North, East Texas Extension offices affected jby state budget cuts
Some agents take early retirement option

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

September 4, 2003 -- Residents in some North and East Texas counties will soon miss a few faces when they walk into their county's Texas Cooperative Extension office. As a means to meet the outcome of a $2.1 million budget cut to their agency, some county agents were offered early retirement.

Bowie County

With the motto "I work for the public and whoever walks through the door is my boss," Eric Lum, after 22 years with Texas Cooperative Extension (13 in Bowie County), will head to the house at the end of the month.

"Any person who walks through our doors, needs to feel at home, feel welcome and feel their problem is important," Lum said. "I hope Extension doesn't lose sight of that."

Lum has seen may changes in his county, including the biggest change of fewer full-time ag producers.

"There is a larger number of part-time producers and landowners than full-time. We have had to revamp our programs to try and address full-time producers and incorporate the needs of smaller, part-time people," he said on Aug. 27, just two days shy of his retirement reception.

The retiree said more emphasis is being placed on recreational ag income and urban clientele. He also stated, more and more people in East Texas are becoming interested in meat goats.

"There is a market, but some people don't realize you have to worm a goat every 30 days. You have to trim their feet every 30 days," he explained.

Lum stated he will miss his Extension job and will not "forget the people, beef producers, row crop producers, 4-H and youth, parents, all the people who brought (me)to the dance."

Lum and his wife Belinda will stay in New Boston, where he said he is "considering his options." One option will be continuing supporting agriculture in the area and raising Boer goats.

Franklin County

After 23-and-a-half years, Franklin County Extension Agent Joe Roach is also taking early retirement.

Originally from West Texas, San Angelo, Roach began his service with Extension in Bowie County, but it wasn't long before he made the move to Franklin County where he has been for 22-and-a-half years.

Roach, like the rest of the retiring agents, has seen Extension change and, according to Roach, "will continue to change to meet the diverse needs of a diverse population.‰

The retiring agent stated he and his wife will remain in Mount Vernon and "between repairing some things around the house, I intend to read the whole Bible again to properly break in my new one." He also is looking into another career in real estate.

Rains County

Kenneth Neinast has been a part of Extension for 31 years; but has served the greater part of those years (27) in Rains County.

"I'm not taking early retirement, I'm retiring, period," Neinast stressed.

Neinast said one of the biggest changes he has seen while being the Rains County Extension agent has been at the county fair.

"At the first fair (he attended) the ring was so small you could hardly turn around in it," he remembered.

Since then, several new buildings have been erected, including a larger livestock show ring.

"Rains County is still one of few counties that let's all of our youth sell their market animals at the junior livestock show," Neinast proudly said.

Neinast cited one thing that is definitely changing is the number of dairies in the county.

"When I first came, there was between 30 to 34 dairies. Now, we are down to 11 and will probably have less than that by the end of the year."

He said someone recently asked him recently what the county's main crop is. "I told them 'people.'" (Rains County is near Lake Fork and census figures show the county to be one of the fastest growing in the state.)

Neinast will continue to help with Rains County Fair. After all, people in Rains County look forward to the special barbeque Neinast helps cook up during the fair.

He said he and wife Betsy will remain in Emory.

Shelby County

Extension Agent James Greer, who also believes his job is helping people, will soon leave the agency with 30 years under his belt.

"I earn my money when I help people solve their problems," he stated.

Greer will continue helping the people in Shelby County, but it will be between 6:30 and 6:45 a.m. on KDET, a local radio station.

"It is something I have been doing for free, but now I will get paid," he said. "The agricultural (radio) program will be informational. We will have a livestock market report, programs on 4-H, landscape, forestry, cattle, forage, all kinds of things."

Shelby County is the No. 1 county in total broiler production, so there are a lot of contract growers in the area. "We have school enrichment programs, where I do a slide projection showing the importance of poultry on our county. Everyone here is effected by the poultry industry," he stated.

Many of Greer's "bosses" are contract growers who need help with waste management, grasses, herbicides, and pesticides.

The Greer family will stay in Center, where they will continue to raise purebred Charolais. "We've homesteaded," he said with a laugh.

Other changes in the agency includes the retirement of the District 4 Director, Randy Upshaw, who is officed at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Dallas. While Upshaw leaves, Denton County Extension Agent Rebecca Parker is coming to the office. She is the new regional program director for agriculture and natural resources.

Upshaw, who has been with Extension for 28 years, played an important role in broadening 4-H in the area. He stated when he started as the district director in 1987, there was only two full-time 4-H agents in North Texas. "Now there are 11 in the region," he said.

Upshaw is a superintendent for the Junior Beef Steer Show at the Fort Worth Livestock Show and superintendent of the State Fair of Texas Junior Livestock Show.

He and his wife, Mary, will remain in Dallas and plans to spend much of his time raising Quarter Horses.