February 2015

“Reaching Out Report” the Greene County Extension Newsletter

2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, Mo. 65807

Email: [email protected] * Tel: (417) 881-8909

February 2015 * Vol. 8, Issue 2

Upcoming events …

pages 2-3

Kelly McGowan …

page 4

Master Gardeners ...

pages 5-6

4-H Report …

page 7

Pam Duitsman…

page 8-9

Nutrition program…

page 10

David Burton …

pages 11-12

Jeff Barber

page 12

County Budget

page 13

Patrick Byers …

pages 14-15

Friends of Extension...

pages 16-17

Sponsors & Contact...

page 18

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Healthy Lifestyle Initiative

The third annual Student Iron Chef Competition was hosted by the

Healthy Lifestyle Initiative (of which University of Missouri Extension

is a part) at Nixa Schools. “The Battle of the Super Grilled Cheese” —

an American classic mainstay sandwich – was taken to a new fun and

healthy level by 18 teams, each vying for cash and other prizes. “The

contest was a fun way to get people thinking in a different way about

health and wellness. Each year the goal of this event is to inspire stu-

dents to become connected to their food, acquire valuable lifetime culi-

nary skills, encourage cooking with friends and family and learn to de-

velop flavors in a different and healthy way,” said Dr. Pam Duitsman, a

nutrition specialist with MU Extension. Over 80 children and 20 adults

were involved with the Student Iron Chef event this year. Plans are al-

ready being made for the 2016 event.

Selected Upcoming Extension Events in Greene County

Potting Shed University 2015 Potting Shed University will last 12 weeks.

This series is presented by the Master Garden-

ers of Greene County and features 12 diverse

garden topics for attendees to hone their skills

and become a better gardener. March 2– Perennials by Gail Wright

March 9– Introduction to Home Winemaking

by Patrick Byers

March 16– All About Tomatoes by Kelly

McGowan

March 23– Companion Planting by Mark

Bernskoetter

March 30– Introduction to Herbs by Barb

Emge

April 6– Planting a Water Garden by Pat Ware

April 13– Attracting Butterflies to your Gar-

den by Linda Bower

April 20– Container Gardens, Dellene Nelson

April 27– Vertical Gardens, Rebecca Nichols

No pre-registration necessary; all classes are $5,

pay at the door and will be held in the Work-

shop Studio at the Botanical Center. For more

information visit http://www.mggreene.org/

Master Gardener Plant Sale The Master Gardeners of Greene County will

host the18th Annual Plant Sale, 7:30 a.m. to

noon or until items sell out, Saturday, April 25

at the Botanical Center at Nathanael Greene/

Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic. Master

Gardeners will be on site to assist with pur-

chases and answer questions. Vis-

it www.mggreene.org/plantsale to see updates,

or call 881-8909, ext 320 for more infor-

mation. Cash, checks or credit / debit cards

accepted.

Lawn and Garden Show 2015 The Lawn & Garden Show at the Ozark Em-

pire Fairgrounds will be held Feb. 27, Feb. 28

and March 1. This show offers a series of

seminars hosted and taught by Master Gar-

deners of Greene County. These classes are

free to the public with their admission ticket.

Daytime classes are held Friday, Saturday

and Sunday on a wide range of topics, like:

Integrated Pest Management, Container Gar-

dening, Raised Bed Gardening, Plant Selec-

tion, Soil Amendment and more. The Lawn &

Garden Show continues to be a valuable tool

for Master Gardeners to promote public

awareness of the University of Missouri Ex-

tension as a source of unbiased, research

based gardening information. Come by the

Master Gardener's booth and enter to win a

free prize. For more information on speakers

go to our website: www.mggreene.org.

Give Ozarks Campaign May 5 The first “Give Ozarks” one-day online fund-

raising event will be held May 5. Donors will

be able to contribute to the Greene County

Extension endowment fund or gift fund

online the day of the event as part of this one-

day “online telethon.” For more information

go to http://extension.missouri.edu/greene.

Business Development Classes Regular business classes are held at the Small

Business Development and Technology Cen-

ter, 405 North Jefferson Ave., Springfield.

Assorted dates and topics. Register by calling

417-836-5685 or check online

www.ws.missouristate.edu/sbdc.

Program Calendar Online The most up-to-date list of reported upcoming MU Extension programs in Greene County

is available online at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene

Calendar visible on right side of page.

Greene County “Reaching Out” Report Last Updated February 19, 2015

http://www.mggreene.org/

http://www.mggreene.org

http://extension.missouri.edu/greene

http://www.ws.missouristate.edu/sbdc

Selected Upcoming Extension Events in Greene County

Spring Forage Conference Tuesday, March 3, 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM, Univer-

sity Plaza Hotel in Springfield. $35 conference fee.

Preregister by February 18. Call 417-831-5246,

ext. 3 for information or visit the website at

www.springforageconference.com.

Young Sprouts in the Garden Date: 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Saturday, May 16.

Location: Springfield Botanical Gardens

Details: Event free and open to the public, weather

permitting. Several area organizations team up to

host dozens of free hands-on gardening activities

that are educational for the children. This is a

Master Gardener led event.

Missouri Blueberry School A nationally recognized opportunity to learn about

growing blueberries is coming to southwest Mis-

souri again in 2015. The Missouri Blueberry

School will be held March 13-14 at the Missouri

State University Darr Agricultural Center, located

at 2401 S. Kansas Expressway, Springfield. De-

tails at www.extension.missouri.edu/blueberry.

Private Pesticide Training This training is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Friday,

March 6 at the Greene County Extension office

located inside the Springfield-Greene County Bo-

tanical Center at 2400 S Scenic Avenue in Spring-

field. Participants will be required to purchase the

reference manual and pay a materials fee for a total

class fee of $18. Pre-registration is required by

March 2. For more information or to pre-register,

call Greene County Extension at 417-881-8909.


