ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996                    TAG: 9605060090
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-4  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press 

STATE TO PRUNE GARDEN BUDGET DELEGATES WANT FARMING PROGRAM TO GROW SELF-SUFFICIENT OF TAX FUNDS

A program that has taught thousands of Virginians how to raise healthy plants and lawns while protecting the environment will be pruned from the state budget July 1.

The elimination of funding for the popular Master Gardener program will last at least two years, said Jerry Jones, associate director for agriculture and natural resources programs at the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service.

``All we're trying to do with the program is make it independent of tax dollars,'' Jones said.

The 39 state localities participating in the Master Gardener program must either pay coordinators, recruit volunteers or drop the program.

The cut is part of a move to refocus the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service on traditional agriculture and 4-H training.

Randy Jackson, an extension agent in Virginia Beach, said Master Gardener volunteers answer homeowners' questions about chemicals and fertilizer, teach in the schools and help with agricultural research projects.

``The benefits of the program slap you in the face,'' Jackson said.

Each year, about 900 Virginians take the program's 60-hour course, covering such topics as botany, entomology and plant pathology in return for 45 hours of volunteer work a year.

Last year, 3,000 master gardeners across the state volunteered about 30,000 hours, valued at $900,000, Jones said.

It would cost $330,000 in salaries and benefits for eight coordinators to manage the program statewide, he said.

"In Roanoke, there is a lot of enthusiasm for the project, both with volunteers and with Virginia Tech," said John Arbogast, extension agent for agriculture in the Roanoke extension office, who has been a Master Gardener trainer since 1987.

"We have seen an increase in volunteers each year since I started, when there were only 14 to 17 people enrolled. Last year, the number was up to 32 to 42 participants," Arbogast said.

Realigning some positions, using participant fees to defray costs and the possibility of grant money have been proposed to save the program, he said.

With so much local support and funds to fall back on, survival of the program with some changes looks promising to Arbogast.

"It's bound to be here. I feel sure the program is going to stay," he said.

Staff writer Jon Cawley contributed to this story.

LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines