2010 Stakeholder Report
County Extension Staff
Connie Burhop
County Youth Coordinator
Jacki Luckstead
Youth Program Specialist
Kim Miller
Office Assistant
Julie Orris
Child Care Program Coordinator
Joe Yedlik
County Extension Director
Phyllis Zalenski
Families Program Specialist
Extension Council
Every Iowa county has an elected Extension Council that guides local educational programming by partnering with staff. From needs assessment through program implementation and evaluation of outcomes, the council represents the issues and people of the county.
We have identified these local issues as priority topics for current and future programming:
• Strengthening families
• Agricultural profitability
• Positive youth development
It Starts With Healthy People
To ricochet means to move round -- with a lot of energy and be unpredictable . . . sort of like middle school youth. They bounce from one thing to the next -- trying on different roles -- as they find their place in the world. Ricochet: An Extreme Leadership Adventure is a middle school leadership initiative created and sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Iowa 4-H.
Ten middle school youth in Olin took advantage of this leadership adventure which was facilitated by Jacki Luckstead, ISU Extension Youth Program Specialist. The youth learned about leadership characteristics, talked to local community leaders, and identified community needs. From this, they designed and carried out a service learning project; planting and maintaining flower boxes in downtown Olin. They also organized a lemonade stand to raise funds for Jones County Animal Rescue.
The learning did not stop there, as the students encouraged their parents to participate in another ISU Extension program, Strengthening Families. Strengthening Families helps parents learn how to be better communicators with their teens and the teens learn to respect and better communicate with their parents. These programs contribute to youth becoming leaders and caring members of their families and community.
It Starts With Healthy Environments
Beef cow-calf producer, Alan Welter, discovered the many advantages of planting winter cereal crops through his participation in an ISU Extension forage demonstration plot. For the 2009-10 winter feeding season, he grazed 90 cows for 37 additional days, saving on stored feed costs. Typical winter feed costs are about $1.32 per cow per day, where his costs to graze the cereal rye was only $0.62 per cow per day.
In addition, Welter saved money on labor and fuel that would have been hired to haul stored feed to his cattle in the winter. The opportunity for cattle to graze longer into the fall and early winter contributes to better manure management and cows are calving on seeded rye rather than in a muddy dry lot, thus reducing the incidence of calf scours and other health issues.
Furthermore, this system allows the permanent pasture a better chance to get started in the spring before being grazed, resulting in more season-long forage production and less stress on the plant. And the soil was covered by a forage crop throughout the winter reducing the potential for soil erosion.
It Starts With Healthy Economies
The communities of Olin and Oxford Junction joined together, applied for and received a $3,500 community development initiative grant from the local community action agency for the development of youth community gardens. Horizons steering committee members mentored youth and led the educational component with guidance from the ISU Extension youth development program specialist.
This successful project provided youth with the opportunity to involve their families in gardening together, share produce with their families, and expand their knowledge about gardening and gardening techniques.
Olin also received $3,525 in community development grant funds to pilot a backpack program to provide nutritious food for youth enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program. The program was coordinated by a Horizons member who also managed the local food pantry. Fourteen youth were served by the end of the school year. The program will continue with donations from fundraisers, food drives and area businesses—demonstrating a true community effort to overcome food insecurity.
Making an Impact
ISU Extension continues to assist Iowans affected by flooding. In Jones County, ISU Extension’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) assisted Monticello manufacturers with recovery last summer. Extension provided flood recovery materials and moisture meters for homeowner and business use and Extension’s livestock and crop production specialists consulted with flood-impacted producers to help them make the best decisions for their forage and crop situations.
Future Jones County Youth Development Center
Jones County residents are being encouraged to “build for tomorrow by investing today” and help make the Jones County Youth Development Center and future home of ISU Extension in Jones County a reality. The center, to be located at the city park/fairgrounds in Monticello, will provide an enhanced county 4-H Youth headquarters and be used as a program and education center. The new facility will support growth in programs and services to youth, families, agriculture/natural resources, community/economic development, and business/industry.
The center, which would complement existing community facilities, would provide a valuable community resource that would also be available to the public.
A fund drive is currently underway to construct this single-story, 12,000 sq. ft. facility that will have more than with 6,900 sq. ft. dedicated to exposition/conference center space. The facility will also feature the latest in technology and will be a LEED® certifiable, eco-friendly structure.