Times are changing As of Jan. 5, my office is at the Extension Office in Willmar. The office is located downtown in the County Offices Building (old bank building) with several other county departments. This will be a change after working in Litchfield for the past 21 years. I did have a one-year leave where I did soybean work around the state, and last year I held a regional crops position out of Litchfield. I will meet with Extension committees in Renville and Kandiyohi Counties in January and hope we can put together a 50 percent ag position in both counties for the 2004 year. In the meantime, Joe Neubauer, Extension Educator in McLeod County, will work out of the Meeker County office approximately one day per week to assist farmers. Other people working in the local office will be Mary Loftness, 4-H Program Director at 75 percent time; Kim Johnson, office manager at 80 percent time; and Linda Murch will work with the Nutrition Education Program for low-income families at 80 percent time. I have truly enjoyed my work over the past 21 years in Litchfield. My family is tired of me saying how lucky we are, but I feel fortunate that I have had this experience. We had the farm mediation years back in the mid 1980s that were tough on everyone, but for the most part my job has been fun. My job has focused on providing unbiased, research-based information to farmers. This may seem boring to some, but it can be quite challenging and rewarding to assist farmers in making important decisions for their farms. It has been rewarding to work with our specialist on campus. George Rehms and Dale Hicks have made a huge impact on Minnesota’s agriculture, and I’m glad I can say I was a part of that team. Our work could not have been done without the great support staff of Kim, LuAnn and Joyce. Nearly every day brings on new challenges with questions on nearly every agriculture-related topic you can imagine. Occasionally we had an outbreak, like last summer’s soybean aphids, that challenged us to get the latest research information together and delivered to farmers as quickly as possible. The media has been cooperative in helping disseminate this information so it gets to growers as soon as possible. I have also answered hundreds of horticulture questions over the years on everything from tomato blight to tree diseases. We now have a great group of Master Gardeners trained who reach far more people than I ever could. Looking back, maybe we have been called the Cooperative Extension Service because so many people work together to get the job done. If we can get both Renville and Kandiyohi Counties on board, it’s possible both Joe and I will work in all four counties, so I may be back walking your corn fields and writing more news columns. Until then, take care and have a safe and prosperous New Year.
