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2020 South Carolina Dairy Youth Heifer Project Bred Heifer Sale

The South Carolina Dairy Youth Heifer Project, a Clemson University Youth Livestock program initiative, gives any active 4-H or FFA member, age 5-17, the opportunity to raise and show a registered dairy heifer. During this 18-month project, participants learn how to care for, manage, train, and show their heifer while exploring the world of dairy cattle. The goal of the project is for youth to gain knowledge about the dairy industry and learn how to responsibly care for a dairy animal and, in the end, have a well-grown, bred dairy heifer. The project concludes with the sale of the heifers at the South Carolina State Fair in October each year. Participants show their heifer one last time during the dairy cattle show, and then all heifers are sold in the Bred Heifer Sale.

2020 brought many challenges to the South Carolina Dairy Youth Heifer Project Bred Heifer Sale. With the cancellation of the 2020 South Carolina State Fair and pandemic restrictions the decision was made to move the sale to a virtual format. The Heifer Project committee, volunteers, participants, and supporters took it all in stride and made the 2020 Sale a huge success. With the new sale format, the catalog and pedigree pages were given a new look and youth were encouraged to help promote the sale and their individual heifers. Pedigrees where made available to previous and potential buyers along with pictures and videos of the available heifers.
After weeks of preparation, the sale was held on October 6, 2020 with 24 registered dairy heifers sold at an average of $1,450 each. Over 150 potential buyers, committee members, and participants and their families logged in to view and bid. With the online format, there were 4 first time buyers and over a dozen additional first-time potential buyers. The success of the sale was due to the months of hard work these youth put into raising and caring for these heifers and the dairymen who placed heifers in the project, giving these youth the opportunity to shine. Even with the restrictions this passed year, these youth continued to work with these heifers and, in the end provided an outstanding group of heifers for potential buyers, proving why the SC Dairy Youth Heifer Project is one of the oldest and best of its kind.

Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.

Agronomic Crop Activities

Row crop producer needs were handled through the summer as usual, mainly through farm visits and one-on-one trainings. Producer trainings for paraquat and dicamba herbicides, which were required by the EPA, were handled mainly in small group in-person formats with some virtual platforms utilized where applicable. In-season farm visits to address crop troubleshooting continued as always. Upcoming trainings and producer meetings are being scheduled primarily through virtual platforms.
Sample submissions to the Agricultural Service Laboratory have continued through the Extension Office utilizing by appointment drop off and on-farm pick up.

NEWBERRY COUNTY 4-H – NEWSLETTER

While restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the general routine of Newberry County 4-H and forced many of our programs towards a new format, we managed to reach 63 local youth through our multi-county virtual summer camps. Virtual goes against the very nature of 4-H, which prides itself on years of hands-on learning with the help of volunteers. But virtual allowed both youth and agents to learn and practice skills using technology rather than face-to-face meetings.

Four summer camps were offered to Newberry County in partnership with Saluda, Aiken, and Edgefield counties. These camps were offered via Google Classroom. Each day during the week of camp, participants were granted access to that day’s activities. These activities included videos, recipes, science lessons, read-alongs, service projects, virtual tours, and trivia. The first camp focused on the Fair, highlighting livestock projects, fair food, rides, and exhibits your might see at the State Fair. The next camp took us camping across America to experience the Statue of Liberty, Washington DC, and ending just in time for July 4th fireworks. Lessons included solar oven smores, coin rubbings, paddlewheel boats, fireworks in a jar, pinwheels, sugar drink alternatives, and straw towers, each related to a stop on our trip. We followed Camp America with a US Road Trip via Hwy 4-H which allowed participants to experience two National Parks each day during the week of camp. Stops included the Dry Tortugas, the Everglades, Mammoth Cave, the Gateway Arch, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Redwoods, the Grand Canyon, Kenai Fjords, and Hawai’i Volcanoes National Parks. We ended the summer with an International Culinary Tour that took youth across the world, virtually, exposing them to cultures and foods from places they may not otherwise get to go.

