October Director's Message
Colleagues,
As I have mentioned before, this year —and the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically — has brought many challenges to the forefront. Therefore, I continue encouraging you to prioritize your health and that of those around you. This agency is critically important to the lives of millions of Texans, and you are critically important to the mission of this agency. We cannot do what we do without you.
Recently, I have met with various stakeholders and commodity groups from across the state. During these travels, the people that we aim to serve have told me countless stories that confirm our mission is steadfast. Our AgriLife Extension family will continue to be a consistent force for good as we support the extraordinary people and industries that keep our great state running.
As a testament to this success, I am happy to announce that AgriLife Extension exceeded our performance measures in all areas during the fiscal year of 2021. (These measures are required for state reporting.) This success not only speaks to your ability to be nimble and pivot during this exceptionally challenging year, but it also indicative of the number of employees that report accurate and timely contacts and impacts.
Embracing this momentum, I am growing increasingly excited to welcome our next round of new employees at November’s orientation. (I would be remiss if I did not publicly extend a huge expression of gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Tearney Woodruff for her leadership in making the orientation a powerful and valuable experience for the newest members of our AgriLife Extension family.) With our new position prioritization process, we have prioritized, ranked and added 12 positions requested by departments and units to support our existing teams.
All in all, I am more confident than ever that our AgriLife Extension family is adapting to an evolving Texas, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Like always, I am here to listen. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out and I will do my best to address them.
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Stay well,
Jeffrey Hyde
Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
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We can look back and know that with all that fiscal year 2021 threw at us...
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
hit the mark and exceeded all of our state's performance measures!
And in doing so, our people contributed over
23.9M direct educational contacts
to Texans, surpassing all previous years!
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Strategic Plan Update: Fall 2021 |
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The Coordinated Program Areas (CPA) Pilot Continues
County Extension Agents and Specialists have completed regional forums that helped identify local issues facing Texans. Many thanks to all who helped in this important process! Reach out to your RPL if you have not already received a summary report on what was discussed.
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Happening Now: Cataloging our Current Inventory
Each of the seven pilot CPAs is building and reviewing a resource inventory to identify, review and catalogue existing educational resources in response to identified issues. This process will also help identify gaps and needs for additional resources to support our stakeholders every day.
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CPA State Forums have begun!
Specialists working within the relevant CPAs, along with two agents per region, will be representing their respective regional issues to participate in the following state forums:
Active Living: Oct. 19, 10 a.m.
Beef Cattle Ranching: Oct. 19, 2 p.m.
Urban Commercial Ag/Green Industry: Oct. 20, 2 p.m.
Cotton: October 21, 2 p.m.
Youth STEM: Oct. 26, 10 a.m.
Youth FCH: Oct. 27, 10 a.m.
Food Safety: Oct. 27, 1 p.m.
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Goals of the Forums
The goal of the state forum is to bring together the issues identified at the local level, and aggregated, discussed and prioritized at the regional level, so they can be aggregated, discussed and prioritized at the state level. Discussion during the state forum will also focus on educational resources and expertise available, or needed, to address identified issues as well as:
- relevant professional development
- training needs
- program implementation strategies
- evaluation strategies
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Year-End Milestone: Development of a Master Plan
All these steps are leading up to each CPA assembling a working group charged to develop a master plan, which will be completed later this fall. This master plan will include programmatic goals, evaluation instruments and recommended strategies to be implemented and will ultimately serve agents and specialists as a roadmap for future efforts.
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Jeff Raska, horticulture coordinator, partnered with Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel, Ph.D., at the Urban County Farm in Garland Texas, to combat local food insecurity by transforming a 12-acre urban location into a fruitful farm and garden tended to by Texas Master Gardener volunteers. Read how this location has produced and donated 2.5 tons of food to shelters and community centers in Dallas County on AgriLife Today. |
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Mary Pearl Meuth, assistant state coordinator for the Texas Master Naturalist program, was honored with Volunteer of the Year award by the Texas Wildlife Association.
