Month: February 2023

Drew Jeffers
Horticulture and Natural Resource Agent

The South Carolina Certified Landscape Professional Program (SCCLP) is an online, self-paced certification program that provides high-level horticultural education and training to green industry professionals and operators. The program launched in 2020 and has offered spring and fall courses for the last three years. Over 385 professionals have been certified and represent nearly every county in the state. Starting in April of 2023, the course will go fully on-demand to better serve the professionals’ needs.

The course has also been incorporated into the Spartanburg Community College’s Horticulture Capstone course, providing a model for other colleges to integrate the SCCLP into their horticulture programs. We are also in the process of bringing the program to high school classrooms. The goal of the high-school integration is to grow the green industry’s shrinking workforce pool. Clemson Extension also partnered with the SC Department of Corrections, where 37 soon-to-be-released inmates were certified and were given trade skills to renter the workforce. The program will continue if funding is available to further add to the workforce pool.

The significant impact of this program has been its ability to reach a large audience relatively quickly. Many folks have asked if the state requires the certification, but we tell them we hope it will become so ubiquitous that it doesn’t need to be a requirement by law but by demand by the consumer and hiring managers.

Andy Rollins
Upstate Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Agent

Currently, I’m holding all of my yearly production meetings.  At my peach meeting, we had 81 in attendance, with 61 different farms represented.

Along with another agent, we hosted the first meeting of the SC Small Fruit Growers Association.  I assisted Bob Hall in helping to establish the group with representation from across the state.   The production meeting featured a blueberry specialist from out of state, with 50 growers in attendance.

The strawberry production meeting is coming up at the end of February, and the vegetable meeting will be in March.

I will be working on a bloom-thinning product again this year for an on-farm demonstration and I also plan to showcase my on-farm grape work this fall.

Melissa Bales, Health Extension Agent

Growing Health is entering year 2! Growing Health is a program that was developed by the Greenville County Rural Health and Urban Horticulture Agents to help beginner gardeners in Greenville learn to grow their own vegetables and incorporate these vegetables into a healthy diet. In order to help beginner gardeners, learn about vegetables that can be grown throughout the year, Growing Health is presented in accordance to growing seasons – spring, summer, and fall. Those who participate in the program receive information and growing materials to take home.

We held three programs in correlation with the growing seasons in 2022. Six individuals attended all three program dates and there has already been significant interest in the program for 2023. The 2023 Growing Health program will continue to emphasize growing your own food and how it impacts your health but will also offer an opportunity to showcase some of the work that other Agents are doing in Greenville County and how their expertise can link with gardening and health.

Our collaboration with the Greenville State Farmers Market has allowed the program to be hosted at a lower cost and has allowed us to begin thinking about opportunities for the growth of the program. This year, we will offer programs on April 1^st, June 17^th, and August 26^th from 11am-12pm at the Greenville State Farmers Market. Interested individuals can sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/327485827927 or contact Melissa Bales at mbales@clemson.edu or 864-365-0635.

Ellie Lane, Statewide Rural Health and Nutrition Extension Agent

The Rural Health and Nutrition Team’s free health programs are expanding! We have listened to your feedback and are currently developing a program designed to keep you strong and healthy for life. Practical Strength will launch Summer 2023! The goal of the Practical Strength program is to emphasize sustainable, functional fitness. We will help you develop the strength to do whatever you want throughout life safely and efficiently. The program will be appropriate for all ages and mobility levels and will be hosted weekly through live, online classes. Certified fitness professionals will lead participants through a strength training workout appropriate for all bodies. Recordings will be available for those that cannot make the lives classes and for participants that want to practice their favorite sessions again.

