R utgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) helps the residents of Gloucester County adapt to a rapidly changing society and im-prove their lives through an educational proc-ess that uses science-based knowledge. As an integral part of Cook College, the NJ Ag-riculture Experiment Station, and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, we offer practical, research-based educa-tion to all Gloucester County resi-dents.

The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, the State of New Jersey, and Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Programming in 4-H Youth Development, Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS), and Agriculture Resource Management, is deliv-ered to county residents through educational programs and seminars, field demonstrations, home-study courses, school enrichment pro-grams, telephone inquiries and hotlines, newsletters, and fact sheets.

PPPRIORITIESRIORITIESRIORITIES RCE programs in Gloucester County address six key priorities:

• Enhancing Environmental Resources

• Financial Competence

• Strengthen Families

• Productive Futures For Youth

• Agricultural Viability

• Improved Food Safety and Nutrition

EEENHANCINGNHANCINGNHANCING E E ENVIRONVIRONVIRON-N-N-MENTALMENTALMENTAL R R RESOURCESESOURCESESOURCES

Home & Garden Helpline — RCE’s Home Horticulture program has steadily increased in popularity since its debut in 2000. The RCE Home and Gar-den Helpline (856/307-6464) is staffed by volunteers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00

p.m. This year, the Helpline as-sisted over 1,500 resi-dents with gardening, pest manage-ment, and landscape questions.

Master Gardeners — RCE of Gloucester County has trained over 70 volunteers through the Master Gardener program. Over 50 active members have contributed 4,325 volunteer service hours to their communities. They collaborate with groups to present programs and ser-vices throughout the county. Key Master Gardener initiatives for 2001 included: “Treekeeper Training” provided by the NJ Tree Foundation, gardening clinics, creat-ing educational displays that were used at community events, assisting the Gloucester County Parks and Recreation Department with park beautification projects. The Master Gardeners also launched a new web site and developed a cookbook to pro-mote RCE, the use of locally grown pro-duce, and gardening.

4-H Enrichment Pro-grams — School children learned about the interrelationships between all forms of life on earth using New Jersey 4-H Discovery Kits, which are loaned to county schools, youth groups, and day-care programs. Each kit contains a teaching guide and tools to provide hands-on instruction in a specific sub-ject. Kits include “Big As A Whale,” “Geology Where You Live,” “Don’t Trash the Planet,” and “Tree-Mendous Fun.”

Agriculture — In response to New Jersey’s drought emergency, Agri-culture personnel wrote articles on water conservation; supported the NJ Depart-ment of Agriculture in developing a state drought web site; and developed a presentation on water conservation for local media and agricultural policy mak-ers.

Sixteen new water certifica-tion applications were prepared and 248 maintained or updated through re-certification/annual water use reporting.

FFFINANCIALINANCIALINANCIAL C C COOOMPETENCEMPETENCEMPETENCE FCS Initiatives — To date, 25 county residents have enrolled in the self-study program “Investing for Your Future.” Designed for beginning inves-tors with small dollar amounts to invest at a time, the 11-part series addresses a variety of topics, from learning basic investing to investment fraud. An addi-tional 117 residents learned to save, re-duce debt, and manage money with the quarterly “Money Matters” newsletter.

RCE: A YEAR OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

ANNUAL

REPORT

2002

RCE OF G LOUCESTER C OUNTY 2002 ANNUAL R EPORT PAGE 2

4-H Clubs — Over 500 chil-dren learned money manage-ment skills by participating in 4-H clubs. All clubs manage their own treas-uries, which teaches mem-bers fiscal responsibility and account-ability. 4-Hers learned to record and evaluate the cost of feed, health care, grooming equipment, showing, and training their projects in animal clubs. Budgeting was instrumental to 4-H model program participants as they learned to “stretch” clothing dollars and understand sales and advertising in the fashion industry. Senior 4-H members ran a food concession at the 4-H Fair, which taught teens how to make respon-sible decisions about budgeting and dis-bursing profits to support programs.

Christmas Tree Growers — A new program, “Christmas Trees 101,” was designed for homeowners and small landowners with an interest in starting a home-based business growing Christmas Trees. Sixty five people participated in this popular program, presented by the RCE State Forestry specialist. Thirty additional people participated in a Christmas tree management meeting.

SSSTRENGTHENTRENGTHENTRENGTHEN F F FAMILIESAMILIESAMILIES LifeKeys — This statewide FCS initiative reached 450 Glouces-

ter County residents with programs on family well-being. Three key focus ar-eas included “Who Gets Grandma’s Yel-low Pie Plate?,” which helped families address issues concerning the transfer of non-titled property; “Caring for You...Caring for Me,” a 5-week education and support program for caregivers that led to the development of a monthly support program for caregivers, offered through the County Office on Aging; and “Connections,” a quarterly newsletter for family daycare providers. This popular newsletter gives providers up-to-date information on caregiving and creative play, health and safety, and issues that affect the child care profession itself — such as insurance, profitability, and laws/regulations.

