Polk County Annual Report 2011 451 S. Albany Bolivar, MO 65613 Tel: (417) 326-4916 http://extension.missouri.edu/polk Office Hours: Mon—Fri., 8:00 to 12:00 and 1:00 to 4:30 University of Missouri Extension does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or status as a Vietnam-era veteran in employment or programs. Polk County 4-H’ers, Jessica Venvertloh and Madison Higginbotham, work together to package popcorn as part of their Share Your Christmas community service project..
Transcript
Polk County Annual Report
2011
451 S. Albany
Bolivar, MO 65613
Tel: (417) 326-4916
http://extension.missouri.edu/polk
Office Hours: Mon—Fri., 8:00 to 12:00 and 1:00 to 4:30
University of Missouri Extension does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation,
religion, age, disability or status as a Vietnam-era veteran in employment or programs.
Polk County 4-H’ers, Jessica Venvertloh and Madison
Higginbotham, work together to package popcorn as part of their
Share Your Christmas community service project..
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451 S. Albany
Bolivar, MO 65613
Tel: 417-326-4916
http://extension.missouri.edu/polk/
Extension’s Program Guidance Comes From You The University of Missouri Extension council and staff would like to thank the Polk County Commissioners for their support and funding during this past year. In turn, the council and staff remain committed to improving people’s lives by helping them meet the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century with research-based education and information. Current programming efforts focus on agricultural profitability and viability, building family and individual strengths, business, community and economic development, enhancing health and nutrition, environmental quality, and youth development. The mission of University of Missouri Extension is to: "serve Missouri by extending the unbi-ased research-based knowledge and problem-solving resources of the University of Missouri to focus on high-priority needs of people throughout the state." The contents of this report are a brief summary of some of the highlights of our educational efforts during the past year. We hope this report provides a greater understanding of Univer-sity of Missouri Extension programming efforts in Polk County. Submitted by,
Patty Wilson LaNelda Presley Wesley Tucker Patty Wilson LaNelda Presley Wesley Tucker Council Chairperson Council Secretary County Program Director
Chandra Meyer
EFNEP Nutrition Program Assistant
Pat Kirby
4-H Youth Program Assistant
Kathy Drake
Administrative Assistant
Angelia Ham
4-H Youth Program Specialist
Wesley Tucker
Agriculture Business Specialist
Staff Members at the Polk County University of
Missouri Extension Center
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Experienced and Committed Staff
The staff of the University of Missouri Extension office in Polk County represent a variety of
backgrounds and experiences. Staff members have owned their own farms and businesses, worked for
many government agencies, and bring a wide range of backgrounds and knowledge to Polk County.
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4-H Youth Development
Polk County 4-H Impact 2010
4-H’ers:
Are 25% more likely to contribute to their families, themselves and their communities.
Are more likely to see themselves going to college compared to other youth.
Are 41% less likely to engage in risk/problem behavior
Achieve higher scores on goal setting and goal management. 4-H’ers are leaders, achieve higher marks in school and contribute to self and society—all
which help strengthen the communities in which they live. Research shows that youth development programs like 4-H play a special and vital role in the lives of America’s young people. Ac-cording to the latest findings in the second annual report from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), youth have the capacity to thrive when presented with resources for healthy development found in families, schools, and communities-regardless of their background, socioeconomic status, race, and gender. The 4-H Study is a longitudinal study which began in 2001, through the support of national 4-H Council. Researchers at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University led by youth development scholar, Dr. Richard Lerner, with the contribution of land-grant universities conducted the study.
Polk County Clubs: County 4-H clubs offer long-term educational experiences in which members learn life skills like decision making, public speaking and working with others. Members learn by doing under the guidance of adult volunteers who teach projects ranging from aero-space and arts to veterinary science and sport fishing. Clubs involve children and teens in community service, leadership & educational trips. 4-H Volunteers: Polk County 4-H members are supported by 60 Polk County adult volunteers. Youth and adult partnerships are key to the success of every youth development program, and 4-H is no exception! Additionally, a national report suggests that the average volunteer in Missouri con-tributes 43.5 hours per year. That’s 2,610 hours a year, 50 hours per week of volunteerism!
Community Service Projects: MOHOCOLA: Missouri Home Grown Leaders! County 4-H’ers launched this project in 2010 to learn leadership skills, promote community awareness and address a community need. This is an on-going grant project bringing $2,000 annually to support their efforts and solution of the identified need!
Going Green - Outside the Polk County Courthouse, 4-H Council members planted and maintained the annuals and perennials in the flower pots and around the statue, made possible by the Kemper and Pioneer Community Service Grant. Polk County clubs complete countless projects to better their communities and reach out to elderly, children and others in need. Polk County 4-H collected packets of cocoa and popcorn to distribute through Share Your Christ-mas, made cards and cookies for residential care residents, rang bells for the Salvation Army, com-pleted clean-up at the Polk County Fairgrounds and cemetery, and much more!