Why is strength training important? We need our muscles in any activity we do throughout the day – whether it is walking, getting out of a chair, grocery shopping, enjoying your favorite hobby, or chasing the grandkids. For us to keep those muscles as strong as possible, we need to challenge them on a regular basis. We do this through strength training. We need at least two days per week of strength training with enough resistance to challenge our muscles to stay healthy lifelong. Benefits of strength training include preserving muscle mass we lose as we age, strengthening bones to prevent injury and osteoporosis, reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, improving quality of sleep, increasing energy, lowering stress levels, and boosting confidence, among many others.

We know that strength training can seem intimidating – it is possible that by training your body with improper form or pushing your limits too quickly, you could experience injury or burnout. Practical Strength will set you up for success in reaching your fitness goals by demonstrating proper form and offering modifications to meet your body where it is each week. We will keep you at an appropriate pace for sustainable muscle building and emphasize consistency in healthy behaviors over intensity.

Join us this summer to stay accountable towards your health goals and keep your body functioning smoothly and lifelong!  

Over the last few years, Health Extension for Diabetes has grown. We are so excited to have in-person classes offered in additional counties. As of October 2022, Health Extension for Diabetes is now offered in person in Laurens County. Our first cohort in the county was offered at the Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy and we are so excited to work with them as we bring Health Extension for Diabetes to Laurens. We will begin our second in-person cohort for Laurens County on February 20^th at the Clinton Family YMCA. We are so excited to continue to expand our reach for this program and help as many individuals with diabetes as we can.

Melissa Bales, Health Extension Agent

Representatives from the Rural Health and Nutrition (RHN) Team, including the Greenville County RHN agent, and individuals from the horticulture and 4H teams, attended the Extension Appalachian Region Health Summit in Roanoke, Virginia in November. The summit was an opportunity to showcase what the Clemson RHN team is doing to address the health of South Carolinians as well as learn more about the different health and family consumer sciences teams from Extension services across the Appalachian region.  The summit opened up opportunities for additional collaboration between Extension services for how we can best serve our stakeholders.

Melissa Bales, Health Extension Agent

Melissa Bales, Rural Health and Nutrition Extension Agent 

Know Diabetes by Heart (KDBH) and Health Extension for Diabetes (HED) offer classes in English and Spanish. Eight percent of individuals living in Greenville County speak Spanish. Through the delivery of HED and KDBH in English, we identified a need for these programs in Spanish. Statewide Rural Health and Nutrition agent, Camden Bryan, and Greenville Rural Health and Nutrition agent, Melissa Bales, collaborated with program team leaders to translate and culturally adapt the two programs for the Spanish-speaking population.

HED had its first Spanish cohorts in 2022 and is starting additional cohorts in February of this year. KDBH had its first Spanish groups in early 2022 and will offer many program dates in 2023. The first KDBH offered in English and Spanish for Greenville County was offered in January. For more information about KDBH and HED in Spanish, contact Camden Bryan at cnpatse@clemson.edu or 843-504-0299.

There are five online cohorts for English HED enrolling in February for Greenville County and one in-person English HED enrolling in February for Laurens County. KDBH was offered in both languages in January both in-person and online. For more information about KDBH and HED in English, contact Melissa Bales at mbales@clemson.edu or 864-365-0635.

Mary Vargo, Horticulture Agent

Start Your Own Vegetable and Flower Seeds This Year

Want to learn how to start your own vegetable and flower seeds this year? Join Greenville County Horticulture Agent Mary Vargo and the Greenville Master Gardeners for a seed-starting workshop on February 25, 2023, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM at the Greenville State Farmers Market. Participants will receive a seed starting tray with a humidity dome and learn new techniques and methods to start their own seeds at home successfully. There will be lots of show and tell, as well as vegetable and flower seeds to share! The cost is 12.00, and registration is required for this event. Contact Mary Vargo with any questions: mavargo@clemson.edu

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/tsu8ysav

Carolina Yards Online Course

Registration is now open for the Carolina Yards Online Course.