4-H Youth Development — This program relies on over 300 volun-teers to serve as club leaders and run events such as the 4-H Expo, the Gloucester County 4-H Fair, the Fall Festival, and Annual Awards Banquet.

Most volunteers are parents or other family members of current or former 4-H mem-bers who recognize the value of the life skills developed by the 4-H program. These adults act as mentors to our young people during critical

years in their development.

4-H partnered with the Ameri-can Cancer Society to present “Kids Un-der Cover,” a program that taught 975 children about skin safety. The program emphasizes how and why ultraviolet rays damage skin and how to protect skin from those rays with the “Slip, Slap, Slop” tech-nique — slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, and slop on sunscreen for sun safety.

Master Gardener Pro-jects — Volunteers and staff spent many

hours educating the public on drought restrictions and ways to conserve water in the home landscape.

New for 2001 were the Fall and Spring Gardening Festivals. The festivals offered local residents an op-portunity to spend a day learning how to improve gardening skills. Topics in-cluded lawn care, beneficial insects, common landscaping mistakes, and water conservation in the home land-scape. More than 100 residents partici-pated in each of these educational pro-grams.

PPPRODUCTIVERODUCTIVERODUCTIVE F F FUTURESUTURESUTURES FORFORFOR Y Y YOUTHOUTHOUTH 4-H turned 100 this year. To celebrate, the National 4-H Centennial Celebration focused on “The Power of Youth.” Youth and adults participated in a statewide needs assessment to es-tablish a list of priorities in five key areas: Power of Youth; Access, Equity, and Opportunity; An Extraordinary Place to Live and Learn; Exceptional People, Innovative Practices; and Effec-tive Organizational Systems. Two Gloucester County youth and one staff member participated in the 3-day Na-tional Conversation on Youth to support the development of a national youth agenda based on each state’s needs.

Life Skills — 4-H projects helped club members develop commu-nication and decision making skills, positive self-esteem, and sensitivity to

the needs of others. Public speaking en-hanced

communications skills for the 84 mem-bers who gave presentations at 4-H Expo, and for 4-H ambassadors who spoke to service clubs throughout the

We’re on the web!

http://gloucester.rce.rutgers.

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county.

Continuing a long-standing tradition, each Gloucester County 4-H Club completes at least one service pro-ject annually. This year’s projects in-cluded parties for residents of local nurs-ing homes, a historic fashion show at an assisted living facility, and participation in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Character Counts — 490 Gloucester County school children par-ticipated in this valuable program. The program stresses the six pillars of charac-ter as a basis for our private and profes-sional lives.

Reaching Out to Underserved Audiences — Thanks to generous in-kind contributions, a wheelchair mounting ramp was purchased to accommodate physically challenged riders. This ramp affords all members of Gloucester County

4-H an equal opportunity to participate both in shows and the fair. This is the latest step in providing a truly accessible fair experience.

AAAGRICUGRICUGRICULTURELTURELTURE V V VIABILITYIABILITYIABILITY Fruit Marketing — Marketing of the 20th edition of the New Jersey Wholesale Peach Buyers’ Guide gener-ated more than $19,000 in revenue to support the marketing of New Jersey’s $30 million wholesale peach crop. The publication is a guide to all types of infor-mation about the industry and the han-dling, distribution, and marketing of New Jersey peaches. In 2001, the guide was

highlighted on the New Jersey Depart-ment of Agriculture web site. This year, a new web site was developed for the guide — www.jerseypeaches.com.

NJ Peach Festival — 19,000 people attended the 2001 New Jersey Peach Festival, featuring a commercial

peach package competition and an edu-cational exhibit on peaches. The festi-val is the kick-off of the peach season and generates a significant amount of publicity about the New Jersey peach crop. Food editors attended to learn about New Jersey peaches and, as a result, featured numerous articles in newspapers throughout the state.

Farm Management — Three programs and 4 educational displays were presented to 260 agricultural busi-nesses, teaching them valuable risk re-duction techniques.

Four data collection meetings educated growers about a new crop in-surance program. Additional informa-tion on USDA-Farm Service programs was delivered to 280 agribusiness peo-ple each month. A survey was con-ducted on crop insurance and improve-ments to the system, resulting in in-creased participation.

Vegetable Research — Eth-nic and specialty eggplant, hot pep-per, heir-loom tomato, grape tomato, and Middle-Eastern melon variety trials

were conducted to research the adaptability of these varieties for production in New Jersey. A vari-ety trial for ornamental kale and cabbage crops was conducted to investigate improved selections for field planting.

Seventeen vegetable, fruit, and wine grape twilight meetings were held at host farms to update growers on the most recent and profitable methods of production and marketing. Weekly reports were given to assist in providing supermarkets with produce avail-ability updates. This information enhanced the purchase of local pro-duce by large chain stores.

