You could call him North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s taxman:

But unlike the taxman made famous by the Beatles, Guido van der Hoeven doesn’t tax streets, seats, heat, feet – or anything else, for that matter. But he does spend most of his working days helping others understand income and estate tax rules and how they relate to people’s lives and businesses.

For the first four months of the year, right up until April 15, van der Hoeven fields a steady stream of income-tax-related questions by phone and email. And throughout the year, he researches, writes about and provides statewide training related to income taxes, estate planning and farm financial management.

Right now, the agricultural and resource economist is serving a two-year term as president of the Land-Grant University Tax Education Foundation. That organization is a partnership of 26 universities to develop educational materials useful across state lines.

This workshop is a follow up to the agritourism workshop conducted
in April 2009. During this workshop, Extension agents will get practical answers that will help you address your clients' questions on agritourism. Successful farmers as well as Extension specialists covering topics to help you facilitate successful agritourism ventures.

We have travel funds for the first 40 Extension personnel. Space is
limited. There will be a fee of $20/person to partially defray the costs of breaks and lunch. We will be sending additional registration information later.

For information on the "Business Side of Agritourism Workshop,"
contact Gary Bullen at gary_bullen@ncsu.edu.

The course will run seven weeks (March 12 – April 30) and will meet once-a-week, via Elluminate (Thursday evenings from 7-8:30pm). In addition to live (synchronous) online class discussions and lectures, the course will include a variety of assignments aimed at providing students with the opportunity to gain hands-on practical experience working with tourism businesses and professionals.

"The local staff brings the university to the people by offering local educational programming in the areas of agriculture, community development, family and consumer sciences and 4-H and youth development," said local Extension employee LeAnn Crump.

Read more from the Richmond County Daily Journal.

Read the story here:
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/magazine/winter09/college.html

U.S. soldiers serving in the Middle East may soon thank Pasquotank County for cooler collars. Pasquotank County’s Extension and Community Association teamed up to hand-sew 100 reusable neckbands that hold moisture-retaining crystals. When soaked in cool water and worn around the neck, the neckbands cool the wearer. Service members receive theirs for free, but similar models retail for up to $13.

In addition to the 100 bound for the Middle East, an additional 30 neckbands are destined for those fighting wildfires in Tyrrell County.

For more than 80 years, the N.C. Extension and Community Association has worked to strengthen families and improve the quality of life within our communities. Pasquotank ECA members range in age from 14 to 90 years.

Ever dreamed of paddling down Greene County’s Contentnea Creek, shopping through the artwork of a chainsaw sculptor, visiting the humble Wayne County birthplace of Gov. Charles B. Aycock or attending the fall Muscadine Festival in Kenansville?

If you’re the type of tourist who longs to wander the back roads of North Carolina, seeking historic sites, artisans, farms and produce stands, and of course, the state’s finest barbecue, the new guidebook, Homegrown Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails, is not to be missed.

The guidebook was launched in June at an event in Greene County, which boasts a number of sites in the book. The book was created through a partnership of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

Nearly 50 women gathered at Piney Grove Baptist Church Thursday to celebrate more than 70 years of serving Surry County as volunteers, leaders and educators.

Both members of the Surry County Extension and Community Association and staff of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension attended the 71st Annual Achievement Program titled "You've come a long way ladies."

Read more from The Mount Airy News.

Cintia Aguilar, the College’s first Latino interests facilitator, is determined to serve new audiences, forge new partnerships and promote multicultural 4-H clubs.

For more, visit:
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/magazine/winter08/college.html

N.C. Textile Connect (www.nctextileconnect.com) is a comprehensive Web site designed to foster and encourage business partnerships among textile companies within North Carolina and beyond. It also provides valuable information to prospective customers within the state, inside the United States and abroad.

Read more from the News Services' news release

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences was well represented at Bugfest, an educational events sponsored by the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. A number of college-connected faculty, staff and students presented exhibits in the "beneficial bugs" area of the event, held Sept. 15. In this photo, children enjoy examining a live specimen. Bugfest participants from the college included: Chrystal Bartlett, Cooperative Extension marketing director; David Orr, Mike Linker, Fred Hain and Jennifer Keller, Entomology; David Penrose, Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

Last spring, Monroe became the Emerald City, as the yellow brick road led to Union County’s Agricultural Services and Conference Center, site of the 2007 Union County Women’s Leadership Conference and Luncheon.

Hosted by the Women’s Leadership Coalition, the annual conference is an initiative of North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Robin Landsman, Extension Family and Consumer Sciences agent in Union County, worked with the Coalition in organizing the event. Dr. Deborah Crandall, director of Extension’s Southwest District, delivered opening remarks, and Monroe Police Chief Debra C. Duncan was keynote speaker, following a workshop called “Leadership According to Oz: Accountability Competence.”

Elizabeth Poyner Sanderlin, the retired North Carolina Cooperative Extension agent for whom the auditorium of Extension’s new $6.6 million Currituck center will be named, passed away Dec. 20, 2006 at her home. She was 102.

Sanderlin, “Miss Liz” to her many friends, spent much of her working life helping her community grow from a rural, swamp-dotted backwater to a major agriculture- and tourism-supported county.

Guilford County held its first-ever cultural awareness event called the "Summer Salsa Sizzle" on Tuesday, August 26. The event helped create fun and provide educational opportunities to unite the culturally diverse communities, in this case the Latino community.

Developing a sense of friendship and trust is important to this audience before they will work with structured organizations, and this event went a long way towards this goal.

Now, as a tribute to Sanderlin's many years of devoted public service, the auditorium of the new $6.6 million Currituck Center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service building will be named in her honor.

On Friday, Aug. 11, nearly 100 Extension employees and residents joined Sanderlin and county officials in celebrating the groundbreaking of the new Extension Center next to Central Elementary School in Maple.

Read more from The Daily Advance.