Holmes OSU Extension team looks ahead to 2026

The team from Ohio State University Extension Holmes County welcomed community members to recap its efforts of 2025 and look ahead to 2026.

The highlights from 2025 included hosting the 2025 State Cow Calf School at Paint Valley Farms, plenty of Coffee and Conservation events, LifeSkills Camp, equine series events, hosting the annual Tom Graham 5th Grade Farm Tours, farm visits, and other events designed to benefit Holmes County agriculture, farming and conservation.

Much of the focus of the organization is on advising and educating youth. Those efforts included guiding the Holmes County 4-H programs and taking on a key role in developing the livestock and LifeSkills projects for the Holmes County Fair, where they helped initiate 982 4-H projects from 458 youth.

“We are grateful to everyone we got a chance to partner with this past year,” said Janessa Hill, agriculture and natural resources educator. “As of Nov. 19, we had 184 events that were logged with more than 12,000 participants including state and national events. That shows how much we have grown on the ag side of things.”

She said the Cow Calf School saw more than 50 students from around the state attend, which was the largest one yet. She said the LifeSkills Camp continues to grow as they gain more local partnerships.

“It’s an amazing, impactful day for these youth,” Hill said. “We’re grateful to all who help with it.”

Sarah Neel, extension 4-H program assistant, shared about the year’s effort in the 4-H world. She said she will invest much of her time and effort on the livestock portion of 4-H and the fair this year.

She spoke about the success the Holmes County 4-H dog program experienced this year, doubling in numbers. Ella Lorentz, extension 4-H program director, wrote, applied for and received a grant for $2,500 that was then matched, and it helped the group purchase new equipment.

“These kids bring their dogs, work on obstacles and obedience trainings and how to get their dogs to behave,” Neel said.

She said 4-H experienced good growth, and they have huge expectations to see those numbers increase even more in 2026.

Kate Shumaker, Ohio State University Extension Holmes County family and consumer sciences educator, was busy connecting with people throughout the community, and often that included creating some scrumptious food with both adults and children.

Cooking with Kate, Kids in the Kitchen, pressure canner testing that saw the department test 142 canners at eight different events, plenty of food-preservation displays throughout the year at a variety of functions, Dining with Diabetes programs and more included important food narratives.

Shumaker also worked with the seventh grade and eighth grade girls at East Holmes Family & Consumer Science Day, was involved with the implementation of Real Money. Real World with the Hiland eighth grade students, and taught easy cooking techniques to 44 students at LifeSkills Camp.

She said the staff continues to produce educational columns for The Bargain Hunter and does on-air segments with WKLM Radio.

She also shared the news that SNAP-ED has officially been deleted, marking the end of a relationship the organizations have had with one another for years.

“The last day for SNAP education was at the end of November,” Shumaker said. “Some of those programs have been absorbed in other areas, so if anyone was receiving SNAP-ED, please reach out to us if you’d still like to have them and we will see if we can absorb those somewhere else.”

She said some intriguing programs are set to be implemented in 2026, and they continue to reach out to create new partnerships.

This past year Shumaker accepted an administrative position with District 9 in Holmes, Ashland and Coshocton counties, which she said was a 50% role for her, which changed her schedule immensely. However, she said in the middle of 2026, OSU Extension is doing another administrative shift that could return her back to performing a full-time educator role.

“That definitely took me away from some programming,” Shumaker said.

Looking forward to 2026, Shumaker said there shouldn’t be many major shifts or changes in the Holmes County Extension programming and workload, although they are always seeking ways to improve.

“We are continually seeking ways to grow,” Hill said. “There are always things that continue to evolve and we will evaluate, but I don’t foresee any major changes.”

When asked about where she felt any needs may reside, Hill said that effort extends beyond her core group at the extension.

“I would hope that any growth comes from the community and its leaders, who express areas they believe need looked at,” Hill said. “If anyone has areas where they believe there could be great partnerships developed, we’d be excited to pursue those action steps and make sure we’re doing things the right way.”

She said developing positive relationships is an ongoing effort and is the best way the organization can benefit Holmes County.

“We’re very excited about what our programs will bring in 2026,” Hill said.