2010 Stakeholder Report
ISU Extension in Jones County
605 East Main Street
Anamosa, IA 52205
Phone: (319) 462-2791
Fax: (319) 462-4572
www.extension.iastate.edu/jones
In Jones County, it starts with Extension. Together we support healthy people,
environments, and economies. Read about some of the ways ISU Extension meets local
needs, improves quality of life, and helps make Jones County a better place to live.
You’ll be amazed at what we do.
County Extension Staff
Connie Burhop
County Youth Coordinator
Linda Kahler
Extension Council Chair
Jacki Luckstead
Youth Program Specialist
Kim Miller
Linda E. Fischer
Regional Extension Education Director
Joe Yedlik
County Extension Director
Office Assistant
Julie Orris
Child Care Program Coordinator
Joe Yedlik
County Extension Director
Phyllis Zalenski
Families Program Specialist
Extension Council
Every Iowa county has an elected
Extension Council that guides local
educational programming by partnering
with staff. From needs assessment
through program implementation and
evaluation of outcomes, the council
represents the issues and people of the
county.
We have identified these local issues as
priority topics for current and future
programming:
• Strengthening families
• Agricultural profitability
• Positive youth development
It Starts With Healthy People
To ricochet means to move round -with a lot of energy and be
unpredictable . . . sort of like middle
school youth. They bounce from one
thing to the next -- trying on different
roles -- as they find their place in the
world. Ricochet: An Extreme
Leadership Adventure is a middle
school leadership initiative created
and sponsored by Iowa State
University Extension and Iowa 4-H.
Ten middle school youth in Olin took
advantage of this leadership
adventure which was facilitated by
Jacki Luckstead, ISU Extension
Youth Program Specialist. The youth
learned about leadership
characteristics, talked to local
community leaders, and identified
community needs. From this, they
designed and carried out a service
learning project; planting and
maintaining flower boxes in
downtown Olin. They also organized
a lemonade stand to raise funds for
Jones County Animal Rescue.
The learning did not stop there, as
the students encouraged their
parents to participate in another ISU
Extension program, Strengthening
Families. Strengthening Families
helps parents learn how to be better
communicators with their teens and
the teens learn to respect and better
communicate with their parents.
These programs contribute to youth
becoming leaders and caring
members of their families and
community.
It Starts With Healthy
Environments
Beef cow-calf producer, Alan Welter,
discovered the many advantages of
planting winter cereal crops through
his participation in an ISU Extension
forage demonstration plot. For the
2009-10 winter feeding season, he
grazed 90 cows for 37 additional
days, saving on stored feed costs.
Typical winter feed costs are about
$1.32 per cow per day, where his
costs to graze the cereal rye was
only $0.62 per cow per day.
In addition, Welter saved money on
labor and fuel that would have been
hired to haul stored feed to his cattle
in the winter. The opportunity for
cattle to graze longer into the fall and
early winter contributes to better
manure management and cows are
calving on seeded rye rather than in
a muddy dry lot, thus reducing the
incidence of calf scours and other
health issues.
Furthermore, this system allows the
permanent pasture a better chance
to get started in the spring before
being grazed, resulting in more
season-long forage production and
less stress on the plant. And the soil
was covered by a forage crop
throughout the winter reducing the
potential for soil erosion.
This successful project provided
youth with the opportunity to involve
their families in gardening together,
share produce with their families,
and expand their knowledge about
gardening and gardening techniques.
Olin also received $3,525 in
community development grant funds
to pilot a backpack program to
provide nutritious food for youth
enrolled in the free and reduced
lunch program. The program was
coordinated by a Horizons member
who also managed the local food
pantry. Fourteen youth were served
by the end of the school year. The
program will continue with donations
from fundraisers, food drives and
area businesses—demonstrating a
true community effort to overcome
food insecurity.
Future Jones County Youth
Development Center
Jones County residents are being
encouraged to “build for tomorrow by
investing today” and help make the
Jones County Youth Development
Center and future home of ISU
Extension in Jones County a reality.
The center, to be located at the city
park/fairgrounds in Monticello, will
provide an enhanced county 4-H
Youth headquarters and be used as
a program and education center. The
new facility will support growth in
programs and services to youth,
families, agriculture/natural
resources, community/economic
development, and business/industry.
The center, which would complement
existing community facilities, would
provide a valuable community
resource that would also be available
to the public.
Making an Impact
It Starts With Healthy
Economies
The communities of Olin and Oxford
Junction joined together, applied for
and received a $3,500 community
development initiative grant from the
local community action agency for
the development of youth community
gardens. Horizons steering
committee members mentored youth
and led the educational component
with guidance from the ISU
Extension youth development
program specialist.
ISU Extension continues to assist
Iowans affected by flooding. In Jones
County, ISU Extension’s Center for
Industrial Research and Service
(CIRAS) assisted Monticello
manufacturers with recovery last
summer. Extension provided flood
recovery materials and moisture
meters for homeowner and business
use and Extension’s livestock and
crop production specialists consulted
with flood-impacted producers to
help them make the best decisions
for their forage and crop situations.
A fund drive is currently underway to
construct this single-story, 12,000 sq.
ft. facility that will have more than
with 6,900 sq. ft. dedicated to
exposition/conference center space.
The facility will also feature the latest
in technology and will be a LEED®
certifiable, eco-friendly structure.
… and justice for all
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits
discrimination in all its programs and activities on the
basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age,
disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital
or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all
programs.) Many materials can be made available in
alternative formats for ADA clients. To file a complaint
of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights,
Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call
202-720-5964.
Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University
of Science and Technology, and the United States
Department of Agriculture cooperating.
December 2010