Newton County Agent Adam Willis paid a visit to the Newton County Quorum Court on Monday night, Feb. 3, and presented the JPs with a copy of his office's Annual Update.
This report provides county officials with data showing the number of participants who had been contacted through the extension office's multitude of programs delivered through the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension.
Willis was the sole agent for most of 2024. Family and Consumer Science Agent Joie Phillips was hired to fill that office vacancy.
The county extension office provides education outreach programs, 4-H youth programs and activities, community and economic contacts, agriculture programs, natural resources programs and activities and other consumer science e programs and activities.
2024 Newton County Extension Educational Outreach
• total educational contacts - 13,212
• Total county volunteer hours - 3,334
• Total value of volunteer hours - $111,655.66
Newton County 4-H Program Overview
• 4,894 educational contacts
• Six 4-H clubs
• 14 4-H volunteers
4-H Key Programs and Activities
Poultry Chain, 22 participants; Sea Perch participants, three teams, 15 participants; Ross Photography, eight participants; 4-H activity at the Fall Festival at Deer; planting dates for different vegetables for the Deer Science Class, seven participants; ATV Safety presentation at Compton 4-H meeting, 10 participants; Deer 4-H compass activity, 18 participants; Newton County Fair Livestock Show and Commercial Exhibit participation; Livestock Reasons Class for youth at North Arkansas College, 27 participants; FFA Officer Interviews, 12 participants: Conservation Day 4-H Activity at Yellville, 46 participants; 4-H dairy cattle judging at the Arklahomał State Fair; 4-H educational programs,1,151 participants and 4-H Facebook contacts 1,302 contacts.
Newton County Community and Economic Overview
There were: 3,004 educational contacts, 8,561 educational contacts made through social media, 25 newspaper articles, 10 service organizations assisted, Career Day at Deer/Mt. Judea, Schools, Homnertown Health Fall Fest, Qyiorum Court Interpretive Event, Buffalo Watershed trash dump clean up, Constrant Contact newsletters, Farm Bureau annual meeting, Newton County Heritage Day, distributed 100 ballot issue facts sheets throughout the county. The office also worked with the ANewotn County Fair and the Northwest Arkansas District Fair. It also produced an EHC monthly newsletter.
Newton County Agriculture Program Overview
• 4,319 educational contacts
• 122 farm visits
• 15 demonstrations
• 3,645 acres of soil tested
• 1,506 volunteer hours valued at $50,435.94.
Newton County agriculture and national resources key programs and activities in 2024: sixteen producers from Johnson, Newton and Logan counties participated in a facilities tour, 43 producers attended the River Valley Beef Cattle Conference in Ozark, 27 producers attended the multi county forage meeting Paris, 35 producers attended the multi county beef meeting in Ozark, 11 producers attended the Boone and Newton county able grating workshop in Harrison, 53 producers attend the Newton county Cattleman's meeting about how to utilize your hay test, 34 producers attended the Newton County Cattlemen's meeting about Theileriosis in cattle, 21 producers were trained five Pesticide Applicator Classes in Newton County, 14 agricultural newspaper articles were published in Harrison Daily Times and Newton County times, three agricultural radio programs were broadcasted at KHOZ radio station in Harrison, 22 agricultural social media posts were posted to Facebook with 3,133 contacts made.
Newton County Family and Consumer Sciences overview
Even without an agent on the Job until July 2 the Newton County FCS and EHC programs still ran strong. The clubs continued with their monthly meetings. They rewarded the Pauline Cooper Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to a Newton County high school senior. The Sewphisticated Scrappy Quilters EHC group made and presented 12 quilts to veterans at various veteran recognition events throughout the county. They made sure to continue with the EHC Christmas toy drive and were able to present 17 families representing 33 children with gifts for Christmas who might not have had any otherwise. They spent lots of time volunteering for and with various other organizations and ensured that the FCS/EHC program stayed strong and running even through the absence of an agent.