92nd Annual Greene County

Soils and Crops Conference is

March 16 at Livestock Center

The 92nd Annual Greene County Soils and

Crops Conference and SWCD Annual Meeting

will begin with a free dinner at 5:45 p.m. Mon-

day, March 16. The event will be held in the 2nd

floor banquet room at Springfield Livestock

Marketing Center, 6821 West Independence

(Exit 70 off of I-44), Springfield, Mo.

“This conference is designed to provide re-

search-based information and options to area

agriculture producers that can help them make

more informed and profitable decisions,” said

Tim Schnakenberg, agronomy specialist with

University of Missouri Extension.

Program topics and speakers include:

“Custom Grazing and Rental Agreements,” by

Wesley Tucker, MU Extension agriculture busi-

ness specialist; “Managing Forage Grazing

Heights and Stockpiling for Winter Pasture,” by

Mark Kennedy, grazing specialist, Missouri For-

age and Grassland Council; and “Fine-tuning

your Forage Fertility Program,” by Tim

Schnakenberg, with MU Extension.

Program and cost-share updates will be giv-

en by staff with the Greene County NRCS, FSA,

and the Soil and Water Conservation District.

Pre-registration is needed by March 11 to aid

in meal planning.

Registration can be done one of three ways.

A registration brochure can be downloaded

online at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene

and returned by mail. Individuals can also call

the Greene County Extension office at 417-881-

8909 or email [email protected]. Both

phone and email messages need to include your

name, mailing address with city and zip, tele-

phone number and number attending.

Sponsors for this event include Greene

County Soil & Water Conservation District, Old

Missouri Bank, FCS Financial, Springfield Live-

stock Market, MFA in Ash Grove, Greene Coun-

ty Extension Council and the Greene County

Commission.

Space for Rent The Botanical Center offers meeting space for

social gatherings and business functions. Con-

tact us for all of your needs!

Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael

Greene Close Memorial Park.

417-891-1515 | www.botanicalcenter.org

http://www.extension.missouri.edu/blueberry

http://extension.missouri.edu/greene

mailto:[email protected]

Online at http://extension.missouri.edu Page 4


Master Gardeners of Greene County

The Master Gardener Program is a popular and suc-

cessful statewide volunteer community-service organ-

ization administered through University of Missouri

Extension. The organization’s goal is to train garden-

ers who are willing to share their knowledge with

others. Master Gardeners become volunteers of Uni-

versity of Missouri Extension and donate hours for

community educational projects in horticulture. Vol-

unteer activities include working with non-profit or-

ganizations, maintaining community gardens, con-

ducting workshops, participating in a Master Garden-

er speakers’ bureau and staffing the Master Gardener

“Hotline.” The Master Gardeners of Greene County

can boast of over 275 members. For more information

visit the chapter website at http://www.mggreene.org.

Upcoming Events March 2: Potting

Shed University-

Perennials by Gail Wright

6:30-7:30 pm

March 7: Leadership

Training for Volunteer

Organizations 10am-noon

March 9: PSU-

Introduction to Home

Wine Making by Patrick

Byers 6:30-7:30 pm

March 10: Monthly

Chapter meeting 6-8:30

pm

March 16: PSU-All

About Tomatoes by Kelly McGowan 6:30-7:30 pm

March 23: PSU-Companion Planting by Mark

Bernskoetter 6:30-7:30 pm

All Potting Shed University classes are $5, pay at

the door; no pre-registration necessary. All above

events will be held at the Botanical Center located at

2400 S. Scenic in Springfield.

March 30: PSU-Introduction to Herbs by Barb

Emge 6:30-7:30 pm

Kelly McGowan Horticulture Educator

University of Missouri

Extension

[email protected]

Member Spotlight: Lorri Winters When did you join Mas-

ter Gardeners and why?

I joined in 2010 to better

understand soil and also

the plants that could with-

stand the heat, cold and

drought of Missouri. I

moved to Missouri in the

fall of 2003 from Florida

and soon realized this was

a challenging place to

grow anything.

What kind of gardening background do you

have? I grew up in rural Iowa and was put to

work in the large family garden at an early

age. I loved digging potatoes, picking green

beans and eating tomatoes fresh off the vine.

As an adult I have enjoyed planting flowers

and ornamental grasses.

What is your favorite thing about Master

Gardeners of Greene County?

Members are always so willing to share the

knowledge they have gained in their own gar-

dens. I have learned so much from the time

spent with my fellow gardeners.

What is one of your favorite growing tips

that you would like to share?

Don’t get sentimental about your plants. If

they are not thriving where you planted them,

find them a new home and try something else.

What are a couple of your favorite plants?

‘Purple Fireworks’ fountain grass and pan-

sies

Anything else about yourself you would

like to share? I think working in the gar-

den and getting my hands dirty is fun - not

work!

Lorri Winters





Leadership Training for

Volunteer Organizations Master Gardeners of Greene County will

sponsor a leadership training for leaders of

volunteer organizations on March 7 from 10

a.m. to noon at the Botanical Center.

This training will consist of 2 sessions: one

on communication styles and one on project

management. The communication styles ses-

sion will cover how to be effective in com-

municating with people who have different

styles. The project management session will

focus on developing action plans, timelines

and resource plans.

The trainer for these sessions will be Mr.

Bernie Dana, Business Dept. Chairman at

Evangel University. Dana also spoke at the

State Master Gardener Conference in Spring-

field in 2013. The fee is $15 per per-

son. Make checks payable to Master Garden-

ers of Greene County.

This is open to all Master Gardener chap-

ters, all volunteer organizations, and interested

members of the public.

Advanced Master

Gardener Program Master Gardeners of Greene

County will offer the advanced

Master Gardener program in

2015. This program allows Mas-

ter Gardeners to continue their

education with in depth training

taught by qualified experts.

