Community Development
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We are pleased to share with you some
of the highlights of our 2008 educational programs and activities
conducted by the Coshocton County Extension faculty and staff.
Agriculture
& Natural Resources
- Agronomy has been the
focus of a great deal of work in the
Coshocton County Extension office this past spring and summer. The
Extension
Educator collaborated with Muskingum County
and researchers
from central campus and OARDC to facilitate an agronomy school that
featured current
concerns and interests of local producers (input prices, grain prices,
cover
crops, etc.). The office continues to offer soil testing services,
which was
reinstituted in the county last October. In the past year, nearly $500
in cost
recovery has been made by offering this service. The funds go directly
back to
helping provide educational programming.
- Three on-farm entomology
research projects unfolded this
year in Coshocton
County.
Traps were set
for the Western Bean Cutworm, the European Corn Borer, and the Western
Corn
Rootworm. Results of the research were regularly shared with
cooperating
producers, over the radio, in the newsletter, and on the East Ohio Crop
and
Weather blog to keep producers and others in the agricultural industry
current
on what insect pests were found in the county during the 2008 growing
season.
- With the high prices of
hay and grain corn this past spring
and summer, approximately 120 local producers attended several pasture
walks to
learn about intensive grazing practices. In conjunction with the
Coshocton
County Soil and Water Conservation District and local NRCS office, the
Extension office facilitated a series of these walks with being held at
the
North Appalachian Experimental Watershed. Researchers who conduct
research at
the station talked about their on-site management intensive grazing
efforts and
fielded questions.
-
Over 1,700 people
participated in the annual Fall Foliage
and Farm Tour. This self-guided tour is co-sponsored by the Coshocton
County
Extension office, Soil and Water Conservation District and Farm Service
Agency.
Participants gained an increased knowledge of agricultural production,
agri-business and natural resources in Coshocton County
at ten hosted stops. Tourism and opportunity for retail sales have
increased
from attendees representing 28 Ohio
counties and nine states with 32% of participants coming from
out-of-county.
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Strengthening Families &
Communities
- The
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is
in its second year of a two-year grant. This program targets limited
income
families with children. Nutrition, food safety, saving money, planning
meals, nutritional
fact labels and physical activity are program topics. Individuals
qualifying
for WIC or food stamps are generally eligible for this program
consisting of
eight, one-hour sessions. To date, 110 participants have been enrolled
in the
program. Evaluations have been very positive with comments noting the
participants had fun, learned several new ideas or refreshed old ideas.
One
participant explained that she began cleaning and preparing her fresh
produce
in containers in the refrigerator. She told her family there were
snacks in the
refrigerator and started noticing her husband and children were
choosing the
healthy produce over other unhealthy choices. This small change made a
big difference
in the amount of vegetables and fruits that her family ate. After
another
participant learned about portion size in class, she began watching her
portion
sizes and in six months lost 19 pounds. She was excited about the
change in her
weight and hoped to continue to lose more. The program has benefited
people of
all ages from the young to senior age groups. Everyone has a need for
good
basic healthy nutrition, food safety and physical activity information.
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4-H Youth Development
- 4-H
reached 68 students at Union
Elementary School
during 2008 using the Acres of Adventures
4-H Afterschool Agriculture Curriculum during the enrichment
portion of the
after-school program. These hands-on activities about agriculture and
recycling
complemented the students’ study time and tutoring offered through the
“To
Community and Beyond” (TCAB) sessions held both before and after school.
- The new Llama
and
Alpaca Resource Handbook and Llama
and Alpaca Project and Record Book were introduced as OSU
Extension
publications during 2008 to 4-H members in Coshocton
County and across Ohio. This
llama and alpaca curriculum are
the result of six years of compiling information, writing, and test
piloting by
a committee 4-H volunteers, llama and alpaca producers, a veterinarian,
and
Extension educators from Coshocton, Tuscarawas, and Holmes Counties.
The
curriculum was also presented as a poster session at the Galaxy III
Conference
held in Indianapolis
during October to promote it as a resource for Extension educators from
across
the nation.
