Rotating Extension Column
By: Daniel E. Mullins
Extension Horticulture Agent
The Most Challenging Extension Work is Not Widely Recognized
Extension Agents are often told that we don’t beat our own drum, or call attention to our work and accomplishments often enough. Sadly, this is a true statement.
I personally know of several agents who have made major contributions to their communities with little or no fanfare. Most of us enjoy our work and tend to move from one activity or project to the next, taking little time to stop and reflect.
Residents know us mostly as resource people. Our local office is contacted dozens of time daily concerning gardening, commercial crops, 4-H and natural resource management. In these cases specific information is being requested. This is known as reactive work – someone has a particular question and we respond with an answer.
Lesser known, is the fact that there is a lot of proactive work going on behind the scenes. This kind of work is made up mostly of planned, long term activities aimed at reaching a goal that sometimes takes years.
One
such goal has been to reduce the amount of pesticides required to grow
cotton. This has been the challenge of
my Extension Director,
Mike introduced the integrated pest management concept to this area. He continues to provide training for those who monitor pest levels in cotton fields. Known as “scouts,” these trained individuals regularly monitor damaging insect levels as well as beneficial organisms in each field. Based upon their work, pesticides are not used unless pest pressure reaches an economic threshold.
John Atkins, the Extension Agronomy Agent, annually installs field trials to help determine the best ways to control diseases in local peanut fields. New varieties are planted, grown and evaluated each year. Data is then collected and analyzed to determine the amount of disease resistance. Cultural practices, including fungicide applications are also evaluated. This information is published each year and is provided to growers locally and state wide.
My pro-active work mostly involves specialty crops and alternative crops. Work continues with field trials evaluating varieties and cultural practices, while we continue to look for new crops with potential for this area.
Marketing is the biggest challenge that we face with agricultural commodities, especially the specialty crops. Cooperation and collaboration among growers, agricultural organizations and other agencies is necessary to make progress.
The Milton Riverwalk Market serves as an example of how pro-active involvement can pay off. Many groups and organizations are involved in this process. Thirty-eight meetings have been held over the past two years in order to establish and maintain the Market.
Meanwhile, as the agricultural agents work to accomplish long term goals, other agents are doing the same. These agents are also involved in additional programming, often behind the scenes. Well known projects such as Teen Court, Resource Rangers, Build Green and Profit, The Panhandle Butterfly House and many others are due at least in part, to efforts of Extension workers and volunteers.
Just going to the office, greeting people and answering questions that come up is often challenging but that is reactive – the easier part of Extension work. Committee involvement, including long term planning and the seminars, meetings and activities required to accomplish a goal is much more of a challenge.
Extension Service programs are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin. The use of trade names in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information. It is not a guarantee, warranty, or endorsement of the product name(s) and does not signify that they are approved to the exclusion of others.