Participants will work to-

wards getting 30 hours of ad-

vanced training classes and will

have 5 years to do so. The train-

ings will cover a variety of horti-

cultural categories much like the

ones offered in Core Training.

First Brown Marmorated

Stink Bug Discovered in

Greene County

University of Missouri Extension Horticul-

turists Kelly McGowan and Patrick Byers say

the first reported Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

in southwest Missouri has been confirmed and

area farmers and homeowners should be aware.

On January 28, 2015, Karen McDonald, a

member of the Master Gardeners of Greene

County, found the Brown Marmorated Stink

Bug in her home. MU Extension specialists

sent the specimen to the Missouri Department

of Agriculture where staff confirmed identifica-

tion.

Until now, the closest Brown Marmorated

Stink Bug that had been found and confirmed

was in the St. Louis area.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is an

invasive species from Asia that probably made

its way to the United States in shipping contain-

ers around 1998.

“The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has a

huge appetite for many different horticultural

and agricultural crops,” said

McGowan. “While other types of

stink bugs favor just a few kinds of

plants, the Brown Marmorated

Stink Bug will eat almost any type

of fruit or vegetable. There are no

natural predators for this insect in

the U.S., so populations are in-

creasing.”

Another problem is that the

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

overwinters in large groups in

homes and has a bad smell.

Brown Marmorated Stink

Bugs are about a one-half inch

long and a little larger than other

stink bugs. They have white

stripes on their antennae, faint

white bands on their legs and outer

edges of their abdomen have alter-

nating white and dark markings.

Display in the Master Gar-

dener’s Demonstration Gar-

den near The Botanical Cen-

ter on Feb. 18.

The Missouri Master Naturalist Program re-

sults from a partnership created in 2004 be-

tween the Missouri Department of Conserva-

tion (MDC) and MU Extension (MUE). The

Missouri Master Naturalist Program is recog-

nized as a named program within MU Exten-

sion. The MU School of Natural Resources is

the academic home for the Program. See

www.springfieldmasternaturalist.com or

springfieldmn.blogspot.com/




Master Gardeners Donate to

Success of Hickory Hills

School Greenhouse Members of the Master Gardeners of Greene

County have donated $1,000 to the Hickory Hills

School Greenhouse according to chapter president

Missy Sanford. “Five or more members of the

master gardener chapter volunteer on a regular ba-

sis at the Hickory Hills School Greenhouse

so we thought this was a worthwhile pro-

ject,” said Sanford.

The donation will help pay for the pur-

chase of professional greenhouse grow

lights. The installed lights will make K-5

classes possible during the winter at Hicko-

ry Hills Elementary so students can now

have longer projects.

According to Kay Johnson, the master

gardener that leads the Hickory Hills pro-

ject, the greenhouse project is giving stu-

dents K-5 experience in growing a vegeta-

ble plant they get to take home and care for

during the summer.

“It is usually a cherry tomato plant so

kids can go out and pick and eat from the

plant. Sometimes they choose to plant a

green bean for the summer,” said Johnson.

“This is the first time some of these kids

have ever seen vegetables grow. Now with the new

lights we can grow things for the kids to eat in the

cafeteria thru the fall, winter, and spring.”

As part of the raised beds already installed at

Hickory Hills, students have seen how popcorn,

peppers and other vegetables grow. They also learn

how flowers draw insects, and watch butterflies

feed and lay eggs that hatch into caterpillars that

eat leaves.

“Each year we have about 400 students that

participate in the greenhouse activities. I feel that it

will get more kids to eat more veggies if they have

a hand in growing them,” said Johnson.

Johnson has invested hundreds of hours at the

Hickory Hills School. A Master Gardener since

2010, Johnson has a passion for native plants and

landscapes. His work is evident throughout south-

west Missouri – including his efforts at Hickory

Hills and Holland Elementary – and as a volun-

teer on the master gardener hotline answering

questions from members of the public.

“Kay Johnson leads a dedicated team of

trained volunteers on the Hickory Hills project,”

said Kelly McGowan, horticulture educator with

University of Missouri Extension. “The Master

Gardener board thought using some of the mon-

ies raised from the annual plant sale to support

the Hickory Hills project was appropriate.”

Master Gardener Kay Johnson explains to students in Beth

Zeh’s class that they can bring home green bean plants in a

month. Master Gardeners have donated $1,000 to purchase

grow lights for the school’s greenhouse. (ozarksliving.com)

http://www.springfieldmasternaturalist.com/

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/



4-H Report for Greene County

More About 4-H As the largest out-of-school

youth organization in the world,

4-H is open to all boys and

girls, ages 5 to18. Children who

are five to seven years old are eligible for 4-H

Clover Kids, an introductory program. Youths

who are 8 to 18 years of age can select from a

variety of 4-H projects and activities that stress

social and life skills in areas like decision mak-

ing, communication, social interaction, civic

responsibility and physical skills. Children do

not have to live on a farm to join 4-H. Pro-

ject opportunities include computers, robotics,

foods and nutrition, horticulture, large and

small animals and more. Missouri 4-H is Uni-

versity of Missouri Extension's youth develop-

ment program. Learn more online.

Contact 4-H Youth Development Specialist Karla Deaver at the Lawrence County Extension office

by telephone at 417/466-3102 or by email at [email protected].

In Their Own Words:

What 4-H Members in Greene

County are Learning (Part 2)

The following quotes are taken directly from the 2014

4-H Report Forms submitted by Greene County mem-

bers. In their own words, students share what they have

learned during one year by being in 4-H.

“This organization is something I want to continue to be

a part of from a leader standpoint by someday being a

leader of a club, and helping kids develop the skills I

have now.”

“To me citizenship isn’t just about your rights and being

a law abiding citizen, it’s more than that, much more.

