Shawnee County Extension reports parity, volunteer growth and new workshops

Candace Stiles, director of the Shawnee County Extension Office, told the Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 27 that the office reached demographic parity for its statewide reporting year and reported increases in volunteer engagement and program participation.

Stiles said Shawnee County reached parity with K-State Extension for the third consecutive year, a measure she described as the county’s audiences reflecting county demographics. She outlined quarterly work across 4-H, horticulture, nutrition and school-enrichment programming from October through December and said the office is preparing for a new 4-H year that begins Oct. 1.

The parity finding matters to the county because K-State uses those metrics to evaluate equity of outreach and funding eligibility. Stiles also told commissioners that Master Gardeners logged 8,803 volunteer hours in 2024 — about 600 more than 2023 — and that the department’s volunteers and agents provide education at sites including the Topeka Rescue Mission, Mirror Inc. and Southside Filling Station.

Stiles highlighted specific program numbers and supports: 152 volunteer hours reported in one agent area during the quarter; 27 teachers accepted scholarships from the Shawnee County Extension Foundation to try school-enrichment kits (program costs she said range from about $5 to $15); and a youth business pitch contest, run with OmniCircle, Shawnee Startups and Go Topeka, attracted 15 participants and awarded a $1,000 first prize. Stiles said the foundation-sponsored scholarships exist to reduce the up-front cost for teachers and encourage classroom adoption.

Abigail Goettinger, the county’s agriculture and natural resources extension agent, summarized recent outreach to producers, including sessions at the 2025 Topeka Farm Show. She said agents delivered five educational sessions on body-condition scoring and forage sampling and that the Extension booth engaged roughly 54 additional people. Goettinger noted hay probes are available for checkout through the local extension office with a $20 deposit and that Kansas State’s new Northeast area agronomist, Dr. Tina Sullivan, is offering field visits by appointment.

Goettinger outlined two upcoming programs: the regional Farm and Ranch Transition Conference in Lawrence on Feb. 27 (registration at adtransitions.org), and a prescribed-burning workshop scheduled March 13 at the Shawnee County Public Library with the Kansas Forest Service and Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Stiles also described VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) plans: about 30 trained volunteers will staff tax-preparation sites at the Topeka Public Library, Rossville, the CRC Center at Lundgren and a North Topeka site at the IBEW Local 226 building.

"A client told us, ‘I'm now choosing more fruits and vegetables and less processed snacks,'" Stiles said, quoting a nutrition program participant to illustrate the reported impact of the county’s nutrition education.

The presentations closed with commissioners offering no questions beyond brief praise; no formal decisions were needed at the work session.