Polk County 4-H program-
ming secured over $4,000 in grants for Polk County 4-H
Youth Development pro-grams!
This 4-H year, Polk County has already enrolled 187 youth in 4-H clubs, yield-ing an increase of 15% again this year. 4-H enrollment has increased over 30% the last 2 years! We have a total of 13 clubs, including nine traditional and
four family clubs.
Polk County 4-H Impact 2011
4-H Youth Development
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Hatching Chicks in the Classroom– 26 Polk County classrooms participated in this program in 2011, reaching nearly 600 students. Students received firsthand instruction and knowledge on the life cycle, where food comes from and how to care for animals. Dream Big Leadership Conference - Over 60 youth and adults participated in the first ever Dream Big Leadership Conference right here in Polk County, offering sessions on leadership, public speaking and teamwork! Youth focused on dreaming big and how to achieve those dreams! This event was made possible by the USDA MOHOCOLA Grant and the Bolivar Community Foundation Grant. All participants are eligible to apply for the $400 Kenny Ham Memorial Scholarship which will be awarded this spring. State 4-H Youth Summit Trip - Twelve Polk County youth embarked on a weekend leadership adventure to the Youth Summit to set goals for Polk County youth and earn $200 in grant monies to support an event to reach their goal! Polk County Fair– 244 4-H exhibits were showcased and judged at the annual Polk County Fair
Ozark Empire and State Fair- Polk County was represented with 103 ex-hibits with seven earning Grand or Re-serve Champion awards at Ozark Em-pire Fair. 48 exhibits were selected to be displayed at the Missouri State Fair.
State Contests - In addition to shooting sports, eleven 4-H members participated in state contests including State Horse Judging, Fashion Revue and Livestock Judging.
Polk County Achievement Day – 73 youth, parents, and lead-ers participated in Polk County Achievement Day to showcase the knowledge they have acquired through 4-H projects. This event includes project judging, demonstrations, personal appear-ance and public speaking!
Polk County 4-H Council- Teen 4-H members serve as officers, and members and leaders serve on committees , charged with the mission to guide and lead the Polk County 4-H Program.
National 4-H Week – Each of the county clubs contributed fair exhibits to create a display at the
County library for the month of Oct. Eight 4-H youth wrote and recorded Public Service Announce-
ments which were played throughout National 4-H Week on the local radio station.
Polk County 4-H was repre-
sented by 17 members at the 4-H State Shooting con-
test, entering 23 events!
CENTURY MARK!!! 100
members, volunteers pro-spective members and fami-
lies attended 4-H Project Expo as a chance to sample
a few of the many projects 4-H has to offer!
Michaela Higginbotham holds a spark plug while examining this
small engine at 4-H Project Expo.
The purpose of agriculture and environmental programming is to provide information and recommen-dations that will help individuals, groups and agribusiness firms apply research based knowledge. Along with educational programming, University of Missouri Extension personnel provide one-on-one farm visits. Area specialists work closely with small producers that are moving into the county or ex-isting residents that have decided to start new enterprises. Services the Polk County office provides include: soil-testing, fertilizer and pesticide recommendations, weed-, insect- and disease-identification and control, forage-testing information, pesticide-use training, nitrate tests for forages, and crop variety selection.
Ag Lenders Seminar: 23 representatives of the banks in Bolivar and surrounding areas attended the 6th Annual Ag Lenders Seminar. Extension’s goal is to provide local agricultural lenders with the most current information they need to work with their ag clients. Topics in-cluded land, livestock, and crop price fore-casts, Trichomoniasis in beef cattle, and what the difference between profitable and unprofit-able producers. SW MO Beef Conference: 124 producers at-tended this great event. Since our county is the #1 beef county in Missouri, Polk County Exten-sion sponsors this regional educational event to update producers on key management prac-tices to help them be more profitable. Topics included: 1.) Changing Structure of the Beef Industry 2.) Stretching Limited Hay Supplies 3.) Trichomoniasis in Beef Cattle 4.) Can I Afford to Fertilize? Hay School: Extension hosted a two day course in Bolivar on quality hay production. Topics in-cluded fertilizer impacts, harvest management, storage losses, economics, and marketing.
Agriculture
Impact in 2011
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Livestock & Forage Conference (aka Soils & Crops): 65 local producers attended this annual conference. Topics included: 1.) Weed Control in Pastures & Hayfields 2.) How Much is A Good Bull Really Worth? 3.) Can I Justify Alfalfa in My Operation?
Sheep & Goat Field Day — Polk County Exten-sion hosted the first ever Southern Missouri
Sheep & Goat Field Day in Bolivar drawing 115 producers from throughout Missouri. Local
producers look to Extension to provide the educa-tion they need to take advantage of this growing
industry.
