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Greetings to April!
As April brings warmer days to Granville County, fields and gardens are coming to life and many in our community are preparing for the growing season. Spring is a busy time for Cooperative Extension as we support farmers, families, and youth through workshops, educational programs, and 4-H opportunities. In this issue, you’ll find seasonal tips, updates, and upcoming events to help our community thrive. We look forward to connecting with you this spring!
- Selena McKoy, NC Cooperative Extension Director - Granville
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Family Consumer Sciences (FCS)
Jennifer Brown, Area Agent
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Identifying personal stressors can help you to focus stress management strategies. Managing stress involves both changing behaviors that lead to
stress and accepting circumstances that you cannot change. Join the Extension Office on Wednesday, April 8 at 12:00pm EST for this Virtual Zoom Workshop to Understand and Deal with Stress. Register now at go.ncsu.edu/fcsregistration
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Join the Kappa Delta Sigma Theta sorority at the Oxford Housing Authority for their Community Health Fair. The Health Fair will be held on the grounds and streets
of the Oxford Housing Authority, located at 101 Hillside Drive, Oxford, NC 27565. The event will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. The Granville County Extension Office will have a booth at the event so be sure to come and visit us.
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Discover the core principles of mindful living. This practical session aims to demystify mindfulness and explain how it can improve your life based on its Seven Principles. Join us on Tuesday, April 14 at 12:00pm (EST) to help you learn and practice simple techniques to bring greater calm and focus into your daily routine. Register online at https://go.ncsu.edu/mindfulness
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Food and Built Environment
Wendy Tatum, Local Foods Coordinator
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Small Farms Week Celebration
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Pictured above: The group picture of our Federal Bureau of Prison volunteers
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On March 23, 2026, Granville County Cooperative Extension, the Cooperative Extension from NC A&T, and the Cooperative Extension from NC State University hosted the 2026 Small Farms Week honoring Madeline and Elvin Eaton of Fairport Farms, the 2025 Small Farmers of the Year. We had amazing volunteers who made the event run smoothly thanks to our partnership with the Federal Prison in Butner. County Manager, Drew Cummings, and County Commissioner, Zelodis Jay, brought greetings. Dr. Battle and Dr. McKinnie brought greetings from NC A&T University and Tyrone Fisher brought greetings from NC State University. Guest speakers, Carrie and Erin Martin spoke about Growing a Legacy:
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Generational Farming. Strong Arm Baking Company provided a delicious, local meal. After lunch, visitors and campus staff toured Fairport Farms learning about soil health, high tunnel production, and removing field health. Many thanks to our sponsors, Ag Farm Credit, Farm Bureau of Granville County, Berry Hill Irrigation, Bootstrap Farmer, Franklin Brothers Nursery, True Leaf Market, USDA SE TOPP, and WhyNC.com realtor, Melanie Frazier.
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Pictured above: Madeline and Elvin Eaton talk about their cool bot, Madeline and Elvin Eaton talk about high tunnel production, and signage for the Small Farmer of
the Year
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Scale Recertification
On April 1st, 2026, we hosted the countywide scale recertification with NCDA State Inspector, Archer Wilkins. Many of our local market vendors came to get their scales recertified for selling local foods in our county.
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Livestock & Forages
Kim Woods, Area Agent, Agriculture - Animal Science
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Livestock Show
The 2026 Central Piedmont Livestock Show and Sale is for 4-H or FFA youth, ages 5-18 from Granville, Person and many other surrounding counties. These youth can exhibit Market Lambs, Ewe Lambs, Feeder Steers, Market Steers, Beef Heifers, Market Goats, Meat Goat Breeding Does, and Market Hogs.
The show will be held April 7 and 8 in Orange Grove in southern Orange County. The location is 6716 Orange Grove Road Hillsborough, NC 27278.
Mark your calendar and plan to come watch these kids and their animal projects. It is a great time! Granville County will have youth exhibiting cattle on Tuesday afternoon and Sheep on Wednesday morning. Plus, there will be a BBQ super and animal auction on the evening of the 8th. This is the 80th show so many exciting things are in the works.
