Submitted By: Chris Hicks – UT Extension
While you are probably familiar with the University of Tennessee, you may not be well acquainted with University of Tennessee Extension. UT Extension, which over the years has gone by other names such as the Agriculture Extension Service, has been around for over 100 years working to improve the lives of Tennesseans.
UT Extension has an office in every county in Tennessee, staffed with professionals who are knowledgeable in areas such as agriculture, families and health, and youth development. As an “extension” of the University of Tennessee, we are able to bring research based information from the University into local communities.
The goal of Extension is to provide education, with Extension agents in the local office being the link between Tennesseans, and university specialists, scientists and researchers. Extension professionals are able to provide information on a variety of subjects, ranging from landscaping to nutrition, from animal health to family money management. These programs are available to all county residents.
In a single day, individuals may come into the local Extension office with questions on a variety of topics such as marketing timber, pest identification and control, or managing diabetes. It would be difficult for any one individual to be an expert on all those topics, yet there are specialists in each of them, along with many others, at the University who provide support for agents across the state.
Extension also has hundreds of publications available free of charge. Topics range from nutrition and food safety, to livestock production, to home gardening and more. Most of our publications are available online at smith.tennessee.edu.
Some of UT Extension’s agriculture programs include classes and workshops for farmers and landowners. We also provide education through field days, on-farm demonstrations, and farm visits. Whether it is picking out a new crop variety, soil testing to determine fertility needs, or learning to control a pest infestation, professional and novice farmers alike can trust that information from our office will be based on research that has been proven in Tennessee.
Besides programs in agriculture, the local UT Extension office also provides education for families and youth. Family and Consumer Sciences programs focus on family, food, health, home and money. Besides offering classes like Tai Chi for Arthritis and Canning College, our Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs meet all around the county each month, and seek to better serve their families and communities through club work.
The 4-H Youth Development program helps “make the best better” by teaching public speaking, citizenship, leadership, and many more life lessons while working on projects they enjoy. These youth are able to learn in a variety of formats such as in school meetings, judging teams, after school programs, camps, conferences, and various service projects.
If you’ve never considered all that UT Extension has to offer, I hope you will drop by for a visit. Our office is located at 125 Gordonsville Hwy, Suite 300 in Carthage. You can also find us online at smith.tennessee.edu, on Facebook at UT Extension-Smith County, or give us a call at 615-735-2900.
The University of Tennessee Extension, Smith County offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability or veteran status and is an equal opportunity employer.
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