Author: lholson

Adam Petty
Laurens County 4-H Youth Development Agent

On Saturday, January 14^th Laurens County 4-H hosted the 2023 SC 4-H Showcase at Clinton High School. The Showcase (formerly the Miss 4-H Pageant) is a unique event that is meant to highlight the achievements of 4-H’ers across the state. The goal of this long-running fundraising program is to assist contestants in developing confidence, building public speaking skills, and encouraging 4-H’ers to step out of their comfort zone to try something new. This year’s program included eleven contestants ranging in age from 7 to 18.

Our contestants competed in three onstage categories: business wear, 4-H project wear, and formal wear. In addition to these categories, our 4-H Teen and 4-H Queen contestants participated in an interview with the judges earlier in the day. This was a great opportunity for them to practice public speaking skills and gain self-confidence.

Members of the local community were chosen as judges:

Finica Floyd – Michelin Tire, Mountville

Peden Styles – Running G Farm and Arena and South Greenville Fair

Courtney Stonell – Keep Laurens County Beautiful

Matthew Brownlee with Allen Tate Realtors served as our Master of Ceremonies.

The winners of the 2023 SC 4-H Showcase were:

Little Miss Cloverbud – Eden Reece Lindsey

Little Miss Cloverleaf – Shelby Birkenstock

Miss 4-H Teen – Ellen Rose Shaw

Miss 4-H Queen – Mya Chapman

Mr. Adam Petty accepted the Laurens 4-H and Youth Development Agent position this fall and began working in Laurens on October 5, 2022.

Adam is excited to make connections in the community and to develop engaging programs to serve our youth. With a degree from Clemson, he has four years of experience in education, teaching middle and high school math in a private school. Most recently, he served as the school’s administrator in addition to his teaching responsibilities. Adam also operates a small vegetable farm in Union County with his wife, children, and their growing number of animals. He is active in his local community and church.

His goal is to make a positive impact on the youth in Laurens County and empower them to be outstanding citizens through the many programs, projects, and events offered through 4-H.

Adam can be reached by phone at 864-705-1102 or by email at akpetty@clemson.edu .

Reid Miller
Area Livestock & Forages Agent

Rainfall has been a big topic of conversation over the last year. Six months ago, we would have taken any drop we could get. Now, it’s a much different story. With all this rain and feeding hay comes mud….and lots of it. Too much mud can drastically affect cattle performance and pasture conditions. A study from the University of Nebraska gives us a range for loss of gain due to mud from 7% at dewclaw deep to 35% at belly deep with shin deep coming in at 14%. So how do we manage against this?

There is no silver bullet, but here are some tips to help you mitigate mud accumulation on your operation:

1. Choose your feeding areas wisely. Feed hay in pastures that are well drained (higher ground), and maybe a pasture that could use a fertility boost. Waste hay and manure can provide needed fertility for the upcoming growing season (mostly beneficial for summer grasses). Updated soil tests can help with proper feeding placement. This works best in a temporary situation where the animals are not there long enough to dismantle the soil structure. Some type of drag to help evenly distribute manure and hay can help as well.
2. Rotate between multiple feeding or sacrifice areas if possible. If one area begins to have an excess of mud, give it a rest, and use a different area for a while. Temporary fencing can help for those with electric fence.
3. Avoid feeding near streams, ponds, or other water sources to prevent contamination and added potential for a muddy situation. Also, while feeding on a slope or hill can assist with drainage, consider the effects of runoff.
4. For high traffic or heavy use areas such as dirt roads, feed bunks, water troughs, and hay storage, it may be worth installing either concrete or packed gravel. Your local NRCS office should have information about their EQIP programs that can help with these issues.

Bryan Smith
Area Extension Agent-Agricultural Engineer

We do not often see sub-20 degree weather in the Piedmont, but when we do many people immediately become concerned about pipes freezing in their home.  Several sources recommend allowing a faucet in the house to run continuously to help prevent freezing, with a pencil-lead-thick stream of water flowing from the faucet.