While things may have looked different, we feel that virtual opportunities now have a place in what would normally be all hands on and face to face. We are proud to have stepped out of the box to continue to make the best better.

FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES AGENT EXPANDS IMPACT DURING COVID-19
Jeff Fellers has adapted his programming to the COVID-19 situation. In addition to Spartanburg, Fellers also covers Newberry, Union, Cherokee, York, Chester, and Lancaster counties. Fellers has helped 316 people via phone calls, emails, and site visits, impacting 3,907 acres for forest and pond management. Fellers has produced 50 videos, housed on the Union County Facebook Page, reaching a total of 57,704 people as of the time of this article, with an average of 2,219 people per video. Fellers has also conducted webinars, providing educational outreach to nearly 60 participants (See list below for details).
• May 22, 2020 – Wildlife Food Plot 101 – 8 Participants
• August 25, 2020 – Virtual Forestry Association Meeting – Fall Food plots – 50+ participants
• October 27, 2020 – Virtual Forestry Association meeting – Privet Control – 50+ participants

My workload during this past year has increased substantially compared with 21 other years of service.  I will attempt to share the high points of what I was able to accomplish during this time.

One of the major projects I worked on this year was to work on a grant that was funded through the SC Peach Council entitled “Evaluate Effectiveness of UV/Sun Protectants Use on Peaches.”  This was a major amount of work in and of itself.  Bacterial Spot was found in many of our late peach varieties across the entire upstate peach growing region in 2019.  We had significant problems in Jersey Queen, Flameprince, BigRed, Ohenry, September Sun and September Sweet.  In some cases, entire blocks of peaches could not be sold because of this problem.  There were varying degrees of damage even on the same variety on different farms.  One of the interesting findings is that on all farms the disease was only found on the portions of the peaches receiving direct sunlight.  These were the furthest fruit from the centers of the tree on the outer reaches.  This would have been the same fruit to receive the most amount of bactericides and the highest amount of drying conditions from wind.  Bacterial problems normally prefer longer amounts of wetness for infection to occur.  This has led me to believe that there is another factor that is not currently being evaluated by other researchers.  The ultraviolet portion of the sunlight can and does cause damage to plants as well as to people.  There is no doubt that the sun and or related heat is causing this damage.  What we don’t know is the efficacy of the products sold specifically for this purpose or if the base components of these products mainly Calcium can achieve the same result at a lower cost.  I tested two of the commercially available products sold for the sole purpose of preventing sun damage to peach (SunShield ‘organic/OMRI product and Reflections (Miller Chemical Co.).  Both are sold and can be bought commercially for sunscald.  I tested these products against two readily available powdered generic products that are not directly labeled for being used in this way.  Both other two products are legally allowed to be used in the production of peaches.  They just aren’t specifically labeled for helping you with sunscalding issues.  The reason for testing these two products was to provide a cost saving alternative in that these products will need to be used many times in order to adequately protect the fruit.  One of those products is Diamond K gypsum.  It is an easily dissolvable form of calcium and the other is just hydrated lime.  Hydrated lime was used throughout the entire production of peaches in the 1940’s and can surprisingly still be used and can help with other issues also.  There were 4 treatments (Sunshield, Reflections, DiamondK Gypsum, and hydrated lime) tested and a control.  I had at least 10 trees per treatment and 50 trees per replication.  I had 3 full replications for a total of 150 trees tested.  Sprays began at shuck off and continued till harvest.  Postharvest attributes were assessed as well as the percentage of peaches found with any bacterial spot as compared to those free of the disease.  Also, attention was given to the portion of the fruit where the disease is found and the relative percentage of the fruit that has been damaged.  Preliminary results were taken soon after first symptoms of the disease arrived. The results are below.

