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203 W. Main Street
Troy, North Carolina 27371
910-576-6011
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Meet Our Staff ...
Molly Alexi
County Extension Director
Jamie Warner
Livestock
Chrissy Haynes
4-H & Youth Development
Brad Thompson
Horticulture
Rhonda Peters
Family and Consumer Sciences
Sequoia Hill
Nutrition Educator
Jennifer Morgan
Nutrition Educator
Kim Gibson
Administrative Assistant
Debbie Malarz
Program Assistant & Farmer's Market Manager
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We hope you enjoy our new NC Cooperative Extension, Montgomery County
Center's online newsletter! Please feel free to forward the newsletter to co-workers, friends and family. Please also let them know to give us a call if they wanted to be
added to our newsletter email list. If they don't have email, we will be glad to mail a printed copy.
As always, if you have ideas for our newsletter or programs you would
l
ike to see offered, please let us know by contacting NC Cooperative Extension at
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AGRICULTURE Happenings
in Montgomery County
from Jamie Warner, LivestockAgent
Brad Thompson, Horticulture Agent
Horticulture Program Update: Brad Thompson
The horticulture program has been very active during the month of November and early December by participating in children's programs at the elementary and high schools, attending conferences, collecting and delivering soil samples, teaching Master Gardener trainings, and conducting radio segments on a local FM station.
Mt. Gilead Pre-K Tree Class
On November 7
th
, the Pre-K class at Mt. Gilead were given a presentation on trees and the importance of trees to the world. The class then took a tour of the grounds of the school and looked at the different tree types and what to look for to identify the trees. Once the tour was completed, the children helped plant a tree near the playground so they could watch it grow during their tenure at the school. The children loved getting their hands dirty planting the tree and once they had finished planting the tree they named it "Steve". The morning concluded by reading the children a story that was written and illustrated by the Ag. Agent that told the story of a tree based upon it's tree rings and how the tree was eventually used to build Mt. Gilead Elementary School.
Master Gardener Training
Master Gardener training has been a weekly event since early August and will conclude on December 14
th
The Master Gardener training is in collaboration with Stanly county Extension, but the training will increase our in-county Master Gardner number to nine registered Master Gardeners. This training has been extremely taxing, but overall very rewarding. There are a total of 19 individuals participating in the program for Montgomery and Stanly Counties and the hope is that in the future, more individuals will take part in the program and help enrich the lives of others in the county through projects and workshops.
West Montgomery High School - Agriculture Shark Tank Competition
The West Montgomery High School Agriculture classes on November 21
st
finished their projects that included coming up and developing agriculture products that were not on the market yet and presenting their ideas to a panel of judges. The Agriculture Agents took part as the judges for the competition and came away from the assignment encouraged at the ideas the kids came up with and the level of dedication it took to come up with a product that was not already available to agriculture producers. There was a total of 5 groups that presented with the winning group designing a system to collect leached fertilizer water from fields to be reused rather than runoff into streams or leach into the water table.
December Livestock Updates: Jamie Warner
Upcoming Events:
Montgomery County Cattlemen's Association will be taking a break for December but will begin meeting again in January. The next meeting has been set for January 9
th
at 6:30pm. It will be held at the Ag Center (200 Glen Road, Troy). The speaker for the January meeting will be Mr. Steve Lemons with CPC Commodities. He will be discussing spring ration formulations. Please RSVP to
Jamie
by 5pm Monday, January 8
th
in order to reserve your steak dinner. Dues are $40 for the year and $12 for guests of a single meeting.
Farm Credit Youth Livestock Showmanship Circuit Banquet
The Showmanship Circuit Banquet was held on Friday night, November 17 in Hoke County. It was an excellent opportunity for youth livestock showmen and their families to "close out" the 2017 show season by enjoying an evening of good food and award presentations.
Montgomery County Cattlemen's Association
will be taking a break for December but will begin meeting again in January 2018. The next meeting has been set for January 9th at 6:30pm. It will be held at the Ag Center (200 Glen Road, Troy). The speaker for the January meeting will be Mr. Steve Lemons with CPC Commodities. He will be discussing spring ration formulations. Please RSVP to
Jamie by 5pm Monday, January 8th in order to reserve your steak dinner. Dues are $40 for the year and $12 for guest of a single meeting.
For more information and upcoming events visit our Montgomery County Cooperative Extension webpage
https://montgomery.ces.ncsu.edu/
or call the office at 910-576-6011.
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4-H Happenings in Montgomery County
from Chrissy Haynes,
4-H and Youth Development Agent
Our 2017-2018 Youth Leadership Montgomery Class began with our Orientation Session on October 12
th
. Our second session was held on November 9
th
. It was our Teambuilding Day and was held at Millstone 4-H Camp in Ellerbe, NC. We have 34 youth in this year's Youth Leadership Montgomery Class.
Montgomery County 4-H is currently selling Christmas Trees and Wreaths to support our yearly 4-H program and we have a few left if you would like one come by our office.
