THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511030205
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 153 lines
NOBODY KNOWS MORE about what's on the minds of Chesapeake farmers and residents than Robert Pilch.
Until last month, Pilch was the director of the Chesapeake Extension Service. For nearly 15 years, he has helped Chesapeake citizens improve their gardens, raise stronger, healthier livestock, produce more fruitful crops and run their households more efficiently.
``The purpose of the Extension Service has been to provide research-based information to residents to help them solve their problems and improve their lives,'' said Pilch. ``There's a lot of information out there that can make a difference. Our job has been to pass that information along.''
It's that responsibility of providing area residents with free and up-to-date information that kept Pilch aware of the needs of the public. In a typical week during the last 15 years, Pilch and his staff of agriculture, 4-H and home economics agents, organized and conducted seminars on subjects such as crop rotation and child discipline. In between seminars and on-site farm research, Pilch and other agents fielded up to 8,000 calls per year from residents seeking answers to their problems.
``The focus of the questions change from year to year,'' said Pilch. ``This year people wanted to know if Chesapeake's salty water would kill their lawn or houseplants. In past years, they had questions about surviving a drought or rainy season.''
Then there are the stock questions residents ask year after year like when and how to fertilize the lawn or what's the best way to control garden insects or pests. In 15 years of service, Pilch has heard it all.
``I've had calls from people wanting to know if the snake on their lawn was poisonous or if their food is safe to eat after the freezer cuts out,'' he said.
The Chesapeake Extension Service is one of 107 offices of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, an educational outreach arm of Virginia Tech and Virginia State universities. The extension provides programs in agriculture, home economics and 4-H youth development.
Pilch began his tenure as the director of the Chesapeake Extension in 1981 after a 10-year stint with an extension agent in North Carolina and several years' experience raising hogs and teaching animal science at a North Carolina community college. Since 1981, Pilch has seen programs take root and thrive, such as the local Master Gardener program, which has certified several hundred residents on the proper care of plants and lawns and proper use of fertilizer and pesticides.
``There's a lot of misunderstanding about some of our programs. People in the legislature think the master gardeners are all about growing bigger flowers. But what we really want to accomplish is something that benefits everyone. In this case, growing without compromising the water quality.''
Other programs like financial management and home base business cultivation have also grown in popularity the last few years, said Pilch.
But when Pilch retired from his position as the director of the Chesapeake Extension Service last month, he passed the responsibility of providing Chesapeake residents with agriculture, horticulture and consumer information to Richard Rhodes.
Rhodes is no newcomer to Chesapeake. He graduated from Great Bridge High School in 1969 and is the son of a retired Chesapeake police officer. For the past eight years, he has worked with the extension service as an agriculture agent, specializing in the production and management of field crops, notably soybeans, corn and wheat.
The changing of the guard comes at a significant time for the Extension Service. At the same time the state is slashing the budget of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, the General Assembly is also calling for a change in Extension priorities.
``We're going through a major restructuring,'' said Charles Stott, a spokesman for Virginia Cooperative Extension headquarters at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. ``We're in the middle of a renewed focus on agriculture and natural resources and we've lost a considerable amount of our staff the last few years.''
The Virginia Cooperative Extension has been hit hard by budget and staff cuts. In the last five years, the agency has experienced budget reductions of more than 20 percent, and there are 50 percent fewer agents today than there were in 1979. Chesapeake's staff figures have also declined in the past two decades.
``We had eight full-time agents in 1982,'' said Rhodes. ``Now we're down to just three.''
All the changes regionally and statewide are a part of a five-point plan developed by Virginia Tech to meet recent directives of the General Assembly. The assembly recently determined that the Extension and its 107 offices should focus on the organization's original mission of providing agriculture assistance at the local level. Past administrations wanted the Extension Service to develop and concentrate on social issues like youth development, financial management and home economics.
The five-point plan released by Virginia Tech in September calls for a more streamlined administration, greater investment and use of information technology, a focus on the extension's original mission including agriculture assistance at the local level, increased outside revenue and a strengthening of the relationship of the extension with local government.
What's all this mean for Chesapeake?
Very little, according to Rhodes.
``We'll still provide the same level of service Chesapeake residents are used to,'' Rhodes said. ``We'll continue to maintain the programs we've always had. We may reprioritize our efforts, but there will be no drastic changes here in Chesapeake.''
That means that while the city's extension will focus their efforts on agriculture assistance, it will still offer 4-H youth programs and home economic assistance.
But to accomplish that, the agency may have to rely further on the help of volunteers.
``Volunteers are an important part of what we do,'' Rhodes said. ``We have master gardeners man a hot-line on garden and lawn care.'' Pilch added that volunteers have taught classes on financial management and 4-H programs.
While other extension offices may still lose agents, Rhodes believes the biggest of the cuts have already been realized in Chesapeake.
Rhodes attributes the survival of the Chesapeake extension in part to the city of Chesapeake. Whereas the General Assembly and Virginia Tech have called for an increase in funding by local governments, Rhodes said Chesapeake has subsidized the city's extension for years.
``We lost two full-time positions three years ago. One agriculture agent and one 4-H agent. The city stepped in and picked up those two salaries and they are now both fully funded by Chesapeake,'' said Rhodes. ``
It's not unusual for local governments to subsidize their extension offices. According to Rhodes, many cities and counties contribute about one-third of their annual extension budgets. Chesapeake, on the other hand, provides half of the extension's expenses.
Rhodes admitted there's no way of predicting the city's budget priorities in the future, but although some may suspect the city's growing urban population might lessen the importance of an organization now focused on agriculture, Rhodes said just the opposite is true.
``As people without an agriculture background move into rural areas, they'll have questions about the land. When you think about it, farmers and homeowners have the same types of questions. Homeowners want to know what to do about a pest in the back yard, farmers want to know about the pests in their fields. As the population grows, our focus might change over time, but the importance of the information is still there.''
As building and housing development pop over all over the city, Rhodes stresses the importance of agriculture to the community.
``Agriculture is still a very important industry here,'' Rhodes said. ``The value of farm products in Chesapeake in 1993 was $33 million, and the value today is between $30 and $40 million. Agriculture will be an important industry in Chesapeake for years to come.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos, including the cover, by STEVE EARLEY
Robert Pilch retired last month as director of the Chesapeake
Extension Service. He and his staff fielded up to 8,000 inquiries a
month.
Robert Pilch checks out a cow that Melissa Sawyer is raising for her
4-H project.
Carole Thorpe teaches a class on child discipline.
by CNB