Alexander County Center Newsletter

November 2020
The Alexander County Center is now open to the public. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the health of county employees, citizens who are sick or running a fever should not visit these facilities. Citizens who do visit are encouraged to wear a cloth face covering and maintain social distance of at least six feet.  The county still encourages business to be conducted via phone or email when possible, but realizes that in-person interaction is necessary in some cases.  Agents are still available, so please call them at 828-632-4451 or email.  For a list of email addresses click the following link:  https://alexander.ces.ncsu.edu/people/
Food Safety After a Power Outage
Hopefully you are not still without power after the weekend storm, but you may still have questions about what food is safe.  Below are some recommendations on what to keep and what to throw out:
Farm-City Week Celebration
Farm City Week is celebrated during the month of November with the purpose to bring rural and city together to appreciate and celebrate agriculture and what it means to us all. Of course this year will look different as it has in every other aspect.

The agriculture industry is so much more than just farming. Many jobs rely on agriculture. In fact, 1 in 12 American jobs is dependent upon agriculture. Of course we realize that jobs in agriculture aren't as plentiful as they once were. In 1820, 72% of the workforce was employed in farm occupations. Today that number is closer to 2 percent of folks that are directly employed by the agriculture industry. However there are more than 22 million people that are employed in an agriculture related field. These are jobs in fields like food science and food inspection, packaging, conservation or agriculture engineering. Much of what we wear or use daily is produced by agriculture. Agriculture affects our lives from our cotton socks to the ethanol-infused gasoline. It's not just about the food we eat or the milk we drink.

In 2017 one farmer provided food and fiber for 165 people. Agriculture continues to be the number one industry in NC contributing $91.8 billion to our state's economy. Agriculture in Alexander County contributes $162 million dollars to our local economy and that ranks us 24th in farm income in NC.

There is much to celebrate in agriculture and Alexander County.

******CONTEST ALERT*******
In celebration of Farm City Week, Alexander County Cooperative Extension would like to challenge you to prepare a meal using local foods (local can be NC) and enter our Farm City Week Local Foods Contest. To enter, take a picture of the prepared meal, email it to us ([email protected] or [email protected] ) with details about the meal and where the local ingredients came from. Each person that sends a picture will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win a gift certificate to purchase $50.00 in meat products from Chapman Cattle Company located here in Taylorsville. We will feature some of the entries on our Alexander County Cooperative Extension Facebook page. Entries will be accepted through December 1st and the winner will announced on December 2nd. We can't wait to see all the different local meals you prepare.
Coronavirus Food Assistance-
Program 2 Application Deadline
Are you a farmer or rancher whose operation has been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 provides direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19.  Earlier this year Phase 1 of this program was made available and many Alexander County growers took advantage,  this program covers a different time period.  If you did not apply in Phase 1 you are still eligible for Phase 2.  The Farm Service Agency will be accepting applications until December 11, 2020.  For more information click the following link: https://www.farmers.gov/cfap
Reopening Face-to-Face 4-H Club Meetings
Volunteers should have received an email for DJ Salyer regarding having face-to-face club meetings.  In order to begin having club meetings again Volunteers will have to meet with DJ for training on how to handle and function meetings due to COVID-19.  To make and appointment with DJ please call 828-632-3125 or mail [email protected].

National STEM Day - November 8th
So what does STEM stand for??  STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.  Enjoy a day with the kids trying out some different STEM activities.

Below are some links that you can take advantage of at home:



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Alexander County Offices will be closed:

November 11-Veteran's Day

November 26 & 27-Thanksgiving


NC State University and N.C. A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of age, color, disability, family and marital status, genetic information, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sexual identity (including pregnancy) and veteran status. NC State, N.C. A&T, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension.

Extension's 4-H program is the largest youth development organization in North Carolina. We help over 247,000 young people grow into active, contributing citizens each year.