Show website can be found at https://sites.google.com/ncsu.edu/cpjls?pli=1
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Cattle Reproduction Workshop
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NC Cooperative Extension – Caswell, Durham, Granville, Orange and Person Centers along with our NC State University Beef Reproduction Specialist are bringing producers a cattle reproduction workshop! The event will be held on June 1st from 9am-5pm at Butner Beef Cattle Field Lab. Topics for the day will include: Establishing a breeding season; Estrus Synchronization; Pregnancy checking via palpation; Culling & animal selection; and AI vs natural breeding. There will also be hands-on practice with reproductive tracts and live animals! Registration Cost is $10 per person and will cover lunch along with a few learning materials. If you have any questions
or concerns, please contact the Extension office. Registration can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nc-cooperative-extension-cattle-reproduction-workshop-tickets-1985145548775
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Save the Date - Pond Clinic
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Plans are being made for a pond clinic to learn more about aquatic weeds and control/management measure for them along with pond management techniques. At this time, we will likely have this clinic at the
Granville Expo Center located at 4185 US-15, Oxford, NC 27565, on Friday, June 5 from 2-4 pm. Be on the lookout for details.
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Controlling Flies on Livestock
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Article originally written by Paul Westfall, former Granville County Extension Director
Adapted by Kim Woods, Person/Granville Livestock Agent
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For more specific information on controlling flies on livestock, contact your local NC Cooperative Extension Center.
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4-H Youth Development
Lina Howe, Extension Agent
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Consumer/Commercial Horticulture
Johnny Coley, Area Agent - Agriculture
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Educational Presentations:
10:00 Planting a Native Garden by Evan Villani
11:00 Victory Gardens by NC Cooperative Extension - Granville County
11:45 Growing Microgreens by IncrEdible Microgreens Farm
12:30 Tomato Revolution by Frank Hymann
Apply at https://www.eventeny.com/events/granvillegardenersexpo-15659/
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A Household Hazardous Waste event is scheduled for Saturday, May 16th from 8a.m.– 12 p.m.. This event will take place at the Granville Expo Center (4185 US HWY 15, Oxford). The event is for Granville County residents that need to dispose of items such as:
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Mercury
Adhesives
Lawn care products
Paint product (10 gallon limit/vehicle)
Aerosols
Flammable substances
Fluorescent light bulbs
Household cleaning supplies
Batteries
Photo chemicals
Swimming pool chemicals
Confidential documents in need of shredding (3 bag maximum)
Pesticides/herbicides
Prescription Drugs
Ammunition
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Prohibited items are listed below:
Business-generated waste
Gasoline
Automotive waste
Explosives
Diesel
Radioactive materials
Biohazardous waste
Biomedical waste
Kerosene
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This event is for Granville County residents only. No business or commercial waste will be accepted at this event.
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Growing Opportunity: Preparing Your Agricultural Business
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Learn & Earn$: Pathways to Market - Business Development and Buyer Readiness Webinar
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The United States Department of Agriculture, Small Business Administration, Small Business Development Center, and Apex Accelerator have partnered to equip agricultural enterprises and other small businesses with the tools, resources, and knowledge
required to navigate the product to market journey. Participants will obtain best practices an enhance their understanding of how to convert innovative ideas to buyer ready products.
Join us for this virtual webinar to hear from business and economic development experts about how to prepare your enterprises and get your products to Federal markets using artificial intelligence and other related/necessary skills.
The webinar has been scheduled for April 22, 2026, from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST.
To register, please visit https://rb.gy/cz0ssj
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As we move through April and prepare for the spring season, we appreciate the continued support of our community. We look forward to seeing many of you at upcoming programs and events as we work together to support our farmers, families, and youth in the months ahead!
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For more information and event updates, visit our website at https://granville.ces.ncsu.edu/
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NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
N.C. Cooperative Extension - Granville County, 125 Oxford Loop Rd, Oxford, NC 27565, United States
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