Extension, EARC Under One Roof

With the completion of the new facility north of town, the Richland County Extension office and the Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) will soon share their new modern building. Staff at both the EARC and Extension invites the public to stop in an visit at any time during normal working hours. The Extension staff moved to the facility in early June and the EARC staff will complete their move in the near future, depending on when the furniture for the EARC personnel arrives.

Extension staff includes Tim Fine, Juli Snedigar, Judy Johnson and Patti Fjelstad. EARC staff includes Jerry Bergman, Joyce Eckhoff, Charles Flynn, Rene Sundheim, Cherie Gatzke, Becky Garza, Deb Kunda, Mary Schaff, Calla Kowatch, Lisa Curtis and Ron Brown. Both the Extension staff and the EARC staff looks forward to serving Richland County from the new facility.

Extension personnel are located in the west portion of the building. Judy Johnson, family and consumer science extension agent, has worked for Richland County residents for the past 26 years. She focuses on food and nutrition, family financing, human development and environmental health. One of her popular programs ‘Strong Women Stay Young’ teaches strength training for women. She also offers food safety education and financial education for youth. She provides research based information relating to life skills so people can make informed decisions.

Tim Fine has served Richland County for a little over a year as extension agent. His responsibilities include crop production, livestock production and horticulture. He provides information on gardening, landscaping, and ornamental plots as well as assisting farmers and ranchers with crop and livestock production questions and problems. He appreciates the new Research and Extension facility. “The meeting room is a big asset,” he remarks. “I also like to have the ability to walk down the hall to visit with the research staff as we stay updated on research results, as part of Extension’s mission is to disseminate research information.”

Juli Snedigar serves as the 4-H and community development extension agent. Snedigar began her duties with the Richland County extension office in March of this year. She handles the 4-H program and has initiated a new component of Extension, that of community development. Snedigar brings four years of past extension experience with her to the Richland County office.

Patti Fjelstad works as the administrative assistant for the Richland County extension office. She began her duties in 2008 and meets and greets the public. She assists with the 4-H newsletter and fills in where needed to help ensure the office runs smoothly. “This is never boring,” she says. “I enjoy working with the 4-H members and their families, and working with Tim, Judy and Juli is awesome. This is my niche as I enjoy the job, the agents and meeting the public. I think this new facility will be a good move for all of us.”

The EARC staff will have offices just down the hall on the east side of the new facility.

Jerry Bergman, EARC director, has served the area since 1974 when he arrived in Sidney as an agronomist and safflower breeder. Bergman has been director of the EARC since 1979. He continues to work on the development of new and improved safflower varieties and to date has released 14 varieties of safflower.

Joyce Eckhoff, agronomist, has worked at the EARC for 25 years. Her work focuses on durum breeding and research and on the development of low cadmium durum lines for the European market. She also works to develop high quality solid stemmed durum with resistance to sawfly. She has worked cooperatively for the past six years with Barilla, a pasta manufacturing plant headquartered in Parma, Italy.

Charles Flynn, crop quality laboratory supervisor and chemist joined the EARC staff in 1976 to provide chemical analyses and laboratory research. The oil quality and lab research has resulted in the development of safflower varieties that produce the highest quality healthy oil, superior to olive oil and canola oil.

Rene Sundheim, research lab technician, tests crop quality in the lab, and is known as the ‘gal Friday’ in the lab.

Becky Garza, research assistant and supervisor of the summer crew, and Deb Kunda, Lisa Curtis, Mary Schaff, Calla Kowatch and Ron Brown, research assistants, perform a variety of necessary tasks throughout the year at the research facility. They plant, weed, water, hoe, take notes, weigh and measure seeds, grind seed, and test grain for oil and protein content. They also make plant pollination crosses and maintain the greenhouses.

Cherie Gatzke, administrative assistant, joined the EARC staff in May of this year. She meets and greets the public and does all the necessary administrative work to keep the research facility functioning smoothly.

Stop by and visit with the Extension staff and with the research staff. They look forward to serving the public from the new facility.