July 02, 2009

Extension responds to interest in home food preservation

With a renewed interest in home gardening and purchasing local food across North Carolina comes renewed consumer interest in preserving food at home, through canning, freezing or drying North Carolina Cooperative Extension centers are responding to this interest by offering canning classes across the state.

Once a hallmark of extension programming through Tomato Clubs for girls, canning and other home food preservation techniques had largely fallen out of favor with consumers in recent years. But this year, Cooperative Extension centers are reporting enrollment in canning workshops is up, and many extension agents are adding classes to accommodate demand.

Cabarrus County has scheduled nine workshops, up from the usual four, and all filled quickly. Several television news groups taped the Cabarrus workshops to use as on-air instructional pieces. Five workshops will be offered in Lee County, including one focusing on canning green beans and two on canning tomatoes. In Buncombe County, workshops are scheduled throughout the summer produce season on canning strawberry jam, dill pickles and relish and tomatoes, along with several lectures on home canning.

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Posted by Natalie at 11:00 AM

Small Farm Field Day is July 16

N.C. A&T State University will host the Small Farm Field Day July 16, 8:30 a.m. to noon at the University Farm in Greensboro. Demonstrations will include pastured chickens, pastured hogs, mushrooms, specialty vegetables on mulch, no-till raised beds with pumpkins, Asian eggplant, Scotch bonnet and amaranth. The University Farm is located at 3136 McConnell Road, Greensboro, approximately three miles north
of I-40, exit 43 (old exit 130).

Posted by Natalie at 10:23 AM

June 29, 2009

Camp helps children acheive a healthy weight

The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and North Carolina State University are working together to provide a healthy lifestyle camp for overweight youth to be held at the Eastern 4-H Center in Columbia.

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Posted by Suzanne at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

June 26, 2009

Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina releases Road Map to Health

North Carolinians who want to improve their health by enjoying outdoor activity will benefit from a new resource developed by Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina. The group has just released Eat Smart, Move More NC: Your Road Map to Health, a foldable state map illustrated with North Carolina sites and opportunities for physical activity and outdoor recreation.

The Road Map, which doubles as a progress report on obesity in North Carolina, folds and fits in a car glove box like a regular street map. The map’s appeal to outdoor enthusiasts is that it highlights walking, hiking, biking and paddling trails throughout the state. The document also engages readers with the personal success stories of individuals who have been agents of change in their own communities -- making healthy improvements to work sites, schools and neighborhoods.

N.C. Cooperative Extension is one of 60 organizations that lead the Eat Smart, Move More NC (ESMM) movement. The shared vision among these partner organizations is a North Carolina where healthful eating and active living are the norm, rather than the exception.

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Posted by Natalie at 09:02 AM

4-H Centennial Homecoming registration extended to July 1

100 Years! Wow. What an achievement. And, what a birthday!

Few organizations or companies ever reach their centennial year. But, as you know, in 2009 the North Carolina 4-H Program will celebrate 100 years. From humble beginnings in northeastern North Carolina as corn and tomato clubs, North Carolina 4-H has grown into the largest youth development program in the state. Today's 4-H is a mirror image demographically of the youth living in North Carolina between the ages of 5 and 19. Today, 4-H serves more than 204,000 young people across the state.

To celebrate this momentous milestone in our history, an exciting event has been planned. Please reserve the evening of Tuesday, July 21, 2009 for the NC 4-H Centennial Homecoming. Please register today using the on-line registration site www.nc4H.org

Special Note: Agents and 4-H Congress delegates do not need to register for this event - they will automatically be registered to attend through the 4-H Congress Registration process.

This event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new ones, and celebrate our past as we position 4-H for the future.

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Posted by Natalie at 08:37 AM

June 24, 2009

Chatham Extension center, beekeepers celebrate pollinators

Come join the Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the Chatham County Beekeepers’ Association for the third annual celebration of National Pollinator Week on Saturday, June 27, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on The Lawn at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro.

