Cooperative Extension reflects on 2021 successes

WADESBORO — The Anson County Cooperative Extension shared their “Report to the People” with the commissioners in December.

“Report to the People” celebrates the accomplishments Anson Extension made throughout 2021.

Accomplishments included a focus on research efforts.

They partnered with Fincher Martin to plant a soybean variety trial that was harvested on October 27, and created a Tri-County Hay Directory shared between the three county offices of Union, Stanly, and Anson.

Anson Extension also focused on community outreach and serving the youth.

They taught youth about agriculture through Summer of Surprises, 4-H, Youth Leadership Anson, educational packets, and farm tours for middle school students. The youth also helped them with Backpack Buddies donated to Wadesboro and Morven Elementary, trash pickup, and office clearout.

The Extension also did more community outreach through coordinating on-farm vaccinations with Atrium Health and Camino Community Center, hosting gift basket raffles, and donating PPE to over 100 farmworkers.

Other outreach included classes for the community in canning techniques, cooking, and LIFT exercises.

“We may have paused to regroup, but learned to adapt and go above and beyond the call of duty of our normal programming efforts,” the narrator of the video says. “Staff used innovation and collaboration to reach out in a changing world and engaged with non-traditional audiences to meet the needs of Anson County citizens while helping people improve their quality of lives by providing research-based information and informal education opportunities focused on issues and needs.”