Georgia Magazine - January 2015 - 20

as well as helping those who've
been in the business for a long time," says Fielder.
"But I'm not sure people recognize
how much we do with homeowners
as far as gardening, lawn and landscape issues. Plus, we work with the
chambers of commerce on issues of
community development and leadership, giving us a fairly large footprint
in our communities."
That footprint has been recognized in rural communities for
decades, according to Elizabeth L.
Andress, food safety specialist with
UGA's College of Family and Consumer Sciences.
"The county agent and home
economist played key roles," says
Andress. "They often provided the
only science-based, objective view on
things. Like the county ag agent, the
home economist's role was to relate
to what people faced in their homes
in daily life and make sure new
technologies were
translated into usable,
practical information,
with the ultimate goal
being to improve their
quality of life." [Read
more about Andress
and Extension recipes,
this issue, page 42.]
While county
agents showed cattle
farmers better ways
to pasture their herds,
home economists offered classes on sewing, home decorating
and food preservation. Jan Baggarly
"It was hands-on
instruction that harkened back to
the earliest days of Extension," says
Jan Baggarly, recently retired Bibb
County Extension coordinator and
sio

Family and Consumer Sciences
agent. "In the
'50s and '60s,
Extension home
economists worked
with home demonstration clubs, teaching
how to safely preserve
food. In the '70s, we
taught people how to sew
their own clothing. Through
the years, as the economics changed, there was more
1945-present
emphasis on health and wellness,
ﬁnancial education
and food safety issues."
University of Georgia Extension predates electric
Today, agents teach
cooperatives in Georgia by a few decades, but
ServeSafe national certiﬁcaExtension agents working with co-ops to improve
tion classes for the state's food the rural standard of living was a natural marindustry to ensure restaurants
riage. For almost 70 years, GEORGIA Magazine has
prepare food safely, according covered Extension events such as cooking schools
and kitchen demonstrations held at EMCs, as well
to Baggarly. Along with leadas featuring and sponsoring many 4-H events and
ing classes on nutrition, she's
competitions, as in these clips above.
ﬁelded phone calls.
"I answered a lot of quesfull-time basis. We have the opportions on food presertunity to tie ourselves back in, like
vation, canning and
with people who want to learn how
freezing," she says. "I
to can and freeze; that's been big the
got calls regarding inlast two or three years."
door air quality, mold
As a new generation of farmers,
and mildew in homes,
families and 4-H'ers seek assistance
and calls on food
safety after the freezer from the Extension ofﬁce, agents
or fridge goes out. And use new mediums to reach them,
according to Wheeler, who says most
we still got questions
on recipes. At Thanks- Extension ofﬁces utilize a website
and social media such as Facebook
giving, I got calls on
and Twitter, even as they continue to
how to thaw out and
write columns for their local newspacook a turkey."
pers, do radio programs and speak
Fielder believes
1976
at civic club meetings.
Extension has come
While the bulk of UGA Exfull circle.
tension's history has been one of
"We're back to our
success and forward-moving, the
grass roots," he says. "We have the
opportunity to help people working organization continues to rebound
as part-time farmers and people who from budget cuts. While Extension
want to get into an ag business on a once prided itself in having at least
three local agents (ag, 4-H and home
economist) and in each of Georgia's
Details: For more information about UGA Extension, visit extension.uga.edu
159 counties, today it has a presence
or call (800) Ask-UGA1 [800-275-8421]. To view the UGA Extension Centennial
in 157, many of those with only one
online exhibit, visit 100years.extension.uga.edu.
agent, says Brown.
"It's very expensive to main20

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Georgia Magazine - January 2015

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