August E News 2023

Fall is for Liming

Fall is here and the time is right for homeowners to start maintaining and improving the health of their lawns for next year. Proper lime application insures, that nutrients are available to grass by maintaining a pH range in which nutrients are not hindered by other compounds in the soil. Lime contains calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate which reduces soil acidity and prevents the formation of these nutrient robbing compounds. A proper pH range is 5.8-6.2, this can be determined by using the soil tests that are available at the Mitchell County Cooperative Extension. An established lawn should be tested every three to four years, lime should be applied annually to lawns that are heavily fertilized through the spring and summer.

What causes soil pH to change? There are a couple of factors fertilizer itself releases Hydrogen as it is broken down, which in turn puts more Hydrogen in the soil this process causes an increase in acidity. Acid rain is another factor that lowers soil pH as well as rain itself which washes away valuable Calcium. This increase in soil acidity prevents nutrients to lawn grasses which hinders growth and allows other plants, that can survive in these conditions to flourish and strangle out grasses. Fall and spring are the best times to apply lime, because it takes about 60-90 days for lime to alter the soil’s pH. When purchasing lime remember the finer the liming material the quicker it activates which brings about a change in pH sooner. Application in the fall does have some advantage over spring application, the biggest factors are increased rain and snow fall coupled with cycles of freezing and thawing all which aid in a faster breakdown of the liming material. How does one determine how much lime to apply? As mentioned before the best practice is to make use of a soil test provided through the Mitchell County Extension Office. The sample is mailed by the homeowner to the Soil Science Dept. at NCSU and reports are sent to Extension personnel and the homeowner with the recommended rate of application.

Avery A&H Fair Review

The Avery A&H Fair was held September 6-9th, 2023. The fair was a successful event that featured agriculture products, music, arts, and food from Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey Counties. In addition to the entertainment, Producers from each county entered various agriculture products that ranged from vegetables, quilts, canned goods, cut flowers, baked goods, eggs, to even various breeds of livestock.

In the Farm and Home section of the fair, over 300 individual entries were submitted for judging and displayed throughout the entirety of the fair.

In the Livestock section of the fair, 151 various animals were displayed and judged on their confirmation and performance.

Displayed Livestock included:

-       85 birds (chickens, ducks, turkey, and quail)
-        12 Rabbits
-       13 Goats
-       3 Sheep
-       2 Llamas
-       4 Pigs
-        3 Draft Horses
-       2 Ponies
-       2 Miniature Horses
-        1 Donkey
-       8 Riding Horses
-       1 Yearling Bull
-       2 Mature Bulls
-       2 Cow/Calf Pairs
-       1 Heifer

During the entirety of the fair, 21 livestock shows were held that featured youth from all three counties showing their livestock in various classes and events.

Youth Livestock Shows:

-   Open Chicken Showmanship
-       High Country 4-H Chick to Chicken Showmanship
-       High Country 4-H Chick to Chicken Returnee Showmanship
-       Open Rabbit Showmanship
-        Open Bovine Showmanship
-       Open Advanced Goat Showmanship
-        Open Beginner Goat Showmanship
-        Market Whether Show
-        Market Doe Show
-       Tiny Goat Showmanship
-       Bareback Peewee Lead Line
-       Saddle Peewee Lead Line
-       Tiny Horse Halter Showmanship
-       Junior Horse Halter showmanship
-       Senior Horse Halter Showmanship
-       Tiny Walk/Walk
-       Junior Walk/Walk
-       Senior Walk/Walk
-       Tiny Trail Obstacles
-       In-hand Trail Obstacles
-       Open Trail Obstacles

The Avery A&H Fair Board would like to thank all the individuals from each county that entered their products or livestock into the fair! We appreciate each community’s support and dedication to agriculture. We would also like to thank all our Sponsors and Donators that helped make the fair possible!

Meet our new 4-H Agent

We are so happy to welcome Erin Norton as our new 4-H Agent. Erin is originally from Henderson County. She graduated from Appalachian State University in December 2022 with a Bachelor's Degree in agriculture education.

In her free time she enjoys reading, writing, playing video games, hiking, and socializing. She worked for a year at Henderson County Cooperative Extension as an intern during her sophomore year at Blue Ridge Community College.

"I loved working at extension, especially with the
4-H programs and decided on my career path into extension or education, I look forward to growing the 4-H program in Mitchell County!"

Stop by or give Erin a call here at the office to welcome her!

Mountain State Fair Winners

We had 5 winners from Mitchell County at the fair this year!
Congratulations Landon Payne for your 1st places for your triple berry jam and your strawberry jam!

Congratulations to Ava Jones for your 2nd place triple berry jam and 3rd place for your strawberry jam!

Congratulations to London Jones for her 3rd place triple berry jam, and 2nd place strawberry jam!

Congratulations to Keller Blanden on his 1st place strawberry jam, pineapple peach jam and cucumber pickles!

Congratulations to Charity Gouge on her 1st place for the drawing she entered!

See our Facebook page for more photos in the future