(old web site)

Staff and Programming:

		" Thirty seven million acres is all the Michigan we will ever have."    former Governor William G. Milliken.
What is Extension   Summary	Wexford County Programming	Land Use	4-H	Family and Consumer Science	State &   Local Government	Integrated Crop Management (ICM); Christmas Trees

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What is Extension?

The task to explain what Michigan State University Extension does is a difficult, or tall order.  To paraphrase Extension’s mission and purpose : Extension’s job is to bring university research and knowledge to Wexford County for practical application to solve local problems and issues.  Think about that.  The amount of research and knowledge at Michigan State University (MSU) is huge.  More than one can list here.  Extension also has the charge to work with all universities, not just MSU.  The whole idea behind Extension is to provide even the most remote and rural communities with the knowledge, technology, and other tools one might need to make  their community a better place.  This idea was born at MSU and in 1912 the Michigan Legislature authorized counties to fund county Extension offices.  The idea was so successful that by 1914 the U.S. Congress adopted the Smith-Lever Act creating the Extension system nation-wide.  Since then, the idea has been copied in several other countries world-wide.  There is Extension in each state, housed with that state’s land grant university .  Funding for Extension comes from the federal government (US Department of Agriculture), MSU, and the local county.  Generally, the agreement is the county provides the office space, expenses of running the office (supplies, phone, secretarial, copies, etc.) and the university supplies staff and expertise at a certain level.  In Wexford County there are two secretarial employees .  Grants, volunteers, AmeriCorps, Vista, or additional allocation by the county can result in a larger number of people in the office.  In for every $1 Wexford County puts into Extension, MSU and the federal government spends about $5.25 for Wexford Extension in 2002.

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Wexford County Programing

One of the tasks each county Extension has is to focus its efforts on issues of importance for that county.  Extension has an advisory council whose job is to list and prioritize what Wexford Extension should be doing.  The Wexford County Board of Commissioners also have a voice in this process.  MSU plays a role to make sure issues of state-wide concern are also on a county Extension’s “to do” list.  Priorities of the Wexford Extension Council are:       *    Land use (water protection, new county zoning, community growth, empty buildings, farmland, implement the county Plan).      *    Youth and family issues (teen pregancy, housing, childhood development, substance abuse).       *    Government services (funding, jail, landfill, economic security).      *    Community health (trails, healthy lifestyle) MSU’s state-wide priorities are:       *    Agriculture and Natural Resources (such as response to Bovine TB).       *    Children, Youth and Family (such as food and nutrition training).       *    Community and Economic Development (such as land use).  The state-wide priorities are currently in the process of being re-evaluated and will be changed.

Coming Events   Wexford programs   MSU Extension Bulletins,  bulletin catalog ,   featured items , on-line    database & downloadable bulletins .

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Land Use

" Thirty seven million acres is all the Michigan we will ever have."    former Governor William G. Milliken.

In Wexford, the County Board expressed concern about land use.  MSU responded by selecting a “County Extension Director” who specializes in land use, planning, and zoning.   He has focused much of his time working on the update for the new county plan.  Much of this effort has focused on preparation of the Fact Book – heavy with reporting university research.   He has also been working with Springville and Cedar Creek Townships zoning and facilitates the Four Corners Group in the Manton area.  County Extension Director Kurt Schindler also spends 20 to 30 percent of his time providing land use services in the north half of the lower peninsula, and some state-wide.  It is common for Extension staff to have part of their assignment in many counties.  While it means someone housed at Wexford is working out of the county, it also means expertise housed in other counties are available for Wexford.

Land Use Page   Education programs ;   Pamplets ;  for people who are not members of planning commissions, appeals boards .    2001 Amendments ;   Land Use Area of Expertise Team    Water Quality Area of Expertise Team    MSU Community Development and Natural Resources ;  MSU Center for Remote Sensing and GIS .  Links   About Kurt H. Schindler

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4-H

Normally, a county has a “Program Associate” to organize and provide training to volunteers for 4-H and youth activities.  To address youth issues and juvenile crime, MSU and Wexford County have agreed to share in the extra cost to have the greater skills and expertise of a “4-H Youth Agent” – Sara Keinath.  This is done in recognition that it is far less expensive to prevent juvenile problems than to incarcerate criminals or provide child care for delinquent youth.  This program has been very successful working with grant programs and having AmeriCorps and VISTA volunteers to supplement youth programs  in Wexford.  Currently, two such volunteers are working with area schools to provide at-risk children extra attention with their reading skills.  Previously, such efforts focused programs in the Manton and Mesick areas.

