Kanawha County Welcomes New Extension Agent

By Sara Busse, KMGA

Charles “Bud” Cottrill, Jr.’s resume of gardening and agricultural experience is as long as Burpee’s spring seed catalog—and he’s looking forward to using that knowledge to help the gardeners in Kanawha County. 

West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service, in conjunction with the Kanawha County Commission, has named Cottrill the new extension agent for Kanawha County. He comes to the job with enthusiasm and a wealth of information that will be valuable to the gardeners in our valley as well as to the Master Gardener Program.

Cottrill was born and raised in Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia. One of seven children, he was raised on a farm and learned about gardening and farming from the ground up, so to speak.  “My father raised it all -- vegetables and hay for the cattle -- and I learned from him,” Cottrill explained in a recent interview. He received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and his Master’s Degree in Horticulture from West Virginia University. Most recently, Cottrill lived in the Shenandoah Valley, in Mt. Jackson, Virginia. He was the orchard manager for Bowman Apple Producers, the ninth largest in the United States. His duties consisted of supervising the day-to-day operations on 2,000 acres of orchard land, which produced 15 to 20 different varieties of apples. The company not only grows the apples, but packages and processes them, as well.

“We would raise 800,000 bushels per year,” Cottrill explained.  “It was unbelievable.”  The company had 35 year-round employees and 225 apple pickers in season.

Prior to his stint at Bowman, Cottrill worked for another apple producer, White House, in North Carolina. For 10 years, he lived in Hedgesville, West Virginia, and his experience there will be of great help to him and many others as he takes on the county extension agent job. He ran a lawn and garden care company and he acknowledged that this work will be useful in his role as “urban horticulturist” for Kanawha County.  “I have a lot to learn in this position, but I’m looking forward to reeducating myself. Putnam County is more agricultural than Kanawha, but there is some agriculture in the areas around Sissonville, Poca, among others,” he said. And while he hasn’t participated formally in the Master Gardener program, he had heard of it while in Berkeley County and “always wanted to get involved.”

“I really want to learn about the Master Gardener program. I’ve talked to John Jett (state MG coordinator) and I spent the day with Wayne Bennett, Putnam County’s agent, who is helping me with the job and who has explained a lot about the Master Gardener program,” Cottrill said.  “The Extension Service is a great outreach of West Virginia University, like a field office in the county. I’m really looking forward to learning about the system.”

Cottrill remembers the agent who came to his family farm when he was growing up, and he dealt with the county extension agent in Berkeley County through his work there. He said he wants to learn about all of the people in the county who are experts in their fields and utilize their knowledge.  “I see the Master Gardeners and the extension agent as a reciprocal sort of thing, with us helping each other,” he explained. And while he doesn’t want to “steal the thunder” of the agent who works specifically with 4-H, he said he will probably get involved by helping with the county fair, with teaching and with other projects.  “I think they’re just glad to have someone else in the office at this point,” he joked. It has been nearly a year since his position has been filled.

Cottrill’s wife, Lu Anne, “is a real people person,” according to her husband. “And she’s just living it up having her sister just down the block.”  Lu Ann and Bud met in high school in Pt. Pleasant and she has family in the Huntington area.

She’s adjusting to their new “city” home in St. Albans, but it is a switch from their past lifestyle.  “I bought Bud a telescope for Christmas, but we lived on a farm away from the city. We’ll see how it does with the city lights,” she said with a laugh. The Cottrills have two children, Andy, who’s finishing his major in English and Literature at West Virginia University, and Jenny, who is a senior in broadcast journalism at Marshall University.

Welcome to the Cottrill family!