By Stephen Smoot
After about a year and a half, West Virginia University Extension Service in Pendleton County finally has its full staff in place. On May 15, Jessica Hoover enjoyed her first day of work out of the agriculture and youth programs support office.
Hoover brings a long background of experience of agriculture to the position. “I grew up in 4-H and FFA,” she explained, elaborating that when younger she was extremely active in 4-H, which WVU Extension Service manages.
Brooke Alt, who has served as the only agent in Franklin since the retirement of Dave Seymour, said, “It’s very nice to have someone who is familiar with our programming already.”
Hoover’s professional career started at Rockingham Insurance, but WVU Extension Service “was the perfect fit because it’s what I grew up doing.”
Her family has farmed the same land in Ruddle for three generations and worked other lands even prior to that. “I have kind of taken over my family’s farm,” she explained. Their farm focuses on corn and hay, but “cattle is what I really enjoy.” Growing up, she gained experience showing pigs, goats, and lambs as well.
“I definitely have some big shoes to fill,” she said in reference to Seymour’s decades of work assisting local farmers, but added that “he’s offered help if I ever need help.” Hoover then said “I hope to live up to what he’s done.”
Alt said that Hoover’s hiring will fill the need for an agent to work with farmers and shared that “I can go back to serving more 4H and youth, expanding our offerings in the school system.” She then said, “I can go back to working with kiddos.” Both agents will concentrate on “our own areas of focus.”
Though many know Hoover, most have not yet learned that she is an extension agent. She said that her first priority lies in “getting introduced to everyone in the county” then she will “see where the biggest need is and dive into that.”
She will start her tenure in a time where agriculture locally, in the state, and the nation is changing. “Pendleton County is agricultural in general,” but “there is a lot of new technology and production techniques,” Hoover said. Staying on top of those developments and seeing how they can translate to Pendleton County agriculture will be a big part of the job.
Hoover’s academic career also seems tailor-made for service as an extension agent. She earned a bachelor’s of science from WVU in agriculture business management and rural development, then two masters in business administration degrees from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
