Ag educator joins local Extension By BEN KLEIN (bklein@timesobserver.com), The Times Observer
March 28, 2013 Juliette Enfield has joined the Penn State Extension Office in Youngsville as the newest agricultural extension educator.

Enfield holds a masters degree from New Mexico State University in horticulture and spent two years in the Peace Corps in Togo working with subsistence farmers.

"It was great, eye opening. I was a natural resource management volunteer, an agriculture volunteer. I learned a lot about agriculture over there," she said.

Now working in Warren County, Enfield will focus on community development and agricultural entrepreneurship by helping people who want to get into the food market whether it be retail marketing or starting the business.

"I'm going to be kind of the go-to person for home gardeners and farmers who have questions or horticultural problems," she said.

Working at the Penn State Extension Office in Youngsville means the entire Penn State Extension network is available as a resource. "If I don't know the answer, I can find it," Enfield said.

Enfield can be reached through email at jse15@psu.edu or by calling the Penn State Extension Office at 563-9388.

While Enfield has family in northwestern Pennsylvania, she is new to Warren County and will be out visiting farmers in the area within the coming weeks to discuss issues they are having.

"I'm new to Warren, I welcome people coming to me and telling me about what's going on in Warren," she said.

Enfield has hit the ground running in Warren with a Food for Profit Workshop that discussed how to start and operate a small food product business.

Penn State Extension will also hold a Retail Farm Market School on April 24 at the extension office for $45. The program is available for anyone who handles, processes, or sells fresh market produce and will touch on a number of topics such as produce handling, produce quality, produce merchandising, customer service, sanitation, and fresh cut produce.

The Master Gardeners of Warren County will also hold Come Grow With Us on Saturday April 13, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Allegheny Community Center in Warren. There is a $30 enrollment fee and the registration deadline is April 7. For more information visit www.warrenag.org/gardeners.htm or call 814-763-9388.

MEET JEFF FOWLER by Karen Krivonak Davis
11/9/11 Welcome to our new District 2 Penn State Extension Director, Jeff Fowler! Jeff was asked to come on board upon the retirement of George Wilcox on July 1, 2011. In the meantime, restructuring took place dividing the state of Pennsylvania into 19 districts. District 2 is comprised of Warren, Forest, Venango and Clarion counties. Jeff then applied and was named the new District 2 Director.

Jeff started with the Extension in 1988 as 4H and Livestock educator. For the past 6 years he has been County Extension Director in Forest County. Jeff has been the Venango County Director for 15 years. He graduated from Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, PA, one of two locations in the Commonwealth where an agriculture degree may be obtained.

Jeff’s favorite part of his job over 23 years has been meeting and interacting with people and helping “teach people what they don’t even know they need yet”. Unlike in the past when December was a slow time of the year, Jeff says that his job is active all four seasons. His hours are flexible according to the needs of the week. The travel doesn’t bother him in the least as he likes to see the agricultural landscape and misses the times of the past where he could meet one-on-one more frequently to assist farmers and citizens with their problems and tell them of innovations.

Jeff comes from a long line of Cooperative Extension agents. His grandfather, Dad and 2 uncles were agents. Jeff has been married to Jamie for 23 years. She is an ordained Presbyterian minister in Oil City.  They have a son, Evan, who is a senior in high school and has been accepted at Penn State University hoping to pursue Turf Science.

Warren County Future of Ag is pleased to have Jeff as part of our team.

JUST FOR KIDS: AG AWARENESS WEEK TARGETS 4TH GRADE STUDENTS

Three hundred and ninety Warren County fourth graders were active participants in the Mobile Agriculture Lab and events sponsored by the Farm Bureau Monday, May 23rd through Thursday, May 26th, 2011.

Warren County Conservation District and Penn State/Warren County Cooperative Extension staff, Warren County Future of Agriculture Task Force volunteers, and Teacher Naturalists assisted the students. They progressed through 4 outdoor venues at the Hatch Run Conservation Demonstration Area and lessons inside the Mobile Ag Lab and Conservation District building.

The students were engaged in an experiment to determine which made the best butter-buttermilk, whole milk or heavy cream. Ashley Enos, Warren County Dairy Princess presented a lesson to appreciate dairy products on our grocery shelves.

 Students also wended their way through a stream study, soil study, tree identification and leaf/bark rubbings, learning the importance of trees in Warren history and today. The 4 day event provided hands-on learning for students addressing agriculture, science and conservation standards of Pennsylvania. 

Ag Science in a Mobile lab
A unique educational experience is being conducted in Warren County for two weeks. The “Mobile Ag Ed Lab” is agriculture on wheels, taking agriculture to the classroom was developed by the PA Farm Bureau with several corporate sponsors.

According to volunteer Phyllis Wright, one mission of the “Future of Ag Task Force of Warren County” is to bring science and technology to classrooms for student and teachers to become aware of agriculture issues, and enhance PDE academic standards in agricultural science and natural resource school curriculums, and future careers in agriculture.

The 40 ft mobile unit travels throughout Pennsylvania with instructors, to provided hands on science experiences by helping students to identify problems, form hypothesis, conduct experiments, collect data and draw conclusions. The 12 work stations in the mobile unit can also provide scientific experiments related to food safety and nutrition, Pennsylvania's primary commodities, environment, biotechnology, etc. For more information go to www.aglab.pfb.com

Last week nearly 400 fourth grade Warren County School District students participated in hands-on programs related to milk and its various properties, and making butter. Last week's four day program was sponsored by the PA Farm Bureau of Warren County. Approximately 17 volunteers and professionals from Warren County Conservation District, Warren Penn State Extension, and Warren County PA Farm Bureau, and Warren County Dairy Princess programs, provided other hands-on experiences in water, stream, and soil studies, dairy industry, forestry, and food origin awareness, at the Hatch Run Conservation District Center.

This week the mobile lab is at the Tidioute Charter School working with several grades experiencing various scientific issues.

Teachers also learned of the “AG-IN-THE CLASSROOM” teacher workshops for K-12 classes, July 17-22 at Penn State University to learn more hands on agricultural projects for the classroom. The workshop includes visiting agriculture production sites; plus courses taught by elementary and secondary teachers, industry professionals and Penn State University faculty. Act 48 credits/and or graduate credits, and scholarships are available. Information is available at www.aitc.pfb.com

Contact Mark Lawson, President of the Warren Farm Bureau at 814-664-4366 for more information.