County Extension Agents ?

[BobbyB]

I see lots of people recommend going to the local county agent for whatever is the topic at the time.

Personally, I have only dealt with one that wasn't about equal to Hank Kimball on Green Acres. And I have been to agents in 5 counties over the years.

Do y'all really go to the Extension office with all these questions? And get answers and advice ?

[Big Dave]

I have gone thru 5 agents in the last 20 years. Some have no idea what they are doing. They get the job because they have the college degree. The only one of them that was worth their salt retired after 28 years. He also still lives in my area and when I get stumped I go to the feed store and there he is drinking coffee and smokin like a chimmney.

[Waterwheel Farm]

As far as the county agent, I've received some fairly sound and helpful advice.

At the federal FSA level, had pretty good help and advice too....other than anything financial, like assistance with water supplies, fencing, etc. My observation is that any sort of Federal funding goes to the larger, well-connected farmers.

[where I want to]

Gee- I was going to post that ours here is not very useful either. I thought, from what I have read, that others were usually better. I always supposed that she wouldn't call me back because I was not a commercial grower.

[Maverick_mg]

I like ours. Very helpful. I usually have to do a bit of leg work still but they point me in the right direction and even follow up later.

[am1too]

Originally Posted by BobbyB

I see lots of people recommend going to the local county agent for whatever is the topic at the time.

Personally, I have only dealt with one that wasn't about equal to Hank Kimball on Green Acres. And I have been to agents in 5 counties over the years.

Do y'all really go to the Extension office with all these questions? And get answers and advice ?

I hesitate to go to them. But like every thing there are good and bad. They mostly are for the big boys. Last time I went there was a new person and was very friendly and helpful. I may go again just because of him. Personally I do about as good if not better here.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Honest Injun? They aren't worth squat.

Their office is a good place to get printed material on various topics and the pecan spraying schedule. Other than that, the Internet and boards like this are a much better resource.

[hiddensprings]

No complaints about mine. He is very supportive and if he doesn't know the answer, he'll find someone that does. I think in general Tennessee does a great job supporting small farmers. That's why I love it here..

[Awnry Abe]

We have both Mizzou and Lincoln U extension reps available here. It seems that they work in harmony, intentionally. The Lincoln U folks seem to have more of a homesteading/ small farm leaning and I usually don't have to explain my goals, philosophy, worldview, etc. to them up front. They really put good stuff out. So far, I have found the 4-H connections and 4-H sponsored info to be the most useful info from the Mizzou extension. And also, though I don't consider them "extension", I have found that a few of the people in our county's soil conservation district office to pretty helpful.

All that said, in my opinion, the Internet age really should spell the end of that type of model. I learn way more from HT and like sites.

[francismilker]

Mine is great! He is a young man with a degree in Agronomy. If I need to grow it, he can tell me how. If I need to raise it, he can tell me how much feed, mineral, water, hay, etc.

I have also found that if I ask questions out of his league he doesn't hesitate to tell me that he doesn't know and will look for an anwer. Our state Ag college is also a good resource for information.

[soulsurvivor]

In our county the extension office and its' personnel are fully involved in the community. This is funded through the federal land grant monies to the University of Ky and Kentucky State University as an extension statewide for education/support services. Our local office directs all the youth 4-H program for the county. Along with that the staff works with the local Chamber of Commerce to support the county fair, host an annual Home & Garden show, and any event that offers an opportunity for agricultural based education. They also provide nutrition education to those receiving food stamps. Along with that they also have a Homemakers club and offer all types of classes such as sewing, cooking, gardening, food preserving, etc. They also provide free classes on our local tv station for cooking and preserving food. If there's a pie of agricultural education being served, then they have their fingers stuck in it somewhere along the line. And they're all good people that live and work in the community.

http://marion.ca.uky.edu

Oh, and if they can't answer your questions, they're tied into a state/national network that can and does provide answers.

[foxtrapper]

The people vary, as does their knowledge. Can be quite the difference betwen the extension service and soil conservation as well.

[luvrulz]

There is one that isn't worth beans, but the ag guy here and the one in the next county over are excellent!! I am also involved with the Homemaker's Association and there's alot of info with that group..... We have gotten all kinds of heads up on grant money and help for our farm and orchard....

[Laura Zone 10]

Originally Posted by BobbyB

I see lots of people recommend going to the local county agent for whatever is the topic at the time.

Personally, I have only dealt with one that wasn't about equal to Hank Kimball on Green Acres. And I have been to agents in 5 counties over the years.

Do y'all really go to the Extension office with all these questions? And get answers and advice ?

Yes!
I emailed back and forth with photos of my poor tomatoes.
I took a handful of leaves and fruit into the office also.
Septoria and Early Blight.....awesome.
I took my soil in and had it tested (60.00)

THEY offered to have someone from Purdue to come to my house FREE of charge to see my garden, plants and soil because they simply couldn't figure out how can I get rid of the Sep. and EB.

I call the extension office all the time.
They are amazing!

[Rockytopsis]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Honest Injun? They aren't worth squat.

Their office is a good place to get printed material on various topics and the pecan spraying schedule. Other than that, the Internet and boards like this are a much better resource.

OH I totally agree with that. I have tried for 7 years to get a 4H goat group going and no help from them. As a matter of fact we had to pay out of our pockets a $25.00 fee to have a booth at a festival downtown. The lady that used her credit card is still trying to get her money back from the office and the festival was October of 2012. Hows that for a lazy good for nothing extenion agent.

Rocky

[Bret4207]

You get good and bad. Our local Extension has a "goat and sheep" lady that has some knowledge, but shes so into her own thing (the Extension farm seems to be very, very intertwined with her own farm) that she can't seem to find time to help anyone else. That and she's supposed to a professional and cna't break herself of calling goats "nannies and billies". With a Masters degree you'd figure she'd use the proper terms at least.

They have another lady that's supposed to be an expert on all things canning who'd never even heard of the reusable Tattler lids and who will not ever give advice that doesn't start with "refer tot he USDA canning guidelines". Probably CYA, but still, a little imagination would help.

The 4H people are supposed to be okay, but I understand they are big on fundraising, just as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are now. We'll see, we're supposed to be getting the kids in 4H soon.

OTOH- the Soil and Water people have been real helpful and one of the Ag experts at Extension was very helpful on alternative lime sources from our native marble.

[salmonslayer]

Ours is pretty good but like others have said, they tend to focus mostly on the bigger producers and around here they arent much into innovation. The Missouri Department of Conservation on the other hand is just an outstanding organization providing technical assistance on everything from wild life management on your land to forest and woodlot management. They even have a program where for a small cost you can get seedlings of indigenous plants and trees.

[ErinP]

Our Extension agent is a bit of a ding-bat, too. But, for a rank newbie, she probably knows more than they do.

For anyone else, she hands out the NebGuides and has ag. statistics at her fingertips so that's where her value is... Her role as 4H coordinator is enough to make a parent loopy!

[geo in mi]

Here's a job description for an extension agent in Georgia: http://www.fvsu.edu/jobs/667

Seems like they would like to have a generalist that is, as the term puts it, co-operative in many areas--not necessarily an expert--but reasonably knowlegeable in at least two local farming/agricultural occupations. Looks like that person would have to attend many farmer meetings, be a presenter/educator, handle a lot of 4-H or master gardener programs, make on site visits to talk to gardeners and farmers, look at animals and vegetables, and if not answer a question--at least be willing to search for information from the various research and extension document databases in existence.

geo

[fernando]

our county agent is very popular with those who are eager to dip into public funding for this or that - he also has a working knowledge of what can be found in his filing cabinets for distribution -