When I was told this was my week to do a newspaper article, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write. I thought a while and then I got my inspiration during staff conference. One of our staff said when she has clientele come into the office, they are amazed by the number of people here and generally ask what it is we do. She then goes on to explain who is in this office and each agents responsibilities. So, I remembered writing this article several years ago and thought I would pull it out again. This is “random ramblings of a county agent”.

I am officially employed by North Carolina Cooperative Extension through North Carolina State University. I, and other agents, are considered “field faculty”. Our duties are to assist county residents in various areas of expertise. My area is predominantly beef cattle but I am also responsible for pastures and forages, small ruminants, forestry, and wildlife issues. If a producer has a problem, like weeds in a hayfield, that producer can call the office and I will go help identify the weed and suggest how to get rid of it. I may be called to look at a disease problem in a forage stand or I might be called upon if a producer is looking for specific information, like the pros and cons of a three breed rotation in beef cattle. I also go out on the farm and offer some hands-on assistance with certain aspects of cattle husbandry. I organize the cattlemen’s association meetings, offer hands on trainings of various topics, and assist with the youth livestock shows we hold in the county.

Cooperative Extension can help with a variety of subjects and questions. We have agriculture agents that deal with all aspects of agriculture. We have an agent who assists with field crop issues, a specialist who handles commercial vegetable production, a horticulture agent who can assist with lawn and garden issues and oversees the Master Gardner program. Another agent has swine and waste management duties. We also have an agent and a program assistant who are responsible for 4-H and youth programs. These two organize the livestock shows, put on summer learning activities, and even go into the schools with programs like embryology. 4-H also has assistants who work with youth in areas like teen court and restitution and diversion programs to educate on substance abuse. Our family and consumer sciences (FCS) agent educates the community on eating healthy, food prep and storage, maintaining an active lifestyle, and even shopping on a budget. We even have area specialized agents for poultry problems and aquaculture (fish and pond issues). So, we probably have you covered in almost any situation. Just about anything you can think of Cooperative Extension can probably help with.

The information or recommendations we give may come from personal knowledge, research carried out at the university, or from agent trainings we have attended, but rest assured it is fact-based information. Basically, our job is to help educate the public via numerous methods. These methods include on farm visits or assistance, educational meetings, field days, demonstrations, newsletters, and others. Questions can come by phone, visit, e-mail, or snail mail (postal mail). Our responses can get back the same ways.

On a final note, as I indicated above, we do send out newsletters and flyers about upcoming meetings. If you would like to get some information about what’s happening, call or stop by requesting to be on the mailing list for the subject(s) you are interested in. Once added, you will get any information that is sent to that list.

Like I state above, this is just random ramblings and a very brief overview of what an agent does. Or at least some of the things I do. You’ll have to contact the respective agents to find out what goes on in their areas. To be quite honest, I don’t know as much as I should about what the agents do in the other areas, like 4-H and FCS. At any rate, if you have some questions or think Cooperative Extension might have a program for you, look us up. If you happen to be south of Clinton traveling down highway 421, stop in the office and see who’s here or you can call us at 910-592-7161. So go ahead, contact the agent of your choice and see what’s going on. You might be surprised what we can offer you and you just might learn something!