Noble Foundation's Ag Helpline Open to the Public

ARDMORE, Okla. — Answers to your agricultural, wildlife or home gardening questions are just a phone call away at the Noble Foundation's Ag Helpline. In operation since February 2002, the Helpline is the public's link to the Foundation's experts in forages, horticulture, wildlife, livestock, soils and agricultural economics.

Callers are initially assisted by Helpline operator Annie Coble, an Oklahoma native who grew up on a farm in Noble County and holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University. Coble has been answering the Helpline since February 2003.

"When people call in, I take down their background information — their name, address, phone number and how they heard about us," Coble said. "Then they tell me what their question is and I decide the best way to handle it."

Most often, Coble will refer the caller to a Foundation specialist, but occasionally she can answer the question with information she has at hand. When she routes a call to a specialist, Coble e-mails along the information she has gathered from the caller. This allows the specialist to quickly address the caller's question.

"This program was developed during strategic planning completed in 2000," said Wadell Altom, the Foundation's Agricultural Division administrative coordinator and support manager. "Our specialists really like this streamlined process and the amount of information that is instantly available as they answer the transferred call."

Sometimes, callers have questions about topics the Foundation's specialists don't handle or need services the Foundation doesn't provide.

"In that case, I refer them to another resource or agency," Coble said.

Coble has seminar, class and workshop information for Noble Foundation events that are available to the public, as well as similar information for other agriculture-related organizations.

The Helpline is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and can be reached by calling (580) 224-6500.

"The Ag Helpline is a great service that the Noble Foundation offers. I really enjoy visiting with everyone who calls in or stops by," Coble said. "Please get in touch with us if you have a question you need answered!"

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Photo cutline: Annie Coble, the Noble Foundation’s Ag Helpline operator, fields calls regarding agricultural and horticultural questions.

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release