State may cut Extension Service, conservation budgets

 

By DON PEASLEY
Special Correspondent

 

Print this Page    Email This Article

 

 

Two agricultural agencies providing services to McHenry County residents are on the verge of financial crises. They are the University of Illinois Extension Service and the McHenry County Soil & Water Conservation District.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is withholding millions of dollars approved for the agencies by the Illinois General Assembly in its 2007-08 budget. The governor’s office has said that the governor is withholding approval of $6 million to fund the 98 soil and water conservation districts and $18 million to fund 77 U. of I. Extension offices unless the general assembly agrees to his spending priorities.
McHenry County Farm Bureau manager Dan Volkers organized a petition urging that the appropriation be honored and released to the agriculture programs. Volkers said State Sen. Pam Althoff and State Reps. Mike Tryon and Jack Franks strongly support efforts to release the funds.
Some of the programs in the appropriation under discussion include Council on Food and Agriculture Research, Fertilizer Research and Education Committee, Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners, Department of Natural Resources, AgrAbility, Extension Service and soil and water conservation districts.
Because of the cuts, there will not be enough money to pay employees of both the McHenry County Soil & Water Conservation District and U. of I. Extension after May 1, and employees will be laid off.
Ed Weskerna, executive director of the SWCD, said he is without $66,000 from a total budget of $250,000 because of the governor’s inaction.
Don Schellhaass, McHenry County Extension director, cites a similar cutback in funding, disrupting staff and programs there as well. At present, both department heads are taking a wait-and-see approach, hopeful the general assembly and the governor will come to an agreement to make the funds available.
Weskerna said his staff provides many ongoing services, including conducting a natural resources study when a developer wishes to change the zoning of agricultural land for housing purposes. Without that study, the McHenry County Board cannot approve the zoning change.
His staff is also involved in drainage and erosion control. Soil boring is another important service the SWCD provides.
“We are able to charge a small fee for some of our services, such as soil boring, tree sales and fish sales. The health department often calls on us for septic system studies. Part of our cost is for office space we share with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service in Woodstock,” said Weskerna.
Schellhaass said, “When I started with Extension in 1992, McHenry County was very much an agricultural area with a strong farm economy. Population has increased, so many of our Extension programs now relate to meet these changing population needs.”
An example is a food and nutrition program for low-income families under the direction of Kasey Murphy, one of nine Extension employees. Programs aimed at the Hispanic population have been started and expanded. Horticulture projects such as expansion of the Master Gardener program, with more than 100 Master Gardeners, is another example of Extensiob programs that meet current needs.
4-H is a major Extension activity. What was once a program primarily for rural young people is the center of activity for a large number of participants from cities and small towns in McHenry County.
Schellhaass must also rush decisions because he is retiring May 1 after 15 years as the Extension department leader in McHenry County. He is finalizing plans for staff cutbacks and program adjustments if the funding does not come through because of state budget delays.

 

This article was published in the April 23, 2008 edition of The Woodstock Independent.