March 2022 Newsletter Clay County Center NCSU Extension Office

Invitation to Attend Stakeholder Event on March 9 in Mills River

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has embarked on a strategic planning process focused on goals for CALS to be the best land-grant in the country, and an exceptional place to learn and work for everyone.

We are at the point where we would like to invite you to participate in focus groups. We will host several focus groups across the state for our off-campus employees and stakeholders across the state during the week of March 7. Please confirm your attendance by selecting the date/location that will work best for you using this form.

This strategic planning process is important for our college. We use the strategic plan to guide and direct the college as we pursue exceptional learning and working spaces, innovative research, deliver exceptional teaching and determine the most impactful ways to connect with the community via Extension.

Many of you were involved in our last strategic planning process. We had several exciting outcomes directly related to that process. Here are a few:

N.C. PSI Initiative
85% increase in sponsored research projects
Greater than 20% increase in endowed professorships
Several new student access initiatives
And many more

We're building on our strengths, advancing as the national land-grant leader in agriculture and life sciences and creating outstanding learning and work environments – but we need your help! Our strategic planning team is seeking your input to shape the next plan.

Tell us what’s important to you and what ideas you have to make CALS an exceptional leader in research, teaching, and Extension. We hope to see you in March at one of our focus groups.

Go Pack!

John Dole and Rebecca Zuvich
Co-Chairs, CALS Strategic Planning Team

Click this link to register for the event:

Staying Up to Date with the Avian Bird Flu

The High Path Avian Influenza virus has been found in waterfowl populations in Eastern North Carolina as well as in chickens in the nearby states of Virginia and Kentucky. At this time it is recommended that anyone with a poultry flock practice biosecurity measures such as keeping your domestic flock away from wild birds and keeping your flock in a protected area like a coop or chicken tractor. It is also recommended to be on the lookout for signs and symptoms of the avian bird flu.

If any of your birds have symptoms it is important that you contact the NC Department of Agriculture, your local veterinarian, the state veterinarian or your local Extension Office immediately.

To learn more about Avian Bird Flu, including biosecurity measures you can take, and to stay up to date with the most recent updates please visit the NCSU Extension High Path Avian Bird Flu website.

Annual 4-H Fruit Plant Sale

How do you help children to become responsible adults? By planting seeds for them to be creative, independent, and compassionate. If you are not around children all the time, this can be a difficult task. However, 4-H creates experiences for children through clubs, summer programs, or school activities for these seeds of mastery, independence, and generosity to grow. This year 4-H members will be using the proceeds to help pay for 4-H Camp. You can help Clay County 4-H by purchasing a fruit plant through the N.C. Cooperative Extension of Clay County Annual 4-H Fruit Plant Sale from February 1 until March 11, 2022. This year there are a variety of plants being sold such as apple, pear, peach, blueberry, blackberry, elderberry, and strawberry.

To learn more about how to order plants and to access the order form please click here.

Upcoming Pesticide Education Classes

The Cherokee County Extension Office is hosting Pesticide Education classes in Murphy on May 9 and August 15.

Two Hours of “V” training and two hours of “X” training will be offered at the N.C. Cooperative Extension Meeting Room at 699 Connahetta Street in Murphy, NC May 9 and August 15. The V training will be from 10 a.m.–12 p.m. and X training will be from 1–3 p.m. each day. 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 1 p.m. for the two hours of credit. Preregistration is required through Eventbrite. Seating is limited each day to 20 participants and registration will end 5 days prior to the class.

Read more about the events here.

March is National Nutrition Month!

National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits.

This year's theme is "Celebrate a World of Flavors." Celebrating flavors from cultures around the world is a tasty way to nourish ourselves and appreciate our diversity. We are all unique with different bodies, goals, backgrounds and tastes! A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist can help you create healthy habits that celebrate your heritage and introduce you to new foods and flavors.

National Nutrition Month® 2022 Weekly Key Messaging:

Week one: Eat a variety of nutritious foods

· Include healthful foods from all food groups

· Learn how to read Nutrition Facts labels

· Incorporate your favorite cultural foods and traditions

Week two: See a Registered Dietitian (RDN)

· Ask your doctor for a referral

· Find a RDN that specializes in your unique needs

· Receive personalized nutrition information

Week three: Plan your meals and snacks

· Choose healthful recipes to make during the week

· Use a grocery list to shop for nutritious foods

· Make healthful food and drink choices away from home

Week four: Create tasty foods at home

· Learn cooking and meal preparation skills

· Try new flavors and foods from around the world

· Enjoy your meals with friends or family when possible

Week five: Put it all together

· Eat a variety of foods

· See a RDN

· Plan your meals and snacks

· Creat tasty foods at home

The NC Cooperative Extension’s Family and Consumer Science Program offers a variety of nutrition and wellness programs for the community. Please contact Kim Terrell, RDN, our Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, at 828-389-6305 for more information.

https://clay.ces.ncsu.edu/categories/health-nutrition/

To Prune or Not to Prune in March:

What do we do with our plants after the freeze? You've likely heard the answer a dozen times, but it's the only answer to give. It depends on the plant. Many fruit trees benefit from dormant season pruning. With other plants, like summer flowering ornamentals, it is best to leave them be right now. With spring flowering ornamentals, it's best to wait until after they flower.

Freeze damage may appear immediately in plants or show up weeks ( even months) later. When a freeze does impact us, many are left wondering if our plants can be salvaged. If they are pruned, it creates a fresh injury that could be damaged by another freeze. We've heard the phrase, "learn to like ugly," but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It isn't ugly if we know that it's giving shelter to critters that may need it.

This is a situation that forces us all to wait and see. Numerous variables come into play, like temperature, location of planting, moisture at freeze, mulch or protection taken, and general hardiness. Plants may appear dead, but come back from the ground.Woody plants are best left until they show new growth, then everything above can be pruned. What you do now is remove very soft or mushy leaves to reduce risk of disease. Use the scratch test to see if there is live wood under the bark. Scratch or cut a small piece away from the branch. If it is green or white, it is alive. Brown indicates dead wood. When the risk of frost is over, let the cleanup begin!

To learn more about pruning please visit these resources:

NCSU Training and Pruning Fruit Tree Guide

Pruning Calendar

NCSU Pruning Guide