2012 Numbers

Soil Tests .................................................................................................................... 272

Youth Enrolled in 4-H Clubs ............................................................................... 463

Total Youth Served .................................................................................................. 1,143

Nutrition Program Recipients ............................................................................ 1144

Osceola County

ANNUAL REPORT 2012

MSU Extension—Serving Osceola County since 1917!

MSUE is a vital part of Osceola County. The team of Extension professionals is always avail-

able to help the residents of the county with research-based and practical information and

tips.

As MSUE transforms into a statewide organization, I am awestruck by some of the impact

and outcome data that I am seeing. The strength of our organization and our ability to bring

the research of the university to the communities we serve is evident in many ways. We are

engaged in regional and statewide efforts to assist businesses and individuals to gain

economic security, advance their businesses, improve water quality, reduce crop loss,

strengthen families, and help people make good decisions about the food they eat. The list is

long, but the numbers keep adding up to demonstrate impact across the state and in your

county. Here are just a few examples:

Growers reported that information from MSUE has led to the adoption of new tools

and technologies that mitigated environmental impacts of Michigan farm land, reduced

pesticide use and decreased fertilizer applications.

National Student Clearinghouse Student Tracker Data for Michigan 4-H program alum-

ni who graduated high school in 2009 to 2012 indicate these students are currently at-

tending college at a significantly higher rate than their same-age Michigan peers.

Adults and youth report learning about increased fruit and vegetable consumption, re-

duced serving sizes, and overall increase in physical activity to improve health and re-

duce obesity after they participated in MSU Extension’s SNAP Ed nutrition programs.

This report will tell you about some of the specific impacts we are having on residents and

businesses in Osceola County. Shari Spoelman, District Coordinator

Michigan State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture. Thomas G. Coon, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

Mission

Michigan State University helps people

improve their lives through an educational

process that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and

opportunities.

Staff

Tonia Hartline Office Manager

Renee Bisel

Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program

Associate

Jerry Lindquist Agriculture

Extension Educator

Shannon Lindquist Health & Nutrition

Extension Educator

Jacob Stieg 4-H Program Coordinator

Shari Spoelman District Coordinator

Contact Us

Osceola County Courthouse

301 W Upton Ave

Reed City, MI 49677

(231) 832-6039 www.msue.msu.edu/

4-H continues to thrive in Osceola County. Below are some quantitative numbers that show the continued success of, and participation in, the Osceola County MSU Extension 4-H program:

463 youth enrolled in 4-H in 2012

179 first year members

183 adult 4-H leaders actively volunteered their time in 2012

30 4-H clubs

6 clubs have been active for over 20 years.

Exploration Days—

» Two research-based tenets provide the foun-dation for this residential program’s 30 contact hours: youth development and experiential learning. Nearly 200 action-filled classroom and field trips were offered on MSU’s campus in June 2012. Sixteen youth from Osceola County attended.

4-H Increases College Readiness & Success

» National Student Clearinghouse Student Tracker Data for Michigan 4-H pro-gram alumni who graduated high school in 2009 to 2012 indicate these stu-dents are currently attending college at a significantly higher rate than their same-age Michigan peers.

» In Osceola County, 43.3% of youth who graduated high school and had been involved with 4-H attended college, compared to 30.3% county-wide.

Fairs

» Osceola youth have the opportunity to participate in several fairs during the summer months to showcase their talents, skills, and passions.

.

4-H 2

The Osceola County 4-H

program remains

strong, serving the

many families across

Osceola County.

4-H is a community of

young people across

America who are

learning leadership,

citizenship, and life-

skills.

Photo: At the Osceola County

Fair it is tradition to have all

Swine Show members gather

in the ring to start the show.

Here the youth are being

introduced to the judge and

hearing how the show day

will proceed.

Project Rural Education Days

» Project RED Celebrates 20 years - In 2012 the Osceola County 4-H celebrated a milestone with one of its local programs. For 20 years the Gin-grich Meadows and Rose Lake Park has teamed up with the Osceola County 4-H program and Michigan Farm Bureau to present Project Rural Education Days. Over 7200 students from Osceola County School districts have attended this pro-gram over the past 20 years.

