Our Impact
Making A Difference in Our County
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is working hard for its constituents. The following are examples of Extension’s impact in the county over the past year.
4-H Youth Development
Partnering with Career Academies to Deliver 4-H Robotics and Workforce Education
A team of 4-H professionals collaborated with the Southeastern Early College and Career Academy (SECCA) in Vidalia, Georgia to deliver an 8-session hands-on robotics and workforce readiness program to 25 high school seniors across four schools. The program aimed to address gaps in STEM and career readiness by engaging students in robotics using Sphero and Edison Bots, while also teaching essential job skills like resume writing and interview techniques. The curriculum combined STEM learning with real-world applications and career exploration, preparing students—especially those entering the workforce directly after high school—for job opportunities in fields like manufacturing and technology. Evaluation showed strong outcomes: 83% of students felt well-prepared for interviews, 100% improved peer communication, and 90% reported gains in problem-solving. The program’s success has led to its expansion to other counties and recognition at several professional conferences.
Agriculture and Natural Resources
The 4-H Ag Tech project, launched in Georgia during the four years ago, is helping bridge the technology gap among small farms by equipping youth-adult teams with training in precision agriculture technologies. These teams, including one from Toombs County, learned to use tools such as drones for crop monitoring, irrigation scheduling apps, GPS guidance systems, sprayer calibration, and soil sampling. After completing their training, the teams conducted outreach programs across the state, including at multi-county ag production meetings and research field days, reaching over 200 producers. The Toombs County team focused on hands-on demonstrations like setting up irrigation apps on mobile devices, using drones to assess crop damage, and identifying weeds through smartphone apps. Feedback from participants has been highly positive—over 70% of surveyed farmers reported they would likely adopt at least one new technology, with one local farmer remarking, “I didn’t realize that I could set up an app on my phone that would help me irrigate my crops better for free.” This initiative is helping small-scale producers improve efficiency, reduce costs, and boost profitability through accessible and practical technology adoption.