November 2023
Growing Chatham
Growing Chatham
N.C. Cooperative Extension Chatham County Center
Jordan Lake during the Fall season.
General
Closure Notice for Veteran's Day
Please be advised that our
office will be closed on
November 10th in observance
of Veteran's Day.
Closure Notice for Veteran's Day
Please be advised that our
office will be closed on
November 10th in observance
of Veteran's Day.
Office Closure Notice for Thanksgiving
Office Closure Notice for Thanksgiving
Our office will be closed on
November 23-24, 2023,
in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Our office will be closed on
November 23-24, 2023,
in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Current Job Opening:
4-H Youth Development Extension Agent for Chatham County
Applications Now Open for Chatham County
Agricultural Preservation & Development Trust Fund Grants
Applications for the Chatham County Agricultural Preservation & Development (CAPD) Trust Fund are now open and will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, December 4th. Applications for this pilot program round of CAPD grants will be accepted only from qualifying, nonprofit conservation entities, such as land trusts. Qualified entities must demonstrate a history and expertise in perpetual conservation easement transactions and stewardship. For this pilot program round, $600,000 will be available for perpetual agricultural working-lands easements and transaction costs; $75,000 is available for organizational and programming support grants.
Leadership Chatham
Focus on Agriculture
4-H
Chatham County 4-H Exhibit Nabs
Blue Ribbon at the N.C State Fair!
Get to know the newest member of our team,
Emily Wyant, Chatham County 4-H Assistant!
If you weren't able to make it to our exhibit at the North Carolina State Fair, don't worry! You can still get an idea of what we showcased. Check out this exclusive footage of us setting up the exhibit. "Beeatrice" the bee had a great time meeting everyone at the fair, but is now back buzzing around the Extension office.
Save the Date!
for an Enchanting Winter Crafting Afternoon with Chatham County 4-H!
for an Enchanting Winter Crafting Afternoon with Chatham County 4-H!
December 15, 2023
Chatham County schools early release day.
Chatham County 4-H is Represented at the
All American Quarter House Congress
Four of our Chatham County Horsekateers, Kyra Worth, Sara Richardson, Austen Stinson-Miller and Samantha Durham, participated in the All American Quarter House Congress in Ohio, with coaches Mary Dickerson and Ruthy Vorder Bruegge, the first week of October as part of the NC 4-H teams.
Kyra competed on the horsebowl team in a double elimination play off where they won 2nd place. Kyra was also named high individual! Sara competed on the hippology team. The team placed 1st overall, 1st in exam, 1st in Stations, 1st in team problem, and 2nd in judging! Sara also placed 5th over all high individual and was 2nd in stations. Austen and Samantha both competed on the judging team. Their team was 3rd overall, 4th in Halter, 3rd in Performance and 5th in Reasons.
Samantha also placed 4th overall high individual, 5th in Halter, 3rd in Performance and 9th in Reasons.
To be a part of the NC National team is a huge accomplishment for these youth. They spend a great deal of time studying and preparing for these competitions.
This crew has Nationals upcoming in November in Louisville, and we wish them the best!
Earlier in the Summer those 4 also competed in the Southern Regionals in Perry, Georgia.
The Chatham County Horsekateers had the highest percentage of competitors from any club there!
JUDGING
*6th overall individual and champion team in Judging - overall
*7th overall individual and champion team in Judging- Halter
*7th high score individual and reserve champion team in judging - performance
*5th high score individual and champion team in judging - oral reasons
Sara Richardson:
HIPPOLOGY
*High Individual Overall and Reserve Champion Team Overall in Hippology
*4th High score individual and Reserve Champion Team in Hippology slide/exam
*4th High score individual and Reserve Champion Team in Hippology Stations
*High Individual overall and champion team in Hippology Judging
*Reserve Champion Team in Hippology Team Problem
JUDGING
*High Individual overall and reserve champion team in judging - overall
*4th overall individual and 3rd team in Judging- Halter
*1st high score individual and champion team in judging - performance
*6th high score individual and reserve champion team in judging - oral reasons
Kyra Worth:
COMMUNICATIONS
*2nd in Public Speaking with her talk of "Stable to Table"
HORSEBOWL
*Winning Team in Horse Bowl
*High Individual in Horse Bowl
Samantha Durham:
JUDGING
*4th high score individual and reserve champion team in judging - overall
*9th overall individual and 3rd team in Judging- Halter
*3rd overall individual and champion team in Judging- performance
*2nd overall individual and reserve champion team in Judging- oral reasons
Austen Stinson-Miller:
HORSEBOWL
*Winning team in Horse Bowl
*10th high score Individual in Horse Bowl
Horticulture
Herbaceous Ornamentals
Come to Your SENSES on the Plant Toolbox
Herbaceous ornamentals are plants that have flexible stems and die back to the ground each year. Unlike woody ornamentals, they do not develop persistent woody tissue that lasts through the winter and develop new buds in the spring. Herbaceous ornamentals are divided into annuals, biennials, or perennials based on their life cycles. Annuals die after a growing season. They are sensitive to temperatures that are either too hot or too cold. With biennial and perennial plants, the stems die back, but the crown of each plant survives to produce new growth the following season. These life cycles can be influenced by geography. In the cooler mountain region of the state, a plant may grow as an annual. But in the coastal region, it may grow as a perennial.
You can now search the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox for plants useful for Therapeutic Horticulture. Just type any of these search tags into the SEARCH box:
th-smell
th-sight
th-taste
th-touch
th-sound
These search tags return a curated group of plants that can be used in Therapeutic Horticulture classes and demonstrations. These plants are also suitable for using in sensory gardens and children’s gardens.
Herbaceous ornamentals provide interest and contrast that make a landscape lively and interesting (Figure 10–2). These plants also add depth, dimension, form, and texture to the landscape. Their flowers are often the stars of the garden, providing enchanting colors and fragrances.
Extension Volunteers Trial NC State
Disease-Resistant Tomato Varieties
Figure 10–2. A perennial bed.
NC. Hort, Flickr
Tomatoes are one of our most popular vegetables and the pride of many gardeners’ summer vegetable patch. As many of us have discovered, pests and diseases can make growing a bountiful tomato crop in North Carolina challenging. To help identify tomato varieties that are less problem-prone, NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteers are trialing three new disease-resistant varieties developed by NC State plant breeders.
Do you need some gardening advice?
Our Master Gardeners are just an email or phone call away!
Local EMG program coordinator Krys Ochota shows off the first harvest from the test plot at the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Brunswick County Center.
Sustainable Ag
Grant Opportunity for Farmers
NC AgVentures is a NC State Extension program that provides grants to North Carolina farmers and community groups for new and innovative agricultural project ideas that will increase farm profits. The program, which is supported by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, will award a minimum of 40 grants to independent family farms. This is a great opportunity for any producer who is thinking of diversifying, improving, or expanding their operation. NC AgVentures will award grants up to $8,000. The deadline for application is December 15, 2023.
AgVentures grant proposals MUST be reviewed by county agriculture agents before submission. Agents provide feedback on the application and typically after that the farmer applicant revises the proposal. Agents usually have several proposals to review so if you know you plan on submitting a proposal, notify Extension ASAP (919-542-8202) and we will make sure you are working with the appropriate Chatham County agent.
View Recording of CCP Bat Webinar
Chatham Conservation Partnership (CCP) conducted a webinar on Bats of Chatham County on October 19; several speakers delivered
interesting presentations and the great
news is anyone not able to attend the live
webinar can now watch the recording!
Speakers gave an overview of the bats of
Chatham County and discussed bats'
"superpower" of echolocation, citizen
science acoustic monitoring of bats, handling bat encounters, humanely evicting bats from homes and buildings, and more.
Farmer Survey to Assess Interest in
Installing Ecologically Beneficial Habitat
North Carolina State University, North Carolina Cooperative Extension, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden are working together to develop field-realistic recommendations for southeastern US farmers to install ecologically beneficial habitat on their land. We are asking you to fill out this survey to better understand your interest in installing habitat on your farm. This survey is completely voluntary and should only take about 5 minutes to complete. The results will be used in a research study to develop habitat installation recommendations and in future research projects.
Early Fall Snapshots From
Extension’s Pollinator Paradise Garden
We have been enjoying some lovely fall weather and the many pollinators are finding plenty of plants to forage on in Cooperative Extension's Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden!
Visit the Growing Small Farms website to view some pollinator garden snapshots from early fall.
Livestock
Winter Dairy Management Series Part I:
Reap $$$ for Energy Upgrades on Your Dairy
Designing a Small Flock Poultry House Webinar
Join us for an informative workshop on ways to improve energy efficiency on dairy farms while tapping into USDA’s
For those thinking of starting a backyard flock, it is important to design your poultry house first. Alicia Halbritter from the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service will be discussing how to go about designing a house that meets your needs.
REAP funds to pay for a portion of the upgrades! USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) has grants and loans that help with renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. This workshop will focus on ways that dairy operators can utilize REAP funds for energy efficiency projects on their operations.
Date: November 7, 2023
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Photo by Megan Betteridge on Shutterstock.com
Spring 2024 (January-July) Pesticide Safety Schools
The spring 2024 Pesticide Safety Schools are available to those seeking initial licensing in one or more pesticide subcategories. To register for a school, please follow one of the links below.
The 75th Annual Crop Protection School will be held virtually (via Zoom) Thursday, November 30, 2023. Registration is free but is required, as the passcode and link will be given upon confirmation of attendance. Welcome begins at 9:45 a.m. with presentations from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2:30 p.m. Topics include spotted lanternfly, virus outbreaks on tomato, farm sustainability, spray technologies and pesticide use, and an introduction to our new field crops pathologists.
You can either print out a form to be mailed with a school payment or go online to register for a school.
Forestry
This event is scheduled for Nov 2, 2023 12:00 - 1:00pm.
Whether you’re interested in wildlife viewing, hiking, hunting, or controlling wildfire on your land,
well-planned and constructed trails are key to providing the access you’ll need. This webinar will focus on important things to consider before building trails on your property, resources available to you for trail construction and maintenance, opportunities for tying into trail networks, and general considerations for hosting people on your land.
Whether you’re interested in wildlife viewing, hiking, hunting, or controlling wildfire on your land,
well-planned and constructed trails are key to providing the access you’ll need. This webinar will focus on important things to consider before building trails on your property, resources available to you for trail construction and maintenance, opportunities for tying into trail networks, and general considerations for hosting people on your land.
Temperate Forests Act as Global Carbon Sinks
In an article published recently in Nature Geoscience (Yang, Ciais, Frappart, et al, 2023), researchers were able to map annual fluctuations in global forest biomass over a span of a decade (from 2010-2019), and results showed that tropical forests, although expansive and ancient, are now almost carbon-neutral due to the degradation brought about by deforestation, fires, and droughts. Of
When and Where: Thurs., Nov. 30th - 1:00-2:00pm | Zoom
This one-hour webinar will provide an overview on various timber tax topics. Topics include timber basis, IRS distinctions between a business, investment or a hobby, what is a back cruise and when is it helpful in determining taxes, when to use form T, and a host of other helpful topics for a landowner considering harvesting timber and curious about the tax implications and best strategies.
Presenters:
- Kevin Burkett, CPA
Extension Associate and Asst. Director of Clemson Tax School
Clemson University
- Kurt Smith, MPA, PHD
Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
NC State University
Continuing Education Credits:
Society of American Foresters - Certified Forester Education (SAF-CFE) - 1 hour Category 1 Credit [Applied For]
great interest was the fact that it was the boreal and temperate forests that emerged as the prime contributors to this carbon sink, overshadowing tropical forests which have transformed into minor carbon sources due to deforestation and recurrent droughts.
At Home
Apply Now to Become an Extension Master Food Volunteer!
Applications for the 2024 Extension Master Food Volunteer program, in Chatham County, are now being accepted!
Applications are due November 13th, 2023.
The Extension Master Food Volunteer (EMFV) program is designed to engage residents in food and nutrition programming in their community and train volunteers to further expand the reach of N.C. Cooperative Extension. The EMFV program will allow Family & Consumer Science (FCS) agents to train volunteers to support their food and nutrition programming and promote local food, thereby building their capacity to deliver high quality, evidence-based interventions. Selected applicants will complete a formal training and then assist the FCS agent before performing independently.
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month through food!
Food is considered a scared gift by many Indigenous people, as well as a source of connection. Corn, beans, and squash- the three sisters- are staples in the Cherokee food culture, and corn is an ingredient that can be found at most Native community gatherings.
Extension at Home for November
Finance
This is the last publication from the “When Your Income Drops” series.
Losing a job, worrying about making ends meet, and making sudden big changes in your life are all stressful situations. When your income drops, you are probably dealing with all of these and more. Dealing with the financial aspects of your situation is important but it is equally important to deal with the psychological and emotional aspects that you and your family are experiencing.
Extension History
Let's GET
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For questions about reasonable accommodations, please email ginger_cunningham@ncsu.edu or call (919) 542-8202.