Montgomery County Tree of Hope Christmas Assistance Program is co-sponsored by Montgomery County 4-H along with Montgomery County Schools, Communities in Schools and the Montgomery County Partnership for Children. Over 650 children from Montgomery County have been identified to benefit from the program and distribution of gifts will occur on December 14
th
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Youth Leadership Montgomery students, Montgomery County 4-H'ers and youth from Eckerd Kids helped to sort pallets of toys and shop for children in need this Holiday season. I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored children this Holiday season by adopting a child from a tree and/or by donating money to the cause. Because of
you, we can make a difference in our county one child at a time
Our 4-H Clubs have been busy in December holding their monthly business meetings and Christmas holiday celebrations. The Shooting Stars 4-H Club entered it's first float in this year's Star Christmas Parade which was held on December 10
th
. It snowed for the first time in many years during the parade.
Upcoming Events and Programs
In an effort to provide programming opportunities once school releases for Christmas Break, Montgomery County 4-H has planned two days that will be offered to youth in the county.
We hope that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year!
For more information regarding any of our Cooperative Extension Programs in Montgomery County, please contact our office at 910-576-6011 or visit or website at montgomery.ces.ncsu.edu
The Creative Hands 4-H Club
is open to all youth ages 5-18. Club meetings are held at the 4-H office in Troy on the first Monday of each month at 5:00 PM.
The Rockin' Clovers 4-H Club - Club meetings are held on the 4th Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM. This club is open to all youth ages 5-18.
Clover Lifestyles 4-H Club - Club meetings are held at the 4-H Office in Troy on the second Tuesday of every month. This club is open to youth ages 10+ who have an interest in living a healthy lifestyle.
Shooting Stars 4-H Club - Club meetings are held at the Star Community Building on the first Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM. This club is open to all youth ages 5-18.
Livestock 4-H Club - Club meetings are held at the 4-H office on the first Friday of each month at 6:00 PM. This club is open to all youth ages
5-18 interested in learning about Livestock.
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For more information regarding Montgomery County 4-H Programs or to register your child (ages 5 - 18) in 4-H, please contact Chrissy Haynes, 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent at (910) 576-6011.
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Family and Consumer Science Happenings in Montgomery County
from
Rhonda Peters,
Family & Consumer Science Agent
Sequoia Hill, Nutrition Educator
Jennifer Morgan, Nutrition Educator
Family and Consumer Sciences Program: Rhonda Peters and Sequoia Hill
On November 11, Cooperative Extension co-hosted the annual maternity fair, in collaboration with the Montgomery County Partnership for Children and the Montgomery County Health Department. The turnout was amazing, with a total of 76 fair attendees, up significantly from previous years. The fair aimed to educate pregnant women and their families about community resources and provide them with information to improve health, nutrition and overall wellness. Rhonda Peters (FCS Agent), made healthy peanut butter and banana smoothies for attendees to sample. Breakfast smoothies help add extra nutrition into a mother's diet that is critical for a developing baby. In addition to the sample provided, attendees also received a booklet of "Make Ahead Freezer Meals" that shared recipes that could be frozen and then easily heated and ready to serve when new moms are low on energy and time. Additionally, Rhonda encouraged participants to register for the "More in My Basket" program, which assists people through the process of enrolling in SNAP benefits to maximize a family's food budget. Other exhibitors at the fair provided information about safe
sleep, car seat safety, baby feeding, general baby care, as well as available services.
Rhonda Peters, Sequoia Hill and Kayla Shoemaker attended the annual Grassroots Leadership Conference presented by A&T University and held in Pittsboro. The seminar focused on turning our eyes outward to focus on community to improve civic life. Advancing health equity, creating tools and strategies to build entrepreneurial communities, youth education and empowerment and deepening impacts were all topics discussed.
Rhonda and Sequoia are part of the planning and implementation team for the MARCHES program being coordinated through a grant received by FirstHealth of the Carolinas. The program focuses on reducing the risk of overweight and obesity among youth by having medical providers in various settings actually "prescribe" physical activity. The program will be held at the Biscoe Community Center and will incorporate nutrition education as well as physical activity in fun ways that get the entire family involved. In November, project staff from Raleigh met with local partners to discuss program implementation. We look forward to being a partner on this project set to launch after the new year.
Autumn in the south always means apples, and plenty of them! Livestock Agent Jamie Warner and FCS Agent Rhonda Peters spent a day canning apple butter that was then distributed to members of the Cooperative Extension Advisory Board. Visit our office if you would like the recipe.
Sequoia Hill, the Nutrition Educator, thoroughly enjoyed teaching the Go, Grow, Glow-Try Healthy Program to all of our Pre-K students at Troy, Candor, GreenRidge, and Mount Gilead helping them to learn the importance of healthy eating and staying active. Seeing them so excited to learn and taste new foods makes her love what she does. A big thank you to the schools for participating and NC A&TSU Cooperative Extension for supporting Montgomery County.
Lastly, the Family and Consumer Sciences program encourages you to visit our website often and "like" us on Facebook if you have not already done so, and to take the time to "share" posts we make that may be of interest to your friends and family! Look for "Montgomery County Cooperative Extension- North Carolina". It can be accessed directly at this link:
Click Here
For additional information about any of our programs you can check out our website
https://montgomery.ces.ncsu.edu/
or call our office at 704-576-6011. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact Molly Alexi, County Extension Director at
[email protected]
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