March 2022 E-News

Welcome Christy Harrell!

Christy joins Cooperative Extension as the Administrative Assistant for the staff. Christy is a lifelong resident of the Glen Ayre community outside of Bakersville, under beautiful Roan Mountain. Previously, she has worked in nonprofits with diverse populations and, most recently, she worked with Workforce Development in Erwin, TN. Christy is very excited to be working in her hometown again, serving the citizens of Mitchell County.

She’s very active in her church, Little Rock Creek Baptist Church, where she serves as Women's Missionary Union president. Christy has a grown son who graduated from Appalachian State University and is employed as a chemist at Baxter Healthcare.

Order Your Small Fruit
Plants Today!

Mitchell County Cooperative Extension is now taking orders for the 2022 Small Fruit Plant Sale! This year’s sale includes: asparagus, blackberries, black and red raspberries, strawberries, grapes, and apple trees.

Download/print the order form, complete and return it to: N.C. Cooperative Extension, Mitchell County Center, PO Box 366, Bakersville, NC 28705. Be sure to include your check made payable to: Mitchell County Extension.

Orders/payment must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 18.

Empowering Youth and Families Program (EYFP)

Kick-Off Thursday, March 3

This 10-week program for the whole family helps participants build protective factors to keep families strong! Participants have dinner and then break into groups of caregivers and youth (ages 10-14). There will be childcare available for younger children. Spruce Pine Housing Authority (Community Building, Fairgrounds Street) serves as our host for each session.

For more information and to register, contact Niki Maness at 828.688.4811 or email Niki_Maness@ncsu.edu.

Tri-County 4-H Small Animal Program
Thursday, March 3 at 5:30pm

Children ages 5-18 who have an interest in raising rabbit or guinea pigs may be interested in this 4-H program. Youth learn about proper care and handling techniques as well as nutrition and health. The project culminates at the Avery County Fair in September. You must secure your own rabbit and guinea pigs.

For more information, join us at the 4-H Interest Meeting scheduled for 5:30pm, Thursday, March 3 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Spruce Pine.

Livestock Workshop - Fecal Egg Counting

This workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8th at 5:30 PM at the Mitchell County Cooperative Extension Center (10 S Mitchell St., Bakersville, NC). Participants will learn the process of fecal egg counting and its importance to animal health. Participants will have the opportunity to read and evaluate their own animal's samples also.

If participating, please bring one or more FRESH samples of animal feces in a sealed plastic baggie. The samples must be refrigerated from the time of retrieval to the time of reading.

To register for this workshop, please contact Michelle South at (828) 688-4811 or email mcsouth@ncsu.edu.

Upcoming Pesticide Classes

We’re pleased to announce some upcoming pesticide classes for those needing recertification. On Monday, March 28 there will be a V – Safety Recertification Class and on Monday, April 4 there will be a X – Pesticide Applicator License Recertification Class. Both classes will be held from 6-8pm at the Mitchell County Senior Center, 152 Ledger School Rd, Bakersville.

Please contact Shane Biddix at 828.688.4811 or email sabiddix@ncsu.edu to register!

Spotted Lanternfly

It's that time of year when homeowners begin to install landscape projects and introduce foreign construction and plant materials into the local environment. There is always a risk that one could unknowingly introduce an invasive disease, insect, or weed into the landscape. Although the USDA, NCDA, NC Cooperative Extension, and many other agencies monitor and try to prevent invasive species from entering our country and state, there is still a need for local citizens to monitor and report any strange disease, insect, or weed. This is due to the fact that these agencies are limited to covering only small areas and are low in numbers.

The latest threat to our state is the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF), an insect that arrived in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has spread to within 30 miles of the NC and VA border. There is a current SLF population in Carroll County Va., many people will be more familiar with the local town of Hillsville. Reports have circulated that a SLF egg mass was found in NC, but no population has been identified. These egg masses are key to halting the advancement of this insect. SLF will lay eggs on stones, wood, vehicles, and plants. Why? because SLF is a leafhopper and lacks long flight capability, therefore SLF is dependent on other forms of transportation to advance. The SLF egg mass which can be seen from early autumn until hatching out in April through May. Each mass may contain 30-50 eggs, the best treatment is to contact your local Extension agent for identification and then destroy the egg mass by scraping the mass off of the surface.

SLF is a piercing and sucking insect, basically it inserts a sharp mouthpart into the plant's tissues and sucks out the sap. This in turn stresses the plant which makes the plant susceptible to disease and other insects. Nymphs (Juvenile SLF) will feed on over 70 plant species, the greatest danger being to NC grapes, apples, and stone fruits. SLF nymphs will be black with white spots, red spots will appear later on in development. Once adulthood is reached SLF will prefer Ailanthus altissima-Tree of Heaven (TOH) as a host due to the plant's high sugar content which is crucial for egg development. SLF has issues in regards to digesting plant sap, the sugar content is often too high and SLF is forced to secrete these indigestible sugars "Honeydew" which in turn forms sooty mold. This mold is black and covers the plant's leaf surface thus reducing photosynthesis. Sooty mold also attracts stinging insects such as bees and wasps.

What are other concerns? Shipping of Fraser firs and nursery material, SLF does not feed on Fraser fir but will lay eggs within the tree's needle cover. The threat here in regards to shipping is in sending SLF to other states via Christmas tree shipments. Native forests are also in danger of SLF attacks. SLF feeds on maple, birch, and walnuts.

Please visit the Mitchell County Extension website (mitchell.ces.ncsu.edu) to learn more about this insect and/or contact Shane Biddix, Agriculture Agent for assistance. This familiarization and ability to identify SLF will aid in halting advancement and destruction of local industries.

4-H Cloverbuds at
Greenlee Primary School

Last month was a success for the 4-H Cloverbuds at Greenlee Primary! Youth learned about how to help in the kitchen, the life cycle of butterflies, and cooked their own personal cake. Also, they loved making themed snacks during the meetings.

Everyone is excited that this program has restarted and this month we plan to learn more about life cycle of chickens. Many second grade classrooms will be participating in the 4-H Embryology Program so there will be incubators in the classrooms. We are excited about our second session that starts this month!

Please stay tuned to learn about all the upcoming cool activities the children are doing. Pictured are students making their own cake and butterflies out of the snack provided by Ingles.