This asynchronous online class will provide information and techniques to help you create and maintain a more environmentally friendly landscape. Participants are encouraged to complete at least 18 action items from the Carolina Yards Scorecard in order to receive Carolina Yard Certification although yard certification is not mandatory. The course is organized into modules. Each of the 12 content modules contains five parts: Action Guide, Presentation(s), Resources, Discussion, and Measure Up. Modules must be completed in chronological order.

An optional field day will be offered the week of May 8 in the Columbia area. This is an un-graded course. A digital Certificate of Completion will be issued for completing all coursework. A digital badge will be issued for completion of coursework and a minimum of 80% on each module’s Measure Up.

Stay in the Loop

Be on the lookout for additional local gardening programs this spring and summer on various topics taught by Horticulture Agent Mary Vargo and the Greenville County Master Gardeners. Use the Clemson Extension Event Calendar to stay in the loop!

Master Gardener Course Postponed

The Greenville County Master Gardener Course was postponed due to difficulty securing a new location to host the class and is now slated to begin in the fall of 2023.  Complete this form, and we will let you know when pre-registration is available.

Travis Mitchell
Livestock and Forages Agent for Newberry & Saluda Counties
Director for The South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association

The spring season is in full swing across the Carolina’s. It is a joy and relief to see pastures greening up and cattle grazing. Spring always brings optimism which was evident in the “beef cattle market outlook” presentation Dr. Andrew Griffith gave at the South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association Annual Meeting. Cattle producers from across the state met at the T. Ed Garrison Cattle Complex on February 3rd for this event. Dr. Griffith, an Extension Livestock Economist with the University of Tennessee, presented to the group a favorable market outlook report indicating higher cattle prices for the next two years. Producers also enjoyed a presentation from State veterinarian Dr. Michael Neault. Dr. Neault presented on the Asia Longhorn Tick, educating producers regarding control measures and identification strategies. The meeting concluded with a joint awards banquet with the Clemson Bull Test.

Be on the lookout in next month’s issue of the Carolina Cattle Connection for photos and awards of excellence winners. I want to thank each of our Prime, Choice, and Select members for putting on an outstanding trade show and for their financial support in making the 2023 Annual Meeting a huge success.

Working Together to Offer Community Resources

The Fairfield County Clemson Extension Service advisory council met on January 12, 2023 to share available resources and discuss ideas for future collaboration.  Eight community members were in attendance representing Fairfield Behavioral Health Services, Love Never Fails, Fairfield Forward, Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce, Fairfield County School District, Fairfield County Council on Aging, and SLED. We thank these participants for sharing their perspective both as individuals and on behalf of their organizations.

Fairfield is covered by seven specialized extension agents: Agribusiness, Food Systems and Safety, Forestry and Wildlife, Livestock and Forages, Urban Horticulture and Specialty Crops, Water Resources, and 4-H. During the meeting, these agents highlighted programs offered both virtually and in-person including “Be Well Informed” (testing well water for quality and maintenance) and “Know Diabetes by Heart” (health education program). 

Visit the Cooperative Extension Service website and learn more about the Agents who serve Fairfield County. You can find more information about their upcoming events on the Extension Calendar and register. Residents of Fairfield can also access statewide programs from the Home and Garden Information Center and Rural Health team.

The advisory council’s main collaborative project suggestion was implementing more community gardens for Fairfield residents. These gardens could serve as a hosting site for programming including beginner and advanced gardening skills, student engagement with 4-H, as well as food storage and canning workshops. Partnership opportunities with groups such as the Fairfield Farmers and Artisans’ Market, Fairfield Forward, and the Fairfield Career and Technology Center’s horticulture class could also benefit from this community project.

Have suggestions for improvement or future collaborations with the Fairfield community? Clemson Extension welcomes your feedback, so please fill out our anonymous survey to meet the needs of Fairfield County utilizing Clemson Extension’s resources. To get involved with future advisory council meetings and share ideas or resources, contact Fairfield County’s Clemson Extension Service County Coordinator Stephanie Eidt: seidt@clemson.edu | 803-589-8977.  Thank you for your continued support!