Growing up as a 4-H member in Haywood County, Dixon spent a lot of time at the Extension office from second grade all the way through high school and early in college. After earning a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Science and a master’s degree in Agricultural Leadership, she became a 4-H agent with the Eastern Band of Cherokee and enjoyed that position for five years. 

When Haywood County’s previous Extension Director planned to retire, people suggested Dixon apply for the position. In May of 2022, she was appointed new County Extension Director.

“I have been really fortunate to have two different really cool jobs with one organization,” Dixon said. 

Much of Dixon’s 4-H work was in youth development and revolved around traditional food ways and indigenous food systems. This transposed well to much of the work she does for Haywood County, which is agriculturally-focused community development. She works with local farmers to boost their presence in markets with efforts to collaboratively build a better food system, one that ensures the county maintains a robust agriculture industry despite developmental pressures.

“Extension revolves around two big things — food and community development,” Dixon said. “We like to say we grow North Carolina with Extension because we help people grow food, but we also grow community citizens and youth leaders. There’s a lot more than just farmer technical assistance; we do a lot to build capacity as well.”

In addition to assisting with the basics of farming, Dixon works to provide business support to agricultural companies of any size, helps businesses incorporate aspects of agritourism into their models, aids in legal liability understanding, and helps farmers get their products into local restaurants. She also serves home gardeners and home cooks with technical assistance.

Part of Dixon’s community development is focused on providing agriculturally-related education with a goal of keeping food and value-added products local. From the nutritional value of cooking and eating local foods to the economic benefits of keeping farmlands in the County, she hopes to help farmers localize sales by removing the middleman, allowing them to make more money and raise demand for their products, helping to insulate them from development pressures.

With their needs-based programming, services vary from county to county across the state. In WNC and Haywood County specifically, a large effort is on fortifying local markets, increasing capacity for direct-to-consumer sales, and creating multiple avenues for agritourism.

“We are trying to reframe conceptions of what agriculture businesses have to look like,” Dixon said. “We’re debunking myths about purchasing from farmers markets by providing pricing reports to consumers, providing as many resources as we can to farmers, and building connections to make sure they’re successful. Getting more people to eat more local food helps to keep them in the game.”

While supporting an entire industry, Dixon finds her job incredibly rewarding. She maintains flexibility and is there for the people that need her services. From working with fourth graders in 4-H programs providing memorable experiences like milking a cow, to helping farm staff identify reasons crops may not be thriving, to providing additional outlets for businesses, she gets to do things that make a difference for others.

“It’s nice to see that what we are doing is helping to preserve agriculture here,” Dixon said. “Buying local food insulates local farmland, keeps it in production, and keeps people eating healthier. Our agricultural heritage has to coexist with our tourism economy, and there have been multiple wins with this trend. It feels good to support that.”

Sally Dixon is the County Extension Director for Haywood County’s NC Cooperative Extension. Learn more at Haywood.CES.NCSU.edu.