Educators who are in program leadership posiitons are invited to participate in this inservice that will focus on the strategic position of the 4-H Youth Development program in the 21st century. We will take a very careful look at what we are currently doing and reflect on program qualities, constituencies, and best practices.

Local food issues are reaching a crescendo. Empire State Poll data reveals that New York State residents overwhelmingly believe that agriculture is important to their communities. Likewise, the number of residents reporting going out of their way for local food has climbed dramatically (37.4% to 44.1% between 2004 and 2007). Meanwhile popular media have picked up their coverage of locally produced food and regional cuisine helping foment this growing interest.
There are many local food and agriculture projects in New York State including buy local campaigns, regional branding, farm-to-school projects, share-use kitchens, new regional good distribution networks, and the like. Farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture operations have likewise thrived in the last 20 years. Meanwhile, Cooperative Extension Association, RC&Ds, and farm organizations seek research-based information, tools, training, and resources which build their capacity to help the agriculture and food industry adjust to new economic realities of a globalizing food system, and make valued contributions to local quality of life. But we also see many communities and regions in the state that have not tapped this vein of community and economic development opportunity.
In this in-service Session we propose to offer a smorgasbord of opportunities for Extension Educators to learn about the state of the art in local food programming. Possible workshop topics include:

1. Creating farmer-friendly zoning ordinances.
2. Panel: Ag and Farmland Protection Boards: 10 years old. what has worked, what
hasn't; impacts, new funding from Ag and Mkts.
3. Local Food Projects: A State of the Art in NYS (share the preliminary
results of the research Dana Shapiro will be completing over the summer).
4. MarketScape and MarketMaker Training
5. Food and Agriculture Development Roundtable
6. Cutting Edge Strategies: (including Agriculture Industry Clusters)
7. Local Agriculture Sustainability Indicators (LASI project preliminary indicators examined)
8. New York Regional Cuisine and Foodways
9. Town Agriculture Development Plans (Porter, Canandaigua?)
10. Building Regional Food Webs (Regional Networks)
1:00PM Tuesday October 9 thru Noon Wednesday October 10

This professional development session is designed to meet multiple goals: identify resources and strategies for increasing our cultural competencies as Extension professionals; explore cultural perspectives of families; discuss research and extension efforts that address immigrant farmworker needs; and learn about the experience of newer immigrant populations in NYS communities. This will involve a mix of plenary sessions and concurrent sessions.
To develop relevant education programs, Extension professionals must understand changing family structures, immigrant perceptions on community acceptance and immigrant farmworkers' contributions to local communities, the shifting needs of local communities, and the impacts of global trends. Only when we understand issues and when we take steps to increase our cultural competencies can we deliver meaningful programs for our constituencies. Presenters- Mary Jo Dudley, Eduardo Gonzalez Jr

Participants will: use the national evaluation tool kit, identify indicators to capture program outcomes & impacts, gain knowledge of best education practices re: financial literacy & energy management & learn about new research. Sponsored by the Family Economics and Resource Management Program Work Team

The CCE Online Instructor Certification Program is a hybrid online/In-service that will provide you with the tools and knowledge you need to conduct successful online courses which meet the high standards we have established for our existing distance learning courses and content. This new program will provide you with techniques and best practices, as well as hands-on experience,  for planning and conducting an online course using the existing CCE distance learning infrastructure.

Invasive species affect every county in NYS. Invasive species extract a significant price, measured in dollars, damaged crops and infrastructure, power failures, food and water shortages, environmental impacts, and human and livestock diseases. For example, the annual bill for controlling the Asian long-horned beetle in New York City and Long Island has ranged from 13 to 40 million. Other species of particular concern to NY include purple loosestrife, the emerald ash borer, West Nile virus, the Swede midge, Phragmites, zebra mussels, the sirex wood wasp, Japanese knotweed, Southern bacterial wilt, and giant hogweed.

New York’s agriculture, horticulture, forestry, parks, tourism and diverse natural resources are at risk. For example, agriculture covers about one-quarter of the state. Our residents enjoy over 4,000 freshwater lakes, major portions of Lakes Erie and Ontario, 70,000 miles of waterways, and over 2 million acres of freshwater wetlands. NY is home to 504 separate populations of state endangered or threatened species. Chapter 324 of the Laws of NY (2003) called for an Invasive Species Task Force to explore the invasive species issue and provide recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature. At least two of the Task Force’s 12 recommendations are of direct interest to Cornell University and CCE: (4) Establish a comprehensive education and outreach effort, and (8) Establish a center for invasive species research. Funding for both of these initiatives is expected to come to CCE and Cornell University this year from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.

A well-informed public will be the first line of defense against invasives. CCE is uniquely positioned to provide the all-important linkage between research and the public. Educators in at least half of the county associations are already dealing with such issues, particularly agriculture, horticulture and natural resources educators. A new Invasive Species Program Work Team has recently been established to provide guidance to invasive species research and outreach efforts. This pre-conference in-service will address the invasives issue in detail and provide CCE educators an opportunity to be part of the process of planning where CCE will head in undertaking the statewide invasive species education program.

Agenda to be emailed to Executive Directors