MONTHLY NARRATIVES
(Program Highlights)

RICHLAND COUNTY

June 2002

CROPPING SYSTEMS  Dale L. Siebert

The identity preserved and specialty crops survey tabulation for Multi-County Unit 5 was completed during June. A total of 348 surveys were returned. Farmers completing the survey agreed that in the future they would be producing commodities that are tailored to the demand of end use markets and that the production of specialty crops would be more profitable. Ninety-two of the 348 indicated they currently produced some type of specialty crop with the most common crop reported being food grade soybeans. Lack of a market and price uncertainty was sighted as the primary reasons for not raising specialty crops. I will continue to analyze these results for use in program planning in the future.

For the past two months Gene Elhard, Dickey County Agent and myself had been planning a self study tour of IP and specialty crop production in Iowa. During June 17-20 we were able to visit several different types of grain handling and processors in the specialty crop area. These buyers all indicated that a relationship with your buyer is important. Quality control is very important to these buyers as well as their customers as they want some assurance of being able to deliver the quality specified in their contracts. At Iowa State University they are working on a certification program that producers may use for documentation of the procedure used to assure the end product produced meets the quality standards necessary for the market. We had a very good educational experience and hope to apply what we learned to programming efforts in the future.

June was a busy month for spraying and horticulture related questions as we moved into the growing season.

On June 13, I assisted with the Youth Day at Tewaukon Wildlife Refuge teaching sessions on fishing and casting.

During June we were also able to promote Deb Evenson to the position of Administrative Assistant. A job description and position announcement was then prepared for the secretarial position opening that was created with Deb's promotion.

Bobbi Jo Neiber, 21^st Century Program Coordinator, has also taken a new position so the job description and position announcement for that position was reviewed with area superintendents and announced during the month of June also.

Assisting with locating judges for different 4-H Events, planning the Annual Richland County Crop Tour, and responding to questions regarding dry growing conditions rounded out a very busy month.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT/4-H
Colleen M. Svingen

The North Dakota 4-H Ambassadors held their Extension Youth Conference in June on NDSU's campus. Richland had one ambassador and four youth attend the conference. The conference theme was "4-H The Power of YOUth". It was fun to witness our youth celebrate 4-H's 100^th Birthday with cake and balloons!

Pam (FNP agent) and I enjoyed joining the Family & Community Education (FCE) Ladies at their annual county picnic at the Bagg Bonanza Farm. We were treated to a lovely meal and most informative tour. Richland County is fortunate to have six active clubs.

WOW (Women's Overall Wellness), is a fall retreat for women that Pam and I are happy to be promoting to Richland County. Speakers will inspire attendees to enjoy who they are, and to accept and respect those around them. The retreat offers learning opportunities for women, including sessions on nutrition, physical fitness, emotional well-being, beauty, fashion and more. Transportation for the retreat will be provided by the Richland County Consortium vans.

Parenting Links, the parenting web page, is starting to shape up nicely. EXT and the Richland County Consortium are collaborating on this project. It has been especially enjoyable to work with the rural librarians as they develop the literacy section of the website. Their powerful networking is sure to further strengthen our consortium libraries.

4-H Happenings
Summer 2002
July 2002
19-27 ND State Fair
22 State Showcase
23 State Consumer Choice
25 Richland/Wilkin Project Day

August 2002
4-7 Natural Resources Camp
8-9 Achievement Days
19 Clover Classic

FNP (Family Nutrition Program)
Pamela Leino-Mills

This month I spent quite a bit of time working with Jane Edwards, NDSU State Nutrition Specialist, in planning the nutrition portion of the new WEB site that will be available for Richland County families in October, 2002. This portion of the WEB site will feature menu ideas and relevant, fascinating nutrition tips and facts.

Wahpeton Migrant School opened again this June. Teaching the eager and bright children of the migrant workers is one of the highlights of my summer. The school is held at Central Elementary. I taught 9 classes, including food safety and hand washing, how to make summer soup and Quesadillas. In the food preparation classes, we discuss relevant nutrition information.

During June, I also did one-on-one nutrition consults with approximately 20 WIC (Women, Infants and Children) clients.

21^st CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
Bobbi Jo Neiber

Summer is finally here and the 21^st Century Community Learning Center has begun their summer programming! The Lake Tewaukon Field Day, encompassing wildlife lessons by the staff of the refuge, a GPS scavenger hunt led by NDSU 4-H Youth Agent, Angie Milakovic, and fishing and casting contest served approximately 60 youth during the month of June.

Other activities taking place during the month are a visit to the Minnesota State University Moorhead Planetarium and Yunker Farm. Thirty-five youth within the Richland County Consortium schools in grades 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th are attending a two-week session of the Richland County Vo-Tech Center's Math and Science Academy.

21^st CCLC summer activities seem to be catching on with the higher level of student participation and interest compared to last year!