Our Impact
Making A Difference in Our County
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.
ANR Impact:?
海角官方首页 Extension Summer Interns
As ANR agents begin cycling out and retiring after their twenty plus years of service with Extension Offices, there is a direct need for new ANR Agents to begin transitioning from the classroom to the office setting.? The ANR field of study is a broad area of information and research.? Compiling projects, field visits and assignments allows the student to gain work experience in their particular field of study.? Because of Extension uniqueness and diversity, each localized agent across the one hundred fifty-nine counties develops their own particular specialization in agriculture.? Many young people search out career opportunities through summer intern programming.? ?A large number of ANR Extension agents will be retiring within the next five years.? These particular job openings will definitely leave an open hole in agriculture and research programming across the State of Georgia.? Because Extension has such a broad scope of coverage there is something for everyone to learn and build their knowledge upon.? The need for upcoming graduating AG students to transition to office setting is the most pressing for ANR agents because they have already built comradery with local community members, sponsors, and governmental partners.? ANR Agent Mark Frye has been working alongside multiple AG Students over the course of the last ten years.? Each one of his student interns has continued in the agricultural field in some form.? From specialization from Agricultural business degrees, to Sustainability Research and even an AG Teacher position has been added at local middle schools here in Wayne County, Georgia. ??Extension agent helps producers to stay up to date on specialized, unbiased, scientific -based research information and technical assistance.? College students are more open to utilizing technology, apps and other “new age” research processes.? Working alongside ANR current agents helps interns to build more reliable relationships with farmers and community members.? Routine on-site calls with agents allows interns to see first-hand what Extension ANR agents do for not only farmers but their local community too.? Developing relationships with farmers, homeowners and businesses helps to sustain agriculture growth and agricultural awareness throughout the county. Agents typically line up 海角官方首页 Specialists and experts to deliver information through production meetings, workshops, field days, phone calls or in-person consultations.? ANR agents also provide and circulate publications through blogs, newsletters, mass media and print/online publications.? Through phone calls and onsite visits, the agent helps the interns learn how to assess the publics needs and give recommendations on treating problems or pests.? Some of the most significant work being variety evaluation through test plots, soil, water, and plant analysis testing made available through the University of Georgia.? The agent also provides recommendations in the areas of soil fertility, pest control, timber production, livestock, vegetables, and water conservation to aide students in sharing recommendations with growers.? Any Extension program relies heavily on the expertise, credibility and quality of our agents.? Over the past ten years Mark Frye has offered summer internships to multiple interns that have continued their education and specialization in some form of agricultural business.? William Hinson intern from 2017 went on to complete a degree in agribusiness and began farming along with opening a local agricultural supply (feed and seed) store in Wayne County.? Taylor Arnett interned from 2021 went on to complete a degree in agricultural education and agribusiness and currently serves as one of the two newest ag education teachers for Wayne County Middle Schools.? Chance Warren interned from 2022-2023 and is currently completing his Masters in Sustainable Agriculture.? Savannah Beasley interned summer of 2024 and is completing a degree in General Agriculture.? The hands-on training received by interns with Extension provided the opportunity for them to come back and apply for agent positions as they become available.? Working alongside the current agent provides them the opportunity to foster and build positive productive relationships with local shareholders and community members.? Interns provided agents across all Extension spectrum (ANR, 4-H, FACS) with current information that they are currently learning and more concise ways of how to share information with others in their local communities.? The overall importance of interns within our Wayne County Extension office was? the growth and knowledge that occurred through them working together.? Read on for further information on how partnerships with Agriculture Agents and Interns are expanding research capabilities with commodities.
Black Shank in Tobacco
During summer of 2024 ANR Agent Mark Frye and Intern Savannah Beasley completed a? Tobacco Test Plot with a local grower and Tobacco Specialist J.Michael Moore. The tobacco in the plot was the NC 196 variety that has a better resistance to Black Shank. NC 196 has a gene that makes it totally resistant to Race 0 black shank, which was the major race at the time of its release in 2002.? Unfortunately, after many years of planting varieties that used the same gene for total resistance in the same fields, the black shank fungus mutated to a race not controlled by the gene, Race 1.? Another source of resistance, called variable resistance, was added to provide different levels of resistance depending on the breeding crosses.? NC 196 only has moderate resistance to Race 1.? A majority of the black shank in Georgia is assumed to be Race 1 and requires either a variety with better resistance than NC 196 or the addition of one or more fungicides to help control black shank.? Black Shank is the most destructive tobacco disease and flares up in wet conditions which we had a lot of at the beginning of the growing season.? Black Shank is cause by the oomycete Phytophthora nicotianae and is characterized by crown or root rot, rapid yellowing, wilting leaves and eventually plant death.? Dark lesions around the base of the stalk and a unique appearing disking in the stalk are present as well. This plot is important because black shank is the most destructive disease and once it is introduced should always be considered to be present in the soil.? Preventing this disease is essential to the successful production of tobacco.? counting the amounts of BS and TSWV.? Once BS was believed to be found, the plant was tested and came back positive.The results from the test plot show the importance of the correct formulation of a fungicide and the best means of application of a fungicide in tobacco.? The nontreated check and new premix incorporated had very high percentages of Black Shank occurring in the field.? The treatment that showed the best control of black shank was the Orondis New premix formulation applied in transplant water.? The Orondis Premix treatments that were incorporated into the soil were much less effective than the Orondis Co-Pack and Orondis Premix treatments in the transplant water.? These results were useful to show that the fungicide being applied the correct way, in the transplant water, significantly reduces the amount of Black Shank that showed up in the test plot field.