This information was statistically analyzed by Dr. Guido Schnabel.  orange A 3.3303656, yellow A 3.1340126, white B 2.4020437, pink B 2.3990123, blue B 2.3594686.  The control and sunshield (orange and yellow) had significantly more disease than the other three treatments.  So hydrated lime, reflection, and calcium had some effect (but still lots of disease).  This early result gave reason to continue in full force.  All treatments were applied every two weeks all the way through the summer as planned.  A force of summer interns from Clemson university and Musser Farm workers were critical in the final assessment at the end of August.  The fruit and leaf disease portions of this disease had progressed significantly.  A virus Prunus Necrotic Ringspot Virus (PNRSV) was found in these trees and it was learned that it could be making the trees more susceptible to the bacterial disease.  Further work in this regard is planned by Clemson specialists.  We were able to finish all the data collection, but the final analysis and report has not been completed.  We are also waiting on leaf and fruit samples to be analyzed by Dr. Juan Carlos Melgar.

I was also able to test out a new botanical omri (organically) approved botanical fungicide for use on peach for blossom blight.  I was able to perform two tests of this product on farm to see its effectiveness. I was able to test it at Glory Farms in York County, SC on Downy Mildew of several leafy greens and this was under a protective structure. I was also able to test it on Blossom blight of peach at peach farm near Chesnee, SC. Neither test was randomized. I will summarize my findings separately.  Glory Farms is an organic farm and had a problem in their spinach greens but upon investigating it was downy mildew and the disease was widely spread throughout multiple greens varieties and species and throughout the entire protected house. The disease was progressing rapidly. There weren’t many options for her organically and I wasn’t sure what I was going to recommend.  I remembered that I had the new product you had told me of EcoSwing but I had not considered it because my plans were to use it for peach.  After speaking with the company representatives, it was labeled and worth giving it a try even though this was more of a “rescue” kind of situation at that point.  On March 6, 2020 I sprayed the product myself on 4 rows of greens.  There were 2 rows of spinach 1 ½ rows of Arugula, and ½ row of Mustard. I mixed the product at a rate of 1 fl.oz./gallon of water and sprayed each 40-foot row with 1 gallon of product. In the worst areas on each row I made sure to leave a small 3-foot area of row unsprayed to be able to see the difference between sprayed and unsprayed easily. I had the grower inspect the plants for the next two days after application and there was no foliar damage from applying the product even though I had applied during the hottest part of the day. After 2 weeks, I returned to assess the results. I found that product was able to control this disease. My controls were destroyed with very few plants remaining in those entire blocks, but my treated areas were fully intact albeit the disease was not completely eradicated. I should have had actual stand counts before and after to better show this more accurately, but I only did estimates of % of full stand.  Spinach before treatment was estimated at 75% of a stand and 2 weeks later still retained 75% of a stand or possibly slightly higher. The Arugula and the mustard were in similar situations but started with slightly higher stands 85% and finishing with 85%. The untreated controls for spinach started with the 75% but ended up with less than 10% as did the arugula and mustard went from 85% down to less than 10% of a stand 2 weeks after application.

I also tested EcoSwing in the bloom of CaroKing variety peaches. The grower in this case sprayed twice with product during bloom.  I evaluated the bloom by taking bloom counts between the control and the treated row.  Unfortunately, the disease pressure was very low and, unknown to me at the time, I did not have a true untreated control. I had trees that had EcoSwing being compared to trees that had Bravo applied at the same interval. On each branch I just looked at the number of surviving blooms/fruits versus number total number of flowers present to try and compare. I was not able to find anything that I knew for sure was blossom blight, so this was an attempt to see if there were any differences between the two treatments. There were none.  The Bravo treated trees and the EcoSwing trees both had nearly identical numbers of surviving flower/fruit. Cold damage had also hurt this crop as well. It is a little more bud tender than many. Assessment was done on March 20th. Picture 1 shows one of the shoots I would take data on counting number of live flowers/fruits to total number of flowers/fruits per shoot.  I still have some product left over that was not used. Hopefully, this coming year I will have more time to plan a small protocol for evaluating it on peach or possibly strawberry.  I am thankful I now know more about this product and what it can do.

We found no significant differences between treatments even though there appeared to be a higher fruit load on the AKX-835 treatment.  The grower estimated only ½ bu per tree in the AKX-234 and 2 ½ bu per tree in the AKX-835 and the control treatment.  The control treatment was badly selected as it was an outside row receiving more sunlight which was exaggerated because the trees were planted in east to west orientation.  The control trees also bloomed about 1 week later than the rest of the block of trees.  I am glad I did this work with the assistance of the grower.  Further examination is planned for next year.

