For 100 years, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension has enhanced the lives, land and economy of eastern North Carolina residents. The agency has helped many a gardener, farmer, 4-Her, and anyone seeking information about the environment we live in, local foods, agriculture, horticulture, pest management — and the list goes on.

Cooperative Extension is a font of information, and it were designed to be so. When it was started a century ago, the purpose was a joint project: county, state and federal governments came together to provide all citizens with access to knowledge coming from public universities. Its mission is to deliver education and technology to enrich lives and livelihoods has withstood the test of time.

Now, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension wants something back: information. They agency is calling on all residents of North Carolina to take the time to fill out an online survey that will help officials understand the differences the agency has made in your life, your business and our community.

How often have you read horticulturist Jacob Searcy’s column in this newspaper? How many times have you taken his advice as to when to plant perennials, transplant shrubs or prune your roses? How often have you taken his advice about what fertilizers and pesticides to use?

How many local children have been introduced to their natural environment through 4-H? How many people have learned about healthier eating through extension programs? How many of us have bought plants at the annual master gardeners plant sale, because we knew those plants were grown by the experts right here where they would be most hardy?

If any of the above is true for you, then take a moment to answer the survey. It’s 22 questions long, with a few sub-questions thrown in, but the survey doesn’t get as complicated as essay writing.

Through presentations, publications, web-based information, meetings, timely alerts, field days, visits to your farm or business and research-based recommendations/consultations, Beaufort County Cooperative Extension has reached out to every resident in our community, arming us with a most valuable resource: information.

The best thing we can do in return is offer the same. So take a moment, visit

https://survey.ncsu.edu/coopext/, and give Cooperative Extensions across the state the information they need to keep serving us. After a century of service, it’s the least we can do.

Paper copies of the survey are available at the link above, as well. All surveys must be submitted by June 15 to Center for Urban Affairs & Community Services (Cooperative Ext. Survey), NC State University, Campus Box 7401, Raleigh, NC  27695-7401.