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David Appel, Ph. D, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension tree pathologist, was recognized by the Texas chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISAT) with the 2021 Presidential Award of Merit award.
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FARMERS FIGHT ! (And we know how to cheer too!) |
Team spirit comes from within, and we all know life is better when we've got support.
Do you know a colleague who goes above and beyond in their role or who embodies the spirit of leadership?
Or, do you want to share your own story of impact from your community? We want to hear from you!
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Superior Service Awards Quick Links: |
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The Superior Service Awards recognize our Extension faculty and staff members who provide outstanding performance in Extension education or outstanding service to the organization and to Texans.
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The San Antonio Livestock Exposition - Leadership Extension program aims to provide comprehensive leadership development that will enable Extension faculty to enhance their abilities to teach youth and adult leadership skills.
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Are your personnel files up to date? |
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AG-438 Form - Documents alternate work location arrangements and changes. More info here.
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NOTE: The above forms need to be approved annually and apply to one fiscal year. As many have returned back to the office, check with your supervisor if you have any questions about updating your own personnel files. |
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We are excited to welcome our new employees at Discover Extension, the statewide new employee orientation taking place on November 1-5, 2021. We look forward to connecting with our new Extension family members and ensuring that they have the resources to be successful. Click for the agenda (pdf).
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Employee Development Working Groups:
If you are interested in joining an employee development working group, please reach out to Tearney Woodruff (Tearney.Woodruff@ag.tamu.edu). Working groups accepting membership are listed below:
- Roadmap and Curriculum Writing
- Mentorship, Coaching, and Peer Onboarding
- Continuous Learning
Training:
Continuing our Work Virtually on TEAMS:
Podcast Fun:
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Are you "Willie happy" to be "On the Road Again" for
in-person events?
If you've thought about refreshing your promotional materials, but don't know where to start, be sure to check out the most recent easy to use Canva template updates, including a collection of new banners, printable flyers and brochures.
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Pro Tip: Stock up with AgriLife Extension branded pens, bags and printed goods on the AgriLife Learn bookstore. Simply log in to gain access to "AGENT RESOURCES and OFFICE SUPPLIES." See below.
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Program planning season is fast approaching! Make sure you keep your marketing strategist in the know so they can help you maximize your promotional efforts for next year's big events.
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Pro tip: The more time they have, the better they can help (Example: two-week minimum advance notice is needed for AgriLife Today coverage of events)!
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Recently AgriLife Digital Education released the
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Please contact your Educational Product Specialist (EPS) with any questions or concerns regarding the outlined services and processes. AgriLife Digital Education will continue to build out the resources page related to topics covered in the document above and distribute quarterly updates that will address relative information regarding the services we offer and support.
Digital Education will be offering trainings on the following topics during the month of November:
- Content Readiness
- Product Development
- Engaging with AgriLife Learn
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Phishing emails have been on the rise lately, and we want to make sure you know how to identify them and what to do if you receive them. While email protection and filtering tools have rapidly evolved to keep up with phishing campaigns, we still ask that you remain diligent when it comes to your emails. |
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If you receive an odd, suspicious, or unexpected email:
- Don’t panic or rush to act
- Re-read the message carefully
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Report the message using one of the methods listed here
We have compiled a list of commonly seen characteristics and examples of phishing emails here.
If you think you have been the victim of a phishing attack, you can also click here for the four steps you need to complete to protect yourself and your devices.
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AgriLife Learn online courses are here for Texans, but they can also be valuable educational supplements to your in-person programs. Check out the latest offerings, developed by your colleagues! |
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Developed with busy ranchers and landowners in mind. This self-guided course places an emphasis on fire behavior, equipment and safety. After successful completion, students will be eligible to schedule their official exam and field component to apply to become a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager (CIPBM).
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Designed for independent student learning and administered by VSCP program staff, the curriculum allows students to enroll and complete 100 lesson modules at their own pace. The curriculum includes:
- a veterinary science lesson
- prerecorded teacher-led video
- printable note sheets, a quiz and an online activity
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