Report: Community sees benefits of MSU Extension
Thousands of young people and adults in Isabella County reaped the benefits of programs, events and education opportunities offered by Michigan State University Extension Office last year.
All that in a year that saw the extension committed unexpectedly to many hours of engaging the agriculture community in emergency management conversations after historic rains and flooding across the county in June.
That’s according to the organization’s 2017 annual report, presented to county commissioners at their May 15 meeting.
Those numbers include more than $500,000 in funding to support hundreds of children involved in 4H, hundreds more kids and adults enrolled in nutrition and food preparation classes, along with home and farm management education and more.
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The extension office is funded by both a county assessment paying out $ $147,412 in 2017 along with $355,377 contributed by MSU for the year, according to the report.
4H in Isabella County continued to thrive in 2017, with 710 young people enrolled in 29 clubs.
Of those members, 668 participated in the annual Isabella County Youth & Farm Fair in areas focused on science, health, agriculture, citizenship and more.
They were mentored by 174 adult volunteer leaders in 2017.
Other youth-focused programs included 80 students involved with camping programs, 21 who attended MSU’s Career Exploration Days and 70 who got hands-on experience during mock interviews with community professionals.
Nutrition and food safety education are major focuses of the MSU Extension and in Isabella county, classes on food preservation, cottage food law and safe food handling were offered in 2017.
A series of nutrition classes reached 483 children, while 1286 adults and young people attended a nutrition presentation.
The office also presented “Teen Chopped” in 2017, giving 15 kids a chance to let their culinary skills shine in a competition featuring local foods.
Among the MSU Extension Office’s accomplishments last year, 35 residents received home ownership education, 47 child care providers attended workshops on mindfulness and self-regulation and dozens of farmers learned through pest, crop and other management initiatives.
Community impact initiatives that were a focus of the office in 2017 include:
• Voices for food, a food security program that is part of a six-state effort to address nutrition needs in rural “food deserts.”
Good Food for Isabella County, a food council, was created in 2017.
“We have assisted in food demos at the farmers market, helped with the Berry Bash at Mt. Pleasant High School, and other activities that align with our mission and vision to have good healthy food for all Isabella County residents,” the report notes.
•Master Gardner projects, supported by 17 master gardeners giving more than 900 hours of volunteer time.
Projects included installing and maintaining landscaping at the Isabella County Building, Commission on Aging, the downtown square-foot learning gardens, Women’s Shelter and Hospice House.
Gardeners also accumulated more than 100 hours of continued training and certification.
•Field research, including soil health testing, fertilizer rates, evaluation of herbicide resistant weed populations, Armyworm, Black Cutworm, and Western Bean Cutworm Trapping program, cover crops to manage herbicide resistant weeds and more.
•Field days that focus on specifics in agriculture like wheat farming, cover crops, controlled drainage, conservation and manure.
http://www.themorningsun.com/general-news/20180526/report-community-sees-benefits-of-msu-extension
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