Extension Staff

In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act created the Extension Service in the United States. The Extension Service's basic objective is to distribute educational material, developed by the Land Grant College, to the residents of each respective state. In Florida, the Extension Service is a part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida.

Most counties in the State of Florida have at least one Extension Office. In Polk County, the Extension office is located in Bartow at 1702 Highway 17/98 South. The office is about 1/2 mile south of the intersection of Business Highway 60 (Main Street) and State Highway 17 on the left hand side of the road. There is a marquee in front of the building that bears the name - Polk County Agricultural Center. It is also the home of the Florida Youth Fair and Agrifest.

The Horticultural Extension Agent and webmaster of this site is David Shibles. David is originally from Maine and attended the University of Maine in Orono where he earned a B.S. degree in Education and a M.S. degree in Entomology. He later earned a Ph.D. degree in Entomology from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

David has spent most of his career working in agricultural research with insects and plants. He worked with Sandoz Crop Protection Company for 15 years in Homestead, FL and for the Polk County Mined Lands Research Demonstration Project for 9 years in Bartow, FL. He has also worked in agricultural research in Mexico, Central and South America. David has been with the Polk County Cooperative Extension Service since April 2000.