Wexford 4-H Youth programs & newsletters .    Youth Development Area of Expertise Team       4-H Youth Programs: statewide , Wexford

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Children, Youth and Families

Melissa A. Tolan-Halleck, “Family and Consumer Science Educator” works for Benzie, Missaukee and Wexford Counties.  Normally a “Family and Consumer Science Educator” is assigned to three counties. In the 66 percent of time she spends in Missaukee and Wexford, she has focused on parenting (Love and Logic™, Cradle to Classroom), and divorce education in cooperation with Wexford-Missaukee Friend of the Court.  Cradle-to-Classroom is in response to research that shows a child’s brain development predominantly occurs between 0 and 5 years of age. This program has ended for now. She also focuses on diabetes education and a breast feeding initiative. A part-time person works in this program.  She is Cindy Funck .  Tolan-Halleck also administers a large grant with funding from the Michigan Family Independence Agency.  This program, the Food and Nutrition Program (FNP), targets low-income families to provide education on nutrition, family budgeting, shopping skills, and so on. Karen Van Haitsma is a part-time employee who focuses on this effort in Missaukee and Wexford Counties.  In addition to the above, Tolan-Halleck works closely with the Wexford/Missaukee Multi-Purpose [human service] Collaborative Body, Early-On™, the Community Health Assessment Initiative, the Cadillac Farm Market, Wexford TEAM-UP, and more. Programing for Benzie County is under development because this is a new assignment for this possition.

Family and Consumer Sciences

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State and Local Government

Extension also has “District Agents” who are not assigned to any one county, but rather have multiple county service areas.  They are housed in a county which is willing to host District Agents (office space, phone).  These agents have their own operating budget and buy their own office supplies, copies, etc. or reimburse the county for those services.  Wexford is host to two District Agents.  The first is John Amrhein .  He is the State and Local Government specialist.  His expertise is in local government operations, budget, finance, personnel management, and so on.  Amrhein is responsible for the north half of the lower peninsula and all of the upper peninsula.

State & Local Government Area of Expertise Team   Community and Economic Development

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Integrated Crop Management (ICM); Christmas Trees

Extension also has “District Agents” who are not assigned to any one county, but rather have multiple county service areas.  They are housed in a county which is willing to host District Agents (office space, phone).  These agents have their own operating budget and buy their own office supplies, copies, etc. or reimburse the county for those services.    Wexford is host to two District Agents, the second is Jill O’Donnell .  She is the Integrated Crop Management agricultural agent who focuses on Christmas Trees.  She is responsible for providing Christmas Tree expertise throughout all of Michigan.  As part of the Wexford team, she provides, along with Kurt Schindler, limited agricultural and homeowner assistance in general crops and gardening.

Christmas Tree Page   Christmas Tree Area of Expertise Team   Current farm and garden information --Integrated Pest Management IPM database Crop Advisory Team (C.A.T. Alert newsletters) Project GREEEN --Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs  Problem Identification Aids for flowers , ground covers , shrubs , trees C.A.T. Special Frost Information Master Gardener Master Woodland Manager program Animal Management --Animal Agriculture Initiative Manure Management

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The problem in writing an article such as this, is it lists what Wexford Extension is currently doing.  That could result in some concluding that is all Extension does.  That would not be accurate.  Extension places value in having a presence in each county, so that the services provided are geared toward the unique needs of that county.  As the needs change, so might the services Extension provides.  A major cultural ethic of Extension is its belief in continuing education and in-service training.  Extension expects its employees to be at the cutting edge of their areas of specialization, and requires Extension to receive 18 to 22 days of in-service training every year.  The goal is for Extension staff to be able to provide accurate, timely, and objective information.  And, when needed, to be able to change gears to address new needs for a county.  Remember, Extension provides access to university based research and knowledge.  That includes an incredible list of topics.  The goal is to be versatile enough to meet Wexford citizens needs for knowledge, technology, and other tools citizens might need to make their community a better place.

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More about Area of Expertise (AoE) teams

Quick Links:	Wexford Extension: Home page | Coming Events | Programs & Services | Staff | Our community | Map to the office | Site Map | Mission, Indica, Disclaimer
	Programs and Services: Land Use | 4-H  | Family and Consumer Science | State and Local Government | Christmas Trees
Children Youth and Family:	4-H: home, 4-H Newsletters & etc. | Late Breakin' News  | Dee Williams | Coming Events
	Children, Youth, Family; Children, Youth, Family
Community and Economic Development:	Land Use: Land Use Page |
	Community and Economic Development |
	State and Local Government
Agriculture:	Integrated Crop Management Integrated Crop Management, Christmas Trees: Christmas Trees
Other:	MSU Extension: MSUE (old)  | Michigan State University North | Michigan State University
	Wexford County: Wexford County government | Cadillac Area Visitor and Convention Bureau
Thank you for visiting.	MSU Extension, Wexford County; 401 N. Lake Street, Cadillac, Michigan 49601 | (231)779-9480 | msue83@msu.edu | fax(231)779-9105