Master Gardener Program: Local volun-teers who complete an intensive 10-month class must give a minimum of 30 hours of volunteer time back to the community in the form of gardening education. This local group conducts a wide variety of community activities such as hosting gardening semi-nars, teaching gardening classes for kids, developing a demonstration garden at the library, landscaping projects at John Playter Park project, and much more. Fall Gardening Workshop: Local residents attended this educational workshop on a variety of topics including soil health, lawn care & main-tenance, and planting trees. Polk County Grazing School: Extension and the Soil & Water Conservation District partner to teach a five night course on how to get the most out of your forages. On surveys of landowners that had attended the grazing school more than 5 years ago, participants reported that attending the school allowed them to increase their profitability by an average of 22%. Private Pesticide Applicator Training: Polk County Extension offers this service to the community to ensure that our natural resources are being protected for future generations. Throughout the years we have trained hundreds of producers how to properly handle and apply pesticides to their property. Farm Management Counseling: It’s hard to make a profit in farming. With rising fuel, feed, and fer-tilizer prices many producers are barely holding on. One of the most important programs that Polk County Extension provides is one-on-one counseling for local producers. Extension works closely with many producers throughout the county helping them find ways to cut costs, improve their mar-keting, make better management decisions, and improve the overall profitability of their operation.
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Agriculture
Master Gardeners hard at work landscaping a new Habitat for Humanity home.
Junior Livestock Show & Auction: Extension strives to develop the Polk County
Fair and support our youth by building the market sale. In spite of the recession, this
year’s sale set a new record raising $16,993 that went directly to the youth to help offset
the costs of their livestock project.
Individuals and families can find information through the educational programming of MU Exten-sion Human Environmental Sciences program. Areas addressed include family resource manage-ment, good health through nutrition, leadership development and effective decision making to en-hance the quality of life. A variety of educational programs and information is provided through several regional specialists.
Leadership Bolivar: This highly successful local pro-gram is based on University of Missouri’s EXCEL pro-gram. University of Missouri Extension speakers teach several of the leadership classes that contribute to the future of the Bolivar area.
Impact in 2011
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Human Environmental Sciences
Participants of Leadership Bolivar are learn-ing how to be more active in their community
Extension continues to receive more requests for canning and
gardening information this year as a result of the recession.
Century Farm Families
Jimmie & Roberta Doke Charles & Debbie McGinnis
Jacob & Katie Francka Loyd Spear
Lendell & Pat Voris Mark & Stacie Larson
University of Missouri Extension Family Nutrition Education Programs (FNEP) reached 14,131 low-income participants with nutrition education in Polk County during 2011. FNEP provides in-formation on nutrition, food safety, and physical activity for lifelong health and fitness. Nutrition education for youths provides information in kid-friendly terms and lessons with hands-on activities. Activities include opportunities for taste-testing healthy foods and practicing skills that lead to good health. Education for adults includes nutrition, food safety, physical activity, and food resource management.
For adults who participated in EFNEP, results summarized for the state revealed the following:
82% of graduates improved how they managed their food dollars
48% of participants more often planned meals in advance
40% of participants more often compared prices when shopping
51% of participants more often used a list for grocery shopping
35% of participants less often ran out of food before the end of the month
87% of graduates made healthier food choices
47% of participants more often thought about healthy food choices when deciding what to feed their families
34% of participants more often prepared foods without adding salt
59% of participants more often used the “Nutrition Facts” on food labels to make food choices
35% of participants reported that their children ate breakfast more often
79% of graduates demonstrated acceptable food safety practices
49% of participants more often followed the recommended practice of not thawing foods at room temperature
98% of graduates made at least one improvement to their diets to more closely align with the USDA Dietary Guidelines
Food and Nutrition Education Program-FNEP
Impact in 2011
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Chandra Meyer
EFNEP Nutrition Program Assistant
Student changes reported by teachers
Student changes % of teachers who observed each type of
student change
% of teachers whose students
talked about this change
More aware of nutrition 91% 85%
Make healthier meal and/or snack choices
62% 75%
Eat breakfast more often 47% 51%
More willing to try new foods
76% 73%
Improved hand washing 84% 76%
Improved food safety other than hand washing
36% 40%
Increased physical activity 62% 64%
Polk County is home to a diverse, growing population with varied interests. The goal of the Polk County Extension program is to extend the unbiased research-based knowledge and problem-solving resources of the University of Missouri to the community. Whether it is a question about a tree in their yard, growing tomato plants, getting rid of termites, treating for weeds, writing a part-nership agreement, balancing a feed ration, or just about anything else you can imagine, the Polk County Extension Center is here to help. With the resources of the entire University of Missouri System behind them, there are experts in practically every field to answer questions. The Polk County Extension Center is a resource to the community and ready and willing to help.