4-H Impact
Down on the Farm with Agriculture Awareness
Wayne County 4-H and Ag and Natural Resource Agents partnered with Farm Bureau, Ag South, School Nutrition, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and local farmers to provide farm day field trips for all 4th grade students in the county. These field trips gave students a chance to be on an actual farm and learn about agriculture through hands on experiences. In Georgia agriculture is the largest industry and brings in over $73 billion annually. There are 39,264 farms which are primarily family owned in Georgia and those cover 9.9 million acres. These family owned farms are being worked by someone ages 59 and up and 60% of those farmers have other primary occupations. Agriculture is also responsible for providing 340, 000 jobs in the state. Wayne County is a rural county, but most students have no personal experience with agriculture. Educators in Wayne County have found that agriculture awareness in their students is lacking. Students were unaware of where their food comes from outside of the grocery store. With only 2% of the nation’s population living on a working farm, students as well as adults are ill-equipped in understanding agricultural issues and how that effects food security. Students were also unaware of all the types of jobs agriculture produces. The top agricultural commodities were row crops, forestry, poultry, vegetables, livestock, fruits, and nuts. Teachers understand how vital it is for students to be agriculture literate. These teachers wanted their students to have the opportunity to get hands on experience with agriculture to better understand where their food, clothing, and shelter come from. ?The Wayne County 4-H and ANR Agents met with a local and Georgia Farm Bureau to educate Wayne County youth about agriculture.? The goal was to give 4th grade students some hands-on experiences on an actual farm and for them to begin understanding exactly how important agriculture is to their daily lives. The decision was made to have a Farm Day field trip for all of the 4th graders in Wayne County. The local farm family allowed Wayne County 4-H to use their farm for the field trip. This field trip was put on by a local farmer, Wayne County Extension, Georgia Farm Bureau, Ag South, School Nutrition, and Future Farmers of America. The field trip would need to be offered two days to accommodate all five elementary schools 4th graders.
Students were divided into groups that would be led through a series of stations. The stations were crafts, hay ride, school nutrition, games, petting zoo, FFA and 4-H presentations, and lunch provided by Ag South and School Nutrition. At the crafting station students had their picture made on a tractor, decorated a magnetic barn picture frame for the picture, and got farm themed tattoos. The hay ride took the students to the fields to learn and explore the current crop, onions, that was planted. While on the hay ride students were given trivia information about onions from FFA and 4-H students. They also had the opportunity to learn about the irrigation system that is vital to all crops and they got to hold an onion and learn about the parts. School Nutrition workers educated the students on milk. They learned the nutritional facts, got to milk a stationary cow, and made butter. Students were also given information about the daily care for cows like how much water they drink in a day and how much milk they produce a day. The games station allowed students to burn off some energy while playing. They also got to dig for plastic animals in a trough of corn to take home with them. The petting zoo stations was manned by the ANR Agent and livestock show team members. Students were able to learn facts about pigs, goats, cows, horses, and chickens all while they interacted with the animals. FFA and 4-H presentations taught students about the programs they could be a part of and what they represent.? The Farm Day field trips gave 373 students the opportunity to connect what they were being taught in the classroom with actual hands-on experiences. There were over 45 volunteers that consisted of adults and older youth that served as group guides and supplemental help. Following the event teachers were surveyed for feedback on the program. 93% of teachers agreed the stations were age appropriate and educational. 95% of teachers responded that their students now understood where their food came from.
One 4th grade teacher stated “Farm Days allowed her students to make a connection with what they were learning in the classroom and allowed them to see a working farm that most students had never seen.” Another teacher stated “a student told me they always thought their food just came from a store now realized people had to grow it first.” Wayne County 4-H, Georgia Farm Bureau, and the local farm owners all received thank you cards from multiple students. These thank you card expressed how much they learned, how excited they were to visit a farm, and how much they appreciated getting the opportunity to see a working farm. Plans are already being made to offer the field trip again next year.
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FACS Impact: Food Safety in Southeast Georgia
Foodborne illness is a common and costly, yet preventable public health problem.? Food Safety Education is being taught in Wayne County to address the risk of foodborne illness.? Extension is the only source for residents of Wayne County for foodservice workers to receive ServSafe Manager Certification.? The Wayne County FACS agent, in collaboration with other Family and Consumer Sciences agents, offers ServSafe training in Wayne and surrounding counties several times per year.? Additionally, since 2015 there have been over 100 newspaper articles that have addressed food safety and/or food preservation for local readers.? The agent attends four food-safety trainings per year with state specialists to incorporate the most up-to-date information on food safety for public clientele.
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