County Extension Agents ?

Same with ours.

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He who thinks he knows, doesn't. He who knows he doesn't know, knows.~ Joseph Campbell

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I was asked to be on the advisory board. It was for 3 years. It turned into 6 years. I hate meetings. One of the hardest things the board had to do was interview new agent applicants. Once a year, the board listened to each agent's achievements, goals and objectives and reviewed their performance.

If I had to perform to their level of hours, meetings and accountability, I would be crushed and smeared like a techtonic plate.

If you ask for help, you will get it. If they don't know what you want and need they will help you find out.

We homesteaders are naturally inquisitive and find out things on our own through, study, experimenting, reading, trial and error. Some citizens still need the kind of assistance that county agents can provide.

I've had mixed results. Some won't admit they don't know something, some just want to do things the old way. I've asked a few who were supposedly specialists in large livestock about mob grazing/intensive rotation and they look at you like you're so stupid for falling for that new fangled hype. Or if you want to try something that isn't petroleum based, spray till everything is dead then spray something else till you get something to grow, they will tell you that organic stuff doesn't work around here.

But not all of them are like that. You just have to look and ask lots of questions about their experiences and then take it all with a grain of salt.

One thing I've found very useful is that you can tell them you want to try something, and they can point to a local farmer who has done the same or something similar. Then you can talk to someone who is a doer and get real life experiences.

Wow, I'm surprised to read of the bad experiences. Ours has been extremely helpful. When we first bought our land we were rank city folk. Our agent came out and walked our entire property explaining what was growing in the pasture and identifying plants and giving us ideas on how to utilize everything.

He's taught me how to give shots, how to AI pigs, and how to do preg checks on cows. He's gloved up and stuck his arm up my cows back end more than once to see if she's pregnant. He doesn't mind getting splattered with manure every time he's here.

He loaned us a Mobile Processing Unit for butchering our chickens, complete with scalder, plucker, and knives. When our dog died and we couldn't find a replacement, he knew who had just had a litter of LGD puppies born. He's helped us sell our livestock and is always willing to come out and help butcher. Everything I know about butchering rabbits, chickens, and pigs he's taught me. He's my facebook "friend" so I can message him with questions and he gets right back to me. Or I can stop in his office anytime.

He's also been valuable helping us figure out where we want to go financially with our little farm. He's explained options available with grants and what enterprises would be profitable in our area. He's familiar with market niches looking to be met, and what's been overdone.

We wouldn't be near as far along if it wasn't for him.
Man, I should bake him a cake or something.

I suspect such offices have personnel like other offices, i.e. some of quality; some not.

My experience in this county is that the agricultural agent(s) has been quite helpful, even going the extra mile to get copies they thought might be of interest to me while homesteading.

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I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

We've had good county agents here, in TX and in WI. The guys here are great at finding the right referral to another agent in another state or county if necessary. Maybe the way you approach them helps, but I'm sure some aren't much good. I hate to sound sexist, but the the middle aged and older men seem to be more willing to refer questions, I guess they don't have to prove anything.

He always get's a good review. Good work.

I had soil samples done for the first time this year, so it was my first time trying to use services offered by an extension service.

I took my test results to the office for interpretation as I was instructed to do. I waited for half an hour for him to get off the phone and then was ushered to the back of the building to a filthy office packed practically from floor to ceiling with all manner of junk.

Basically, all he did was read to me from the printed test results. When I asked for specifics, all I got back was "ummm" and "hmmm" and he couldn't seem to figure out the application amounts based on the size of my garden area. He "did" seem to be keenly aware of the lint on his pretty shirt, though as he picked at it the entire time.

I came home, went online, and figured it out for myself. I was SO disappointed!

Ours have always been helpful and over worked, in my opinion. We live right where three counties meet and have dealt with all three over the years. We get a newsletter most months and there is always helpful info and numbers to call. Purdue is a fantastic resource that is often used.

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I think those of you that have had bad experiences need to ask some questions. Yes, there are people that are good at what they do and those that aren't. Perhaps YOUR county extension agent isn't a farmer. Perhaps they are more the office manager. The Extension service has experts in many, many fields of study. They aren't all county agents. My county agent in Iowa was a specialist in golf course grass management. He loved to go out and talk grass. He might not have known too much about cattle - but he would have found out for you. When he moved on to be the University grass specialist, they hired a lady that knew nothing about gardening or animals. She was an office manager by profession. And she ran her office well. She knew just who to call when someone needed any help. She wasn't there to answer questions, but to direct traffic. So when/if your county agent can't answer your questions - ask them if they know someone else that can help you.

So much depends on the University, the people in charge and the local support/needs. I regret that so much of the extension's publications are now on-line only. I loved their hand-outs! I haven't used them as much here in MI- they are spread really thin and only have part-time office help to even answer the phones. But the state people are very available and I get very good help from them.

Our county extension office people are GREAT! They have tested soil samples for me and given advice on adding lime etc. They have come out at no charge to take samples of our hay for testing (I did pay 10.00 for the test). They are always able to spend some time to talk to us when they come out. The office hands out lots of literature and they hold get togethers there. I've attended workshops for growing heirloom tomatoes, growing and using herbs. They have (but I have not attended) sewing and quilting workshops and many others. I have gone to them for advice about everything from snakes to termites. But the best thing they do.....is they hand out (for free) a "farm record" book for writing down all of your farm expenses and income. My tax guy loves this book. I'd pay for one if I had to, but they're free so far.

Oh, I forgot the best part! Several years ago the ext office put on a seminar that lasted 12 or 14 weeks. It was called "Making a Living on Your Small Acerage". The cost was 100.00 and class was held every Thursday night. One night might feature someone talking about beekeeping or goat raising or raised bed gardening. They provided dinner each night too. So for less than 10.00 a night I had dinner and a class. I met lots of wonderful people.

I have dealt with 3. I have no issue with any of the three. In all my cases, if I had a question, it was answered quickly (2 days tops), and were usually correct.

Even from Moo U (aka Michigan State)

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Roger

I agree with the other poster in saying that if you've had bad experiences with your extension offices, you just didn't talk to the correct person. Each of the folks here in my county are quick to direct you if they don't know the answer.... There are good employees and bad employees in any office/place you visit, whether it is an insurance office or a store of some sort.....

And it never hurts to say, is there someone else I can ask??? Youy don't like the service you're getting? Speak up and talk to someone else. Maybe you and that person aren't speaking the same language and maybe they didn't understand the question!

These people are there to serve the community and the county they live in. Make them help you and you need to direct them too.... I can't believe there are that many bad reviews! And no, they are not there for the big guys.

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