According to the needs and at the direction of our leadership, Extension has been collaborating with the local County Conservation District on several programs and events during the year. The first one is a soil testing program. We have been educating our clientele about the importance of testing. Another program is our annual Gardening – Seed Give Away Program. Attendees learn some of the basics of gardening, visits educational booth and exhibits, and receive vegetable seeds for planting.

 These collaborative effort has been on-going for several years now. As part of numerous educational programs and events, soil testing has been discussed. Farmers and home owners has been educated about the financial savings and production benefits to proper soil fertility. During the last eight years, the number of soil samples tested for the county has increased by over three hundred percent.

This year, our Gardening – Seed Give Away program had to be modified to protect our clientele and ourselves from the potential spread of the coronavirus. We changed the event to a drive-thru event and handed out seed, food & personal safety information, gardening and nutrition publications. Even with the necessary modification, this year’s event reached three hundred fifty individuals.

These increases are due to the efforts and teamwork of Extension and Conservation Districts working together on a common goal. Many local producers have thanked both entities for their efforts in making their operations profitable and saving them on inputs. It is estimated that these programs saved the participants more than $10,000 this year.