What Does Extension Do?
Amy Jordan, Special to the Gazette
Thursday, January 26, 2012
With K-State Research and Extension in the news lately, many have wondered what it is that we really do. We often find it difficult to define our roles in a statement or two because of the complexity of our work, so let’s start from the beginning.
From the USDA website, you will learn that all universities engage in research and teaching, but the nation’s more than 100 land-grant colleges and universities have a third critical mission — extension. “Extension” means “reaching out,” and — along with teaching and research — land-grant institutions “extend” their resources, solving public needs with college or university resources through non-formal, non-credit programs. Congress created the extension system nearly a century ago to address exclusively rural, agricultural issues. Over the last century, extension has adapted to changing times and landscapes, and it continues to address a wide range of human, plant, and animal needs in both urban and rural areas.
Extension programs present useful information related to agriculture, home economics, youth development, family life, business and economics, healthy living, and much more. We take programs to schools, gardens, community centers, and many other places.
Our philosophy is to help people help themselves by taking university knowledge to where people live, work, play, develop, and lead. We work at being responsive to the needs of the people by focusing our resources on providing quality information, education and problem-solving programs for real concerns.
Locally, we have a strong 4-H youth development program, building tomorrows leaders. They learn public speaking, citizenship, money management, leadership, and many more life lessons while working on projects they enjoy. They learn how a meeting should properly be run, and that youth truly do have a voice in their organization.
Outside of traditional 4-H youth programming, there is the Family Nutrition Program (FNP). This program provides nutrition education to limited resource families and is partially funded through federal SNAP dollars. Lyon County has one of the largest FNP programs in the state because of the partnership with local schools. Nutrition lessons are taught regularly in every kindergarten through 4th grade classroom in every school in Lyon County. Teachers provide additional nutrition education using supplemental materials provided to them and integrating nutrition into their curriculum. These lessons teach food safety, proper hand washing, balanced diets, physical activity, and more importantly allows youth to try new foods and learn that they might actually like something that is good for them.
Lyon County has a strong agricultural base, and Extension helps our Ag producers be more successful through workshops, webinars, and consultations in the areas of crop and livestock production, range management, natural resources and land management.
Horticulture is not only a popular hobby, but a necessity for homeowners. Anyone that has a lawn and landscape can benefit from Extension’s local presence. The type of turfgrass you have in your lawn and how high you mow it, or the weeds you try to keep from growing in it are all areas Extension offers advice. The success of your plant selections depend on their adaptability to our local environment, and an internet search isn’t going to know that. Search of “shiny green bug” will bring up many culprits and could lead you to believe you have Japanese beetles or Emerald Ash borer, both of which are major pest threats, but neither have been identified in Lyon County. Extension helps people with problem solving specific to their needs and gives them tools to improve their situation.
Extension is for everyone. These are just a few examples of the endless variety of topics Extension offers reliable answers to. We collaborate with numerous organizations to extend our reach and improve our community. We are educators and we are here to help you. Visit our website www.lyon.ksu.edu for more information, or stop by our office at 2632 W. Highway 50.
Amy Jordan is a horticulturist with K-State Research and Extension in Lyon County.
scarlett01_98 (anonymous) says...
amy, thank you for the info. i have asked others; what does the extension agency do? now i know. i still want to sign the petition, not because i am against the extension agency, but because i believe in my right to decide.
January 26, 2012 at 5:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
goodoleboy (anonymous) says...
How much of what has been mentioned above could be done over the internet, or housed at a website?
January 27, 2012 at 3:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
"We work at being responsive to the needs of the people by focusing our resources on providing quality information, education and problem-solving programs for real concerns."
When I had a serious squirrel problem with them getting into my attic, I sought help at the extension service. They gave me a pamphlet that did not explain what I needed to know. So I called K-State and actually spoke to a biologist there who took the time to give me a wealth of information so that I could solve my problem. He gave me step by step measures and explained WHY those measures had to be taken. No pamphlet delivered what he did. No Lyon County extension agent ever called me even though I left my number.
Another quality related problem concerns the Lyon County fair book. Why so many errors? For two years in a row, the errors were exactly the same. Why? I was told by one of the people who work there that it was the fault of Groh printing. Who does the proof reading?
I am not against extension services; I'm sure they help a lot of people, but just throwing a pamphlet at a problem is not a real solution to a real problem. Yes, perhaps I should be glad the pamphlets are there, but they are a perfunctory solution, really.
Again, I am not against extension services; I am against how the county commisisoners voted for something that promises UNLIMITED TAXING AUTHORITY. They did not even question those two words. A real thinking commissioner would have questioned those words and sought to remove them.
The people voted these commissioners into office, and we expect thoughtful transactions of business, especially that which threatens to raise our taxes. A silly reason given by Ms Walters, "I thought it was a good idea" will never do.
January 27, 2012 at 8:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )