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Author: LANGCUSTER PubID: EX-0086 |
Title: | AT A GLANCE: WORKING KNOWLEDGE IN CHALLENGING TIMES |
Pages: 0
Status: IN STOCK |
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At A Glance: Working Knowledge in Challenging Times
The current challenging economic climate has forced Alabamians to take a closer look at their finances, which includes their lifestyles and the choices they make daily. Extension specialists have been there to help with research-based expertise. Following the launch of our Thriving in Challenging Times effort in 2008, Extension personnel at all levels representing our 14 program priority teams have been involved in this statewide initiative—in many cases, working across multicounty and multidisciplinary lines.
Below are a few of the many examples of how Extension workers throughout our state put knowledge to work in these challenging times.
Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs
In these challenging times, more Alabamians are searching for new and lucrative sources of income. Extension educators throughout the state are helping people not only identify new ways to earn income but also how to build viable businesses.For example, an urban Extension specialist is underscoring to goat dairy producers the importance of seeing the total management picture associated with production—feeding, pasture management, health care, and nutrition— and how these are interrelated. With his help, one husband-and-wife team has made the complicated transition from goat milk producers to gourmet soft cheese makers, supplying upscale markets across the United States.
Likewise, an urban Extension agent has helped several commercial growers adopt hoop houses—unheated, high-tunnel houses built over vegetable, flower, and herb production areas—that enable them to harvest and market high-value crops roughly a month ahead of their competitors.
Family and Individual Well-Being
Forced by health problems to leave her job, a Talladega woman is now back on her feet, thanks to the efforts of her local Extension coordinator and a consumer science and financial management specialist. She has learned how to develop her lifelong passion for crocheting into a lucrative business—part of a statewide Extension effort known as Realize Your Potential, which shows people how to develop creative ways to supplement their incomes.Forestry and Natural Resources
These hard economic times have accelerated a trend that sociologists have noted for years: an impulse to invest in rural land, especially timberland. An Extension forestry specialist has developed an agroforestry outreach program with small-scale landowners in mind—people who want to grow trees and also diversify their operations so they can raise cattle or produce, a practice known among foresters as silvopasture.Agriculture
The growing interest among many Alabamians in raising their own food inspired a county Extension coordinator to develop a comprehensive training course that focuses on all aspects of food production. The course, known as Grow Your Own, emphasizes fruit and vegetable production, food preservation, beekeeping, and beef, goat, poultry, and catfish production.4-H and Youth Development
“Why is this happening?” is a common question among some 34,000 Alabama children whose parents are away in active military duty. Alabama 4-H is doing its part to reach out to these youngsters with Operation Military Kids. Through a series of camps and efforts, the program seeks to enhance their coping skills—and, equally important, to provide them the opportunity to become kids again. OMK has already reached more than 1,500 children.Community and Economic Development
The closing of the Abbeville-based West Point Stevens plant in the autumn of 2007 sent tremors throughout Henry County's economy. Working with local community leaders and volunteers, the local Extension coordinator spearheaded a multifaceted response by means of a Rural Alabama Initiative Grant provided by Extension’s Economic and Community Development Institute. The effort included a job fair and a series of proactive steps to improve the community’s educational system and infrastructure in a way that primed it for future economic growth.For more information about how Extension translates the research and knowledge of our land-grant universities into practical solutions for Alabamians, see the complete edition of “Thriving: Working Knowledge in Challenging Times,” our 2009 annual report.
ALABAMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SYSTEM COUNTY OFFICES AND URBAN CENTERS |
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| Autauga 2226 Hwy. 14 W., Suite E Autaugaville 36003-2540 334-361-7273
Baldwin
Barbour
Bibb
Blount
Bullock
Butler
Calhoun *
Chambers
Cherokee
Chilton
Choctaw
Clarke
Clay
Cleburne |
Coffee Farm Center Complex U.S. 84 5 County Complex New Brockton 36351 334-894-5596
Colbert
Conecuh
Coosa
Covington
Crenshaw
Cullman
Dale
Dallas
DeKalb
Elmore
Escambia
Etowah |
Fayette 650 McConnell Loop Fayette 35555 205-932-8941
Franklin
Geneva
Greene
Hale
Henry
Houston *
Jackson
Jefferson *
Lamar
Lauderdale *
Lawrence
Lee |
Limestone Market Street Bldg. 1109 W. Market Street Suite A Athens 35611 256-232-5510
Lowndes
Macon
Madison *
Marengo
Marion
Marshall
Mobile *
Monroe
Montgomery *
Morgan *
Perry
Pickens |
Pike 306 S. Three Notch St. Troy 36081 334-566-0985
Randolph
Russell
St. Clair
Shelby
Sumter
Talladega
Tallapoosa
Tuscaloosa *
Walker
Washington
Wilcox
Winston |
| * Offices with Urban Centers | ||||
EX-0086, New January 2010. Alabama Cooperative Extension System
For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information.
Published by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University), an equal opportunity educator and employer.
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