacy topics such as; budgeting, savings and financial scams.
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4-H Youth Development
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The Georgia 4-H slogan is ‘learn by doing’ and the Early County 4-H Club provides opportunities for 4-H’ers to have a variety of 4-H experiences in which they can learn and do. The agent provided monthly club meetings to 5th grade students at the local public school teaching STEM topics to help improve science knowledge for increased Georgia Milestones scores. During the 2023-2024 school year, t