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Extending the reach
Changing times drive farm service
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
 | | Highland County extension agent Rodney Leech says the extension responds to community needs through a variety of programs aimed at improving rural life. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) |
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MONTEREY and WARM SPRINGS - Not much about farming in the Highlands has remained the same as it was 50 years ago, and the struggle to farm one's land has not gotten easier despite all the new kinds of equipment and technology to manage crops and livestock.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension, a program under the direction of Virginia's land grant universities Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, has had to adjust its outreach accordingly, as times and needs in the agricultural industries have changed.
When universities first started doing agricultural study in the 1800s, they provided research information to farmers to better their lives. They still do, says Highland County extension agent Rodney Leech.
The Bath/Highland Extension Leadership Council, chaired by Carol Bandy of Blue Grass, said in its 2004 situation analysis that the top priorities in these two counties were: Land issues, employment, youth concerns, agricultural profitability and resource management, health issues and elderly concerns, and lack of population with regard to education and volunteerism.
 | | Extension specialty agent Christine Hodges (left) is in charge of the Bath office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension and coordinator for the Bath and Highland 4-H programs. Extension technician Paxton Grant works with the 4-H forestry team in Monterey. (Recorder photos by James Jacenich) |
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Technology has reduced labor requirements for farming - large machinery does the same work in less time with fewer workers - and therefore many rural workers moved over the years to urban areas in search of employment. Large-scale production has reduced the price per unit for most food, and to stay profitable, smaller farmers are finding niche markets where their products will command a higher price. According to Dr. Mark McCann, Virginia Cooperative Extension director, consumer patterns also change the nature of farming. "The decline in sheep is going on nationally and in Virginia," says McCann, who is also a sheep producer. The wool market in the United States is less profitable than it was because of the introduction of synthetics, for example. "North Carolina has lost more sheep and cattle than Virginia," he noted. "One of the things that Virginia has been able to do with cattle is transcend these issues (with innovative production and marketing strategies such as the branded-beef program)."
But changing technology and markets don't mean farming is necessarily a dying industry here. On the contrary, says McCann, "Agriculture and forestry are still the No. 1 businesses in Virginia. We maintained the number of dairy cattle, but we have fewer dairy operations. There is where we see some of the change in agriculture.
"The advent of turkeys gave farmers a more stable income than crops or beef cattle," he added.
"We are almost becoming bimodal commodity producers now - some farms are getting larger, while small niche producers are coming to the farm," says McCann. "Organic food is an example of a niche market. Some farms are much smaller and more focused on specific needs and niche needs of consumers. We have a growing segment of society that wants to connect with the source of their food. But it costs the consumer more because of the personal interaction."
How proactive should extension be?
Leech advises Bath and Highland farmers on ways to improve marketability. He is working with area cattlemen on a feasibility study for a slaughtering facility, for example, that could help area farmers sell their products and reduce the costs of traveling to market with livestock. Leech is also administering a multiflora rose eradication program on behalf of the county board of supervisors. Eradicating any invasive species can help farmers be more productive. But how far should Leech go in promoting agriculture?
"One of the things we have to be careful about is we are rarely an advocate," says McCann. "We are an educator. We are about education and knowledge because that is where we began. Those are the roots of extension."
The Hatch Act of 1887 created experiment stations, McCann explained. Experiment stations established at colleges and universities found new varieties of grains, vegetables, and other crops and new methods of farming, then made this information available to farmers. "Seaman Knapp (of Iowa) started the idea (of an extension agent)," says McCann. His lobbying efforts resulted in the Hatch Act. "He is considered the father of extension. He said, 'Go out and do things, do soil tests, analysis.' Sometimes we were still disappointed with what farmers did. That's why some of the first 4-H clubs were corn clubs - sometimes youth are more innovative than parents … Our goal at that time was getting the information out."
In Texas in 1903, Knapp fought a boll weevil outbreak with information on better varieties of cotton and better preparation and cultivation of the soil. With the blessing of U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary James Wilson, Knapp started farm demonstrations. In 1908, Knapp organized boys' corn clubs. In 1910, girls' canning and poultry clubs were added.
