University Extensions are fabulous
resources for students and members of the community alike. On staff
are many people who are specialists in certain fields of agriculture,
gardening, raising livestock, youth outreach, and many others. No
matter where you are, extension services are nearby. Every land grant
university has them. In the words of Josh Dallin, they “fill the
gap” between academic research and citizens with reliable wisdom
that can be communicated to people seeking to learn and have the most
success in their endeavors.
On the other side of academia, the
world wide web provides a lot of information, although it is
sometimes unclear or sketchy. That's where extension comes in.
Instead of watching YouTube videos about which crops and vegetables
to plant in a certain area (which may or may not exist), one can
simply contact the extension office of the closest land grant
university to them. Extensions are a fabulous tool for novices.
Dallin gave an example of how long to light chicken coops in the
winter in order for your chickens to continue producing eggs.
Academic researchers studied the causes of chickens not laying as
many eggs naturally through winter, but extension services actually
will provide functional information and help laymen and farmers alike
implement it.
I had heard of 4H but never been
involved with it. I see now that it is a great tool for young people
and might like to involve my future kids in it someday. I also had no
idea extension services provided such great help to prospective
cultivators of all things living and useful. More people should know about extensions so that they too can take advantage of such great resources.
No comments:
Post a Comment