It’s giving back to your community, and being an active

part of it. 4-H has shown how to be a good citizen, and

that’s to my standards.”

“Who knew that working with chickens could teach a

teenager how to set goals, work hard, and then meet

those goals? Goal setting and perseverance are skills

that I will use for the rest of my life and will one day

lead me to success!”

“I started gaining public speaking skills before I could

even read. By the time I was eight, I could talk to new

people, with little or no problem, and most importantly I

could make and keep long lasting friendships by the

time I hit grade school.”

“If I have learned anything from 4-H is that trying new

things, branching out to new people, and stepping out of

your comfort zone really makes you grow as an individ-

ual and discover things you never knew about yourself.”

“4-H has given me many skills, like friends and great

confidence in my ability to survive in this world and

make it better. Skills like responsibility, public speak-

ing and leadership have allowed me to go above and

beyond in all my other activities because I had a good

foundation in 4-H at a young age.”

March 7 Showing of

“Marshall the Miracle Dog”

Benefits 4-H, Shines Light on

Bully Prevention

Marshall has chosen Missouri, his home

state, for a sneak peak of his new movie,

Marshall the Miracle Dog, on March 7-8.

Marshall is calling on all fellow Missourians

to join him and all of his friends at over 40

theaters across the state as Missouri

“Commits to Be Kind.”

The “Commit to be Kind” weekend is

being presented in conjunction with Missouri

4-H, the Humane Society of Missouri, PAC-

ER’s National Bullying Prevention Center

and Character Plus. Ten percent of all ticket

sales will benefit Missouri 4-H.

Locally, the movie will be shown at

Springfield—Wehrenberg on South Camp-

bell in Springfield.

For ticket and event information please

go to: www.marshallthemiracledog.com.

http://www.extension.missouri.edu/greene/4h.aspx

http://www.marshallthemiracledog.com



Nutrition and Food Policy

Contact Nutrition and Health Education Specialist Dr. Pam Duitsman at (417) 881-8909 or by

email at [email protected].

Chronic Disease Self-Management

This six-week series was held in Springfield,

and covered subjects including: techniques to

deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue,

pain and isolation; appropriate exercise for

maintaining and improving strength, flexibil-

ity, and endurance; appropriate use of medica-

tions; communicating effectively with health

professionals; nutrition; and how to evaluate

new treatments.

Voices for Food Project:

Pam is the State Coordinator for this six-state,

federally funded research project aimed to ad-

dress food security in isolated communities

known as “food deserts”. Four SW Missouri

communities have been selected to take part.

The project and its approach are unique be-

cause it is being applied across multiple states

and draws on the expertise of multiple disci-

plines – including nutrition, community devel-

opment, agriculture and youth. The focus is to

develop and implement sustainable solutions

that will increase availability and access to

healthy food choices in these rural communi-

ties. Food councils are being developed and

maintained in each of the targeted communi-

ties with stakeholder representatives from

farmers, school administrators, business own-

ers, and other concerned citizens. Pam plays a

key role in providing guidance to the food

councils, which will identify and develop

community food-

insecurity solu-

tions. The majori-

ty of Pam’s posi-

tion is focused on

this work, which

will last into

2018.

MU Extension Program

Integration: Pam is a mem-

ber of the Health Systems

team, working to: integrate

our health-related programs

with research; maximize the

impact of our programs by

exceeding participant expec-

tations; develop sustainable

resource generation; and elevate MU Exten-

sion’s value. The work takes an interdisci-

plinary approach to increase the flexibility

of the organization, and the ability to move

resources quickly, based upon program

needs. This team met three times during the

month of February.

Local Food Hub Development

Pam worked with a team from MSU collab-

oratively in February to design and distrib-

ute a Food Hub Feasibility Study aimed at

the Ozark Region, specifically to gather data

for the planning of food networks and food

hub(s) in the South-

west region of Mis-

souri.

One-on-one con-

tacts this month:

Telephone; e-mail;

and face-to-face con-

sultation and advise-

ment: 33

Next page: Story

about our Seeds of

Prosperity Conference

that was held in

Springfield.

Duitsman



Nutrition and Food Policy

Local Food as Economic Development The Seeds of Prosperity conference was

held in Springfield as a part of the 2015 State-

wide Missouri Organic Association meeting.

The day-long session provided a forum for

stakeholders to discuss challenges in Southwest

Missouri to provide locally grown food to insti-

tutions and large organizations (hospitals,

schools, grocers, restaurants, etc.). The session

provided opportunity for large

markets and local farmers to

connect, alongside communi-

ty resource organizations and

key stakeholders.

“Education was offered by

a variety of experts in local

food system development.

Local community and state

organizations also discussed

available resources and assis-

tance for farmers and produc-

ers,” said Dr. Pam Duitsman,

nutrition specialist with Uni-

versity of Missouri Extension.

The outcome of this work

is to ultimately increase eco-

nomic vitality for all;

strengthen our local system;

and positively impact the

health of our communities by

increasing access to fresh

fruits and vegetables.