The purpose of National Pollinator Week is to teach pollinator-friendly practices and raise public awareness of the importance of the bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, birds and bats that are needed to produce 80 percent of our flowering plants and one third of our human food crops. The National Academy of Sciences has reported that there is direct evidence of the decline of some pollinator species in North America. And recently, Colony Collapse Disorder of honey bees has alarmed the agricultural industry.

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Posted by Natalie at 10:15 AM

Cooperative Extension provides new online tools for growing farmers’ businesses

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – A new resource from N.C. State University is designed to help farmers be more successful. The “Business Development Files,” for small- to mid-size farmers, are distributed through N.C. Cooperative Extension centers statewide. They offer step-by-step advice for those interested in building or expanding an agricultural business. The new information consists of seven files, or steps, each providing guidance on various aspects of developing an agricultural business, from estimating market potential to calculating costs. Farmers should contact an N.C. Cooperative Extension agent in their county to review these files.

The Business Development Files include:
1. Evaluating a New Business Idea
2. Estimating Income and Cost: Calculating a Price
3. Researching Your Market: Identifying Your Customers
4. Researching Your Market: Evaluating the Competition
5. Estimating Market Potential: Is There a Market?
6. Legal, Regulatory and Insurance: Checklist for North Carolina
7. Product, Price, Place and Promotion

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Posted by Natalie at 09:38 AM

June 16, 2009

Web site offers advice for coping with economic downturn

The country's economic downturn has left many families scrambling to deal with personal and financial crises. To help, North Carolina Cooperative Extension has developed a Web site, "Take Control," that provides peer-reviewed fact sheets offering a number of suggestions on how to cope with economic hardship.

The fact sheets, available on the Web site www.nctakecontrol.com, were developed by N.C. Cooperative Extension family and consumer sciences specialists in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University. The fact sheets include tips on saving money, talking to children about the economy, shopping for healthy foods on a tight budget, avoiding home foreclosure and many other timely topics.

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Posted by Natalie at 09:22 AM

June 12, 2009

Wake Master Gardeners celebrate 30 years

Master Gardeners who support N.C. Cooperative Extension in Wake County recently celebrated 30 years of service with a birthday party, cake and all. One highlight was a panel discussion with former horticulture agents and MG volunteers reflecting on the program's history. Wake's MG program began in 1979 when agent Victor Lynn learned of a program called "Garden Leaders" while attending a national agricultural agents meeting. Lynn returned to Raleigh to begin a similar program in Wake County. Today, Wake County Master Gardeners have 129 members and three emeritus members. In addition to answering home horticulture phone calls five days a week, the group is responsible for five demonstration gardens, three WaterWise gardens, horticultural therapy, Successful Gardener clinics, youth horticulture and a speaker’s bureau.

-A. Hertzberg

Posted by Natalie at 08:09 AM

June 10, 2009

4-H Citizenship North Carolina Focus attracts 150 youth to Raleigh

150 youth and adults from across the state will be in Raleigh June 15-17 for 4-H Citizenship North Carolina Focus at the Sheraton Raleigh Downtown. Delegates learn about citizenship, the legislative process and community engagement.

During the conference, the delegates will have the opportunity to hear from a number of key state leaders and experience workshops on a variety of topics from “Whatz Up On Capitol Hill?” to “Nuts and Bolts of the North Carolina General Assembly.” On Wednesday morning, delegates will visit their legislative representatives in their offices, following a legislative breakfast.

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Posted by Natalie at 02:25 PM

June 02, 2009

Researcher helps second graders learn about strawberries

While North Carolina strawberry growers looked forward to a bumper crop of berries in May, second graders at Swift Creek Elementary School in Raleigh also were watching their small crop come in. Though the school’s berries arrived a few weeks later than those of commercial growers, the students and their teachers have gained a wealth of knowledge from their year-long study of strawberries and how they grow.

