MONTHLY NARRATIVES
(Program Highlights)

RICHLAND COUNTY

CROPPING SYSTEMS
Dale L. Siebert

GPS PROGRAM

The use of GPS has many applications. During the month of October I attended a training session on the use of Arcview software and I was looking for a practical application for the software. For several years sugarbeet growers have noticed a decrease in yield and quality of sugarbeets after several years of rotation. A local grower visited with me about using waste lime from the sugarbeet factory on some of these fields. As the lime is used to remove impurities in the sugar process, perhaps we could put something back into the soil that is lacking after sugarbeets. I proposed that we use GPS to mark the areas where the lime is spread and use satellite imagery, combine yield monitors and ariel photography to monitor the crop rotation to see if there is a difference in those areas. The areas will be marked this fall and we will initiate the monitoring next summer. I hope this will be a practical demonstration on using technology and at the same time find out if we can affect crop yields utilizing the waste lime from sugarbeet processing.

CONFERENCES

During the month of October Extension holds an annual conference to update staff on a variety of educational topics as well as providing opportunities for professional development. This year the conference was held in Fargo, October 15-18. I also attended the AG Lenders Conference held in Fargo, October 29 for an update on the new farm program and market prospects for both crops and livestock. This information is useful as I work with the local marketing club.

HARVEST

October is a busy harvest month for Richland County with corn, sugarbeets and soybeans all in main harvest during this busy time. I assisted with harvest of the Richland County corn plots two days during the month as individual varieties are harvested, weighed, checked for moisture content and test weight and then the data recorded. The data is then converted to yield per acre and mailed to county corn growers and the participating seed companies. I also did yield checks for individual growers during the month. This information is always in demand and appreciated by growers as they look to make variety selections for the coming year.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT/4-H
Colleen M. Svingen

We had hoped the web site would be operational at this time, but due to some computer complications beyond our office's control the operational date has been delayed. We are happy to report even with the delay there have still been many positive local outcomes. I asked the five librarians that developed the literacy portion of the web-site to share impacts this project has already made on their libraries.

The following are direct quotes from their statements:

• "A working relationship has been established with the Richland County Librarians. A book club atmosphere was started as we gave oral reviews on our favorite books."
• "As librarian, I have had the privilege of developing a working relationship with the other librarians in the consortium. This relationship would never have happened without the development of the web page."
• "It was exciting to read something different and then to discuss it with those who were just as enamored or who were disgruntled with the novel."
• "I found myself combing "good magazines" for new recommendations. I know because of the project, I have a broader reading base and a broader knowledge of new publications."
• "Utilizing technology is a definite plus."

• "It was a terrific boost for our library to be able to purchase new books through this program." (The 21^st Century After-School Program purchased the recommended featured books for those libraries that did not have those books in their libraries.)
• "The challenge of the project was prodigious, but the rewards were greater."

We are now in the process of implementing software and training for using e-books. We are hoping Richland County clients will soon experience some of the excitement the designers and contributors of this site have enjoyed.

21^st CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS
Adrian Biewer

"HOMETOWN HEROES"

The site coordinators report that enrollment is increasing in all programs. We are especially pleased as we have increased staff and improved the structure of the programming activities this past month. We continue to utilize the NDSCS Wildcat basketball men's team for our "Hometown Heroes". The program brings the players into the afterschool program to deliver drug/alcohol prevention programming and basketball activities. We have expanded the program to include grades 1-3. The Hometown Hero program enrollment has more than doubled in most sites. The students will take a trip to NDSCS Sterns Sports Arena to watch their favorite heroes in action on December 7.

VAN DRIVING COURSE

The board has made a decision to have our employees participate in a van driving course and to use school buses for field trips. We have volunteers at each site that will get bus driver certification. We are paying the expenses for completing the requirements.

A key program collaboratively developed with Richland County Extension, 21^st Century After School Program, FNP, and NDSU Extension campus specialists is a parent web site. The Richland Family Enrichment Project is designed as an educational program to strengthen family relationships and foster healthy living through a web-based interactive set of activities.

The primary domains of family life the project is intended to impact include:

Family Time
Family Enrichment (parenting)
Family Nutrition
Family Literacy
Family Fitness

In order to assess the effectiveness of the program, an evaluation process has been designed that allows participants to share how their knowledge, attitudes and behavior have been impacted by their involvement in the Richland Enrichment Project.

FNP (FAMILY NUTRITION PROGRAM)
Pamela Leino-Mills

DIABETES CLASSES

During October, I taught 24 diabetes related food demonstration/preparation classes to 5^th - 8^th graders at Circle of Nations School. These kids are catching on. They are able to give me increasingly accurate feedback during the discussion periods. Each week I spend an hour and a half with the children in the Transitional Dorm. We had five sessions in October. These classes do not always have all the same students, but there is enough consistency that they have began to look forward to their time with me. This greatly facilitates teaching.

NDSCS CLASS

At NDSCS, I did a presentation on The Power of Advertising to a fairly large group of Other Than Average Students. The class was pleasantly interactive.

HEADSTART

Headstart has asked me again this year to work with parents. This month we did food safety and hand washing technique. I continue to be impressed with the commitment of these parents to keeping their children healthy.