Rain, Fair, and Camp!

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy for me here at the Harrison County Extension Office.  Livestock shows kicked off these two weeks by being very wet at our county fair and we had an awesome turnout despite all the nasty weather!!  The shows consisted of beef and dairy cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, poultry, and rabbits.  All throughout this week I was busy setting up before the shows and tearing down after the shows which kept me extremely busy. 

After the livestock shows concluded the carnival and all of the other fair activities took off with full force.  We had several exhibits that were entered through 4-H, Homemakers, and FFA and several prizes were handed out to the best exhibits and exhibitors in all of the classes.  Not only did I have to help set up and tear down every day for all the different activities at fair, I also had to start my day in the office helping Gary answer phone calls and go on different farm visits.

The past couple of weeks have consisted of a lot of farm visits to tobacco farms because of all the rain we have received in our county and across the state.  The rain has caused several problems with tobacco crops including angular leaf spot, target spot, drowning it out, stink bug damage, nutrient deficiencies and a host of other issues.  I know the farmers do not like to hear this, but I have been really excited that it has been an unusual year with several different types of problems going on because it allows me to see several different symptoms and diseases that I have learned in books but not been able to see in the field as much until these past couple of weeks. 

We have gotten a few calls about corn also and those ended up just being nutrient deficiencies due to the excessive amounts of rainfall that we have received.  Most of those problems have corrected themselves as the ground starts to become unsaturated and the roots begin their normal functioning. I don’t want to wish away the rain at all but it would be nice for the rain to subside for a little while and returning a little later whenever we need it more.

Other than the very long nights and early mornings the past couple weeks have been a very fun learning experience to say the least.  I am ready to enjoy the comforts of my own bed but for now I am enjoying every minute of my internship.  I am starting to realize now that my internship is almost over and it makes me very sad but hopefully one day I will be blessed with the opportunity to become an extension agent.