» On average 360 students from all four school districts in Osceola County attend Gingrich Meadows and Rose Lake Park to learn about Agricultural and Envi-ronmental issues in a nontraditional school setting. During their visit to Gin-grich Meadows, youth may learn about calf management, milk production & nutrition, feeding dairy cows, and manure management. When they visit Rose Lake Park, students learn about such things as electrical safety, how to train labs to retrieve ducks, wild turkeys, draft horses and recreational safety.

4-H 3

Over 7,200 students

from Osceola County

schools have participat-

ed in Project Rural Edu-

cation Days in the past

20 years.

Rabbit Showman: A group

of young boys waits to pre-

sent their rabbits during

the 2012 Marion Fair.

Giddy Up Get Ready: This year was the first year for the Giddy Up Get Ready clinic. Youth who attended this clinic learned “hands on” by presenters and being on their horse.

AGRICULTURE 4

Drought Management

The drought of 2012 impacted Michigan agriculture in a big way, reducing crop yields that are relied upon for revenues. It also greatly reduced harvested winter feeds for dairy, livestock, and horse farms. The lower yields reduced farm revenues, reduced the supply of feed resources, and raised the price of animal feeds and hu-man food prices. As the realization of the drought set in, MSU Extension teams began working with farms, strategizing on drought management plans. Jerry Lind-quist became a key player in the feed resource sector managing the Michigan Hay Sellers List helping cattle, sheep and horse owners locate additional feed sources. Many times this included helping them to consider alternative feeds like corn stalks or straw. Lindquist and a few of his “beef team” colleagues helped many beef farms feed corn stalks to beef cows, replacing up to 2/3 of their winter hay supply. Many of these farms saved $10,000 - $20,000 by purchasing corn stalk bales over purchasing much higher priced hay to feed their cows through the winter. They were able to maintain their herd size during these times when beef cattle are more profitable, giving them a definitive advantage over the next few years as herds in other States that downsized because of the drought, begin to play catch up on herd size.

» Lindquist also served as the key contact in the State for hay price information during this time when hay prices were rising dramatically. He also helped farms strategize on emergency fall crop plantings to generate more feed re-sources for the winter of 2013. Many of these farms, once fall rains arrived, were successful with these plantings.

Grazing and Forage

Jerry Lindquist, MSU Extension Grazing Statewide Educator coordinated various grazing educational events in 2012.

» Great Lakes Forage and Grazing Conference—The most significant was the very successful Great Lakes Forage and Grazing Conference held in East Lan-sing on March 6 & 7 of 2012. Over 140 people attended.

» Research Grant— Working with Dr. Jason Rowntree of the MSU Animal Sci-ence Department and Kable Thurlow, MSU Extension Beef Educator as recipi-ents of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant, Lindquist began the selection process for the 20 grazing farms into the Grass-fed Beef Initiative in Northwest Michigan. This project will continue through 2015 hoping to establish an added value food chain in the Traverse City area for grass-fed beef.

» Pasture Walks & Grazing School—Educational talks and pasture walks for area beef producer were held in Lake City at the AgBioResearch Center , as was a two day event for 20 grazing beginning farmers.

In addition to providing support to mitigate drought damage for farm-ers, in 2012 Jerry Lindquist served as a major source of information for the general media, speaking on the impacts of the drought on crop yields and its anticipated impact on farms and food prices.

AGRICULTURE 5

Alfalfa Harvest On-farm Project

Unusual weather conditions in the spring of 2012 generated questions about the growth and quality of alfalfa across the state. MSU Extension coordinated a short-term field project to collect data related to alfalfa quality.

» A total of 15 alfalfa fields across Michigan were sampled three consecutive weeks prior to har-vest. In northwest lower Michigan, Kathy Lee collected data from two fields in Missaukee County and Jerry Lindquist handled data collec-tion for one field in Osceola County.

» The results were used to provide information to producers and agribusiness professionals for de-termining when first cutting alfalfa should be harvested. In addition, the information for all locations across the state was available through the MSU Extension News system (http://news.msue.msu.edu).

