July 2023 Extension Newsletter

You are invited to an informational meeting about the 2024 WNC AgOptions grant program for growers and producers. The AgOptions staff will provide a presentation of the 2024 application, timeline of the grant application, and answer questions. Grants of $4000.00 and $8000.00 are available to farmers located within a 22 county area of Western North Carolina. The meeting will take place at 699 Connaheeta Street (Konehete Park) in Murphy, NC. from 6-7:30 p.m. on August 29. Register online for this important informational session.

Read more and to register online.

Shannon Coleman, 4-H Agent for Cherokee County, and 3 Cherokee County 4-H’ers made the trip from Murphy all the way to Columbia, NC to the Eastern 4-H Center. So 508 miles from Murphy and only 46 miles from Manteo, we have been having a great time. We stayed until June 30 then we headed back home. The three 4-H’ers that attended camp were: Clay Burrell (Clay went with us last year to BJP), Kaelyn Hedden(1st time 4-H camp participant), and Bella Hedden(1st time 4-H camp participant).

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The N.C. Cooperative Extension in Cherokee County is excited to offer the 2023 Food Preservation Series of classes. These classes will provide evidence-based information to safely preserve food in a variety of ways. Offerings include Intro to Canning (informational sessions only), water bath canning, pressure canning, pickling, fermentation, dehydration, and freezer jam. Take one class, or take them all, but these limited tickets to each event will go fast, so register today! To register online, click on the links below. The cost of each class is $10.00.

List of Classes and How to Register

The N.C. Cooperative Extension, Cherokee County Center is seeking applications for a time limited, grant funded position for a digital skills educator. This Educator will interact with the public through the delivery of skill-building programs and provide broadband access information and resources to increase the adoption and utilization of digital resources in the county. This position will be responsible for providing leadership to the Digital Skills Training Volunteers in the county. The Digital Skills Training Volunteers will help increase the digital skills capacity in the county by providing training and coaching opportunities.
More Info Including Job Posting>>

Classes will be taught August 3, 2023 to renew private pesticide applicators license (V training) and commercial applicators can attend the X training for 2 hours credit. Classes will be held at the N.C. Cooperative Extension Meeting Room at 699 Connahetta Street in Murphy, NC August 3, 2023. The V training will be from 5–7 p.m. and X training will be from 7–9 p.m. The X training will also provide 2 credit hours for commercial pesticide license with A,B,G,H,I,K,L,M,N,O,T, D and X designations. If you have a commercial license and not a private pesticide designation then you only need to attend the training beginning at 7 p.m. for the two hours of credit. Registration is required through Eventbrite. Seating is limited to 35 participants and registration will end 1 day prior to the class.

More Info

An 8-session fall prevention series, “A Matter of Balance”, will be offered in October 2023. The program is an evidence-based, instructor led, series of classes which includes education on how to be proactive before a fall occurs and includes exercises to strengthen weak muscles and improve balance to decrease fall risk.

The program will be held at the Penland Senior Center, located at 69 Alpine Street in Murphy, NC. Classes will be held twice weekly (Tuesday and Thursday) for four weeks beginning on October 5th and ending October 31st.

More Info and To Pre-register

Learn to Grow Shiitake Mushrooms

Extension Master Gardeners in Cherokee County will teach a hands on Shiitake Mushroom class. The class will be taught September 19, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at our classroom located at 699 Connaheeta Street in Murphy, NC. This location is at Koneheta Park. Follow our signs to the meeting room. Cost is $25.00. Instructor will be Jeff Doughman, Extension Master Gardener, Cherokee County. Pre-registration is required along with the payment. Class size is limited to 15. We expect this class to sell out quickly so sign up online beginning May 31.

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Did you know we have a Facebook page? This is a great way to follow N.C. Cooperative Extension — Cherokee County Center and view our upcoming Extension events. Over the last 9 months, our Facebook page reach has increased from under 5,000 to over 30,000 users and continuing to grow! On our Facebook page you will find agriculture education, upcoming Extension classes and events, program success stories, 4-H happenings, healthy recipes, food safety tips, relevant research articles, Homegrown videos and more! It is our hope that you would partner with us by following our page and sharing our posts to reach as many people in the community as possible! Visit us on Facebook and we hope to see you at an upcoming event! If you have any questions about information posted, please call the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Cherokee County Center office at (828)837-2210.

We are in the process of planning the 2024 Master Gardener Initial Training For Certification. This is a 40 hour training that will be completed thru in person and virtual meetings along with homework. We expect the class will cost about $169.00. A computer, chromebook, or tablet will be required along with internet access. We can provide internet access at our office or meeting room during the training. We are working on the schedule for 2024 and plan to release it along with the ability to register for the class by September 1 and will be limited to 30. The registration information will be available at cherokee.ces.ncsu.edu and signup will be at go.ncsu.edu/cherokeecounty. Classes will start January 30 through March 28, 2024. If you think you would be interested in the training, please fill out the form below and we will send you an email to have an early look at the training when registration is available. Visit “Become a Master Gardener Volunteer” to learn more.

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Livestock Producers: If you’ve ever wondered if you could sell livestock processing by-products in the pet food market, this webinar series is for you! This webinar series has been specifically developed for livestock producers who want to turn their by-products or co-products into value-added pet food/pet treat products. During the webinars, we will discuss the North Carolina regulatory requirements for these products. We will be joined by members of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Feed Division.

Dates and Registration Info>>

Anyone who grows tomatoes in North Carolina, from homeowners to commercial growers, eventually finds their crop is affected by disease. There are several fungal and bacterial plant pathogens that attack tomato in our state and sorting out which disease or diseases you find can be a challenge. Yet, correct diagnosis is critical to implementing effective management strategies. Bacterial spot on tomato fruit A new video series has been developed to help growers, county and area agents, agronomists, crop consultants and homeowners to identify the most common tomato diseases encountered in North Carolina. Each video is approximately 2-3 minutes long and includes information on features that help distinguish the disease from other common diseases. To find the videos, please visit the Tomato Diseases page in our Vegetable Portal.

2023 Farm School

A SERIES OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR FARMERS, HOMEOWNERS, GARDENERS AND YOUTH.

Cherokee and Graham County Centers have teamed together to offer a series of Farm School educational programs that will help farmers, homeowners, gardeners and youth learn more about farming, agriculture and rural living in our area. Most workshops are free to anyone who would like to register. However, there is a charge for the grafting workshop to help cover the cost of the materials. If you have any questions about our programs, feel free to contact us.

More Info and a List of Programs

To register for any of these programs go to:
go.ncsu.edu/cherokeecounty

Two resistance-breaking variants of TSWV have been confirmed on tomato in North Carolina

In summer 2022, symptoms of TSWV (Tomato spotted wilt virus) were observed at two tomato farms in Rowan County, NC on several fresh market tomato cultivars with the gene for TSWV resistance (Sw-5). Approximately 10% of plants of ‘Red Mountain’ had symptomatic foliage on one farm with approximately 30% of fruit showing symptoms. At the second farm, up to 50% of plants had symptomatic foliage with approximately 80% of fruit showing symptoms on ‘Mountain Gem’. Visual symptoms included stunting, severe leaf curling and bronzing, necrotic lesions on leaves, petioles and stems, and concentric ring spots on fruit. TSWV ImmunoStrips from Agdia confirmed the virus was present in the field. Samples were collected from both farms and subjected to sequencing to identify and confirm the presence of resistance-breaking strains.