The project started last fall as a collaboration between Dr. Gina Fernandez, small fruits specialist and associate professor of horticultural science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Swift Creek second grade teacher Megan Sedaghat. Fernandez’s daughter, Anya Yencho, was a student in Sedaghat’s class this year. When Sedaghat learned of Fernandez’s expertise with strawberries, she asked if Fernandez would help students grow and study strawberries.

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Posted by Natalie at 09:13 AM

June 01, 2009

The Produce Lady offers helpful hints for consumers, farmers

As farmers’ markets attract more and more consumers in search of nutritious, high-quality foods, many of those same consumers are looking for ways to prepare and preserve what they buy at markets. A new resource from the N.C. State University Program for Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture at the new N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis offers help.

The Produce Lady video series tells farmers and consumers the wonders of locally grown fruits and vegetables – the nutrition they provide, the delicious meals or snacks families can enjoy with each vegetable or fruit and how to prepare them as tasty meals and snacks or freeze them to use throughout the year. The Produce Lady is Brenda Bryan Sutton, the new N.C. Cooperative Extension director in Rockingham County, who served as family and consumer sciences Extension agent until recently. The Produce Lady’s recipes and videos are available in two sites: www.theproducelady.org and www.youtube.com/user/TheProduceLady.

Posted by Natalie at 09:47 AM

May 28, 2009

Secrets of Success: North Carolina Values-Based Leadership now available

General H. Hugh Shelton’s coffee table book takes a very special look into leadership and values. General Shelton will sign books at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh on June 12 at 7:30 p.m. Through the black-and white portrait photography and the book’s voices, readers will experience leadership first-hand from some 35 men and women with a unique and special North Carolina connection.

Readers will learn how leadership impacted pivotal moments in world politics, business, the military, athletics, religion and the arts. Proceeds from the sale of this book will support programs for the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center, including 4-H Shelton scholarships and enhanced initiatives for young people statewide. Available through your local bookstores and www.amazon.com. Visit cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/secrets-of-success.

Posted by Natalie at 09:42 AM

May 15, 2009

Burleson honored by 4-H for Lifetime Achievement

The North Carolina Centennial 4-H Lifetime Achievement Awards Celebration took place April 23 in Concord, where the annual fundraising event honored the lifetime achievements of former 4-H members, families and supporters. N. C. State University basketball legend Tommy Burleson received the 4-H Lifetime Achievement Award, and Family Legacy Awards were presented to the Teeter and Vanderbilt/Cecil families for their support of North Carolina 4-H.

“This event provides an outstanding venue to highlight today’s 4-H youth development program and the excellent job it does helping young people become competent, caring and contributing members of society,” said Dr. Marshall Stewart, state 4-H program leader. “We’re especially glad to honor Tommy Burleson, the Teeter family and the Vanderbilt/Cecil family. Their generosity and dedication have helped propel 4-H through its first 100 years and, without a doubt, will continue to strengthen our organization in the next century.”

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Posted by Natalie at 03:54 PM

Farm to Fork Summit focuses on local food systems

How would you build local food economies for North Carolina communities? About 400 farmers, food service buyers, health professionals, county government officials, chefs and university representatives came together at the Farm to Fork Summit held in N.C. State’s McKimmon Center in May to ask that question as they develop a State Action Plan. The conference included remarks and pledges of support by Gov. Beverly Perdue, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton and other dignitaries.

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), directed by Dr. Nancy Creamer, hosted the summit, which took place after more than a year of planning and conversations. Last fall, CEFS hosted six regional summits to learn what was happening regionally to build local food economies and to identify opportunities and obstacles. Other dignitaries offering support were Dr. Jon Ort, director of N.C. Cooperative Extension Service at N.C. State University, Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, administrator of N.C. Cooperative Extension Program at N.C. A&T State University, and Maurice Totty of the Compass Group, the world’s largest food distributor.

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Posted by Natalie at 11:25 AM