We measured the flow rate of this pencil-lead-thick stream of water flow in our Extension Office to see how much water would actually be used in this practice.  The stream filled a 12 ounce cup in 1.8 minutes.  There are 128 ounces in a gallon, so using this conversion we were able to calculate the flow rate from the faucet of approximately 3 gallons per hour.  Now let’s talk about homes using wells and homes using city or county water.

If a home has a standard well with a 40 gallon bladder tank, the actual “drawdown” amount (the amount of water that leaves the tank from the time the pump turns off until it turns on again) for the tank is about 13 gallons of water.  If the homeowner left one faucet running with a pencil-lead-thick water stream, the well pump will probably turn on once every 4.3 hours (with no other water use).  Typical pump run times to refill a pressure tank are in the 2 to 3 minute range, so the electricity use would be minimal.  Quite frankly the homeowner may want the pump to turn on a bit more often than every 4 hours.

If a home uses city or county water the concern will be about the increased water bill.  3 gallons per hour from one faucet translates into 72 gallons of water per day.  For comparison, a normal SC household uses about 120 to 150 gallons of water per day per person.  So a single running faucet may add 12% more water cost per day used for the home, which is very minimal since the intense cold front may only last two or three days.

Regardless of the home water source it will be fine to leave one or two faucets running during a sub-20 degree cold snap.  The moving water will help prevent freezing, and the amount of water or electricity used will certainly not break the bank.  Homeowners may find that allowing two faucets to flow in this manner will more adequately prevent pipes from freezing.

Jeff Fellers
Area Forestry & Wildlife Agent

In January, I always look forward to judging the 4-H Wildlife Food Plots that were planted by 4-H’ers in the fall of the year.  This year I visited Newberry, Laurens, and Saluda Counties to judge six different food plots.  The 4-H Wildlife Food Plot Project gives participants a bag of seed to plant a certain size food plot.  The participants then monitor that food plot through a specified time frame and complete a record book with their findings.  Many participants set up game cameras, bird houses, and blinds to monitor the wildlife that visit their plot.  They also monitor rainfall and document nutrients added to soil to help the pot grow.    If you know of youth between the ages of 5 and 19 that maybe interested in the 4-H Wildlife Food Plot Project have them contact their local 4-H Agent at Clemson Extension.

The Laurens Forest Landowners Association and the Newberry Forestry Association both hosted meetings in November of 2022.  The Laurens Forest Landowners Association meeting focused on vegetation management for the landowner, while the Newberry Forestry Association learned how to calculate and measure seedling survival on a newly planted stand.

Wood Magic Forest Fair is a program hosted by the South Carolina Forestry Commission.  This is a great program that teaches fifth graders from across the state about forestry.  This year I had the opportunity to present at the gifts stations during the Harbison Wood Magic Forest Fair.  For more information this program please visit: https://www.scfc.gov/education/wood-magic/.

October is always a busy time in Union, because the Clemson Extension Office is actively involved in the local fair.  We manage the livestock shows, home economics department, agronomy department and the poultry department.  On Thursday of the fair, we invite all the 5K classes throughout the county to visit the fair and to come learn about agriculture in Union County.  Through this field trip, the students get a tour through the barn and learn about crops, bees, horses, dairy cows, beef cows, pigs, and chickens.

Adam Petty
Laurens County 4-H Youth Development Agent

On March 23^rd, the Laurens County 4-H Program will host its annual Achievement Banquet at Hollow Oak Barn in Cross Hill. Youth, parents, volunteers, and community supporters are invited to gather for a meal and celebration of the accomplishments of our 4-H’ers in the previous 4-H year. Please contact Adam Petty at akpetty@clemson.edu or 864-705-1102 for further information. Tickets are available at https://laurenscountybanquet.eventbrite.com or at the Laurens County Extension Office. Tickets are $1 for 4-H’ers and $5 for general admission.