Farmers, producers, buyers, proces-

sors, food retailers, food distributors, food

service management, Food system financi-

ers, large systems, intermediaries, public

health advocates, planners; Government

officials, supporting organizations, con-

sumers, community leaders were all in

attendance

Becky Roark Shady Dell Early Childhood

Center, Pre-K, 56 students

Sherwood Elementary, K, 1st

and 2nd, 152 students

Bingham Elementary, K and 1st,

157 students

Well of Life Food Pantry, 300

families

Holland Elementary K—4th 12 students

(after school girls’ club meeting)

Regional Girls Shelter— 7 Adults

Sherri Hull Completed series of lessons for Sequiota Ele-

mentary K-3rd grade, 243 students

Completed series of lessons for Mann Ele-

mentary K-1st grade, 148 students

Continued series of lessons for Ashley’s

House (Regional Girls Shelter), 7 partici-

pants

Victory Mission Family Ministries Food

Pantry – Display and Discussion about

“Building a Healthy Plate”, 168 families

Grant Head Start Family Night 28 partici-

pants

Holland Elementary Girls On The Go, 12

students

Early Childhood Center – Fruit and Vegeta-

ble Display with Seasonal and Simple App

Kiosk—92 Adults

Marty Wood Willard WIC, “Eating Smart,

Being Active,” Adults 17

Willard Food Pantry Display,

52 families

Pregnancy Care Center,

“Eating Smart, Being Active ,”

Adults 37

Crosslines Food Pantry Dis-

play, 1264 families

Southwest Mo. Indian Center

Display, 23 families

Harter House-Strafford Dis-

play, Adults 71



Wood

Family Nutrition Education Program

Roark

Edmondson DeFord Williams

Family Nutrition Education Program 2160 W. Chesterfield Blvd. Suite F200

Chesterfield Village, Springfield, Mo.

Tel: 417-886-2059 * http://missourifamilies.org

Fossett

Hull Nevatt

People Helping People Food Pantry Display, 29

families

Early Childhood Center Display, Adults 92

Jenni Nevatt This month I worked with 173 6th-8th graders at

Pipkin middle school. Students learned a variety of

nutrition information to help them make healthy

choices.

http://missourifamilies.org



Civic Communication Specialist and County Program Director

SOCIAL MEDIA

REACH (Dec 2014):

Individuals engaged

this month on various

MU Extension Face-

book pages: 18,887.

Added 8 videos to

YouTube this month.

Our MUExteision417

channel continues to

get over 100,000 vid-

eo views a year.

Researching various

online tools for contact management for Ex-

pert Source Program.

Preparing to transition the news service to

Constant Contact from a free listserv provid-

ed by the University of Missouri.

Provided media training to new employees of

MU Extension in southwest Missouri.

BY THE NUMBERS (for the month)

News Service Subscribers: 9.888 weekly

Requests for advisement: 12

Regular weekly news columns: 14

TV/Radio Interviews – 2

Total articles written this month – 52

CPD DUTIES & PROGRAMS

Financial oversight, travel authorizations.

County Commission meetings.

Friends of Greene County Extension efforts.

Edited monthly “Reaching Out Report”

Regular updates to county extension website

Coordinating meetings of council committees

ANNUAL REPORT

The new Greene County Extension Council Annual

Report is complete and available on our website.

Printed copies of the report will be available at the

annual meeting or can be ordered on Amazon.com.

David Burton Civic communication

[email protected]

David Burton’s focus of work as civic communication specialist: Community and civic engagement

through communication and media relations, leading and moderating focus groups, non-profit education

and support, social media in support of disaster recovery and response, marketing extension regionally,

heritage tourism with an emphasis on restoring historic schools; and engaging council members with

media relations efforts like the Southwest Region News Service and the Expert Source Program.

As county program director: David also works with the elected council to operate, fund and administer

the local Greene County Extension office and to plan local programs, to engage council members in this

and other work, and to generate local revenue to support programs in Greene County

Key Project Updates ... This month’s issue of Cares Magazine will fea-

ture the Greene County Extension Council with

a full page profile. Each month of 2015, Exten-

sion will have a half-page advertisement and an

article — both of which are submitted by David

Burton — that communicates our local mes-

sage to the opinion leaders that receive Cares

Magazine. More at http://www.goicare.com.

Past Extension donors are going to receive a

postcard toward the end of April encouraging

them to give to Greene County Extension as

part of the Give Ozarks campaign on May 5.

Greene County Extension now has an endow-

ment fund and a gift fund with the Community

Foundation of the Ozarks which makes us eli-

gible for additional grants and provides an easy

way for donors to contribute locally.

A Note of Thanks … “David, when I discovered you had nominated

my book on one-room schools in Jasper County

for a state preservation award I was thrilled! But

at the same time, you deserve to be nominated

too. You may not want to accept any credit for

all that has happened but you are the nucleus of

this rural school movement. I was struggling

with my Jasper County book until I started fol-

lowing your e-mails and joined the Missouri His-

toric Schools Alliance and began to understand

how important this effort is to Missouri heritage

and rural communities. Not only from an infor-

mation point but also to those who read the sto-

ries and smile as they journey back to their child-

hood. You are doing a wonderful job!”

Helen Hunter, Carthage, Mo.

http://www.youtube.com/MUExtension417

VITA Work Dec 8: I presented a 1 hour

training for Volunteer In-

come Tax Assistance

(VITA) and Tax Counsel-

ing for the Elderly (TCE)

volunteers on the Link &

Learn website. Volunteers

use L&L to work test prob-

lems and take certification

tests for the VITA and TCE programs. 24

attended the session.




cation effort,” said Lindsey.

Once the templates are finalized, Master Gar-

deners and other MU Extension volunteers

statewide will be able to insert the information

into flyers and brochures themselves and pick

from several templates with different picture op-

tions. That should alleviate future issues. I

“New processes are always a learning pro-

cess. We have identified some weaknesses and I

will work on creating solutions to them for future

projects, but I think in the long run, we will be

able to provide great materials for the Master

Gardeners to use for promoting their events,”

said Lindsey.

Pilot Project with Master

Gardeners and Publications

David Burton, civic communication specialist

with MU Extension and county program director

for Greene County Extension, has been working for

over two years with the MU Extension marketing

director at the University of Missouri to develop

templates (for publications, flyers, ads, and bro-

chures) to be used statewide to better brand MU

Extension programs and market our programs.

In late 2013, Greene County was selected to be

a pilot project for this effort after campus staff met

with Burton and some members of the Greene

County Extension Council. Burton was willing to

work with campus and Greene County provided

some unique challenges that could be addressed.