Extension is more than agriculture today. "Christine Hodges (Bath extension unit coordinator and extension agent, 4-H youth development) is doing something unique: dramatic reading. She is working on youth's ability to speak and communicate," says McCann.
Fairfax County is an example of the changing face of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, says McCann. Seventyfive years ago it was the No. 1 dairy county in Virginia. Now it has none. "We had an extension program there. They needed dairy sanitation and such things. We still have an extension there, but now we focus on home lawns, gardening, and the 4-H program.
"We are not the same extension, and you shouldn't want us to be. Your expectations have changed, and we need to change and evolve with them. The premise I sell in Virginia is our ties to the community and local partners," says McCann. "If we always use the community's needs as a north star, we will always stay on track.
What has extension done for
Bath, Highland?
"I give 4-H and Future Farmers of America credit for my success in life," says Bill Bratton, real estate agent and farmer in Bath and Highland.
Bratton was in the Virginia Cooperative Extension service's 4-H program when he was growing up and praised his old friend and mentor, retired extension agent Austin Shepherd.
"One of the prime objectives back then was 4-H, because it taught young people the way life is and taught them how to become farmers or other livelihoods they wished to participate in," says Shepherd.
Shepherd was Highland County extension agent from 1962-85. (He worked two years after retirement waiting for replacement). He was assistant county agent in Orange County for six years before he came to Highland. "We worked one on one with farmers," says Shepherd. "I visited every farmer in Highland County many times."
Shepherd says farming was different in the 1960s. He remembers one year 200,000 pounds of wool were sold at the Monterey Livestock Market. This year only 16,000 pounds were sold. "Most of the sheep are gone," says Shepherd. "Now there are very few cow-calf operations."
"Shepherd helped form the cattle association," says Bratton, recalling one year 2,000 calves were sold in one sale at the Monterey market.
"We always topped the state in prices (for our livestock), too," adds Shepherd.
Back then every farmer had several acres of corn. They would use the corn for silage to feed their livestock, he says.
Turkey farming is making money for a few local farmers, but that is a change from the past, too, says Jim Hiner of Big Valley. He raised 7,000 broiler chickens a year back in the '60s, he says. Chickens were more popular than turkeys among farmers then.
But the market has changed - farmers spend more but get less in return, says Bratton. It's easier to get a better paying job elsewhere than to struggle to make ends meet on the farm, he says.
"Small farmers can't make it," agrees Monterey resident Francis Fenn. The price of equipment has gone up considerably over the years, eating up any profits the farmer makes from increased productivity, he says.
Back in the '60s, small farmers had to have second jobs to survive on the farm, just as many do today. The local jobs that supported farmers disappeared. Aileen's made clothing and employed farmers' wives, but it closed. The shoe factory in Franklin, W.Va. also closed. Virginia Department of Transportation had 25 people working in the county, says Bratton, but many of those jobs are gone now, too. Highland also had a number of small sawmills, but those also closed. There were also jobs at Bolar Springs and the adjoining hotel that provided tourists a place to stay while they took the cure, he noted.
With each closing, local workers and farmers sought jobs elsewhere. Some chose to close down their farms because their jobs took them away from the county.
Hiner says Bath's pumped storage construction during the late 1970s brought jobs back to the county temporarily, but took local people away from farms when they discovered they could make money in construction.
"Virginia Tech and (Virginia State University) tried to come up with new ways to supplement farm incomes," says Bratton.
Bratton says one innovative idea the extension service offered in the '60s was the farm vacation. He says bed and breakfasts and tourist homes were popular attractions that brought additional income to the county and helped keep farmers on the farm.
The county fair and Maple Festival were also moneymaking ventures the extension service supported, says Shepherd.
Shepherd met with people at service clubs and in the schools, providing free information and advice on the latest farming techniques and ways to improve productivity and profit. He'd also go to the country stores and meet with farmers to talk about production and marketing.
Shepherd was involved with the Highland Development Corporation, secretary to the planning commission, executive secretary to the chamber of commerce, and represented the board of supervisors at meetings at the state level discussing industrial development in the county. He was actively involved in Highland's attempt to attract a ski resort (Par Three Country Club of the South) at one time.
