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

UGA Extension Office

Our Impact

4-H Youth Development

The 4-H program in Twiggs County is a collaboration between Fort Valley State University (FVSU) Cooperative Extension and University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension. Twiggs County 4-H operates under the leadership of FVSU 4-H and maintains consistent participation numbers every year. The FVSU 4-H program’s mission is to empower youth to reach their full potential while working and learning in partnership with caring adults. The program provides positive youth development and experiential learning opportunities for youth in various areas including leadership, healthy living, financial literacy, agriculture and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). At the end of the 2020 school calendar year, FVSU 4-H collaborated successfully with UGA 4-H to facilitate traditional in-school club meetings for students in fourth grade through middle school.  Pre-COVID-19, The FVSU 4-H agent delivered in-school club meetings and educational programs to 278 Twiggs County public and private schools and to homeschooled audiences. Senior 4-H participants were involved in leadership and public speaking activities by participating in District Project Achievement events on the district and state levels. During COVID-19, Twiggs county youth were still able to stay involved in 4-H through virtual FVSU 4-H programming which included 4-H Health Rocks: “What or Who Influences Me”, Zumba Dance Fitness Activity, and Youth Financial Management Education.  Several flyers/Fact sheets were produced for our youth audience through social media that reached 4,831 direct engagements.    

Family and Consumer Sciences

Through a partnership with Fort Valley State University of Georgia, the Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) agent provided nutrition education, food drives, healthy living activities, healthy recipes and materials for adults and youth through various programs and activities. As a result, consumers are more likely to make better food choices for themselves and their families. The agent participated in numerous food drives and partnered with Family Connections, The City of Jeffersonville, Jeffersonville Mayor, Twiggs County Commissioners, Middle Georgia Food Bank, local churches, Twiggs County Public Schools and local volunteers. The FACS Program provided research -based healthy living information, recipes, personal medical journals, and medication dispenser bottles. By improving the overall health habits of county residents, fewer hospitalizations and medications will be required, reducing healthcare costs for individuals, taxpayers, small businesses and corporations.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

Superior research and education are the driving forces of innovation, and no one knows this better than UGA Extension. While there is no Agriculture and Natural Resources agent housed in the Twiggs County Extension office, the Bleckley County ANR agent offers local residents information and answers many of their questions and concerns. They also provide residents with a broad spectrum of free publications to address agricultural concerns, including lawn care, gardening, herbicide and pesticide use, insect control and livestock management. Twiggs County Extension works in conjunction with Bleckley County Extension to provide producers within the county with yearly updates on the issues UGA researchers study and foresee in the topics of cotton, corn and soybean production, and pest management.

Download our annual report (pdf)


Extension Publications

  • Vegetable Garden Calendar (C 943) The recommendations in this circular are based on long-term average dates of the last killing frost in the spring and first killing frost in the fall. Every year does not conform to the "average," so you should use your own judgment about advancing or delaying the time for each job, depending on weather conditions.
  • Native Plants for Georgia Part I: Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines (B 987) This publication focuses on native trees, shrubs and woody vines for Georgia. It is not our intent to describe all native species — just those available in the nursery trade and those that the authors feel have potential for nursery production and landscape use. Rare or endangered species are not described. Information on each plant is provided according to the following categories: Common Name(s)/Botanical Name/Family, Characteristics, Landscape Uses, Size, Zones and Habitat.
  • Time Management: 10 Strategies for Better Time Management (C 1042) Learn 10 strategies for better time management, including knowing how to spend your time, setting priorities, using planning tools, getting organized, scheduling, delegating, and avoiding procrastinating, wasting time, and multitasking.