After 22 years with Cooperative Extension, I will be taking on the role of full time retiree and grandma!
It's been a great journey and it's both happy and sad to say goodbye. I wish all the best to my work family as they continue on with Cooperative Extension or wherever life takes them.
I would also like to say thank you to our clientele over the years. So may of you have become good friends and supporters of my work here.
Taylor Lynn will join the Burke County Center as our Family and Consumer Sciences Agent on January 2, 2026.
Taylor is a Burke County resident and has served as an educator in the county for the past five years. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Appalachian State University.
Through her role with NC Cooperative Extension, Taylor is excited to support individuals and families in Burke County by providing practical, research-based education focused on nutrition and health, food safety, financial wellness, and life skills that support everyday living.
Outside of work, Taylor enjoys spending time with her 7-year-old son, hiking, baking, and creating art. She looks forward to building relationships and serving the Burke County community in this role.
2026 Almanac Calendars are here!
Come by our office and pick one up
while supplies last
The 2026 Introduction to Beekeeping course starts on January 20th.
$25 registration fee includes a 1 year membership to both the local and state beekeepers associations and First Lessons in Beekeeping book.
Call our come by our office for more details or to register!
Ponds are a critical part of many farms and proper maintenance can ensure they willperform well for many years after construction.
Constructing ponds in the appropriate sites is the first step to ensuring a useful pond. A good supply of clean drinking water for livestock must be located within an adequate forage area to produce healthy animals. The volume of water required for livestock depends on the size of the animal, size of the herd and amount of time the water supply will be in use.
Most livestock ponds should be entirely fenced with gravity feed water supplied to a watering tank keeping animals out of the pond. This prevents soil erosion and protects stabilizing vegetation on the dam, spillway and pond banks. Keeping the animals out of ponds reduces the amount of sediment going into the pond from an eroding bank. It also improves water quality by reducing turbidity (muddiness) caused by eroded clay soils.
Beekeepers Open House
January 13, 2026
6:30-8:00pm
Burke County Agricultural Building
Introduction to Beekeeping Starts
January 20, 2026
6:30-8:30pm
Burke County Agricultural Building
4-H Update Nicki Carpenter, Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
4-H Enrollment/Re-Enrollment starts in January.
4-H Summer Camp dates and registration info will be coming out soon.
4-H Project Books are due in our office by January 23, 2026.
Setting and Achieving Realistic Goals
Choose meaningful goals: Select an objective that is important to you personally to help sustain motivation through difficult periods.
Break it down: Instead of a single year-long goal, set monthly or weekly mini-goals to stay on track. This makes the larger goal less daunting.
Visualize success: Picture how achieving your goal will have a positive impact. This helps during times when you might be tempted to give up.
Celebrate achievements: Reward yourself for milestones achieved along the way, such as buying a new item of clothing or going for a hike on a new trail.
Write it down: Planning and writing down your goals can significantly increase your chances of success.
NC State University and N.C. A&T State University works in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension.
N.C. Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity provider.