Beef Production & Marketing

There were four webinars offered in February and March of 2012 as part of the Op-portunities in Beef Production & Marketing series. Educators and faculty who were involved in the planning and teaching and evaluation of the series were Kevin Gould, Jerry Lindquist, Brenda Reau, Jason Rowntree, Jeannine Schweihofer, Den-nis Stein and Kable Thurlow. A nine month follow-up survey was conducted with the 35 individuals who participated in one or more of the four webinars.

» One hundred percent of respondents who currently have a beef opera-tion reported making changes in their operations.

» Sixty percent of respondents reported they expanded their existing beef herd.

» Ten percent reported they changed the production method they use for producing beef.

» Twenty percent reported they changed the type of genetics they are us-ing to produce beef.

» The behavior change most often reported was expanded direct market-ing with 70 percent indicating a shift towards direct marketing.

Restricted Use Pesticide Exam & Prep—Jerry Lindquist coordinated and led the instruction for the Restricted Use Pesticide Exam on Feb. 20, 2012 in Cadillac with over twenty farms, and commercial pesticide applicators in attend-ance from Missaukee, Osceola, and Wexford Counties. The course teaches applicator safe-ty, along with proper application techniques including integrated pest management to make the food supply safer and to protect the environment. That afternoon the Michigan Department of Agricul-ture offered the RUP exam at the same loca-tion and a total of 18 took the exam with 16 passing, which will pro-vide them the license to purchase restricted use pesticides for the next three years.

Breakfast on the Farm—

Gingrich Meadows Dairy Farm hosted Breakfast on the Farm to give local consum-ers a first-hand look at modern agriculture. A total of 2,656 people attended the Breakfast on August 25, 2012. The highlight of the event was the new robotic milking system on the farm. On the self-guided tour, visitors were able to learn about cow nutrition, animal hous-ing, crop production and manure/nutrient management. Local veteri-narians described the routine health care plan for all animals on the farm. A variety of activities were designed to help kids learn about being a farmer. The overall event showed consumers how the Gingrich family produces safe, wholesome and nu-tritious food; provides care for their animals; and protects the environment.

» Thirty-two percent (32%) of the visitors who completed a survey at the end of the tour (179) indicated that this was the first time in the past 20 years that they had visited a working dairy farm. Another 21% of the visitors had only vis-ited a dairy farm 1 or 2 times in the past 20 years.

» More than 280 local volunteers helped coordinate the event from planning, set-ting up exhibits, cooking and serving food, answering questions at the educa-tional sessions, and cleaning up at the end of the event. Over 70 local sponsors and 11 statewide sponsors helped to make this educational event possible.

» District 6 attendance – Osceola - 1046, Wexford - 324, Missaukee - 387, Me-costa - 116, Clare - 29, Isabella - 9

18,000 people attended one of the 8 Breakfast on the Farm events in 2012. After attending, 88% of participants indicated they would be more likely to purchase Michigan dairy and agriculture products. BOTFs are funded with local and statewide dollars. There are five BOTFs in the state sched-uled in 2013.

Dairy Nutrition Roundtable—

Fourteen agribusiness professionals (dairy nutritionists and veterinarians) serving Missaukee, Mecosta, Osceola and Wexford Counties had the opportunity to par-ticipate in a Dairy Nutrition Roundtable in Lake City in December 2012. MSU dairy nutrition professors interacted with dairy nutritionists and veterinarians to informally discuss current issues related to the nutrition and feeding of dairy cattle.

AGRICULTURE—Dairy 6

Nutrition Education—MSU Extension provides nutrition education to persons

receiving (or eligible to receive) the Food Assistance Program. The Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education is

funded through a statewide grant from the Federal Gov-

ernment (Farm Bill). The SNAP-Ed program plays a vi-

tal role in helping to improve nutrition among low-

income individuals.

» Higher Grounds - Renee Bisel partnered with High-er Ground (Love INCs community focused Learning Center designed to encourage and support families with ideas and information while enhancing the emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical balance of each life). There were four sessions, three used the Eating Right is Basic curric-ulum and one session used the Cooking Matters Curriculum.

» Cooking Matters - At Higher Ground, the Free Methodist Church of Evart saw an opportunity to help more community members and asked Renee Bisel to come into their church and do a Cooking Matters series with area residents.