Planted on farm muscadine trial with novel true seedless plants developed from Gardens Alive Nursery and some plants from the breeding program at the University of Georgia, Dr. Patrick Conner’s program on a large muscadine farm near Inman, SC.  The purpose of establishing this test site was to expose the significantly sized grower some other options that are available to him.  I also plan on doing demonstrations on this site in the future and including other novel varieties that I receive from breeding programs that show promise.  This year’s work amounted to planting and multiple visits to prune, tie/train, fertilize and spray if needed to take care of these plants.  Many of these plants have reached the top wire and are now developing the cordons.  Some fruit data will be available next year.  Also, with the help of a master gardener volunteer we were able to take diameter measurements at planting.  I will measure them again this winter to get a measure of how much each of them grew this year.  Bloom, fruit yield and fruit quality will all be measured next year.

Insect monitoring paid off in assisting all the peach growers in the Chesnee area with critical information on whether their sprays were controlling a fruit worm that had done significant damage in previous years.  With the information we were able to provide we were able to save growers and the environment from ineffective sprays.  We also helped make recommendations as to rotations of insecticides that would be helpful for controlling this pest.

I remained vigilant this year on assisting growers with there on farm needs related to insect and disease problems as well as weed control problems and the like.   I am currently assisting many growers with planting of strawberry plants.  We have 1 new grower in the area and many others who have never used the type of plant they are having to use this year directly because of problems with getting strawberry plants due to COVID outbreaks in the strawberry plant growing regions.  It was a very different year but a very successful year for many of the farms.  Thank you so much for your continued support of Clemson Extension Service!

As the administrative assistant, Amy Mallette has been the Cherokee County Extension Office’s voice and face for nearly six years. The transition to remote work was seamless, as many of her duties are performed online and through cloud software. Cherokee County was fortunate to have already updated our phone answering system to include staff’s personal cellphones, allowing us to be in constant contact with our clients. Although walk-ins were limited, all other office operations such as assisting clients over the phone, processing samples, or finance reconciliation were still full-steam ahead. The shift to virtual meetings opened the door to many professional development opportunities. Amy virtually attended no less than 20 workshops to assist the people of Cherokee County better. During one workshop, she learned how to accept debit and credit transactions safely. Our office is now equipped with a Clover machine and can now receive payment over the phone with debit or credit cards. The addition of the collection box in the Administrative Building entrance has made it much easier to submit samples through our office.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can reach Amy by phone (864)-489-3141 ext 0 during business hours, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, or email: rmallet@clemson.edu.

The Laurens County Extension Office is still closed to the public at this time to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.  However, to better serve you we have installed a soil sample drop box on the front porch of the Laurens Extension Office.  This is to allow non-contact sample drop off to protect everyone from the COVID-19 spread.

We are currently accepting the following sample types in the box:

Soil Samples
Hay Samples
Forage Samples
Compost Samples

These are all non-time-sensitive samples – if they stay in the box a day or two, there will be no change in the samples.  PLEASE DO NOT PLACE PAYMENT IN THE BOX!  We have a holder on the left of the box with self-addressed envelopes.  Take one and mail your check to us made out to “Clemson University” for the samples you drop off.  We do not want to leave payment in the box for security reasons.

We are NOT accepting the following sample types in the box, since they are time-sensitive and will degrade quickly.  You should mail these samples directly to the Clemson Ag Service Lab or Clemson’s Plant Problem Clinic:

Manure Samples (mail to the Ag Service Lab)
Weed ID Samples (mail to the Plant Problem Clinic)
Insect ID Samples (mail to the Plant Problem Clinic)
Nematode Samples (mail to the Plant Problem Clinic)
Leaf Tissue Samples (mail to the Ag Service Lab)

(We have forms and instructions in the green tote beside the drop box for time-sensitive samples that should be mailed directly to the Ag Service Lab or the Plant Problem Clinic, including the address for the Lab and the Clinic for each type of sample.)

