February 2023
Family & Consumer Sciences—-Joy Powell, Agent & County Director
We have moved into the Ag Center which is located in the Wayne County Industrial Park at 849 McCall Drive, Collinwood. This is going to be a wonderful facility for Agriculture, 4-H, and Family & Consumer Science programs. The Soil Conservation and NRCS offices are also located in the building. Stop by and visit us. We plan to have an Open House/Grand Opening later this spring. We will be sure to send out invitations when the date is selected.
The FCE 100% Recognition Day is planned for March 25th. It will be at the new Wayne County Ag Center at 11:00 am. The Clifton FCE ladies will be hosting and will be providing us with a craft for the day. We plan to have a potluck style lunch, so bring your favorite potluck item. The theme will be “Hats Off to FCE,” so be sure to were a hat to show off your FCE Spirit! I am asking each club bring a $10 item for door prizes. I am also asking each person to bring a canned food item. I’m participating in Tennessee’s Second Annual Food Waste Awareness Week and collecting food items for this cause. These items will then be given to a local food bank in Wayne County for distribution.
Agriculture & Natural Resources
We are now located in our new Ag Center building (849 McCall Dr., Collinwood). Stop by to visit or to register for any of the meetings listed below. For more information or to register for any of the meetings listed below, contact Anita at 722-3229 or by email at abutler1@utk.edu.
Master Beef Producer—We will offer the Tennessee Master Beef Producer Course on March 3 and March 4. The course will be held on Friday, March 3 beginning at 5:30 pm until 8 pm and all day on Saturday, March 4 beginning at 9:00 am and concluding around 3 pm. Pre-registration and payment of $100 course fee is required. Deadline to register for Master Beef is February 21.
BQA (Beef Quality Assurance) Training –We cannot offer BQA during the two day Master Beef Producer course due to time constraints; therefore we have scheduled a BQA training on February 16– 10 am or 1 pm.
Certified Private Applicator Recertification Training
All Private Applicator Cards will be expiring on June 30th, 2023. Due to new regulations set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA), an individual with valid private applicator certification must attend recertification training and take and pass (>70%) an exam. Also any crop producer who uses Dicamba products must also attend an annual Dicamba Training. To assist producers who are in need of these pesticide certifications, we have scheduled some upcoming meetings.
Thursday, February 16 Wayne Co. Extension Office
3 pm-4 pm Paraquat Training
4 pm-5 pm Dicamba Training
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Private Applicator Recertification Training
4-H Youth Development – Brenda Mills, UT Agent
The Western Region Horse Bowl & Hippology contest was held January 21, 2023 in Jackson. Wayne County had a team compete in both the Junior and Junior High divisions. The Jr. team placed 4th in the region and will be competing again in February in Knoxville! Jolie Makara placed 9th High Point Individual in the Jr. High division. Great Job to both teams!
The Horse Club will begin practicing for Horse Judging contest. Practices began on February 27th at 5:30 PM. Please join us.
4-H -Youth Development – Samantha Morrow, TSU Agent
It will be time for practices for 4-H Poultry Judging and 4-H Wildlife Judging to begin soon! Both contests are open to students in grades 4-12 and practices will begin in March. Poultry judging is perfect for students interested in learning about chickens and wildlife judging is all about the “critters” that students may find in their journeys outdoors.
Keep an eye out for information for about 4-H Camp in the coming months. There are multiple camps for 4-H members in 4-10 to attend during the summer!