» Healthy Harvest – This eight week session program’s goal is to improve participant’s health through their garden. The focus is on helping gardeners get the most out of their gardens, by making healthy choices about fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as eating a rainbow of colors every day.

» Nutrition for Senior Citizens - Renee Bisel has a passion for working with Senior Citizens. With the help of Senior Housing, she was able to conduct 3 series with seniors in Reed City and Evart.

» Eating Right for Weight Loss – A weekly series of Eating Right is Basic was presented to an Evart TOPS group.

» Senior Project FRESH - Osceola County’s second Senior Project FRESH, in cooperation with Osceola County’s Commission on Aging provided 175 seniors with Nutrition Education to receive $20 worth of coupons for Michigan grown produce.

» Project FRESH - In cooperation with the Osceola County Health Department WIC and WIC Project Fresh, 399 people were involved in one time nutrition presentations by focusing on Fruits and Vegetables.

» Preschool Nutrition - In partnership with NEMCSA, Program Associate Renee Bisel was able to captivate and entertain 51 area preschoolers with the Show Me Nutrition curriculum.

HEALTH & NUTRITION 7

Renee Bisel, along with the rest of the MSUE office, pro-vided education to 360 chil-dren at Rural Education Days at the Gingrich’s Dairy farm.

HEALTH & NUTRITION 8

Adult series = 6 – 8 sessions, Youth series = 6 sessions

OTP = One-time presentation, Contact = participants counted each time they attend a session

Disease Prevention and Management Programs -

MSU Extension disease prevention and management education programs helps participants increase their ability to lead a healthy lifestyle that greatly reduces a person’s risk for developing chronic disease or improves disease management. Michigan ranks 15th nationally for prevalence of diabetes and it ranks fifth nation-ally for obesity. Just over nine percent of Michigan adults have been diagnosed with diabetes – an estimated 701,000 people. An additional 364,400 Michigan adults are estimated to have diabetes but are currently undiagnosed. Healthcare costs are 2.3 times higher for a person with diabetes as opposed to a person without diabetes. The cost of treating diabetes is expected to triple in Michigan over the next 25 years. It is estimated that the state can save $545 million spent across all chronic diseases by investing $10 in preventive care per person, per year.

» Dining with Diabetes— In February 2012, five Dining With Diabetes sessions were provided in Reed City by Extension Educator Pat Joyce and our partners at Spectrum Health . Follow-up evaluation data was collected. The major re-sults follow, based on pre, post and follow-up surveys. Additional results are included in the report.

94% reported decreased consumption of fried food.

71% reported reading food labels.

57% reported daily consumption nearer to the recommended number of cup equivalents of dairy foods.

Chronic diseases are among

the most prevalent, costly,

and preventable of all health

issues. Access to high-quality

and affordable prevention

measures are essential to

saving lives, reducing disabil-

ity, and lowering costs of

everyone’s medical care.

Michigan ranks 15th nation-

ally for prevalence of diabe-

tes and it ranks fifth nation-

ally for obesity.

County Adult

series

Adult

OTP

Youth

series

Youth

OTP

# Ses-

sions

Contacts

Osceola 79 399 51 615 158 1723

Osceola County Nutrition Education Numbers

9 Government and Public Policy

» Michigan Northern Counties Association: Bringing county commissioners together from 33 counties in northern lower Michigan to learn about issues im-portant to county government, and to share information and learn from the experiences of others has long been the goal of the Michigan Northern Counties Association (MNCA). Recent topics include: ORVs and tour-ism, mining issues, roads, equalization, health care, statewide ballot issues and the impacts of these issues on county government services. Monthly meetings also include a legislative update from the Michigan Association of Counties. In District 6, Clare, Gladwin, Isabella, Missaukee, Osceola, and Wexford Counties are regular participants.

» New County Commissioner Workshops—Since 1968, MSU Extension, in partnership with the Michigan Association of Counties, has conducted the New County Commissioner Workshops following the biennial election of com-missioners. The program offers information and learning opportunities on county structure and process, budgeting and finance, county administration, courts, and more. Five persons attended from Osceola County in 2012.

