ROTATING Newspaper Article
By: Daniel E. Mullins
For: Release week
of
Extension Horticulture Agent
Extension Agents Perform Both Office and Field Work
“He is in the field this afternoon.” Our receptionist finds herself repeating this statement several times during the week and yes, I really am in the field part of the time and not fishing.
Extension agents are expected to do both reactive and proactive work. Reactive means just whatever comes our way each day. In my case this includes diagnosing lawn and garden problems, plant identification and recommending cultural practices for both urban and commercial clients.
The
amount of reactive Extension work has greatly increased over the past several
years. The
Proactive work is more challenging because these are normally long term projects or investigations with no immediate rewards. Here agents try to meet needs or solve problems that have been identified by local advisory committees.
I am currently working on several projects that will hopefully have positive economic or quality of life impacts sometime in the future.
One
such project is the development of a regional or national vegetable marketing
system. The agents in
We are in the midst of this work now, having already processed and distributed 50 ten pound boxes of the product. This will be repeated on a larger scale in about 2 weeks.
If this project is successful, it might be expanded to include local farmers who are interested in an additional crop. If not, we will learn from it and try something else, applying what was learned.
I have been working on establishing specialty cut flowers as a commercial crop for the past 7 years. We established and maintained field trials for 3 years. Data related to over 50 different kinds of flowers was compiled and information was published. This is now available to anyone who is interested in a cut flower growing operation.
We have recently finished a nitrogen leaching study on two coastal lawns. Information gathered from this study has helped us to better communicate the need for the proper use of fertilizer in that delicate environment.
Another recent proactive community development experience was our work with the “Farmer’s Opry.” Extension was involved in the planning and establishment of a successful demonstration garden at the site. Future plans with the Opry involve bringing the urban and rural residents together by offering fresh produce and locally produced beef.
These are a few examples of activities that I work on all during the year. Other agents are involved in many other proactive programs.
We also have a very active Master Gardener program in the county with over 100 volunteers working on over 40 projects. Obviously, such a large program means that some time is spent outside of the office during training and supervision.
I am currently serving as the National Horticulture Chair for the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. This has also required that I be out of the office more than usual during the year.
Thanks are due the patient clients who have contacted our office this year. The workload has been unusually high but so has the support that we receive.
By next year the Extension office
will be in a spacious new building, and we have some highly trained volunteers
to help ensure that someone will be available to serve.