2012 Plant Sale

The Yancey County Cooperative Extension Service is now taking orders for several different plants for the 2012 planting season.

 Anyone desiring to order plants may do so at the Cooperative Extension Center located at 10 Orchard Drive during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) or by mailing an Order Form (with payment) to Cooperative Extension Service, 10 Orchard Drive, Burnsville, NC,  28714.  Click plants available for description and pricing on various plants.  

Plant Forms are available at the Extension Office or for download and printing at the following link either as a Word or PDF  document.

GAP Certification Classes Offered by Cooperative Extension

Due to food safety concerns, more markets as well as insurance providers for farmers are requiring GAPs certification.  To address this, Cooperative Extension is offering a Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) training series.  Any grower interested in getting GAP certification through a third party audit must have all three of the classes offered.  The same class will be offered two times each day for each of the three classes.   Any local grower wishing to participate with the local agriculture  marketing center is strongly encouraged to attend these classes.  Class dates are as follows:

• Packing Facility Sanitation and Employee Health and Hygiene; Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 9:30 – Noon, 6:00 – 8:30 P.M, Bakersville Historic Courthouse
• Animals, Animal Byproducts, Bio-solids, Site Selection, Water Quality; Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 9:30 – Noon, 6:00 – 8:30 P.M.,  Avery Campus, Mayland Community College

All three classes are 2-1/2 hours per session.   There is no charge for any of the classes. Please contact Yancey (682-6186), Mitchell (688-4811) or Avery (733-8270) County to register for these classes.

For full details on each class, click Class Description link.  

Applications Accepted for Housing Repair Program

Yancey County is in the process of applying for a $400,000 grant to implement a Scattered Site Housing Rehabilitation Program.  Every three years each county in North Carolina, with the exception of Wake and Cumberland, is eligible to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the North Carolina Division of Community Assistance to develop a Scattered Site Housing Program.  The program provides funding for housing repairs to low-income homeowners.  Homes selected for the program must be brought up to current building codes, and could possibly be eligible for replacement with a new mobile home.

Homeowners must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible for the CDBG Scattered Site Housing Program. Please visit the website listed for more detailed information:  http://www.regiond.org/

Applications for assistance will be accepted through January 31, 2012.  Applications may downloaded and submitted to Michelle Ball. You may also find applications online at www.yanceycountync.gov and www.regiond.org, or you may call Michelle Ball at High Country Council of Governments at (828) 265-5434 to request an application.

APPLICATION

2012 ServSafe Classes

Why ServSafe Certification?

Because the ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-Conference for Food Protection (CFP).  Because the ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification Exam is valid, reliable and legally defensible.

Because it's certification the industry trusts. In fact, more than 3 million ServSafe Food Protection Manager certifications have been awarded to date.

January 2012 @ Avery Mayland Campus, Newland, NC  28657

• Tuesday the 17th, 9 to 5
• Monday the 23rd, 9 to 5
• Wednesday the 25th, 9 to Noon:  Testing
• Monday the 30th, Make up in case of Snow

Click link for 2012 ServSafe Class Schedule.

Blueprint for a Profitable Mountain Farm

February 3rd, Mayland Community College, Spruce Pine, NC

Are you looking to diversify into new operations on your small family farm?  Trying to decide which ventures hold the most promise?  Extension Agents here in the high country get this question frequently and have handpicked what they feel are some options with the potential for great success.

You will have options to attend sessions in any of the four tracks that we have arranged including livestock, fruits, vegetables and forest products.  The event will run from 9:30 to 4:30 with lunch included in the $10 registration fee.  Also included will be a resource notebook for you to take home with supplemental information. 

For more information or to register call the Avery, Mitchell or Yancey Extension office.  Click here for a registration form.

Yancey County Farm Listing

The new Yancey Grown website lists farmers who wish to participate in listing their farms, and their produce and products available.   YanceyGrown.com is your source for locally grown vegetables, fruits, poultry, eggs, honey, grass fed beef, and much more.

Check out the new YanceyGrown YouTube Video produced and directed by Jamie Parlier.

 2011/2012 4-H Youth Enrollment
Enrollments are full at this time.  You may complete an enrollemnt form and be put on a waiting list.

Click on the link above to see what is happening.

YANCEY COUNTY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION STUDYING LOCAL FOODS SALES AND MARKETING CENTER

The Yancey County Cooperative Extension Center is researching the creation of a local foods marketing center in Yancey County by identifying local farmers and food producers in the area who wish to participate in this project.  If you are interested in being a suppliers for this project, contact the Yancey Cooperative Extension Center at (828)682-6816 to receive a producer survey or you may go on line to complete the survey.  See link below, or for more information click here.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YanceyProducerSurvey2010.

It is also important that we document an interest from area consumers for produce and farm products produced in the county.  We would like to identify local families and consumers in the area who wish to participate in this project by purchasing specific types of produce or other  farm products for sale at a centralized market.  You may obtain a copy of the Survey at the Extension Center (call 828-682-6186) or you may go on line to complete the survey.  Click for link to survey.  You may also download and print the survey and return to the Extension Office.

Voles In Horticultural Plantings

For Information regarding characteristics and control of Voles in the home landscape, see Wildlife Damage Notes