Issue of the Month: MSU Extension Services to County Citizens

One of the unheralded services presented by Kent County is offered through the MSU Extension office located in Kent County. The Extension office is partially funded with county dollars, and provides a myriad of services in five key areas:

(1) Agriculture and Agribusiness education and assistance to all types of farming operations. Kent is #1 in the state and #8 in the country for apple production.

(2) Children and Youth programs through 4-H club activities in the urban and rural areas. There are 72 4-H clubs in the county with 1,200 youth involved. There could be more!! This is a way of keeping youth involved in growing activities.

(3) Greening Michigan Institute which is done at the New Downtown Market. The purpose is to develop new ways to use agricultural products as well as teaching basic home owner education and financial planning to low income citizens,

(4) Health and Nutrition through encouraging healthy eating and physical activities. During the past year there were over 4,000 presentations to low income adults and families about importance of proper nutrition and physical activity.

(5) Farmland Preservation activities by staffing the County Farmland Preservation Task Force. This involves one part time staff person to leverage public and private dollars to help preserve farmland in our county for future food production.