4H and Extension Services........Great opportunities for Youth and Families

The WVU Extension Service provides many services to the men, women, and youth of Pocahontas County in the areas of youth development, families and health, and agriculture. Some of the Extension program highlights of the past year are:

Approximately 200 youth are involved in the 4-H program in Pocahontas County and participate in educational projects, community service, county & state camps, visual presentations, public speaking, judging contests, poster and photography exhibitions, leadership training, project fairs, livestock shows & sales, and the Ham, Bacon, and Egg Show/Sale.

Numerous improvements have been made to the County 4-H Camp facility, and the Extension Office coordinates the rental of the facilities to other groups throughout the summer, including National Youth Science Camp, Band Camp, WVU classes, and several conservation groups.

The Extension Service is in charge of Energy Express, which served 48 elementary school students in 2008. This six-week summer reading and nutrition program employed 6 college students as mentors, and 64 volunteers performed 956 hours of volunteer service at the site.

The Extension Office coordinates the work of the Dramas, Fairs, & Festival Board. County residents are exposed to numerous opportunities in cultural enrichment that would not be possible without this funding.

The 60 Community Educational Outreach Service members (formerly the Extension Homemaker Clubs) in four clubs work to improve their skills in leadership, personal development, nutrition, food safety, family life, and community service.

Approximately 125 adults attended the “Love Your Heart” Day in March 2008. The participants were given hands-on interaction with various community resources that could help them reach their heart-health goals.

Fifteen people attended the “Dining with Diabetes” cooking school and participants learned about effective management of diabetes, food selection, meal planning, and food preparation.

Educational Dinner Meetings were held in 2009 on “Understanding Gas Leases”, “Beef Cattle Economic Outlook” and “Reproductive Issues in Beef Cattle” with 55-60 attending.

The Extension Agents serve as advisors to the 4-H Leaders’ Association, 4-H Foundation, CEOS Council, Farm Bureau, Pocahontas Producers, and the Dramas, Fairs, and Festivals Board.

Extension helps local beef producers increase profits through special graded cattle sales sponsored by the Pocahontas Producers Cooperative and the local Wool Pool.

Extension coordinated an agricultural tour for 8th grade students from MMS after they wrote essays on why agriculture is important to the county.

That last one...."why agriculture is important to the county?" is something I urge us all to reflect upon. Agriculture is not only a business but moreover is a way of life. In fact, if you listen to farmers, it is very hard to earn a living doing it. And that is one reason it is being threatened; farmers are tempted to "sell out" to developers or their children do not see the "value" in farming and they "sell out" when their parents die. I believe the family farm represents a bedrock value upon which rests our county's best chance at the future. Farming feeds America! Farming is a sustainable life. Farming protects the environment and creates a valuable and irreplaceable context for tourism, education, and lifestyle and green job growth. Plus its just plain healthy and good. The "WalMart-ing" of America can never beat that.