- Giddy-Up-Go Horse Camp
was implemented as a cost recovery
program dedicated to providing an educational opportunity for children
ages
five to nine to learn equine safety, the importance of good equine
grooming,
riding skills and the lessons taught and learned through the cultural
differences found in the early frontier. Its continued growth each year
led to
the need to serve older youth. In 2008, the horse camp was attended by
60
children ages nine to12 with more advanced riding being taught to the
older
children including two physically impaired participants. Experienced
equine 4-H
youth and adult volunteers conducted the educational sessions. The camp
has
helped increase enrollment in the county 4-H horse program, taught
leadership
skills to both youth and adult volunteers, and will fund a scholarship
in the
“Dollars for Scholars” program. The camp
has been both a valuable educational tool and the major funding source
for the
county 4-H horse program.
- The 4-H Beef, Sheep, and
Swine Teen Board taught teens at the Ohio
4-H Teen
Conference how to organize such a board in their own county to teach
quality assurance
and livestock information. The Board led
the participants through quality assurance activities on feeds and
residues
that could be taught in their home counties. In
addition, members of this Board taught two
quality assurance sessions
in Coshocton
County
to 465 members of 4-H and FFA and
assisted with this year’s livestock clinics and skillathons.
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Community Develpment
- Unemployment
rates in Coshocton County are higher
than most other
counties across the Buckeye
State.
The local
Extension office responded to this growing concern with Professional
Self
Marketing Workshops. The goal of these public workshops is to help
individuals
better market themselves and their skills through powerful cover
letters,
top-notch resumes, and polished interviewing skills. The Extension
office has
also brought this workshop into the local career center, working with a
variety
of students to enhance their employability skills as they compete for
jobs with
a growing number of candidates. In public and career center workshops,
104
people have participated in this professional development opportunity.
- The Coshocton County
Extension office offered a continuing
education course in the summer of 2008 titled “Medicine. Energy. Food.”
Participants in the course gained insight into contemporary
agricultural issues
such as food safety, biosecurity, medicine and health and alternative
energy.
Individuals from inside and outside the university were guest speakers
and
shared how their work related to these topics and their role in
agricultural
sciences. The course had a tremendous impact on its participants.
According to
one participant who has been teaching agricultural education for thirty
years
stated, “(The course) reinforced my enthusiasm for agriculture.” Plans
to host
another similar course are underway.
- The Coshocton OSU
Extension educators and a representative
on the State Extension Advisory Committee, Steve Mercer of Coshocton,
together
hosted a national legislative aide on a tour of Coshocton County
agriculture and business sites on August 4th.
The legislative aide gained a renewed
awareness of both the county’s assets and economic needs.
- Fifteen local small
business owners benefited from a Web
site development workshop the Coshocton County Extension office
facilitated.
Although having a Web presence is important to all businesses in the 21st
century, they can be costly if one doesn’t have the skills or tools
needed to build
and manage one. This four-hour, hands-on workshop taught participants
the
basics of building a Web site and provided them with the tools they
needed to
design and launch a basic site. Participants responded positively to
the
workshop and asked that a follow-up session be planned.
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Top
Master Gardener Volunteers
- An estimated $22,789 is
the worth of volunteer hours in 2008
by county
Master
Gardener Volunteers (MGVs)
according to Independent Sector, a coalition of leading non-profits.
Service to
31 educational displays, workshops, and gardens have resulted in over
1,300
hours volunteered by 28 MGVs to promote horticultural education, pest
management and community stewardship. Ten organizations and
hundreds of participants benefited from MGV Program outreach through
community
gardening and youth education programs.
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If you have questions or would like more information on these
or
any of our educational programs, please contact the Extension office or
e-mail
us at: cosh@cfaes.osu.edu
OSU
Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that
all educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension
are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard
to race, color, age, gender identity or expression, disability,
religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Agricultural
Administration and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 ( Ohio
only) or 614-292-1868
Updated:
January 2009
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