One of those challenges was the use of multiple

logos on publications: MU Extension, program log-

os, and the Botanical Center.

Burton suggested targeting the pilot on the

Master Gardener program because they self-

generate a lot of marketing materials. The goal was

to create high quality publications that use the cor-

rect logos, market Master Gardeners and also help

maintain or build the MU Extension brand.

Laura Lindsey, the director of MU Extension

marketing, met with a team in Greene County back

in November of 2014. She explained the vision of

her marketing plan was to create templates that

could easily be modified by volunteers to promote

local programs. These templates would promote

the MU Extension brand and would be easy enough

to use that volunteers would not need to have a

graphic design background.

Volunteers at this team meeting requested spe-

cial publications for use at the lawn and garden

show. Campus worked with a designer to create

templates and to provide a final color product.

There were lots of requested changes. Ultimately,

final and corrected flyers were created and adjusted

by Burton for local Master Gardener use and can

be seen at upcoming events.

“A great deal was learned in this process and

the templates are still being refined and the process

updated based on the lessons learned in this publi-

Improving Communities Jeff Barber is working with leaders in area

communities and students at Drury to devel-

op projects and vision-

ing documents that im-

prove living and ex-

pand economic op-

tions. Information

about his work can be

found on the Greene

County Extension

website or contact him

by phone at (417) 881-

8909 or email at

[email protected].

Jeff Barber Housing and design

[email protected]

Nellie Lamers

Greene County Commission Hosts Budget Signing Event

and Agrees to Increase in County Extension Budget

Greene County Com-

missioners signed the 2015

budget on Friday, Jan. 30

during a special afternoon

signing ceremony. The

2015 budget included a

change in funding for

Greene County Extension.

“The funding change

was welcome news,” said

George Deatz, chairman of

the Greene County Exten-

sion Council.

Deatz said council

members were very excit-

ed to learn the county was

willing to match the funds

raised privately by the ex-

tension council ($27,000)

instead of the state mini-

mum funding of $10,000.

“Thanks to Commis-

sioner Cirtin, Commis-

sioner Bentley and Com-

missioner Bengsch for the vote of confidence in extension,” said David Burton, county program director

for Greene County Extension.

Greene County Presiding Commissioner Bob Cirtin spoke before the Commissioners voted to pass

the budget. "This is a very conservative budget that provides for many but not all of the services that are

citizens have come to expect," said Cirtin.

The budget comes with a 3 percent raise for all county employees, effective February 1. Another

step up raise is coming for some county employees in July.

Commissioner of District 1 Harold Bengsch said, "This is a big deal for us and I know it's a big deal

for our employees obviously but in addition to that we are beginning to meet some of the needs that had

to go unattended for almost 6 years."

However, to afford the pay raises, other county needs had to go unfunded. "There are a lot of critical

needs there, there are positions we need to fill that we cannot fill. So that means employees will contin-

ue to have to pick up additional workload they weren't hired to do," said Bengsch.

Commissioners say the county was not offering competitive enough salaries to recruit and keep top

talent. "There were things that every department really need it bad, but they said no or employees must

come first," says Bengsch.

A two-page list of needed expenses amounting to over $9.48 million were not funded in the budget.

Presiding Commissioner Bob Cirtin says the budget is expected to grow as sales tax revenue is project-

ed to continue to increase as it has over the last few months.




Greene County Commissioners sign the 2015 county budget during a

special ceremony on Jan. 30.



Horticulture Specialist

“Low Water Land-

scaping,” Master Gar-

deners of Laclede

County program, Leb-

anon (2/12/15)

“Food Safety from

Farm to Fork” and

“Irrigation Food Safe-

ty,” Food Safety

Workshop, Houston

(2/13/15)

“Extension Program-

ming Opportunities

for Independent Gar-

den Centers,” BWI meeting, Springfield

(2/18/15)

Coordinated: Identification and submission of brown mar-

morated stink bug sample to Missouri De-

partment of Agriculture (1/28/15)

Master Naturalists seasonal banquet, Spring-

field (1/23/15)

Master Gardeners of Greene County board

meeting, Springfield (2/2/15)

Master Gardeners of Greene County chapter


Springfield Plateau Master Naturalists board


Master Gardeners of Greene County core

training, Springfield (starts 2/17/15 and con-

tinues to 4/2/15)

Planning activities for Ornamentals IPM ISE

to be held in Springfield, June 18-19, 2015

Planning activities for Master Gardener low

tunnel advanced training

Mentoring activities with Robert Balek, MU

Extension regional horticulture specialist

Horticulture soil test reports - recommenda-

tions and distribution for SW region – 61

reports during reporting period

Participated in: Greene County Extension Council meeting,

Springfield (1/26/15)

Ozarks Farmers Agricultural Cooperative

meeting, West Plains (1/27/15)

Community Contact: TV and Radio

4 live interviews with KOLR10’s John Ziegler

(1 delivered by Kelly McGowan)

4 radio interviews with Morris Westfall’s

“Farm Page of the Air”

Print media

Contributed to several articles and interviews

Requests for information

Telephone contacts – 34 for advisement

Email contacts – 14 contacts

Office visits, professional contacts – 2 for con-

sultation and advisement

Farm site visits – 9 for advisement

Programs Presented: “Food Safety from Farm to Fork” and

“Irrigation Food Safety,” Food Safety for

Farmers Workshop, Webb City (1/27/15)

2015 Master Gardeners of Greene County core

training orientations, Springfield (1/28/15,

1/29/15, 2/3/15, 2/11/15)

“The Secrets of Saving Seeds,” Carnegie/

Midtown Springfield/Greene County Public

Library presentation, Springfield (1/31/15)

“The Secrets of Saving Seeds,” The Library

Station Springfield/Greene County Public Li-

brary presentation, Springfield (1/31/15)

