County Extension Office set to keep serving in 2019

County Extension Office set to keep serving in 2019

Service fully-staffed to meet farmer, community needs By Mark Randall

news@theeveningtimes.com Crittenden County Extension Service is back up to full staff and actively serving over 1,500 residents in a variety of programs in addition to continuing to aid area farmers, whose gross crop receipts total over $200 million.

Extension Agent Russ Parker introduced his staff to the Quorum Court at its December meeting and gave an overview of the many activities that the office provides.

“I wanted to introduce the staff and thank the Quorum Court for providing the financial means, office space, and all the support you give us,” Parker said.

Crittenden County Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service’s statewide network and the University of Arkansas System’s Division of Agriculture.

The service provides research-based information to local farmers on topics like pest management and water conservation, and also runs the 4-H and Master Gardeners program.

The Extension Service also offers a wide range of programs on wellness and consumer and family sciences.

The office is comprised of Burnita Hearne, who serves as administrative support; Meredith Wayman, Family and Consumer Sciences agent; Sarah Stone, 4-H Youth Development; and Karley Mishler, program assistant over expanded food and nutrition.

Parker said Hearne is the longest tenured employee in the office and has won several awards including the 2014 Division of Agriculture Classified Support Personnel Award, District Support Staff Member of the Year in 2014 and 2018, and the state support staff member of the year award.

“Burnita is very hard working, very conscientious,” Parker said. “We never miss a deadline. She keeps us on our toes and basically runs the office.”

Wayman, who oversees SNAP Ed nutrition, had 929 participants last year; 125 in her Get Fit exercise program, and 205 participants in the financial jumpstart class. Those programs partner with Marion School District, West Memphis School District, DHS, Health Department, Earle Community Center, ASU MidSouth, Arkansas Community Corrections, and Boys and Girls Club.

“We’re looking at over 1,200 contacts that she has helped in the county,” Parker said. “We’re very happy to have Meredith.”

Stone, the county 4-H agent and a Crittenden County native, oversees the Boys and Girls Club afterschool STEM program with 60 participants a month, the shooting sports and BB Gun Club with 80 participants, and the cooking club. “We’re very happy to have Sara helping us with all our tasks and the services to give to the county,” Parker said.

Mishler, a Kansas native and the newest member of the office, runs the Eating Smart Being Active program which had 49 participants who graduated the class, and Kids in the Kitchen which had 78 graduates.

“I’m sure that because Kansas is part of AR-Kansas, that she feels right at home,” Parker said. “She does very well and is such a great team leader. We appreciate everything that she has done.”

Parker said the Extension Service’s irrigation and water management program has averaged about 8,000 acres of irrigation over the last five years.

“That’s about 140 fields a year,” Parker said. “That may not mean anything to you. But if you’ve driven down the road and saw these big white pipes by the field, this program takes the flow of the well, the size of the field, the length of the road, and we can design a plan that will be 95 percent efficient in delivering water to each furrow of that field so that there is no waste and we conserve that water.”

The office also offers an integrated pest management program which makes recommendations on spraying insecticide and fungicides based on the presence of pests.

“It’s not as simple as just when the calendar says go out and spray this $15 or $20 application,” Parker said. “We go based on the economic threshold of the pests that are there.

We don’t spray just for the sake of spraying. This keeps pesticides out of the environment when its not necessary, and we can maximize our profit and protect the environment.”

Parker said the extension office also works with the Master Gardeners, which takes care of landscaping projects at the county courthouse and seven other projects.

Master Gardeners holds an annual plant sale which generates about $7,000 for scholarships for local students interested in pursuing an ag-related or landscape architecture degrees. “They are very important to us,” Parker said.

Parker stressed the importance of agriculture in the county and added that the gross receipts from crop sales in Crittenden County totaled $200 million last year.

“We hope that the extension service and the programs we have are viewed as a value to the county and the Quorum Court,” Parker said. “We enjoy what we do and we appreciate your support.”

County Judge Woody Wheeless thanked Parker and his staff and noted that the extension service also did a pesticide collection which gathered 95,000 pounds of unused, unwanted, or outdated pesticides.

“It’s pretty impressive,” Wheeless said. “ Thank you for everything that you do. A lot of people may not know what you do, but you are very vital to our community and I’m grateful for that.”