UGA Cooperative Extension is a collaboration between UGA CAES and UGA FACS.

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Our Impact

Terrell County Extension 2022 Impact Statements

2022 Terrell County ANR Extension Impact:

Terrell County hosts an annual row crop production of approximately 60 thousand acres. This is primarily based on a cotton, corn, peanut crop rotation, but also includes minor acres of wheat, soybeans, and grain sorghum. The Terrell County ANR agent focuses most of his county programming on assisting producers with agronomic practices concerning these crops. Last year Terrell County ANR hosted research trials looking at cover crops, peanut varieties, cotton varieties, as well as corn rootworm insect populations in peanut production for Terrell County.

From 2020-2022 Terrell County Extension received a $35 thousand-dollar NRCS grant to evaluate multiple blends of cover crops ahead of cotton to evaluate the economics and provide a full field-scale project for producers to see first-hand through multiple field days partnering with multiple state agencies. This project made the front-page cover story of The Southeast Farm Press.

In the fall of 2022, the Terrell County ANR agent applied for a $1.5 million CIG grant through NRCS to look at cover crop blends ahead of cotton on approximately 10% of Terrell County’s historical annual cotton production. This grant would pay producers per acre to enroll in the program, as well as provide them the cover crop seed and moisture sensors where they plant the cover crop as well as in a control check. This will allow producers to fully visualize the benefits of water savings from the cover crop, as well as the fertility savings from the cover crops.

While all of the research and collaboration is so imperative for Terrell County Extension, the most valuable asset is the agent relationships with stakeholders in the county. Terrell County Extension has a rich history of community support as evidenced by the recent county vehicles acquired. This support is a direct result of the networking and relationships that agents have invested time and effort and prioritizing the stakeholders in Terrell County.

2022 Terrell County 4-H Extension Impact:

4-H club meetings in our local schools during the post-Covid era have been exciting and challenging. During PY 22 the schools fully opened their classrooms to 4-H staff and as a result 4-H enrollment increased from 253 in PY 21 to 648 in PY 22. The enrollment in the Terrell County public school system has decreased, though, from pre-Covid era. In 2019, 4-H enrollment for grades 4th through 8th in the Terrell County public school system was 599. However, in PY 2022 the 4-H enrollment for grades 4th through 8th for the Terrell public school system had dropped to 489 and in PY 23 it is 366. Another area of concern has been for learning loss of students in the Terrell public school system. During the 2022 program year, the 4-H program provided hands-on learning experiences as classroom enrichment for the science classrooms. The end-of-the-year student survey reflected that 94.1% of the students reported that they were engaged during the 4-H lessons. 90.2% of the students reported that the 4-H lessons were helpful and that they learned something new from them.

4-H extracurricular activities for Terrell County experienced increased participation across the board. Terrell County had participation in every camp opportunity offered by Georgia 4-H during the summer of 2022. The 4-H archery team began a re-building process and the 4-H Wildlife Judging Team participated in the State competition. After school activities were all at maximum capacity throughout the program year.

An unexpected donation of $5,000 from Terrell County’s Bayer Farmer of the Year is providing the opportunity to create a new community garden behind the Terrell County Governmental complex. This community garden is in the form of fruit trees and muscadines on a trellis along the public walking track. This will provide many educational opportunities for the ANR and the 4-H programs.