When you drop off your soil or forage samples, please include the completed sample form with your samples.  We have blank forms in the green tote beside the soil sample drop box; you may prefer to print them out at home before you come.  If you do, the links to the forms are:

Soil Sample Form:
https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/ag-srvc-lab/soil-testing/soil.pdf
(Your soil code should always be “4”)

Crop Codes to tell us what you are growing:
https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/ag-srvc-lab/soil-testing/crop-codes.html

Forage Sample Form:
https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/ag-srvc-lab/feed-forage/feed.pdf

You can also just go to https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/ag-srvc-lab/index.html , click on “Soil Testing” or “Feed and Forage” on the left side, then click on the form on the right side of the next page.

Costs – Standard soil samples are still $6.00 each.  If you would like the results mailed to you instead of emailed, add $1.00 to the entire order (not $1.00 per sample).  Standard forage samples (test for ADF, NDF, Crude Protein) are still $16.00 each, and also add $1.00 if you prefer it to be mailed.  If you would like to add other items to be tested in a sample, please add the listed price beside the additional items.

If we are in the office when you bring your soil samples, we can accept your check then in a non-contact way.  Knock on the door, and when we come to the door put your check for payment in the black mailbox.  We will walk out and retrieve both samples and check when you leave to keep the transaction non-contact.  DO NOT leave the payment in the mail box if we are not there – please mail it in to us instead.  This is for your protection – we do not want your payment to mistakenly be picked up by a mail carrier.  (Bryan Smith is in the office most days, but please call first to confirm we will be in the office if you need to leave your check while there.)

If you have questions on filling out the form, or simply need pricing help, please call Bryan Smith at 864-705-1101 (office direct line) or email wsmth@clemson.edu.

We hope to be able to take credit card payment for samples over the phone later this year.  At this time, though, payment can only be made by check.

Thank you for your continued support.  If you have a Facebook account you may want to “like” our Facebook pages.  We post opportunities, meeting announcements, and ideas there throughout the year:

Laurens County Extension Office:
https://www.facebook.com/LaurensCountyClemsonExtensionService

Laurens County 4-H Program:
https://www.facebook.com/4Hlaurenscounty

Bryan Smith, County Coordinator
wsmth@clemson.edu
864-705-1101

During the pandemic, I have remained in contact with my forestry and wildlife clients in McCormick by phone, text, and email. I answered a wide array of questions including, bark falling off white oaks, dying pine trees with beetle issues, and identifying yellowstriped oak worms. I was able to assist a client in enrolling his timberland property into the SC Tree Farm program. I assisted a landowner with advice on managing quail on his property.  There were some traditional forest management questions too. Particularly on the proper time to thin pine stands and how to get timber thinned or final harvested.

I sent several virtual program announcements to my client list. The announcements included program topics on invasive plants, invasive insects, pesticide credit classes, and timber tax issues. One directed specifically to women was the Women Owning Woodlands program.

I have remained in contact with the McCormick County Forestry Association Board members concerning their quarterly meetings and their plans for these meetings. The current Board members were asked and agreed to remain in place moving forward to 2021 to provide continuity in leadership for the Association. I also worked with a group of other Agents to provide Virtual Association programs to Association members. We presented programs on Fall Wildlife Food Plots and Controlling Privet in Your Woodlands. We had over 100 participants at both and plan to continue with more of these meetings.

I assisted with installing a series of demonstration plots on the John de la Howe school property. Plots on chemically controlling kudzu in timberland and controlling understory competition in timber stands were set up and treated. The goal was to have in-person tours for timberland owners in the surrounding area showcasing the treatments’ results. However, issues around the COVID virus prevented those in-person programs from taking place. We are currently working on a virtual program to discussing the results.

For more information on Forestry and Natural Resource related issues and programs, please contact Tom Brant by email at jbrant@clemson.edu or phone at 864-465-5030.

View across several kudzu control demo plots.    Understory vegetation being affected by treatment in demo plot