Frank Hancock was busy right up to his final moments at the Henry County Extension Office.

He was scheduled to spend Monday, his last day on the job, planting potatoes at Locust Grove High School. The previous Friday he was able to squeeze in a few minutes between phone calls to talk to the Times.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re retiring,” he said. “You can’t stop the phone from ringing.”

Hancock has spent the past 15 years as an agricultural natural resource agent (ANR) for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in Henry County. For those who are unfamiliar with the program, UGA and Fort Valley State are land-grant institutions, and as such, are charged with bringing research-based information to local communities. They do that through cooperative extensions – cooperation between the university and the county. The two entities share the cost of the program, which works in three different areas. Family consumer science and 4-H are the other two arms of the office.

Hancock’s section assists farmers with various things they have going on. That includes soil sampling and well water testing as well as plant pathology sampling and testing, among other things.

“But since Henry County has become more urban, I’ve probably been doing most of my work with homeowners – ‘what’s wrong with my grass, why did my tree die, what kind of bug is this’ – that sort of thing,” he said.

Last spring the office started a Get Out and Grow program which involved taking garden beds to senior citizens, schools and other interested parties. Pollinator beds were created for some who wanted flowers, and others wanted to grow vegetables. All of them are based on biodegradable beds which can be planted at your house within 30 minutes, placed on top of the existing grass with no tilling required.

“It’s a pretty slick way to do things,” said Hancock. “We put out 90 of those beds last year, and the project is continuing this year.”

Locust Grove High had 10 pollinator beds installed previously. Now a few beds of Irish potatoes have been planted, which should be harvested before summer break, then the students can follow up with sweet potatoes and dig them up when school resumes in the fall. “It’s kind of experimental what we’re doing now,” said Hancock.

The extension office does Lunch and Learn events to educate the public and also has operated the farmer’s market at Heritage Park for 12 years. Master gardeners are out in the local schools regularly and oversee plant sales every year. The office itself is adjacent to the Jason T. Harper Arena at Heritage Park.

Hancock, who lives in Ola, joined the department after more than a quarter-century at Snapper in McDonough, starting there in 1977. He decided to make a move when Snapper was bought out by another company.

“People ask me what I was going to do when I retire, and I tell them I have a dentist appointment the next day but nothing much planned after that,” he said. “I’ve been working and dealing with the public for 40 years. I’m 75 years old. If I’m ever going to retire, it’s just time to do it.”