"County agents are important, but they are spread too thin," says Shepherd. He was responsible for Highland County, today's county agent covers Bath and Augusta, too.
Shepherd received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents for his service as Highland County extension agent.
What is extension doing today?
Scott Smith, a Blue Grass Valley cattle farmer, uses the extension service to help him better manage his 35 cowcalf operation. Bonnie Botkin, one of the owners of Blue Roof Caterers, says she uses the extension's annual canner testing service. Many area children participate in the extension's 4-H programs.
Bandy says, "They have things incredibly well-covered. If you think there are things that need to be looked into, all you have to do is say so." The council meets once or twice a year to consider the needs of the county. Until recently the Highland and Bath councils were united; then a separate council was created for Bath County.
As evidence the extension service responds to community needs, Bandy says the Highland leadership council asked the extension to work on senior citizen nutrition and the extension devised a program.
"The extension is doing well around here," says Bandy. "This is a small, agricultural county. It's hard to come up with anything that hasn't already been tried."
Bandy has been on the council for four years and president for three.
Leech has worked for the extension for 22 years. "We were more service-oriented back then," he says. "Then we became more lecture-oriented, now we're service-oriented again.
"Cooperative means we are partnered with federal, state and local agencies," says Leech. It also means the extension is mostly reactive, not proactive.
The cooperative is funded through a combination of federal, state and local government money. Big companies help sponsor research, but the extension service is independent, Leech explains. In Bath and Highland, the service's $300,000 annual budget is one-third funded by the counties (Highland County budgeted $47,243 and Bath County budgeted $47,842 this year). The other two-thirds comes from state and federal government.
"We may get a pharmaceutical company to sponsor a program, but we stress we are not endorsing any particular program," says Leech. "We are non-biased; we provide all the alternatives ... We are here to help people (farmers, homeowners) be better stewards of the land and better producers."
The extension service works with groups as well as individuals. "The Highland/Bath Cattle Association, and the Highland Sheep and Wool Producers are two commodity groups that provide a lot of input. We pick up a lot of needs from farmers from those groups," says Leech.
The extension service, though, is not a lobbying group. "We can't lobby," says Leech. "We don't try to persuade legislators to do anything in particular." Leech is a facilitator. He helps citizens find answers they need. "I have contacts, I have Virginia Tech to help me address the prob- lems. I have a lot of experts at my disposal," he says. He also gets help from other extension agents in the region, like the area animal science agent in Rockingham, Augusta and Rockbridge. Leech provides animal science information and assistance to Bath and Highland counties, and helps with special programs in the Valley; those agents, in turn, help him with local programs.
Leech's tasks change from day to day, depending on what people need. In a typical week, Leech gets a wide variety of requests. "A Highland producer wants to learn how to freeze-brand heifers, I assisted him to get him going," says Leech. He helped another citizen with a rental/lease issue with a horse pasture. He gets an organic farming or gardening call once a week; he gets calls about chickens and goats on a regular basis. Leech has publications on issues like the legal requirements for selling eggs and consults a small flock specialist.
Leech routinely answers questions about foot rot and pink eye, which affect cattle and sheep, and the service provides soil analysis free for producers, and charges a nominal fee for homeowners.
Besides providing information to farmers and homeowners, the extension service has an outreach to youth ages 5-19. "The mission of 4-H is to assist youth, and adults working with those youths, to gain additional knowledge, life skills, and attitudes that will further their development as self-directing, contributing, and productive members of society," according to the service.
"We have great volunteers," says Hodges. "That is what keeps the program running."
Educational programs, youth programs, science-based unbiased research, and extension brokered communication between government agencies, industry, groups and individuals - all this is part of the everyday work of the employees of the Virginia Cooperative Extension - and is directed at improving the lives of the citizens of Virginia. "We try to have a positive impact on the community," says Leech.
The extension distributes an occasional newsletter. To be added to the mailing list, call or drop by the extension office in the modular building next to The Highland Center in Monterey, which is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Bath extension office is located on the second floor of the courthouse in Warm Springs and is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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