UGA Extension Office

Our Impact

Making A Difference In Our County

UGA Extension is working diligently to help the people in our county. The following is the Extensions Impact during the year 2022.

4-H 

Murray County 4-H reaches more than 1,100 Kindergarten through 12th-grade students and helps those students develop the knowledge, life skills and attitudes needed to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society. Our mission is fulfilled through hands-on learning experiences offered both in the classroom and out of school activities. Murray 4-H Tech Changemakers program addresses the digital divide between young people and adults by providing education to help in the workforce. Monthly sessions are offered at the Murray County Chamber of Commerce where 4-H youth teach adults digital literacy skills such as video conferencing, responsible behavior guidelines, and strong passwords.  Programming highlights include College and Career Ready Performance Index lessons for all 5th graders (434), 6 hours of Healthy Living Curriculum for all 6th graders (485) and every 5th and 6th grader in Murray County participated in county project achievement. School administrators report positive impacts in student’s behavior and see the 4-H program as meeting a vital need in the school system; they provide ongoing support of our efforts to teach youth how to avoid risky behaviors involving tobacco, alcohol and drugs. One success story shared was one youths’ reaction to the “Less Stress on the Test” healthy living lesson. One of our 6th grade 4-H’ers, suffering from anxiety this past year, said, “I’m going to start using some of the techniques that you taught us in class to help my anxiety.”
 

Agriculture and Natural Resources

 

In March 2022, there was a cattle pot trailer rollover in Pulaski County, GA with 108 feeder cattle on that trailer, weighing approximately 550 lbs. average. A trailer that size, on a narrow road with no shoulder, has strong potential to rollover, if the animals were to shift their weight. Livestock Emergency Response classes were planned in four locations across Georgia, one of them in Murray County. The target audience was First Responders: law enforcement, EMS, Fire, animal transportation professionals, tow truck operators, emergency management professionals, veterinarians and public safety officials. The goal was to prepare them in what to expect in a roadway livestock emergency, to improve animal welfare, reduce public perception issues and enhance safety for responders, the public, and livestock on scene. Classroom and hands-on instruction were provided to enhance topics covered: Transportation and Hazards; Biosecurity and Mortality Management; Incident Command and Debrief; Animal Behavior; and Animal Handling and Trailers. CEU’s were offered for GA POST, GA FF Standards and Training, TRIP and others. Program partners were Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Transportation, University of Georgia Extension, Georgia TIME Task Force and local Cattleman’s Associations. There were 125 attendees from 16 different counties at the four workshops in Spring 2022. Thirty-three attendees returned the course evaluation form, from the following counties: Bullock, Carroll, Clark, Coweta, Dougherty, Gordon, Henry, Houston, Glascock, Lowndes, McDuffie, Monroe, Murray, Pulaski, Tift, and Warren. Most attendees strongly agreed that the content was useful and the time dedicated was appropriate (78%). Over 80% strongly agreed that it built on their existing knowledge, that they learned methods/practices they can apply to mitigate incident impacts and they better appreciate the responder and motorist safety element of TIM in quick clearance of livestock emergency incidents.