Our Impact
Making A Difference in Our County
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is working hard for its constituents. The following are examples of Extension’s impact in the county over the past year.
4-H Youth Development / Agriculture and Natural Resources
By the year 2060, the U.S. population is expected to reach 417 million, up from 319 million in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Following historical trends, the U.S. continues to produce more food with a decreasing amount of land. This is possible because of continuous research and innovation of advanced agricultural technologies. Educating farmers of agricultural best practices and the newest resources available to them to improve their operation is vital to improving overall agricultural production.
Dade Extension was part of the “Unless You Test, It’s Just a Guess” innovative grant in 2019. Seventeen free hay samples were provided to Dade County producers through the grant. Many of these producers made Dade Extension aware that they had not used the services of Extension in 10+ years. One farmer commented, “I haven’t tested my hay, well, probably ever.” To improve livestock forage and hay production practices, Dade Extension conducted a monthly forage management series, the D.A.D.E. Grass Class. The acronym D.A.D.E. represents Dade Agriculture Developing Excellence. The point of the series was to walk through, month by month, an entire year of forage management for cattle pastures and hayfields. The goal was to provide timely, how-to information to farmers in advance to when they would need to act on their pastures/hayfields. The series began in January 2020 and concluded in May 2022.
The D.A.D.E. Grass Class series began in January 2020 and turned virtual due to COVID, and thus Dade Extension hosted a second series for 2021-2022 in-person. In total, 52 registrants enrolled in the monthly program across the two years. Although the series catered to Dade county farmers, registrants were from Walker and Chattooga Georgia counties, as well as neighboring counties in Alabama and Tennessee. Pre and post program evaluation data showed that producers’ knowledge of forage management increased as a result of the series. Evaluation data also showed intention of behavior change in producers’ forage management practices. Prior to the series, only 8% of respondents stated they knew for certain when to spray for weeds in their pastures and hayfields, but following the conclusion of the series, 62.5% of respondents stated they knew this for certain. Prior to the series, only 14% of respondents state they knew for certain when to fertilize their pastures and hayfields, and at the end of the program the percentage of respondents who stated they knew this for certain increased to 79%. Additionally, 100% of respondents stated that as a result of the D.A.D.E. Grass Class, they conducted soil and/or hay tests through UGA, they plan to continue testing their soil and/or hay regularly, they plan to utilize Extension for their forage questions, and that they expect their forage production to improve.