Agriculture & Natural Resources

Digital Diagnostics ... Mason County Extension plays a very important role in local efforts to remain vigilant for exotic (new) pests. From the Asian long horned beetle to Asian soybean rust, Mason County Extension's Digital Diagnostics resources allow the local office to quickly identify both the typical and the unusual in area pest developments via submitting digital photos from a dissecting microscope to the University of Illinois' Digital Diagnostics website. Subsequent expert evaluation of these digital photos determines the need for further on-site or plant clinic evaluation. The Digital Diagnostic System addresses one of the most important issues associated with pest management - response delay - as it streamlines the period between detection, identification, and possible management.

Master Gardeners ... University of Illinois Master Gardeners, an army of local citizens - 3300 strong - trained in horticulture that contribute volunteer hours back to their respective communities, provide a wealth of value to the citizens of the state of Illinois. Each year, U of I Master Gardener's contribute more than 160,000 volunteer hours back to their communities. The value of the time contributed to local citizens is equivalent to more than $3,000,000.

Mason County Extension's Master Gardener program assists with Mason County Fairground beautification, nursing home landscaping, city gardens, talks and presentations to civic groups, and classroom education in public schools.

Junior Master Gardener Program ... Mason County Extension offers a unique program for area youth termed the "Junior Master Gardener" or JMG program. Originally designed by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service as a new and innovative, 4-H gardening project for youth, Mason County is one of very few U of I Extension offices with its own version of this extremely successful program.

The program is modeled after the adult Master Gardener program, a program encompassing 11 weeks of training in such topics as Botany, Soils, Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers, Trees and Shrubs, Grasses, Landscaping, Insects, and Diseases. The JMG program offers horticulture and environmental science education through fun and creative individual and group activities.

The Junior Master Gardeners of Mason County program is open to all students ages 8 to 18. Each of the members have a garden plot at the Mason County Fairgrounds that they take care of in which they plant their own flowers and vegetables while also learning how to care for those plants. The resulting produce is then either used by the club-member's family or donated to the Mission of Hope in Havana which has been very kind to take excess produce from the plots as well. JMG plots have been possible due to a generous allotment of space on the Mason County Fairgrounds by the Mason County Fairboard which also provides the water for irrigating those plots.