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Extension Notes

Dates set for Extension district conferences
Next year, N.C. Cooperative Extension will hold District Extension Conferences across the state, in lieu of an annual conference in Raleigh. All Extension employees -- county directors, agents, area agents, county-funded employees, grant-funded employees, program assistants, program associates, technicians and secretaries -- are to be involved. Campus specialists and other Extension employees at both N.C. State and N.C. A&T State universities should plan to attend the location that is most convenient for them.

These day-long conferences will include an administrative update, awards luncheon and district-specific discussions involving all employees. Dates and locations for district conferences are listed below:
March 17: South Central District, Moore County Center March 18: Southeast District, Sampson County Center March 29: Northeast District, Vernon James Center
March 30: North Central District, Wilson County Center March 31: Northwest District, Forsyth County Center
April 1: Southwest District, Iredell County Center
Aprl 2: West District, AB Tech, Enka

More detailed information regarding these meetings will be coming out in the next few months.

Blankenship named interim associate dean
Dr. Sylvia Blankenship, professor in N.C. State University's Horticultural Science Department, has been appointed interim associate dean for administration for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, effective Nov. 1. She fills the vacancy created when Dr. Katharine Perry was promoted to senior vice provost. Blankenship can be reached at 919.515.6213 and is located in 115 Patterson Hall.

Extension at Southern Christmas Show
Cooperative Extension will be visible at this year's Southern Christmas Show at Charlotte's Merchandize Mart, Nov. 13-23, with presentations by family and consumer education agents in the Cooking Theatre, and "4-H Celebrates the Season," the third annual 4-H talent show at the Christmas Show. The 4-H Talent Show, coordinated by Jeanette Schuszler, Caldwell County, will be held Nov. 14, 5-7 p.m.

Presentations by FCE agents in the Cooking Theatre will be: Nov. 14, 11 a.m., Glennie Daniels, Catawba County; Nov. 15, 11 a.m., Debbie Cox, Caldwell County; Nov. 17, 3 p.m., Lucille Carter, Iredell County; Nov. 19, 3 p.m., Melinda Houser, Lincoln County; Nov. 20, 11 a.m., Pam Outen, Cabarrus County, and Sally McNeill, Mecklenburg County.

Alleghany County offers choose-and-cut trees
Visitors to Alleghany County searching for the perfect Christmas tree may visit some Choose and Cut Tree Farms as early as Nov. 22. A dozen local tree farms are offering C&C opportunities this year. Other special activites include the Sparta Christmas Parade, Nov. 29, and an Arts and Crafts Showcase on Dec. 6 at the County Fairgrounds. Many tree farms offer special activities on these days as well. For more information on participating Choose and Cut Tree Farms, contact the Alleghany Chamber of Commerce (336.372.5473 or info@skybest-nc.com) or the Alleghany County's Cooperative Extension center (336.372.5597 or david_isner@ncsu.edu)

Specialty Crop School to be held in February
The 2004 Northern Piedmont Specialty Crops School will be held on Feb. 27, 2004 at the Person County Cooperative Extension Center, 304 S. Morgan St., Roxboro. Keynote speaker will be John Sedlock of Illinois, a premier direct marketer. Sedlock, who began growing asparagus in 1985, now produces 20 acres of asparagus as a direct-market crop. Other speakers are Theresa Nartea, program and marketing director for the N.C. Center for Environmental Farming Systems, who will explain the concept of Community-Supported Agriculture, and growers who will explain their own forms of marketing. For more information, contact Carl Cantaluppi, horticulture agent in Granville and Person counties, 919.603.1350 or carl_cantaluppi@ncsu.edu.

NJHA convention draws youth to Raleigh
About 200 youth from 25 states converged on Raleigh Nov. 7-10 for the National Junior Horticulture Association convention. The annual convention, which was held at the North Raleigh Hilton, included an array of contests to test the participants' horticultural knowledge as well as their communication and leadership skills. The convention is designed to help students explore careers in horticulture and to learn more about the production and marketing of vegetable crops and landscape plants, according to Larry Bass, one of the convention's organizers and a horticulture specialist emeritus with N.C. State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The National Junior Horticultural Association promotes and sponsors youth education programs through a variety of projects and activities that foster a better understanding of horticulture. Its annual convention was last held in North Carolina in 1997.

--Compiled by N. Hampton