By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

EATON, Ohio — Economic cutbacks has affected most businesses and organizations in the nation, and county extension offices are no exception. Last year in Ohio, six county Extension agents retired and those posts went unfilled due to budget cuts. And many extension offices in this state have seen other positions eliminated to stay within a restricted budget.

So tight are things in Preble County. The county lacks the money to continue to support its Extension office as it has in the past. And now many fear losing their 4-H program.

“We’ve been told that no county in Ohio has lost its 4-H program,” said Jeff Burke, a parent and president of the county’s 4-H Horse Advisors Club. “But ours is struggling. Our county extension office is losing people. Just last week our youth program director was released. When all is said and done we’ll end up with two part-time employees in our Extension office.”

According to Burke, there are 877 youth involved in 1,854 4-H projects in Preble County. There are 56 4-H clubs and 187 adult volunteers in the county. Another 200 youth are involved in FFA in the county.

“We’ve already planned for next year’s fair, but if we trim 4-H, where will these kids go,” Burke said. “This is a farming county. We’re the home of the annual Pork Festival and everyone knows this is an agricultural community. I just don’t know what will happen if you take 4-H out of the picture. Right now we’re sitting here waiting for this all to crash. I cannot believe this is happening.”

Preble County extension funding dropped from $141,455 to $34,247 the past year. As a result, two extension office positions were eliminated and a third was converted to half time. A few educational programs and office hours were also trimmed. Now many in this county are fearful there will be no county fair or junior fair next fall. Some 4-H-ers in this county have purchased a steer for the 2010 junior fair, uncertain if there will be a 4-H program in the coming months.

“States on average pick up 60 percent of the cost while county commissioners pick up the remaining 40 percent,” said Stephen Wright, Regional Director of OSU Extension. “All extension offices in Ohio are funded a little bit differently and some are worse than others. Preble County extension hasn’t received its funding from the state, but it’s coming. Those in Preble County will have the monies for their fair and some other programs.”

Agriculture is the leading industry in Preble County. There are 1,030 farms with 195,000 acres in farm land. The average farm is 189 acres and the county ranks 24th in corn for grain production. and it’s the home to the annual Ohio Pork Festival. There are 52,200 head of hogs raised in Preble County. So it should come as no surprise that 4-H is deeply embedded in this rural county, which has five major high schools and an overall population of 39,000.
“Extension if a key part of the solution to the county’s and state’s economic woes,” Wright said. “We view ourselves as an economic engine. We provide workforce development. We work with farms and businesses to make them more profitable. We offer personal financial management education and we help our young people turn into leaders and good citizens.”

Commission President Chris Day presided over a special meeting in September to discuss the future of 4-H in Preble County.
“We’re structuring our budget to live within our means,” Day said. “We don’t know yet where we’ll be (financially) by the end of the year. Revenues seem to be flattening out instead of declining.”
The current Preble County extension director is Pat Holmes. Holmes and a part-time employee are the only two staffers in the Preble County office today. Holmes remains cautiously optimistic about the situation.

“We’ve already planned for next year and if we trim 4-H where will the kids and their animals go?” she said. “I have a strong desire to keep this extension office strong during this economic crunch and we have wonderful volunteers in this county. As long as we have an extension office I assure you there will be 4-H.”

Having the funding is crucial for those involved with 4-H. According to Ohio State Fair bylaws, youth in Preble County would not be allowed to participate in 4-H in adjacent counties, nor show in 4-H shows at the Ohio State Fair.