Robyn Stewart
If you had said at the start of 2020 that we would be under a mandated shelter-in-place order by April, I think most Lincoln County residents wouldn’t have believed it. It is no surprise to us that many things have changed in our day-to-day lives including transitioning to teleworking, homeschooling, limiting trips out in public, and more. In this time, the University of Georgia Extension Service is considered an essential business due to our involvement with agriculture and the food production process.
Over the last few weeks, the Lincoln County Extension Office has been working to implement appropriate social distancing policies and contagious symptom policies as implemented by the federal, state, and local government. These policies have included sanitizing and cleaning our office space, reducing contact with other people, limiting travel, and maintaining a 6-foot distance between ourselves and others. Additionally, any staff who suspected they may be sick or who has had contact with anyone sick has been asked to self-quarantine and work from home. All Lincoln County Extension staff have come up with a teleworking plan including a variety of tasks to continue to plan for the remainder of 2020. Some programs in the works include an ag farm tour, open house, small ruminant production classes, gardening seminars, and more.
With Governor Kemp’s new shelter-in-place order, the Lincoln County Extension Office is prioritizing two things. Our first priority is to continue to set a good example for our county while providing critical support to our agriculture industries. In order to do so, we will be transitioning to teleworking beginning on April 6th, 2020. At this time, we will be available to meet in person (while maintaining social distancing practices) by appointment only and will continue to be available via phone and email at any time. Our second priority is to continue to accept soil, water, feed, and forage samples for the UGA laboratory. We will be accepting samples by appointment only on Mondays and Tuesdays. Please call prior to coming by the office so we can ensure someone will be available to assist you and take payment.
We appreciate your continued support and compliance with our new policies in this time of uncertainty. Lincoln County Extension will continue to update our Facebook page (Lincoln County UGA Extension) with information, demonstrations, and e-learning opportunities. Topics that have been discussed already include the science of bread making, soil types, and soil quality. Additionally, we have provided links to other education opportunities in 4-H horse education, beekeeping, and cattle production. Should you be interested in a specific topic, please let us know so we can best provide that information to you and our community. Our contact information is as follows:
Robyn Stewart (Agriculture Agent) – (914)357-0563; rlstew2@uga.edu