[Music]. Cooperative extension always
seems to get in there where it's needed. We've
had great experience with the extension service for many years.
Extension has the research based information that we feel
comfortable going ahead and using it for the first time
and feeling like we'll have success. Extension is on
the cutting edge of technology, providing the information that
these folks will need as they have to make decisions
daily that will impact their economic level. Within my own
life, the extension program has really helped. Extensions been
good for us. Production has certainly gone up in
the past several years, and our yields have gone
from 50 bushels to 143. I have to give
a lot of credit to the extension service for each
of the increases. I've been working with this global positioning
and field mapping for two years now. I feel
like it will help our control of the environment with
possibly less fertilizer, if not less fertilizer fertilizer distributed
in a better way to benefit yield as well as
our environment. We use research based information along with
technology of the land grant system, Virginia Tech and
Virginia State to help solve the problems with the people
in our communities. The farm management computer classroom on
Wheels is a group of 17 notebook computers, which
we take out throughout the state to teach farmers and
small businesspeople computer applications, record keeping, financial management.
Corporate extension is an educational tool for farmers in this
area. It is a place where you can go
and get one on one working relationship to identify weed
problems, fertility problems or any other problems that you
might have. I think that's really our mission is
to not only help the producers in our area,
but also help just the commonwealth in general. And
it all goes back to providing a needed service,
a non biased opinion, police producers to make a
better, better living. [Music]
Arlington Extension focuses its efforts, particularly on that
portion of the population in the county that doesn't have
a lot of opportunities for other educational experiences. The
Parent Power program was designed to work with parents in
increasing their skills, interacting with their children. I
believe extension has a very positive role in the well
being of families, and as we talked about starting
small business that it affects not only the local economy,
but it is eventually affects the well being of
the family. And that's my major objective.
Oh, extension service has been great, but they've
sponsored several workshops that I've attended on the home based
businesses and the problems at home based businesses have with
record keeping and with marketing. And we've taken field
trips with them, and I've learned a lot from
the workshops that I've attended. I've seen it from
being a client to being a volunteer to actually holding
the program myself, and I can see firsthand the
successes that are going on. A lot of women
aren't motivated to go out and get jobs. A
lot of welfare moms are kind of afraid, and
this program just lifts them. It's a stepping stone
for their future, and I think that's that's what
cooperative extension is about. We work with people and
we want them to succeed.
[Music] People think of 4H
as cows and cooking and green that we do
do agricultural and stomach and stuff like that. But
it's science and technology. Computers, outdoor living skills
, public speaking leadership, stock, trout in the
stream for the county. We help them. We
are actively involved in the cleanup and preservation of the
stream. I've got to participate in modeling and directing
fashion and talent shows, visiting senators, the legislators
and everything. And it's just been a wonderful experience
. We attended the Youth Economic Development Summit in Abingdon
, Virginia, and we had to decide on the
project. I'm really glad I worked on it because
it allowed me to come together with my extension agent
and with my peers and create something that it will
benefit our county for a long time. I enjoy
going for a camp because of swimming and nature trips
and meeting friends and other things. Yeah, I
think for each is a good example of a preventive
device venting young people from getting started those activities which
might lead to a life of crime. Its motto
. To make the best better. It really serves
that motto. It really accomplishes its purpose. Let's
go. If you have not experienced for age,
maybe you've never heard of it. Or maybe you
have any just never even thought about joining program.
Then you're missing something in life. You really are
mhm. We were able to secure a grant in
excess of$80,000 that would allow us to construct the
greenhouse at the Lee County Vo Tech School superintendent of
schools was very interested, probably the most important impact
Mr Green has. And it gave a number of
students a marketable skill which they can use in Lee
County. We, of course, collaborate with a
number of agencies in the county, but we also
involved many volunteers. So while we have a relatively
small staff compared to the size of the county's population
, we multiply our efforts a lot through involvement of
volunteers. Extension work is essentially a process of educational
leadership extension. Leadership councils are a key partnership that
connects extension education with communities across the state. Extension
leadership councils are composed of diverse groups of people,
and those people include extension staff and community volunteers.
Yeah, the mission of the Extension Leadership Councils is
to develop and implement a program plan that directs extensions
resources towards the resolution of community issues and concerns.
I'm a song supporter of the extension program. I
think that it is a good investment that the taxpayer
get a good return on this money. It is
a program we must continue to fund, and I
plan to do my utmost to see that it is
a good fun. If we do appreciate where we
live. We appreciate the land. It's been a
blessing and pleasure working with people. In extension,
you can do it. Virginia Cooperative Extension is and
always has been, a vital component of the land
grant mission, both at Virginia Tech and at Virginia
State. Extinction continues to provide a catalyst for economic
development throughout the region, leveraging today's resources into tomorrow's
assets. The research based unbiased information extension offers through
its hundreds and hundreds of educational programs is practical.
It's useful, and it is valuable knowledge for the
common. Yeah, yeah, yeah!