Jeff Fellers
Area Forestry & Wildlife Agent

Upcoming Events:

The New Year brings new educational opportunities in the field of forestry and natural resources for our area.  In 2023, the Newberry Forestry Association and Clemson Extension will host the 18^th biennial Forestry Focus Program.  Unfortunately, we had to cancel the 2021 program due to Covid.  This program is hosted every odd year and in 2023 the meeting will be held on Saturday March 4, 2023.   Topics covered this year will include, SC Landowner Issues, Hardwood Management, Local Market Impacts on Stumpage Prices, Wildlife Food Plots, and Herbicides in Pine Management.  The program runs from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm and will have pesticide credits and continuing forest education credits with the program.  Registration details can be found at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-newberry-forestry-focus-tickets-506426213437

The Laurens Forest Landowners Association will start their year off on February 28, 2023 with David Jenkins from the SC Forestry Commission speaking on insects and diseases.  We meet on the fourth Tuesday of the second month of each quarter (February, May, August, November).  If you are interested in joining the Laurens Forest Landowners Association please let me know.

The Newberry Forestry Association starts their New Year off on February 14, 2023 with Dr. Adam Kantrovich from Clemson Extension.  Dr. Kantrovich will be presenting on timber tax.  We meet on the second Tuesday of the second month of each quarter (February, May, August, November).  Bring your sweet heart on valentines day and come get a better understanding of timber taxes.

The Newberry Forestry Association also offers a $500 scholarship.  To be eligible to apply for the scholarship one must be a resident of Newberry County and/or a direct family member of a member of the Association.  The applicant must also be majoring in forestry or a natural resource based field.  For more information on the scholarship, please contact Jeff Fellers at fellers@clemson.edu.

Bryan Smith
Area Extension Agent-Agricultural Engineer

We have had quite a number of contacts in recent months asking how to sell local produce and edible goods from home.  These questions range from selling eggs to milk to any number of products.  Selling fresh produce to friends and family generally does not require a license, but packaged or perishable goods (like milk) do require registration.

The SC Cottage Food Law covers the registration and labeling requirements for these goods.  Clemson Extension provides a factsheet to help growers navigate through the registration and licensing needs:

https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/south-carolinas-home-based-food-production-law-cottage-food-law/

This factsheet helps growers start out on the right foot when marketing and selling their products.

The Mike Weatherford family, recipients of the Farm Family of the Year Award during the 2020 Spotlight on Agriculture.

Over 300 persons enjoyed the 2019 and 2020 Spotlight on Agriculture event.

The Laurens County Spotlight on Agriculture is an annual awards banquet held each year to honor the accomplishments of our local farmers and farm families.  The event will be held this year on March 10, 2022, in the First Presbyterian Church Family Life Center in Clinton, South Carolina.

We are very pleased to announce that Mr. Wayne Garber, Laurens County Cattleman, will be our speaker for this year’s Laurens County Spotlight on Agriculture.  Mr. Garber brings a level of humor to everyday farming activities that is very entertaining and will also provide some musical entertainment with his friend Jason Parson.

This event averages over 300 persons in attendance each year and is funded by sponsors of the event.   Tickets for the event are $10.00 each and are available at the Laurens Extension Office on 219 W Laurens Street in Laurens and from the Laurens Extension Advisory Committee members.

“Exhibitors showing at the Laurens County Youth Livestock Shows.”

Oh, how we missed our annual Youth Livestock Show!

The 2021 Laurens County Youth Livestock Show on October 2^nd & October 8^th-9^th was a major success. The dog and rabbit show were held at Laurens County 4-H’s Down on the Farm event at Squealin’ on the Square in Downtown Laurens. All other shows were held the following weekend at the Laurens County Exchange Building. Overall, we had 67 entries with 120 animals. All the exhibitors showed off their improvements and skill with their project animals during our dog, rabbit, beef, dairy, meat goat, and market lamb shows. Our judges were extremely impressed with the knowledge and poise each youth displayed when in the show ring. See below for our placings highlights and list of all our sponsors. Thank you to everyone that made this show possible – We could not have done it without you!