» Land Use—The signature programs for Land Use include Placemaking and Planning for the Global Economy: What is the role for your local government in the global economy?. These programs had attendees from Wexford, Missaukee, Osce-ola, and Mecosta Counties.

GREENING MICHIGAN

» IPM Academy - In February of 2012, MSU Extension hosted the first Integrat-ed Pest Management (IPM) Academy. The Academy addressed topics related to entomology, weed science, plant physiology, and judicious pesticide use. Participants learned about fruits, vegetables, hops, woody ornamentals and field crops. The impact and value of this program was assessed us-ing participant evaluations immediately after the event and a post-event survey 6 months after the event.

In the post-growing-season survey conducted in October 2012, participants indicated that they adopted new practices and technologies on 43,788 acres of Michigan agricultural land as a result of attending the Academy. Some of the new practices and technologies adopted included pest scouting, utilizing weather modeling, encouraging beneficial insects and natural enemies, minimizing pesticide use and protecting native pollinators.

Growers reported that information from MSUE has led to the adoption of new tools and technologies that mitigated environmental impacts of Michigan farm land, reduced pesticide use and decreased fertilizer applications. New management strategies helped farmers pre-vent the loss of nutrients and soil from Michigan cropland.

AGRICULTURE

John Amrhein – Public Policy Education amrhein@msu.edu

Elaine Bush—Firewise Program Coordinator bushe@msu.edu

Christina Curell—Water Quality curellc@msu.edu

Joanne Davidhizar—Product Development davidhiz@msu.edu

Thomas Dudek – Greenhouse & Nursery dudek@msu.edu

Rebecca Finneran—Consumer/Commercial Horticulture finneran@msu.edu

Carolyn Foster—Chronic Disease cfoster@msu.edu

Carlos Garcia-Salazar—Small Fruit/Pest Management garcias4@msu.edu

Kevin Gould—Beef Production/Management gouldk@msu.edu

Thomas Guthrie—Pork & Equine guthri19@msu.edu

Linda Huyck—Food Safety huyck@msu.edu

Philip Kaatz—Forage kaatz@msu.edu

Sara Keinath—Career Exploration/Work Force Preparation skeinath@msu.edu

Russell Kidd – Sustainable Natural Resources - Forestry kidd@msu.edu

Katherine Lee—Dairy Education leeka@msu.edu

Gerald Lindquist—Field Crops lindquis@msu.edu

Shannon Lindquist—Health and Nutrition lindqui8@msu.edu

Gerald May – Swine mayg@msu.edu

Michael Metzger—Small Ruminants metzgerm@msu.edu

Martin Nagelkirk—Wheat/Crops nagelkir@msu.edu

Michelle Neff—Academic Success hydemich@msu.edu

Jill O’Donnell—Christmas Trees odonne10@msu.edu

Dennis Pennington—Biomass Production pennin34@msu.edu

Bethany Prykucki—Community Engagement & Leadership Dev. prykucki@msu.edu

Sandra Risedorph—4-H Supervision risedorp@msu.edu

Kurt Schindler—Land Use/Public Policy schindl9@msu.edu

Philip Schwallier—Fruit Production/Environmental Quality schwalli@msu.edu

Jeannine Schweihofer—Meat Quality grobbelj@msu.edu

Dean Solomon—Natural Resource Extraction Management & Ed. solomon@msu.edu

Michael Staton—Soybean Production staton@msu.edu

Curtis Talley Jr.—Business Management Education talleycu@msu.edu

Marilyn Thelen—Agriculture Systems thelen22@msu.edu

Nancy Thelen—Agriculture Literacy thelenn@msu.edu

Christine Venema—Family Financial Literacy venema@msu.edu

Mary Wilson—Master Gardener Coordinator wilsonm1@msu.edu

STATEWIDE NETWORK—Extension Educators serving Osceola

County

Lawn & Garden Questions:

Online: http://

migarden.msu.edu/

Toll-Free: 1-888-678-3464

Soil test kits (homeowners)

www. http://

bookstore.msue.msu.edu/

Product Code: E3154

Information Bulletins:

http://bookstore.msue.msu.edu/

MSUE News

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/

MSUE Events and Programs:

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/events

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