“Seeds of Prosperity: Local Food as Economic

Development” moderator and panel participant,

Missouri Organic Association Conference,


“Making Alternative Crops Sexy,” Missouri

Organic Association Conference, Springfield

(2/6/15)

“Field Identification and Management Strate-

gies of Common Diseases in Small Fruits Pro-

duction,” Missouri Organic Association Con-

ference, Springfield (2/7/15)

“Pawpaw Production for Missouri Farmers,”

Missouri Organic Association Conference,


“Building a Market for Specialty Crops: Elder-

berry Case Study,” Gateway Fruit and Vegeta-

ble Conference, O’Fallon, IL (2/10/15)

“Forward to the Fundamentals with Blueber-

ries,” Gateway Fruit and Vegetable Confer-

ence, O’Fallon, IL (2/10/15)

Patrick Byers Horticulture

[email protected]



Horticulture Specialist

Human Interest:

Seed Library at The Library

The Springfield/Greene County Library Dis-

trict is embarking on an interesting project fo-

cused on developing a seed library for the resi-

dents of Greene County.

A driving force behind this project is Master

Gardener Gina Marie Walden, Circulation Man-

ager at the Midtown Carnegie Library.

MU Extension horticulturist Patrick Byers

consulted on the development of the project,

which will encourage library patrons to “check

out” vegetable seeds in the spring, plant a garden

and reap a bountiful harvest, and then save seeds

to return to the seed library.

The project was kicked off with two seed

saving workshops Jan. 31 at the Midtown Carne-

gie Library and the Library Station. Patrick dis-

cussed the science behind saving seeds, dis-

cussed the seed saving process, and demonstrat-

ed seed saving techniques with tomato, squash,

fennel, and pepper.

Greene County Commission budget signing

ceremony, Springfield (1/30/15)

Missouri Gravel Bed Workshop, Springfield

(2/11/15)

Upcoming programming and events Potting Shed University, Springfield (Monday

evenings through April 27)

“The 2014 Farm Bill and Horticultural Produc-

ers,” Webb City Farmers Market annual mem-

bership meeting, Webb City (2/21/15)

Greene County Extension Council annual


“Getting Started in Bramble Production” work-

shop, North American Raspberry and Black-

berry Association annual conference, Fayette-

ville AR (2/24/15-2/27/15)

Spring Lawn and Garden Show seminar series,

Springfield (2/27/15-3/1/15)

Beginning Beekeeping Series, Houston (3/4/15

-3/6/15)

“The Xeriscape Garden – 20 years of sustaina-

ble landscape education,” Baxter County Mas-

ter Gardeners Spring Conference, Mountain

Home, AR (3/7/15)

MELD change project presentation to MU Ex-

tension cabinet, Columbia, MO (3/10/15)

Missouri Blueberry School, Springfield

(3/13/14-3/14/15)

Greene County Soil and Water Conservation

District annual meeting, Springfield (3/16/15)

“Getting Started with Produce,” Ozarks Ag 101

Shortcourse, Mountain Grove (3/17/15)

“Food Safety from Farm to Fork,” Polk County

food safety workshop, Bolivar (3/18/15)

OFAC workshops, West Plains (3/19/15,

3/20/15)

“Opportunities to diversify with fruit,” LU

ISFOP Minority Conference, Fairview

(3/21/15)

Apple grafting workshops, Ava (3/25/15), Car-

thage (3/28/15), and Nixa (3/28/15)

Plasticulture workshop, Seneca (3/27/15)

Master Gardeners Annual

Report Available Online Officers of the Master Gardeners of Greene

County have published their first chapter annual

report showcasing the highlights of 2014 for this

active organization. The Annual Report can be

found on the Greene County Extension website.

Total Contributed:

Cash = $12,797

2015 Contributors to “Friends of Greene County Extension”

Corporate Level Sanford, Lea and

Associates

Master Gardeners of

Greene County

Patron Level George Deatz

Ann Hall

Sponsor Level

Contributor Level David & Stacey Burton

Carl Hathcock

Galen Jones

Jack Kaiser

Springfield Water

Garden Society

Ronald & Sue Terry

Friends Level Glenn Blake

M.D. Bonebrake

Shelby Bradley

Malia Bucher

Ramona Burton

Carr Stock Farms, LLC

Major & Marthe Close

Johnny Davis

Jim Eckhoff

Gale Edwards

James Garton

David Hall

Avis Holloway

Donation period runs from November 1, 2014 to Oct. 31, 2015

Friends of

Greene County Extension Since 1914, Greene County residents have

sought help in agriculture, gardening, 4-H

youth, nutrition, families, business and com-

munity development from Extension. Mem-

bers of “Friends of Greene County Exten-

sion” contribute financially to make it possi-

ble for Extension to continue having a positive

impact on the quality of life in Greene County.

Learn how to help by calling (417) 881-8909

or going to http://extension.missouri.edu/greene

Dr. Jeff Jones

Barbara Kipfer

Pauline Marsh

MFA Incorporated

Dr. Don Nicholson

Ryan Lawn & Tree

Stephen & Sally Taylor

Gene Wallace

David & Glenda Welde

Partner Level Matthew Simpson

Patsy Spindler

Emma Valentin

Associate Level Alice Counts

Barb Decker

Rob & Brenda

Funkhouser

Rebecca Hoy

Fred & Dorothy Miller

Dean & Jackie Morgan

Edie Nelson

Lamont Nelson

Benjamin Newville

Minuen Odom

Robert Pears

Dale & Carrie Sanders

Jeanie Skibiski

Virginia Snyder

Donate Old Vehicles or

Farm Equipment to

Greene County Extension

The Greene County Extension Council is

generating money for educational programs

thanks to a partnership with CoPart, a national

company with a Rogersville location.

Cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, ATVs,

boats, boat motors and farm equipment -- in

any condition -- can now be donated.