Fruit Research — Peach, plum, and nectarine research was con-ducted with 414 cultivars. Three culti-var displays and exhibitions were held. New cultivars from France, California, Michigan, the USDA in Byron Geor-gia, and New Jersey were planted. An annual research report and 4 fact sheets were published. The variety, NJG47-122, developed at the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station was tested in the program and will be introduced to growers next year.

Youth Outreach — 4-H of-fers 2 enrichment programs that address agricultural topics: “The Hungary Cat-erpillar” introduced 878 preschool and early elementary school children to the idea of competition for our food supply. A new embryology program allowed over 150 kindergarteners and first grad-ers to hatch chicks in their classroom.

RCE OF G LOUCESTER C OUNTY 2002 ANNUAL REPORT

ness in children. A collaboration with WIC expanded out reach and is enabling FCS to conduct an applied research intervention to assess knowledge and behavior change as a result of the pro-gram. Recognized as a Program of Excel-lence by the USDA,

Handle With Care is used statewide and in 10 other states.

Swap One — This research and education initiative is a collaboration with the NJ Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Currently in the research and development phase, FCS is analyzing data from 313 study participants. FCS will use this data to develop an educational program that pediatricians can implement to promote increased consumption of fruits and vegeta-bles and more selective use of fruit juice in children.

Agriculture — The use of inte-grated pest management (IPM) techniques (pest-specific and biological pesticides and mating disruption attractants) is environ-mentally friendly and maintains a safe and healthy food supply for consumers.

An IPM program was delivered to 26 agribusiness firms, producing 5,685 acres of grain, 4,194 acres of acres of peaches, 3,500 acres of vegetables, and 489 acres of apples. The program saved growers an average of $75 per acre by reducing pounds of pesti-cides used and fertilizer applied per farm. This program enabled farmers to judiciously use agri-chemicals and improved the use of biological and cultural control practices.

A series of 5 meetings on sustain-able fruit production, integrated pest man-

4-H animal club members par-ticipated in a variety of programs and seminars on animal husbandry and show-manship. These included presentations by veterinarians on protection from disease, a USDA program on the new scrapies regu-lations that effect goats and sheep, and a livestock seminar.

IIIMPROVEDMPROVEDMPROVED F F FOODOODOOD S S SAFETYAFETYAFETY & & & NNNUTRITIONUTRITIONUTRITION FCS programs in food safety and nutrition reached more than 5,000 consumers, thanks to a variety of partner-

ships and collabora-tions with county de-partments, groups, and organizations. Pro-grams addressed such topics as foodborne illness, children’s nu-trition, herbal supple-ments, and heart

health. Key FCS initiatives included:

“From Our Farms” — “From Our Farms” promotes improved nutrition and consumption of locally grown foods (which will, in turn, help sustain the eco-nomic viability of local farms) through a series of family-based activities that are offered through 9 local libraries. Fami-lies participate in the program by attend-ing fun-filled learning programs or by checking out “From Our Farms” learning boxes from libraries. Collaborations within RCE and throughout the county, as well as grants and in-kind contributions of more than $20,000 have helped make this one of FCS’ most successful programs.

“Handle With Care” — In-fants and young children are particularly susceptible to foodborne illness because their immune systems are not yet fully developed to fight infection. “Handle With Care” taught parents how to safely handle infant formula, expressed breast milk, and food to prevent foodborne ill-

agement, and food safety was presented to 161 fruit agribusiness people. Participants learned integrated biological, chemical, and cultural pest control; cost-effective fruit management practices; and safety practices.

Pesticide Applications — Training material was distributed to 325 current and future pesticide applicators and operators; 685 worker protection cards were distributed for training pesti-cide handlers; and 386 pesticide applica-tor category and core units were given to 2,800 agribusiness people via RCE pro-grams. An additional 350 farmers re-ceived information on produce handling in the field, packing house, and in transit to reduce the possibility of microbial con-tamination.

4-H Enrichment Programs — “Veggie Adventures” taught 926 children where delicious and healthy vegetables really get their start. “Fight Bac!,” which stresses the importance of proper hand washing to reduce incidence of foodborne illness, taught 65 elementary school chil-dren the value of hand washing.

PAGE 4 RCE OF G LOUCESTER C OUNTY 2002 ANNUAL R EPORT

Faculty & StaffFaculty & StaffFaculty & Staff

Family & Consumer Sciences Luanne Hughes, MS, RD: FCS Educator

Agriculture & Resource Management Jerome L. Frecon: Agricultural Agent Michelle Infante-Casella: Agricultural Agent David Schmitt: Program Associate, IPM Mary Cummings: Program Associate

4-H Youth Development Peggy McKee: Program Associate Gerry Leonarski: Program Associate June Harris: Program Assistant Tammy Suydam: Program Assistant

County Board of Chosen Freeholders Stephen M. Sweeney, Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger, Freeholder Liaison

Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Gloucester County

1200 N. Delsea Drive, Clayton, NJ 08312 856/307-6450 * 856/881-4191 (fax)