Do you enjoy going to the Santa Barbara County Fair each July?  Did you know that this year, the numerous young exhibitors that have worked for months raising and training their livestock in 4-H programs throughout the county might not have been able to exhibit at the Fair this year?

THE 4-H MOTTO: To Make the Best Better!

THE 4-H PLEDGE:
I pledge my Head to clearer thinking,
my Heart to greater loyalty,
my Hands to larger service and
my Health to better living, for my club, my community,
my country, and my world.

Here is a list of the SB County 4-H Programs:

Bonita- SM/Orcutt

Buellton- Buellton

Cinco Campanas- Sisquoc/Garey/SM

Cuyama- Cuyama

Gold Coast- SM/Orcutt

Goleta- Goleta/SB

La Graciosa- SM/ Orcutt

Los Amigos- SM/Orcutt

Los Padres- Goleta/SB

Lompoc Valley- Lompoc

Lucky Clover- Los Olivos

River Valley- SM/Orcutt

Santa Ynez- Santa Ynez

Valley- Solvang

Vandenberg- VAFB

Vineyard

What is your opinion?  Please post comments below and let us know.

This is  reposted from the Save SB County 4-H group on Facebook:

“First of all, let’s address this question: What is Cooperative Extension? Cooperative Extensions operate in nearly every county in every state throughout the United States. They are, as their name implies, cooperative efforts between the state and counties to provide services to agriculture and their consumers. Federally, the Cooperative Extension falls under the USDA. Most states have and agricultural resources offshoot of their state university system that work with the counties. In California, that is the University of California – Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). Most county cooperative extensions provide for specialty crops programs, foods and nutrition programs, master gardener programs, the 4-H program, and other programs that might be specific or unique to that location.

Earlier this year, at a Santa Barbara County 4-H Council meeting held at the Veteran’s Hall in Solvang, we were told that the Cooperative Extension offices throughout the county would be closing. The agriculture agents had already begun working out of the San Luis Obispo and Ventura County offices. The Foods & Nutrition Program would go to SLO and the Master Gardener Program would go to Ventura. The question was what would happen to the 15 clubs that made up the county’s 4-H program.

In April, the Santa Barbara County 4-H Council met in Santa Ynez. We were presented with 3 options.
• Option 1 – Remain as a County 4-H Council and have two part-time program representatives who would telecommute.
• Option 2 – Split the county up (along which lines was not an issue for discussion at this meeting), and half would go with SLO and the other half with Ventura.
• Option 3 – All 15 clubs would go with SLO.
We were explained with the structures and information of each county. We had discussion about each option. Then we were given the opportunity to vote on our options. The majority voted to go with SLO (a little over 60%). The option that received the second most votes was to split the county (a little over 30%). The option to remain as a county received 8% of the vote. We were told that regardless what option was chosen, we would be getting 2 part-time program reps. Currently, we have a part-time program rep whose salary is being provided for by a string of various grants for various outside programs. At the present, this rep is being paid for by grant money for the military 4-H program for Vandenberg – which is separate from our county 4-H program. (Make a note of that point because we will be getting back to it later.) We basically sat in limbo, waiting to see what was decided for the next three months.

Fast forward to June, the Board of Supervisors would vote on the budget for the county. Something unique about our county – and not in a good way – is that our county Cooperative Extension (CE) lost its director nearly a decade ago. The budget process for the CE fell under the oversight of the County Ag Commissioner’s office. (To put it simply, this is like McDonald’s doing the budget for Subway – two separate restaurants, two separate menus. Apples and oranges. You get the idea. )

The budget that was presented before the Board of Supervisors asked for nothing new. It was a bare bones budget to fund the existing CE programs. No new programs were being asked to be funded. The amount in question was $225,000 (a correction to the 120K I originally posted). Supervisor Gray is claiming that the CE was asking for an additional 4-H program for military families stationed at Vandenberg, but this program is currently in place and is being funded through outside grant money.

On June 22nd, the Board met. The budget item needed a 4 to 1 vote to pass. Supervisors Carbajal, Farr, and Centeno voted “yes” to approve. Supervisor Joni Gray of the 4th District, former 4-H member, former 4-H parent and leader, supposedly loyal friend of agriculture, voted “no” because she saw it as unnecessary spending in these economic times. Supervisor Janet Wolf, the Chair and 2nd District Supervisor, said when casting her “no” vote, “I don’t get it.”

Without funding the Santa Barbara residents to receive services from these programs, they cannot be provided for them. The 4-H Year ends on June 30, 2010. Had it not been for someone intervening with the UCANR to extent coverage to the 4-H members through July 31st, our Santa Barbara County 4-H members would have not been covered by insurance after that date. Kids would not have been able to exhibit their animals at the Santa Barbara County Fair July 10th through 18th. The delegation of kids attending Washington Focus and State Leadership Conference would not get to go. And the youth staff members, camp counselors, and campers would not be able to Camp Wahoo, our county’s 4-H camp.

It is no secret that Santa Barbara County is in a serious budget crisis. It is even less of a secret that the State of California is in a budget crisis. The reason we are in this mess has more to do with spending . . . scratch that . . . OVERSPENDING on the WRONG things rather than on the CORRECT things. (I invite you to visit the Board of Supervisors’ web site and read the minutes of the things that they do find important to spend money on.) Please send a message to Supervisors Gray and Wolf that the 4-H Program is something we WANT and NEED to be spending our tax dollars for.

If you have emailed Joni Gray’s office. Here’s a copy of what is going out in response:

‘I agree with your comments and yes, I too, love 4 – H.

The cooperative extension staff explained to us that what would be funded would be: 1) viticulture advisor, 2) a family consumer program, 3) an avocado position, 4) a greenhouse horticulture advisor, 4) Food Stamps education 4) an additional 4-H program for military families stationed at Vandenberg.
I totally support 4-H as a program and all it accomplishes. However, in today’s economy when hard choices have to be made it is not the time to start new programs. The 4-H program we have is outstanding and it is so because of the local community leaders, participants and support.

As far as the Fix, I’m talking with Dan Dooley, VP of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the UC Extension. We are working on it.

I hope this helps.
Joni’ “