Donations can be arranged through

Greene County Extension. Arrangements are

then made to have CoPart pick up the vehicle

at a time that works best for the donor. Anoth-

er option is for the donor to deliver the item to

CoPart’s location in Rogersville and save Ex-

tension the hauling fee. CoPart specializes in

online auctions of vehicles, boats and farm

equipment at www.copart.com.

When contacting the local extension office

with a donation be prepared to give the fol-

lowing: name, address and telephone for the

owner and type of item. If it is a vehicle we

will need VIN, make, model, year, color and

mileage. When the vehicle is picked up (or

delivered) the owner must sign over the title.

In 2014, over $4,000 was generated for

the extension office with this program. Visit

extension.missouri.edu/greene for details.

http://www.extension.missouri.edu/greene

http://www.copart.com

Sanford & Lea CPA and

Master Gardeners Repeat as

Corporate Extension Donors

Missy Sanford presented corporate spon-

sorship checks from both Sanford & Lea CPA

and Master Gardeners of Greene County to

the Greene County Extension Council on

Monday, Jan. 26, 2015.

SANFORD AND LEA

Sanford and Lea CPA has given to the

Friends of Greene County Extension as a cor-

porate donor for three years now.

“With this gift, David and Missy Sanford

and Sanford and Lea CPAs have become the

largest private donor to Friends of Greene

County Extension,” said Deatz.

Sanford was clear about why she and her

husband support extension and volunteer so

much with Master Gardeners.

“We give because we believe in Exten-

sion. We aren't concerned about

publicity as much as being clear

that we support Extension,” said

Missy.

The Sanford and Lea CPA firm

is located in Springfield and can be

found at www.adifferentcpa.com.

MASTER GARDENERS

Master Gardeners of Greene

County have nearly 200 active

members who volunteer in the

community and conduct a number

of public education programs at the

Springfield Botanical Center.

The Master Gardener chapter is

a University of Missouri Extension

educational program and have been

since its founding 30 years ago.

Members serve as extension volun-

teers in programs and trainings.



Friends of Greene County Extension

This marks the third year that the local

county chapter has given at the corporate

donor level.

“Master Gardeners have been completely

invaluable to keeping the Greene County

Extension Center open and programming

available to the community,” said Deatz.

FRIENDS CAMPAIGN

“Both of these gifts are very important

and significant,” said David Burton, county

program director for Greene County Exten-

sion. “These private funds are vital to the

continued operation of Greene County Ex-

tension and our educational programs.”

Members of “Friends of Greene County

Extension” contribute financially to make it

possible for Extension to continue having a

positive impact on the quality of life in

Greene County, Mo. To learn how you can

help call the Greene County Extension Cen-

ter at (417) 881-8909.

George Deatz (left), chairman of the extension council, ac-

cepts two checks from Missy Sanford on behalf of Sanford

and Lea CPA and Master Gardeners of Greene County.


Greene County Extension Office located inside the

Springfield-Greene County

Botanical Center 2400 S. Scenic Ave.,

Springfield, Mo. 65807

Tel: (417) 881-8909

Fax (417) 823-4818

Office hours:

Monday - Friday * 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Online at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene

Each “Reaching Out Report” is used by Greene

County Extension specialists to concisely communi-

cate activities, contacts and events to members of the

Greene County Extension Council, Greene County

Commission and residents of Greene County. For

more about this report contact the editor, David Bur-

ton, at (417) 881-8909.

Videos on YouTube Watch the videos posted to our channel at

www.youtube.com/MUExtension417.

On Facebook Get regular updates about programs and news from

MU Extension in southwest Missouri. Find us at

facebook.com/MUExtension417.

Corporate Sponsors Sanford, Lea and Associates, CPA, Spring-

field, Mo.: (417) 886-2220,

www.adifferentcpa.com

Master Gardeners of Greene County:


Meyer Communications, KWTO 560 AM /

KTXR 101.3 FM: (417) 862-3751

www.radiospringfield.com/

Greene County Commission, 933 N

Robberson Ave., Springfield, MO 65802

http://www.greenecountymo.org/

Springfield-Greene County Park Board,

Ph 417-864-1049, www.parkboard.org

Can I Help? Lorri Winters can help custom-

ers with material needs, soil

tests or program registrations.

Contact her at the Greene

County Extension Center,

(417) 881-8909 or email her at

[email protected]. Lorri

Winters joined Greene County

Extension in 2005.

Lorri Winters Office Manager

Extension/Partner Meetings

County Commission meetings: 1st and 3rd

Mondays of month; confirm agenda and meeting

at http://www.greenecountymo.org/commission.

Commission building, Springfield, at 9:30 a.m.

Park Board Meetings: Second Friday of

each month at 8:30 a.m. Call 864-1049 to con-

firm location of meeting.

4-H Leader’s Council Meetings: 3rd Thurs-

day of each month (except July) from 7 p.m. to 9

p.m., at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 2852 S

Dayton Ave, Springfield.

Greene County 4-H Foundation: meets 3rd

Thursday of each month at Panera Bread on Bat-

tlefield (across from the Mall) starting at 6 p.m.

Master Gardeners of Greene County—

board meeting: First Monday of each month at

4:30 p.m. at the Botanical Center.

Master Naturalists Board Meetings: The

board meets at 5:30 p.m. at the MDC regional

office, on the second Wednesday of the month.

Master Gardeners of Greene County--

membership meeting: Second Tuesday each

month at 6:00 p.m. at the Botanical Center.

Greene County Farm Bureau — Second

Monday of the month at Farm Bureau 2530 S

Campbell Ave, Springfield. Starts at 7:30 p.m.

https://www.adifferentcpa.com/

http://www.mggreene.org/

http://www.radiospringfield.com/

http://www.greenecountymo.org/

http://www.parkboard.org

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February 2015

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