The Extension Center is known as “The Place To Go When You Need To Know.”
Call-Ins: Agriculture 707 4-H 577 Other Areas 688 Total Call-Ins 1,972 Walk-Ins (total): 786 Total Contacts = 2,758 99 Soil Tests were conducted through Polk County Extension Center, 19 people visited the office for individual pesticide applicator training, 19 people brought in canner pressure gauges to be tested, and 29 people requested notaries.
“The Place To Go When You Need To Know”
Impact in 2011
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Pond & Pasture Weed Identification Herbicide Recommendations Vegetable Gardening Soil Testing & Recommendations Vegetable & Fruit Planting Guides Bug Identification & Control Plant Diseases Identification & Control Pasture Rental Rates Custom Rates for Farming Practices Rental Agreements Farm Income Taxes Cattle Price Forecasts
Beef Ration Balancing Supplements for Cattle On Pasture Forage Management Nitrate Poisoning in Cattle Brand Registration Mole Control (sometimes other varmints) Fruit Spray Schedules Goat Information 4-H Club Activities Mushroom Edibility Canning Food & Pressure Cooker Testing Fencing Laws
A field full of broom sedge that is in desper-ate need of a soil test and some fertility
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2011
State, Federal and County Funding for Extension
University of Missouri Extension pro-grams in Polk County are funded by county, state and federal appropriations. Local funding for support of the Polk County Extension Center is provided by the Polk County Commission. They pro-vide office space, funds for office ex-penses, clerical salaries and travel ex-penses of extension specialists who con-duct educational programs in Polk County.
A special acknowledgement
and appreciation is given to the
Polk County Commission
for financial assistance.
Melinda Robertson swears in the winners of the 2011
Polk County Extension Council Election
Financial Statement
SOURCE OF FUNDS County Appropriations $ 41,000
University Postage Allowance 1,540
Grants/Shortcourse/Soil Tests 3.907
Delarue Trust Fund 7,730
Interest 91
TOTAL FUNDS AVAILABLE $ 54,268
EXPENSES Office personnel $ 26,457
4-H Program Assistant 5,234
Staff Benefits 2,284
Fill-In Staff 501
Utilities 1,597
Travel 5,034
Postage 1,728
Telephone 2,727
Supplies and services 1,085
Internet 400
Insurance 256
Advertising 62
Miscellaneous 425
Repair and maintenance 501
Furniture and equipment 601
Rent Paid 500
Soil testing expenses 1,989
Shortcourse expenses 950
Publications 143
TOTAL EXPENSES $ 52,474
Polk County Council
POLK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
(2011)
Denzil Roberts
Presiding Commissioner
Kyle Legan
Northern Commissioner
Billy Dryer
Southern Commissioner
Polk County Courthouse
Chairman
David Vincent, elected, term ends 2008
Vice Chairman
Anita Hampton, elected, term ends 2007
Secretary
LaNelda Presley, elected, term ends 2008
Treasurer
Monty Wheeler, appointed member, term ends 2007
Other Elected Members: Cindy Bruce, term ends 2007
Courtney Creed, term ends 2008
Ronnie Hinkle, term ends 2007
Dale Huff, term ends 2008
Dawn Jones, term ends 2008
Richard LeJeune, term ends 2008
Richard McConnell, term ends 2007
Brenda Neal, term ends 2008
Keith Parminter, term ends 2007
Shae Voris, term ends 2007
Mary Wheeler, term ends 2007
Patty Wilson, term ends 2008
Susan Zidlicky, term ends, 2007
Other Appointed Members:
William Walker, MFA, term ends 2007
Stuart Hosiner, Polk County Commission, term ends 2008
Judy Dutile, City of Bolivar, term ends 2008
Chairman
Patty Wilson, term ends 2013
Vice Chairman
Will Walker, MFA, term ends 2013
Secretary
LaNelda Presley, term ends 2012
Treasurer
Tara Ashlock, term ends 2013
Other Elected Members: Steve Breesawitz, term ends 2012
Brandon Bruce, term ends 2013
Mike Coble, term ends 2012
Robbin Elliott, term ends 2012
Sue Euliss, term ends 2012
Greg Garretson, term ends 2013
Irene Grant, term ends 2013
Sam Hawk, term ends 2013
Tim Scott, term ends 2012
Len Sievers, term ends 2012
Sandy Simpson, term ends 2013
James Wheeler, term ends 2012
Other Appointed Members:
Rex Austin, Farm Bureau, term ends 2013
Denzil Roberts, Polk County Commission, term ends 2012
Judy Dutile, City of Bolivar, term ends 2012
Julie Choate, Youth Representative, term ends 2013
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