April 2023 Newsletter-Granville County Center

Happy April!

As the weather warms up, I am sure everyone is eager to spend some more time outdoors. Granville County has a lot to offer in terms of outdoor activities and upcoming events. Visit your local farmers market or individual farms to purchase some fruits and vegetables; find a local trail and take a nature hike, or find a local event and spend some time in the community. There are some wonderful activities and events located on the visitgranvillenc.com website.

An upcoming event to check out is the Granville Gardeners Expo which will be held on Saturday, April 22nd. The Expo will be a day-long event filled with garden, environmental, home, and decor-related vendors, speakers, demonstrations, and workshops. Our own Granville and Vance Horticulture Agents, Johnny Coley and Paul McKenzie, will be presenting during the Expo.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their support during Small Farms Week! Hopefully, you had the opportunity to view small farm interviews conducted by our Ag Agents or attend a lunch and learn with our FCS agent. The community really stepped up to support our food collection.

Keegan Rapp is serving as the Lead for North Carolina AmeriCorps Fellow for Granville County for fiscal year 22-23. Lead for North Carolina is a competitive AmeriCorps program that places recent college graduates in rural and underserved local governments across North Carolina. The UNC-CH school of Government sponsors this program and trains and organizes this fellowship and encourages fellows to pursue public sector and local government careers. Keegan started in August of 2022 working in the County Administration office and has been shifting through different county departments working on special projects; some departments include parks and recreation, planning, economic development, library services, and most recently county extension services.

Extension Volunteer Association Scholarship
Due May 1st by 5:00pm

The Granville County Extension Volunteer Association (EVA) is pleased to announce that they will have the opportunity to award a $500 college scholarship to one youth and one adult this year. The primary purpose of this scholarship is to assist students, both youth and adults, in obtaining a college education in a 4-year degree preferably, but not exclusively, in life sciences, agriculture or family and consumer science or a 2-year degree in most any service or business related field. Students, youth or adults, must be enrolled at an accredited school in North Carolina. Applicants will be selected for a one-year term, primarily on the basis of academia, activities and honors. Financial need is considered.

Recipients awarded an EVA Scholarship will have an outstanding record of participation and achievement within their school and community. Additionally, recipients will possess an excellent record of academic achievement measured chiefly by their performance on school courses including English, mathematics, physical sciences and social sciences. Also, recipients will demonstrate an aptitude for college work which will be measured by their performance on college entrance examinations including the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT).

Each applicant must submit a completed application, official school transcript, three letters of recommendation and a resume. A financial need letter can be also submitted but is optional.

For more information

Download scholarship application

The Granville County livestock agent worked with agents from seven other counties to plan and implement an inaugural Shepherd Boot Camp. This was geared toward brand new small ruminant producers. It combined a series of online videos participants watched at their convenience followed by some questions to make sure they understand the material. A hands-on workshop was held on March 10 at NC A&T State University's Small Ruminant farm to provide the opportunity to put into practice the ideas and procedures they had learned. We capped participation at 25 to make sure everyone would have adequate opportunity at the hands-on event. The Boot Camp sold out in 4 days. Topics included basic terminology, ear tagging, hoof trimming, nutrition and others. Additionally, an article about the program was written for and printed in the American Sheep Industry Association magazine, the Sheep Industry News. View the article here

The Central Piedmont Junior Livestock Show and Sale will be held April 11 & 12 in Orange County. This event has been going on for over 75 years and we now have grandchildren of some of the first exhibitors showing market animals. Hogs, cattle, sheep, and goat will be exhibited by 4-H and FFA members from several surrounding counties, including Granville. Registration numbers for the show are up 69% over last year. We will have the BBQ supper and live auction return this year.
Come out and support these kids with their livestock projects!

For more information contact Livestock Agent Kim Woods or 4H Agent Lina Howe.

The 2023 Wheat Whistle Stop Field Day will take place at the Oxford location for the 2023 Small Grain Official Variety Trial! Come out to see how small plot research is conducted and how this information being local to North Central Piedmont can help your operation! We will have:

Dr. Angela Post, NC State's Small Grains Extension Specialist, out in the field to answer any questions on wheat production. She will discuss what all she has seen this season, weed control, foliar fungicide use, and more management strategies.

Ryan Heiniger, NC State Official Variety Trial (OVT) Director will discuss the OVT trial, considerations for choosing a wheat variety to best fit your operation, and the Variety Selection tool! At least 1 hour of NCDA&CS Pesticide Continuing Education Credits will be provided. Breakfast will be provided.

Safe Plates Food Handler Training

Join us April 26 and 27, 2023 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm for our virtual Safe Plates for Food Handlers training. This is a free 4-hour training that covers basic information on safe food handling. This program covers temperature control, personal hygiene and health, preventing cross-contamination, cleaning and sanitizing, and allergens. This program is ideal for anyone working in restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and other food establishments. This course is also appropriate for volunteer and temporary food handlers, such as those working at soup kitchens or fundraising events. Great for churches and organizations that frequently serve food to groups. Also, this training serves as a resume builder for those seeking employment in the food service field.

This course does not provide any certification but is a good resource for any employees or individuals that work with food.

On Friday, March 31st 157 Granville County Public School Students attended the second annual Agriculture Career Day at Granville County Cooperative Extension. Agriculture students and teachers from Northern Granville Middle School, Granville Central, South Granville, and J.F. Webb High School attended the event. Granville County Cooperative Extension partnered with local farms and agriculture organizations throughout the county, these were High Rock Farms, North Carolina Forestry Service, Granville County Soil and Water, North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, Oxford Tobacco Research Station, and USDA APHIS. The youth took a tram tour of the Oxford Tobacco Research Station, toured High Rock Farm, and visited each organization's station to learn about the careers, internships and opportunities that each organization had available. This event was sponsored by Farm Bureau, Granville County 4-H and Granville County United Way. These funds fed each youth and teacher lunch, and provided a t-shirt and goodie bag. Thanks to all of our partners, sponsors and schools for making it a great day!

The North Carolina Teen Court Association hosted the 21st Annual Teen Court Statewide Mock Trial Summit Competition at Atlantic Beach, March 17th-19th. Granville County Teen Court youth volunteers and adult leaders joined over 200 people from across North Carolina for an educational weekend exhibiting skills and knowledge through mock trial competition. Granville County Teen Court was represented by seven dedicated student volunteers who competed as attorneys, clerks, bailiffs and defendants against other counties from across the state. Represented from Granville County in this year's event were: Defense Attorneys; Vashti Pearson and Cristina Portillo Martinez, Prosecutors; Jermaine Puryear, Jr. and Ella Holsomback, Clerk of Court; Cassie Peele, Bailiff; Joydan Johnson and Defendant; Caitlynne Horton. These students diligently practiced their roles for weeks leading up to the competition. They worked well together as a team. Vashti Pearson was awarded "Best Attorney" in her trial as well as "Best Overall Attorney" in the whole courtroom. Caitlynne Horton placed as "Best Defendant" for her courtroom.